SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 24: SPURS VS. SUNS, 4-12-2022, 3PM (CT)

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I get that Sean et al have to talk about making baskets and all that, but it's less about bad bounces for us (though these are fixable with some better touches and glass use) and more about how we're creating shots, etc.

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WOW we just had two guys cut from the weak side. Makali realized his mistake and turned back - "Oh my God" you could hear him from here lol

We made the basket. Not it's not all that counts.

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Oh look Alize Johnson with the basic drive with some intent and makes a basket.

Keldon drives, makes baskets in the paint as well.

This is about also figuring out what works.

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Bassey beasting.

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That drive by Malaki was probably one of the few if not only drive and dish attempt to a rolling big all game.

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3RD Q: SPURS 71 SUNS 106

Nice little run towards the end of the Q but that end of Q 3 by them was emblematic. But I do like that Malaki ran out to contest it.

We scored 30 to their 35, so a better overall output. Some drives, some O boards, some contests, some signs of life. Keep it going.

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OH LOOK OUR BIG CUTS AND IT'S WIDE OPEN LAYUP.

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Vet Dieng fakes, steps in passes to rolling Roby in the key for the basket. Simple, effective.

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Wow Bill's not hiding it: "We have a clock issue. So what? Let it go on."

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4TH Q: SPURS: 95 SUNS 133

We came closest to winning a Q in the 4TH than any other. Still in search of a full game two way effort, that 2ND Q did us in.

Defense: While 6-31 from 3 certainly hurt us, we did find other ways to score. We shot 32-57 in non-3s for 57% efficiency this despite poor movement (only 19 assists), guys being out of position, etc. Allowing 19-37 from 3 was really a back breaker. We KEEP having guys collapse in the paint and we keep having guys not rotate out to shooters. We ball watch passes out and then we freeze. I haven't seen the actual stats yet, but this certainly felt like a game that was one of the highest in terms of open 3s allowed.

We did not box out well, especially in the first half.

When we did happen to close out, sometimes we would run out at guys WITHOUT our hands up. Like what's the point? It's even a natural instinct to try and prevent a shot. You see kids do it all the time in play. It's like our guys are holding sandbags, arms at the sides.

Same thing when we're covering on D. Watch games earlier in the season, or watch good defensive teams versus us, whenever someone rolls or cuts or moves out to the top from a screen there are hands up in passing lanes even if the ball is behind the defender. We don't do that or we don't do that nearly enough.

Physicality is another issue. We're not the thickest team physically. Pound for pound, Keldon's probably our most imposing player in terms of muscle and aggressiveness. Bassey is a bruiser, too. Langford is a bigger guard who absorbs contact on D well. Sochan is aggressive and has good size, but at 19 will need time to fill out. Devin bulked up and is more willing to drive and be assertive, but he's more of a slashing, pouncing type.

But it's a mentality, too. We're too much on our heels when opponents drive. We don't make them pay when they do. And they've been driving down the middle far more often during thsi losing streak. So physicality with some basic fundamentals - angling them OUT of the key is crucial.

And when we did collapse in the paint, or when we did well to properly double, the secondary and tertiary defensive shifts - help D coming over to cover after the double, others then reading and responding with proper rotations just is not happening or nearly enough.

Malaki did well to contest. Ran out at shooters, arms out, jumping to contest.

I liked the effort from Bassey in contesting and rebounding. Used his physicality well.

Devin hounded his man well.

Diop used his length well, it's almost always postively disruptive though he's more of a slinky than physically aggressive player. He could benefit from having another gear or two.

Collins had another high foul game and part of it is a function of a sudden bigger role and at times being outside the paint too much. He led the starters with 6 rebounds, 3 on O, but foul trouble meant he only played 17 minutes.

I get why we start Collins instead of Dieng or Bassey - the one is a vet we have for support, the other is far too green.It's a tall task and growing pains adjustment for Collins. Part of his own growth is to balance the nasty side to him with still assertive but cleaner defending.

Offense. We still have guys not only not moving but needing to be guided about where and at times moving to wrong places.

Like gump has mentioned previously, our spacing is way off. Keldon has improved his game a lot, and post-game BB talked about how Pop keeps putting him in different O scenarios because it's part of his long-term O development. And it doesn't help that we don't have our great off ball movers available. Keldon needs better handles as I've mentioned before (though that's a longer developement type of progress), but to echo gump's point, Keldon would immediately benefit from watching film of and emulating our off ball movers. Spacing recognition is not great and making off ball reads and create opportunities for himself this way while helping to open space for team mates with the ball by drawing his defender away from the ball handler. Win for him, win for team mate, win for the team.

In addition to movement, or a function from lack of it, is shot selection. Collins wasn't inside the paint nearly enough is one thing. Another is the one and done shots when he got the ball back after setting a screen. There's a reason they left him alone tonight: 1-7, 0-3 with the lone make in the restricted area. In general, our bigs didn't roll nearly as much as they could have.

Collins did lead us with 5 assists but it's also a function of all our misses.

