SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 28: SPURS VS. BLAZERS, 14-12-2022, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Dieng with the nice fake, dribble into the paint and pass out to Barlow for the left baseline J.

Dieng so unselfish.

[G R E Y]

Two 3s in a row given up.

[G R E Y]

Back to the tool shop and stone yard.

[imagump1313]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to business!! The Stanley Johnson Effect!!!!

Also Orlando won.
Detroit and Charlotte played each other so someone had to win
Houston won 2 in a row.
We are back up to 4th!

An overall great night...

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 112 BLAZERS 128

Well it came down to a team with its superstar surrounded by most of his support versus a team missing its starting front court and best perimeter defender.

But underneath that, we got outshot and outexecuted and outhustled for two and two-thirds quarters of the game.

We looked like the result was inevitable from the start and put in some effort for a comeback only for the inevitable to set in again. That’s imputing motives; nobody plays to lose, but we were too soft for too long, uncharacteristic of the way we’d played in our win streak. And so the quest for a full 48-minute two-way effort continues. That’s part of the growing pains with a young team – same habits, same competitive spirit, same fundamentals regardless of opponent.

Easy to say, harder to do when all it takes is a perimeter error be it form effort or inexperience to make everyone else’s adjustments all the harder. But that’s the task for this season, to learn from the smarting and grow by instilling proper habits and playing the right way.

There’s a really good ESPN article todaywith a quote from Gorgui Dieng that embodies it:

"I've never heard him talk about win or lose. He just talks about what we can do, things that don't take talent to do."
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35266021/gregg-popovich-young-san-antonio-spurs-re-learning-how-win-nba

Pop played nine Spurs for most of the game, with usual starters Devin and Sochan coming off the bench as they get their legs under them in their return. We instead started development project third string C Bassey and second string PF Diop who was himself playing in his first game after missing some time. And joining ever reliable starters Keldon and Tre was new back court mate, Jrich.

Keldon has rededicated himself to starting games inside-out (an important adjustment to our win streak), and he once again led us with 25 on 10-16, only 1-3 from 3 (again, a big change from his team leading 8 attempts per game), along with leading the starters with 7 boards (1 on O) and 2 assists. I liked how he went up against far bigger bodies to good effect, and varied up his finishes at the rim with, for example, higher off glass shots out of reach of blockers. Except for the 3s, all of his shots were in the key, and all but five attempts and two makes were in the restricted area. There were still some erratic final releases that were on their way in but for the bad angles off glass. I love the effort, though with experience he’ll hopefully get into the habit of using the glass more where appropriate, and using it properly. He was nevertheless efficient overall thanks to his drive dedication, and led us with 8 FTAs for the effort. Unfortunately, he made only 4 of them, and he and Diop (2-4FTs) were the only two starters who got to the line.

As a team we only made 11-19, and 57.9% is only excellent in FGAs and 3s efficiency. Pity that our FT percentage being so low was actually our highest of the three, having finished 46.4%FG and 37.9% from 3.

Good pace with 97FGAs, above our 7th best 91.1 per game average, but we had 16 more FGAs got 128 scored on us, good for a too high 60.5%FG and 45% from 3, where we were stunned and stung for 18 against, 7 more than we made – that’s 21 points alone. Although we had six players in double digits, that Keldon was the lone one in the 20s and Devin the lone Spur to make 3-3FTs, showed that we left a lot of points on the court, especially at the arc and FT line.

Joining Keldon in double digit attempts were his back court of Tre and Jrich, each of whom made 5-11, though Jrich was 1-5 from 3 as well. Tre has foregone 3s attempts in favour of a driving game, and it’s great to see him growing in finding driving spaces and ways to finish at the rim. Much better control and variety for better consistency. He also led us with 6 assists in addition to 4 boards (2 on O). Jrich chipped in 2 boards (1 on O) but had a team high 4 steals.

We had 9 steals in total, three blocks, and only 11TOs which were solid team D results. Jrich was joined in steals by Diop (2) who had one of his quietly efficient and well rounded contributions with 13 on 5-6, 1-2 from 3, 2-4FTs, and 4 boards (2 on O). Great length, responsible defensively, and has three-level scoring. I appreciate his calm demeaour, though you wonder what level he could reach if he were more aggressive on the court. Devin had a bench leading 3 steals and 1 block to highlight his strong defensive play. He struggled to get his 13 points on 4-16, 2-4 from 3, 3-3FTs, along with 2 boards (1 on O), and bench high 4 assists. He’s earning the mid-range assassin nickname, growing as a clutch shot threat, and with improving handles, is better at creating his shots in three levels. Add great defense which keeps him on the court when his shot isn’t falling, and he’s the emerging as our best two-way player.

