SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 31: SPURS AT PELICANS, 22-12-2022, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

8-point game. Closest it's been since the 1ST.

[G R E Y]

Pop timeout.

We TO it.

They hit a transition long J, might be a 3.

Pop timeout.

Oof.

[G R E Y]

We almost TO it again! But JRich makes lemonade of it

[G R E Y]

Pop has JRich, Bassey, Stanley, Roby, and Malaki out there with just over 2 minutes left.

[G R E Y]

Stanley block. Malaki layup.

Stanley steal, drive, fouled, FT's.

[G R E Y]

Yeah even late our D falling apart. Guys don't yet know where they should be. Oof.

[G R E Y]

Malaki 3. Nice arc.

[imagump1313]

Whew! Good game people!

[G R E Y]

Not with a bang but a whimper.

Now and then a jolt and twitch.

A grunt here and there.

And then the final horn.

[G R E Y]

We can agree to disagree. Its dumb.

But it will help with the tank so go for it.

There's nothing about 'meant to be used in a game' except convention. Catering to it slavishly if it doesn't work is nonsense; trying something else is awesome. If the unconventional WIP works already, no idea why he shouldn't try it. I'm not understanding your issue with it besides how it looks. Who cares? But sure, I'm happy to just be on different sides about it. Not the first time lol, won't be our last!

That drill is meant to help people shoot properly by over exaggerating how you balance the ball and square your shooting arm for proper release. Its meant to help you shoot properly with 2 hands, not to forever shoot with one hand. It might feel better to him now because its different than what he was doing but its not going to help him be a more consistent FT shooter. It just isnt. If anything he will develop even more bad habits and get worse. I'm sure our coaches aren't that dumb and this is just temporary.

Of course! Pop literally just told him to shoot with the one hand TWO games ago, showing Sochan what he wanted at the shootaround before the Rockets game.

[Phreak50]

And it's half way through the 3RD Q:

Read on Twitter

Stats for box score readers basically.

He had 2 valid assists that he created.

The rest were not what I'd ever call and assist.

One was a handoff to I think it was Richardson for a three. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob at the top of the three point line who made an uncoordinated drive. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob who threw up a prayer. Also not an assist.

And I'm not seeing this so called touch at the rim. He is out of control and throws up junk, often out of rhythm and not in any conventional style of shot.

I am not trying to make an effort to hate the kid. But just have an honest outlook and using my 30 years of watching the game as my experience to judge.

I just don't see where the potential is other than his age.

[G R E Y]

And it's half way through the 3RD Q:

Read on Twitter

Stats for box score readers basically.

He had 2 valid assists that he created.

The rest were not what I'd ever call and assist.

One was a handoff to I think it was Richardson for a three. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob at the top of the three point line who made an uncoordinated drive. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob who threw up a prayer. Also not an assist.

And I'm not seeing this so called touch at the rim. He is out of control and throws up junk, often out of rhythm and not in any conventional style of shot.

I am not trying to make an effort to hate the kid. But just have an honest outlook and using my 30 years of watching the game as my experience to judge.

I just don't see where the potential is other than his age.

This is a bit, right? You're playing the part of negative Ned so as to get others to actually give more focus on a young man's improving career? Well done!

Imagine parsing through each pass to find something negative to say, diminishing the accomplishment, and still maintaining the same rigid stance about a player just because his name isn't Walker IV or Duren.

If the same game were had by either if the latter two you'd be singing their praises about how we missed out on such obvious prospects.

I've been watching the NBA since early 80s.

And I wasn't even that high on Sochan coming into the draft. But I've kept an open mind and it's clear he's improving. Both the eye test and stats show it.

I trust the judgement of people whose job it is to assess players over the tiresome bit but you do you, Ned!

[imagump1313]

And it's half way through the 3RD Q:

Read on Twitter

Stats for box score readers basically.

He had 2 valid assists that he created.

The rest were not what I'd ever call and assist.