Diop was scoreless at the half but responded well with 5-6, 2-2 from 3 for 12 points and 3 boards (1 on O). Diop was only one of four Spurs who made a 3 (nine of eleven attempted at least one) and he was the most and sole efficient player.

The lack of movement made us easier to cover defensively and we TOd it 19 times which cost us 19 points (-10 in this area).

We need to use vertical movement more not just get caught side to side. Some high low passes, more cuts, more drive and kick, drive and dish (the latter in particular went missing this game) and push in transition. We're too careful at times and rather than pushing it down the court we were too deliberate - read: slow. Maybe because we have players that are not familiar with one another, but it's also a matter of guys learning the plays. Standing around on either end not really knowing where to go or going to the wrong place at this point is a fundamental/reps issue. I do like how guys were talking on the court directing where we should go and be, but once that 2ND Q break down happened we went away from it.

Keldon struggled from the arc (1-5) but he was far more willing to create and take other kinds of shots. All other shots except one were in the key, and that one shot was just to the right of it. He drove and drove relentlessly where he made 11-18. He was rewarded by leading us with 4-6FTs. Chipped in 5 boards (1 on O), 2 assists, and 1 steal as well.

Devin's 4 assists is an imortant part of his expanding game, especially with him running point and being the O initiator more. He's more of a quiet guy, or at least appears that way on camera (not necessarily an indication how he is off it), but I'd like to see him grow in the vocal leadership department. It's not for every guy, I get that. But I think him asserting himself as a leader, or growing into one, is an area of development where he has tons of potential. He's always positive and forthright in post-game interviews, supports rookies in SL, breaks down the game, and has a steady demeanour.

I liked how Tre varied his gear, trollting up the ball then exploding to the rim, catching defenders on their heels. He was dogged on man D as well. He keeps geting switched on with opponent bigs and it's up to us to help him. There some discusion on SM about how he's not starter material. Well he's much improved already from last season, and is our best PG option right now. Here's to more progress.

I liked how Malaki was able to run point a bit, use screens, get to his mid range spots and feed team mates. He led the bench with 8 points and 2 assists. Not earth moving stats, but you can see he makes better decisions with the ball, doesn't only look to score, and is more patient.

The TOs and deliberate pace resulted in only 87FGAs. It's a few below our 6th best 91.5 per game and it showed. Fewer attempts means more pressure on the shots we take, this during an epic shooting slump. Sean is right that we sem snake bitten or 'unlucky' with all the misses, but it's not a mystery and there's no magic solution. Balls go in better with proper glass angles, dunks, arcs on shots for softer rim responses, squaring up, realizing who the defender is and adjusting accordingly. Airballing some 3s is uncharacteristic and shows the extent of the slump. Keep taking them. But variety in shot creation is key. One and done Js from a screen and no movement is not the right way and the resulting sub-100 point output reflects it.

Bench: on the one hand, everyone who played, scored. On the other, we combined for only 18 points, and only one player made a 3 with four of six players attempting at least one.

Romeo only played 8 minutes before we lost him to an ankle injury and there went some of our perimeter D. I liked Alize Johnson's hustle and vertical game. He was aggressive and drove with physicality and purpose. Dieng is a smart, steadying presence. Bassey led us with total rebounds with 7, and O boards with 4. Roby struggled with efficiency making only 1-6, 0-3 from 3 even as he chipped in with rebounds (3, 1 on O), 1 assist, 1 steal. He's a 3s shooter we need to be making his shot. I like that four of the six bench players got to the FT line.

Overall, again back to fundamentals. Understand where to go on O and actually go there. Our bigs didn't roll nearly enough in this game. We need to get them more involved inside.

Get better at reading the D, what is developing, and who helps where, and who rotates where as a result and actually rotating and contesting. So so many times we had multiple Spurs in the pain with nobody reacting properly to contest. Fundamentals of boxing out, arms up in contesting, keeping drivers out of the middle of the paint.

We're better the last three games or so with more assertive starts, hitting the 30 point mark, but there's still that one Q where the wheels fall off and our O absolutely falls apart with the pressure on our work-in-progress D all the higher. So the challenge of a full, two-way 48 minute game continues. Runs for and against, or waning stretches, are a natural part of the ebb and flow of a competitive game. But our slumps are so extensive and comprehensive and on both ends that the game is all but out of hand because of it. There's digging deep to come back from a, say, 15-point deficit half way through the game, and then there's 25-, 30-, 35-point deficits. I get that's also a function of us missing our starting front court whose importance to us stands our all the more, and of our scoring vets being out as well. And Tre has extra pressure on him with two back ups unavailable, so we make due with who we have on a given night. But this is the chance to figure out how each available player contributes to it and more importantly what we can do about it.

We have some time to rest, to watch lots of film, and practice to prepare for the next stretch of games. Being depleted and going against opponents with generational talent was always going to be that much steeper a challenge. The main things we have to keep in mind is that this season is about development, both individually and as a team, that we have to focus all the more on playing the right way and helping one another to do it, and that it's absolutely within our means to do them.

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POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

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