Our defensive activity stood out attention to passes and getting steals, some from double pressure at half court. This is something we could utilize a bit more of especially with more ball dominant opponents. We were either on the ball with defensive pressure that led to transition points of were torched by movement and 3s. The contrast was stark.

First time starter Bassey led us with 2 blocks, part of a solid starter effort which included 3-6FGs (all in the paint), 5 boards (including starter high 3 on O), and 2 assists in 20 minutes. He has the range and has shown he can make long shots, but he passed up some top of arc 3s. If there were ever a season in which young guys can try out more of their games, this is it. He was left wide open for several seconds each time. So unless he was told not to take those, hopefully he grows the confidence let’s it fly.

Our 11TOs was far below our 16.1 per game average on which we lost 14 points but earned 23 points on our opponent’s 17 TO’s. This, along with a 18-13 fast break points advantage, shows some improvement in D to O play. And despite missing some key contributors, the 40-40 rebounds were a solid result, made better by a dominant 14-5 on O boards. We’re tied for 6th with an average of 15.6 second chance points per game. We were up 18-16 in second chance points, better than our average, but also we allowed above our 13.4 average. Given that we’re making a more concerted effort to get points inside to have stronger starts and keep momentum going, it’ll be interesting to see the changing trends of second chance points as we progress.

We had a considerable 47-30 bench points advantage, led by Doug’s 14 points on 5-9, team best 3-5 from 3, 1-2FTs, and 1 board. He was really the lone efficient bench player, joining all the starters with good O games. Still, the bench is ever important to our success and in our development. It made 47 FGAs, but connected on only 17 of them. On the other hand, the bench put up 19 3s attempts, and made 8 of them, so the inefficiency from the field was balanced with far better 3s as the starters combined for only three makes from the arc.

With Jakob and Collins out and Bassey in early foul trouble, Dieng made a rare appearance, contributing 2-7, 1-4 from 3 for 5 points but led the team with 8 boards (tied for team high 3 on O), and dished 3 assists. He’s a steady presence on and off the court, the latter at least if not more important given the few minutes he actually plays. Great leader.

It’s a pity Sochan missed some time again because like at the beginning of the season as his rhythm is off a bit. He chipped in 4 points on 2-6 but grabbed 5 boards (1 on O), and had 3 assists. He’s terrific in the open court, has very good court vision and was really missed in keeping the ball moving on O. Most importantly, he along with Jrich (and Tre at times) were tasked with guarding Dame, a challenge and invaluable experience for young guys. Pop lit into Keldon when he sagged off of Dame early in the game and allowed an uncontested 3, and that was a theme for the game – handling an exceptional scorer and learning from getting torched.

At times we got caught on high screens and couldn’t get over them fast enough to cover the space created either for 3s or drives and ball swings; at times we over collapsed and didn’t rotate out to the right coverage for too many open 3s; at times we flat out got beaten on man D coverage. Even remembering to shadow and prevent easy passes back to the dominant scorer is something that is well within our control. Good habits.

The 18 3s allowed opened up the paint where we were actually 56-56 but we couldn’t stop the outside bleeding. We were too late in recognition and rotations and too soft in contests for too many attempts. Still, that we fought back from a 19-point deficit to bring it to within four points showed some good fight back, especially in the second half. We burned a lot of energy in the uphill climb, though, and couldn’t get over the hump. Facing a balanced team that surrounds a superstar without key pieces, particularly at the perimeter point of defense. Not sure the outcome would be any different, but our compete level would likely have been better; the stronger primary coverage, the better everyone else behind covers. Ideally.

But compete level and attention to fundamental details shouldn’t be dependent on who plays, challenging though a revolving door of line-up changes is. This is all part of our development – grow by curbing bad habits and learning to instill good ones individually while playing better as a team. We did a lot of things well in this game but there were also a lot of lessons to take in, namely primary scorer coverage and contesting 3s far better. Back to the quarry.

[G R E Y]

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