One was a handoff to I think it was Richardson for a three. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob at the top of the three point line who made an uncoordinated drive. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob who threw up a prayer. Also not an assist.

And I'm not seeing this so called touch at the rim. He is out of control and throws up junk, often out of rhythm and not in any conventional style of shot.

I am not trying to make an effort to hate the kid. But just have an honest outlook and using my 30 years of watching the game as my experience to judge.

I just don't see where the potential is other than his age.

This is a bit, right? You're playing the part of negative Ned so as to get others to actually give more focus on a young man's improving career? Well done!

Imagine parsing through each pass to find something negative to say, diminishing the accomplishment, and still maintaining the same rigid stance about a player just because his name isn't Walker IV or Duren.

If the same game were had by either if the latter two you'd be singing their praises about how we missed out on such obvious prospects.

I've been watching the NBA since early 80s.

And I wasn't even that high on Sochan coming into the draft. But I've kept an open mind and it's clear he's improving. Both the eye test and stats show it.

I trust the judgement of people whose job it is to assess players over the tiresome bit but you do you, Ned!

I think whats annoying to most people who actually watch the games is how the Spurs and their cronies(Literally the same for every team) throw around all these random stat numbers to push agendas making people who dont watch (or casually watch but dont know exactly what they are seeing) into thinking that players are doing better than they actually are.

The kid did have 18 and got to the line much more than he usually does. He had a good game. But to throw the assist number around like he actually accomplished something is very misleading. Phreak50 is exactly right in what he saw. The NBA considers those plays mostly as assists.

But we all know assist, rebound and turnover stats are the most manipulative stats there are in basketball. People love to throw those numbers around to support their agendas. What the NBA considers an assist and what is actually a basketball assist are two entirely different things. (I could take any player last night and give him 10 assists or zero and support it either way according to NBA rules. It all depends on what agenda I want to push) I was surprised the league only counted 1 turnover last night for Sochan. I could explain how he had 5 others from what I watched

I could go on forever with a giant wall of text explaining how you cannot rely on these stats to accurately evaluate a player's performance but I'm not going to change anyone's mind.

Sochan seemed to be a point of focus last night for whatever reason and some media wanted to push the issue. I think thats what annoys people the most. The Pistons and their media hype train are one of the worst offenders IMO. Dont insult me by telling me something entirely different than what I actually just watched. If i didn't live here and wasnt forced to watch the Pistons, I would think through their media train that every player on the team is an all-star and they are undefeated

Phreak50 said himself he isnt trying to dislike Sochan but tweets like that do exactly the opposite of their intention because of how insulting they are to people who watch. I was insulted by that tweet also.

I like Sochan too. I think he is playing better. I think he can be very useful for us. The FT thing bothered me because I think its silly to experiment with that during a game when he has all day every day to practice it properly. I dont care if it was Pop's idea or not. Its stupid to do it in the game. Pop is a human like everyone else and can be wrong sometimes.

I think what many of us who have watched the game for decades are struggling with is the fact that the NBA isn't actually basketball anymore. Its entertainment and they change the rules for viewers and media agendas all the time. Its Pro wrestling with a basketball ....

I forget this all the time and its why I get soo frustrated.

[G R E Y]

Stats for box score readers basically.

He had 2 valid assists that he created.

The rest were not what I'd ever call and assist.

One was a handoff to I think it was Richardson for a three. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob at the top of the three point line who made an uncoordinated drive. Not an assist.

One was a pass to Jakob who threw up a prayer. Also not an assist.

And I'm not seeing this so called touch at the rim. He is out of control and throws up junk, often out of rhythm and not in any conventional style of shot.

I am not trying to make an effort to hate the kid. But just have an honest outlook and using my 30 years of watching the game as my experience to judge.

I just don't see where the potential is other than his age.

This is a bit, right? You're playing the part of negative Ned so as to get others to actually give more focus on a young man's improving career? Well done!

Imagine parsing through each pass to find something negative to say, diminishing the accomplishment, and still maintaining the same rigid stance about a player just because his name isn't Walker IV or Duren.

If the same game were had by either if the latter two you'd be singing their praises about how we missed out on such obvious prospects.

I've been watching the NBA since early 80s.

And I wasn't even that high on Sochan coming into the draft. But I've kept an open mind and it's clear he's improving. Both the eye test and stats show it.

I trust the judgement of people whose job it is to assess players over the tiresome bit but you do you, Ned!

I think whats annoying to most people who actually watch the games is how the Spurs and their cronies(Literally the same for every team) throw around all these random stat numbers to push agendas making people who dont watch (or casually watch but dont know exactly what they are seeing) into thinking that players are doing better than they actually are.

The kid did have 18 and got to the line much more than he usually does. He had a good game. But to throw the assist number around like he actually accomplished something is very misleading. Phreak50 is exactly right in what he saw. The NBA considers those plays mostly as assists.

But we all know assist, rebound and turnover stats are the most manipulative stats there are in basketball. People love to throw those numbers around to support their agendas. What the NBA considers an assist and what is actually a basketball assist are two entirely different things. (I could take any player last night and give him 10 assists or zero and support it either way according to NBA rules. It all depends on what agenda I want to push) I was surprised the league only counted 1 turnover last night for Sochan. I could explain how he had 5 others from what I watched

I could go on forever with a giant wall of text explaining how you cannot rely on these stats to accurately evaluate a player's performance but I'm not going to change anyone's mind.

Sochan seemed to be a point of focus last night for whatever reason and some media wanted to push the issue. I think thats what annoys people the most. The Pistons and their media hype train are one of the worst offenders IMO. Dont insult me by telling me something entirely different than what I actually just watched. If i didn't live here and wasnt forced to watch the Pistons, I would think through their media train that every player on the team is an all-star and they are undefeated

Phreak50 said himself he isnt trying to dislike Sochan but tweets like that do exactly the opposite of their intention because of how insulting they are to people who watch. I was insulted by that tweet also.

I like Sochan too. I think he is playing better. I think he can be very useful for us. The FT thing bothered me because I think its silly to experiment with that during a game when he has all day every day to practice it properly. I dont care if it was Pop's idea or not. Its stupid to do it in the game. Pop is a human like everyone else and can be wrong sometimes.

I think what many of us who have watched the game for decades are struggling with is the fact that the NBA isn't actually basketball anymore. Its entertainment and they change the rules for viewers and media agendas all the time. Its Pro wrestling with a basketball ....

I forget this all the time and its why I get soo frustrated.

The devil is in the details.

First, Tom Orsborn is as good as it gets. So including him in the manipulative media slot is inaccurate.

While I get media homerism from, for example, home game commentators et al and also dislike it, this was a tweet live during the game. It wasn't a random stat, it was a new high for a young rookie. It's not trying to hype the kid like he's the second coming of whomever, but it is an acknowledgement just for what it is.

So lumping that tweet with the lot that skews narrative and over parsing Sochan's game looking for flaws is weird.

And while Phreak says he isn't trying to dislike Sochan, every post about him here or on the GB is negative. If there's a positive one the exemption proves the point all the more.

Phreak like the rest of us has his favourites. They could do no wrong despite deep stats and anysis to the contrary. And Sochan can do no right despite even me, who wasn't thrilled with the pick at the time (I liked Eason among others) now loving what Sochan brings after watching him play. Like it's fun to see a young man figure his way through mistakes and new experiences with some enthusiasm and actually get better. It's one of the bright spots in a deep developing season where the wins are far fewer.

I think too much is being made in the media of the FT technique and not enough about the results. We'll see if the 70% becomes more the norm or if he drops to his current low. He is doing in games what he's been recorded as doing in practice. So I don't care about 'how it's supposed' to be done. Right now it seems to be clicking something in his brain and in the mechanics that is beneficial.

You can parse through the annoying media manipulation that hypes a player and give credit when Sochan has a good game. When we're posting live during games and Sochan messes up, we post it. The difference is that there isn't a single note of acknowledgement by Phreak of Sochan's progress and instead diminishing good plays for their not being as crisp and clean as a seasoned pro's might be. And for that Sochan has been deemed average for the rest of his career a mere 25 games into a 19 year old's pro career. Double standard much? Media isn't the only one with a distorted POV here.

[imagump1313]

First, Tom Orsborn is as good as it gets. So including him in the manipulative media slot is inaccurate.

Sorry, Orsborn is just like all the rest.

Just reading his twitter feed shows 2 out of every 3 posts being about Sochan in the last 72 hours.
Scroll back 10 days and look through his feed and you wouldn't even know Sochan is on the team. Pushing agenda......

I'm surprised he had time to even mention Franco Harris between all his Sochan fluff

[G R E Y]

First, Tom Orsborn is as good as it gets. So including him in the manipulative media slot is inaccurate.

Sorry, Orsborn is just like all the rest.

Just reading his twitter feed shows 2 out of every 3 posts being about Sochan in the last 72 hours.
Scroll back 10 days and look through his feed and you wouldn't even know Sochan is on the team. Pushing agenda......

I'm surprised he had time to even mention Franco Harris between all his Sochan fluff

Tom was in Mexico City with the Spurs and I don't think he covered the game after it in Houston. The main SA Express News reporters rotate game assignments. Scroll through Jeff McDonald's or Mike Finger's tweets for more Sochan or Spurs real-time game posts.

It makes sense that Sochan was posted about often in a game that had few positive highlights for us, but a game that had career highs in several categories for him. A lone bright spot.

There's a difference in a reporter tweeting about our top pick doing good things when little else stood out well and tweeting cloying content. The tweet in question above is nothing of the sort.

p.s. Wait till you see the stat tweet I have lined up for the post-game thoughts!

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 117 PELICANS 126

Mostly over barely into its beginning, wasn’t it? We had competing numbers vying for biggest OOF! factor after the 1ST Q alone: 37 points allowed; 17 points scored; 20-point deficit; three starters with zero points each. Sure we tied the next two Q’s and won the final one by 10, even pouring in a game-high 42 points to make the final outcome look more respectable. I like the push and that we got stronger as the game progressed so that despite what was all but inevitable early we still competed; there are things we are playing for in addition to results, and sometimes despite them.

One of our recurring patterns to curb is slow starts after which we chase the deficit. The uphill battle to trim it expends extra energy. We know it; we still get caught in it. There are some teams or just some nights in general where we begin with a wait-and-see what we get hit with to counter for some reason and that seldom works well for us. There’s Pop on the sideline motioning for our guys to push the ball faster, or calling timeouts because we get beat in transition D, the other cardinal sin besides allowing drives down the middle which we did far too often far too easily.

When we do one D thing well like doubling the post we then leave either drives or the arc far too open, often both. Not sure how often I’ve posted angst over leaving the arc open but stats support the eye test. It’s a matter of attention as well as recognition: guys are ball watching too much and not seeing the play develop around it well enough. You know it’s bad when our dead last in opponent 3s made percentage (39.3%) and last defensive rating (118.3) keeps getting pointed out by opponent commentators. We’re a third of the season in, and while the confusion of who is to run out where to contest persists, I do hope we at least see a turn for the mindset of strong starts set in. I mean just last game we started with it! D breakdowns happen from multiple factors but nothing stops us from being consistently aggressive from the outset.

Jakob’s even keeled presence is a steadying force for us and we are a better team with him anchoring us. You can feel the difference in confidence that his experience and the familiarity of the starters together usually brings. But whether it’s this opponent or Jakob being more cautious in his restricted minutes, his 0-3, 2 board, 3 fouls first half start was too tentative. He did better in the second half making 6-6, 1-1FT, 2 boards (1 on O), 1 assist, 1 steal but you could see that his opponent’s physicality was bothersome. We often use Jakob as the fulcrum at the elbows or at the arc but we could have used him more as a driver. Passing to a trailing Jakob or him using his quickness in the post are ways for him to get around dealing with the bulk in the post. If I had one general niggle about Jakob it’s that it looks like he picks his spots for being more aggressive. Imagine him with Keldon’s verve. He doesn’t have to be something he’s not, but more of whatever arises inside to show Jakob the dunker is good.

Devin is usually more stealth and quiet like an assassin on O, slashing and three-level scoring, but when the shot is not falling, he still makes a defensive impact. Tonight he stood out by not standing out. A forgettable, inefficient O night (10 on 4-13, 1-5 from 3, 1-1FT) with only two attempts in the paint is one thing. But his D was spotty as well with late chases over screens and too much space left in contests when he wasn’t allowing guys to drive by. He did get tied for team high 9 boards, 5 assists, and team high 3 steals – head always on a swivel, always good on those passing lane reads and timing. Instincts to pounce on steals was there but he needs to get back to shadowing his man more. Not at all worried. Just a blip.

Romeo’s consistency – a raised floor on O is what we want as he’s reliable on D – is a work in progress as he was invisible on O (1-1, 2 boards, one on each end, no assists, 1 steal, 5 fouls).

In fairness our collective back court was busy on the D end and Romeo stood out with his hounding shadow man D and his physicality and hustle on that end. We still got lit up by their starting back court for 55, 40 of which were by their PG who dominated with frequency and efficiency. We allowed over 50% from the field and 50% from 3. He alone made 7 from the arc compared to our team total 9. We were down 12 points just at the arc.

Tre was a vertical force once again finishing with 19 on 7-12, 2 boards, and 3 assists, with only two of his nine 2s attempts outside the paint. He’s getting so good in finishing in different ways there whether it’s crafty layins using his body or rim to protect the ball, pull up Js or pretty floaters. He was 4-4FTs, a good sign both in terms of consistency in getting to the FT line and in making them reliably. Tre was also 1-3 from 3. This is a work in progress but he has improved in this category over 11% in over two more attempts per game. He’s made noticeable strides in just about every meaningful category, this in a bigger role: more than double the points up to 12.8; almost double the assists at 6.8; more than double the steals at 1.4; 12% increase at FT’s and is at 90.5%. He’s figuring out how to use his size to his advantage on O and still flat out hustles on D to at least try to limit its disadvantages.

The development stood out very well in our rookies this game. Sochan had another career night, leading us in several categories of personal bests: 23 points on 7-14, 2-4 from 3, 7-10FTs (one-handed!), 9 boards (game high 6 on O), 6 assists, along with 1 steal. I like how he keeps the ball high on drives and often finishes off the glass at the rim. He was a two-way force defending the perimeter, post, and rim, was used as a facilitator and initiator on O later in the game as he brought up the ball more often and we ran the O through him. Rookie habits like biting on pump fakes, not yet knowing opponent tendencies on D as well as tightening handles are important to his development. You can see that we envision him as a sort of point-forward hybrid to make us deadly versatile in time. His coachability, court vision, and hustle are qualities that are harder to teach. That he has these coming into the league bodes well for him and for us.

Malaki scored 9 on 4-6, 1-3 from 3 in tied for bench-high 21 minutes. Hard to overstate the noticeable change in his shot from Frizbee flat to soft arc. He’s shooting a ridiculous 75.4%FG since making the change. I know it’s only a handful of games, but a 45% increase over his young career average stands out. He’s also more confident in getting his shot off in various spots on the flooor. Most of his 2s this season are from the 16ft-3pt range, and the fewest in the 0-3ft range (he made his lone drive, made both non-paint J’s) so while his arc is better and he’s making his J’s, the next step is incorporating more of a driving game. He leads the team with percentage of 2s taken from the farthest distance at 15.7% and is second last to JRich at 0-3ft attempts at 7.8%. He’s also last among guards and near last on the team in terms of FTAs (0.6 per game) so more drives will generate more attempts. One step at a time. But I do love that he values a mid range game and is developing it. He also registered bagels in other categories, so expanding his contributions in other areas as well as being defensively sound will help give him more minutes

Jrich also played 21 minutes and led the bench with 14 on 5-11 (none in the restricted area), 2-5 from 3, 2-3FTs, 3 boards (1 on O), 3 assists. I like that the ball does not stick in Jrich’s hands as much as it did during our poor streak. I could do without the early clock one and done attempts, but then again he does save us at times with late clock makes when our O breaks down and he creates something out of nothing. He, Malaki, and Stanley were the bench bright spots. Stanley has been a solid addition on both ends. He scored 12 on 4-5, 1-2 from 3, 3-4FTs along with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and game high 2 blocks in only 13 minutes. Stat stuffing big body, experienced in how and willing to use it. You can tell he has his own mission to stick in the league and is making a case for himself aggressively defending, pushing the ball up the court, getting to open spaces off ball, etc. He’s been good on both ends for us.
Our bench outscored theirs 50-36, one of the steady bright spots for us this season. Per statmuse.com, our bench ranks 4TH in total points scored so far this season, 7TH in total minutes played, not surprisingly 1ST in minutes per game, 1ST with 42.3PPG, 7TH with 17.1 rebounds, 1ST with 9.9 assists, tied for 4TH with 2.2 blocks, 2ND with 33.8FGAs, 1ST with 15.9FG’s made, tied for 6TH with 47.1FG%, 4TH with 15 3s attempts, 2ND with 5.4 made 3s, tied for 9TH with 35.8% 3s efficiency, 8th with 7.2FTAs, 9TH with 5.2FTs. These are terrific results for a young team with revolving available players and show how crucial our overall team game is for us.

We’re too low as a bench (tied for 19th at 72.1%) and team on the whole with 70.3FT% (29th!), something to work on. We rank 29th as a whole team with 20.4FTAs per game, so our aggressiveness and learning how to get fouls more are important growth steps.

Individually, different players have different markers to show growth and areas of improvement. Team-wise, the fundamental of starting strong can’t be overstated. Running back on D and proper inbounding (both the pass and the hustle to get open for it) come to mind as well. It’s a mindset, one whose baseline level we absolutely have to raise.

There were some good signs this game with lots of lessons particularly on D - 3s coverage, better rotations and contests - that we have keep pounding the rock about.

[G R E Y]

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

Read on Twitter

[G R E Y]

HIGHLIGHTS



More highlights coming...



POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

Watch on YouTube

Read on Twitter

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There’s something else Sochan doesn’t give a darn about: How Popovich uses him.

“I am going to do whatever Coach Pop decides and play as hard as I can,” Sochan said of whether he starts or comes off the bench.

Whether he’s starting or coming off the bench, Sochan’s skills as a facilitator always stand out in his self-described role as a “secondary point guard.”

One advantage of coming off the bench is he doesn’t have to share that ball with Jones, who entered Friday night’s game at Orlando tied for 12th in the league in assists with 6.6 per game.

“I have more of the ball, a little more freedom and stuff like that,” Sochan said. “I’m dribbling. I’m dictating the offense, really. I’m getting to my spots better.”

After debuting his one-handed form with a 1-of-4 outing in Monday’s win at Houston, Sochan was clearly more comfortable using it against the Pelicans.

“I don’t care what people outside of the organization say,” Sochan said. “I believe in my coaches and my teammates. They are helping me out, and it’s going in a positive way.”

The same is true of his flexibility when it comes to his role.

“At Baylor, I started one game,” Sochan said. “It is what it is. I can’t control when I’m starting or when I’m playing off the bench. But whenever I’m on the court, I’m doing my best and doing whatever I’m supposed to be doing.”

https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/No-matter-role-Spurs-rookie-Jeremy-Sochan-17674701.php