SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 42: SPURS AT GRIZZLIES, 11-1-2023, 7PM (CT)

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An almost perfect D but for their O board outback wow...

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Insert "DUNK THE BALL POELTL!!!!" here

[G R E Y]

Danny Green recognizes Pop, our cut man extraordinaire Will Sevening, and... no one else!

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GG by all (Except Mr Selfish)

Detroit won tonight so that keeps us in the mix still 2.5 back

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Danny Green recognizes Pop, our cut man extraordinaire Will Sevening, and... no one else!

I think Green is too old, none of our guys knows who he is...

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 129 GRIZZLIES 135

A game later, better play for longer. That’s all you could ask, especially facing a star addition this time around. Up five, down 19, then 15 entering the final Q, and trimming it to three with just under three minutes left is a good counter punch.

In that time, we forced a shot clock TO but also gave up four O boards, two of which resulted in tip ins.

So while our fight and fight back were better, there are some details that keep putting us behind when we take right steps forward. Boxing out is one of them. We’re tied for 7th in O boards with 11.9 per game, but 29th in D boards with 30.9 per game. We were outrebounded 57-48 by the best rebounding team in the league (so a good test for us), and of those, we had nine fewer on D. Both teams tallied 17 O boards, none more crucial than those final two; then again, all those along the way matter. So yes, end of Q and game details are important, but all plays do as well. Our tending to both is a work in progress.

Another pattern is getting to within a handful of points and not getting over the hump. At least this game there were fewer factors that contributed to it, but we are 28th at 5-11 in clutch situations, so there’s work to do. Part of it is mental – having the same approach and being tough to play against from start to finish. Part of it is inexperience – this is what this season is for, building the right foundations and developing on them. Part of it is available personnel – be it injuries or trades, we go with who we have, but these affect development which is part of dealing with external elements.

Being without Devin hurts – he is growing into our best two-way player – but we get a chance to look at Romeo more. He’s put together games where he’s looked more assertive and decisive on O, but games like this one – 3 points on 1-7, 1-2 from 3 - show he needs to solidify O consistency. All players have bad O games. It happens. And he is reliable enough on D to contribute regardless of O issues like he did in this game with 2 boards (1 on O), 3 assists, and a block. It’s still a rough overall game as we need players to make up collectively what Devin brings. Romeo ended up playing the equivalent of a bench player’s minutes with 18.

Pop played eight Spurs in the over 20-minute range, four starters and three on the bench. Keldon played a game-high 35 minutes in his return and led us with 24 points on a struggling 6-17, 1-7 from 3, but a game-high 11-12FTs. He also grabbed 4 boards (1 on O), dished 3 assists, and got 1 block. He was 5-10 on his non-3s attempts, all of which were in the paint, and all but four of those (1-3) were in the restricted area, where he made 4-6. Keldon has started for the third year now with increasing minutes, FGAs, 3s attempts, and FTAs. His efficiency has dropped which is expected in a bigger role, and while his 2s/3s shots have remained fairly consistent at a 40/60 split range, his efficiency in the 10’ – arc is in the barely care range now: 10-16’ is at 30.5%, 16’-arc is at 22.2%. But he also barely takes these shots at 9.1% and 1.4% respectively.

I appreciate how Keldon has developed his game in terms of footwork, body control, and variety of finishes at the rim (though his wayward use of glass is maddening), but I am puzzled at his insistence on being a two-level scorer. Pull-ups only account for 10.5% of his 2s. Devin, by comparison, uses it 30% of the time; Malaki, 27%. Doug is also around Keldon’s range, but his game is far more movement oriented so he gets different shots from it. If O is the aspect of Keldon’s game he’s growing first, then going away from a mid range game seems to be going away from being a bigger O threat.

Tre led us with 19FGAs, 9FGs, 6 assists, and 3 steals. He scored 22 with a starter best 2-5 from 3, and 2-2FTs as well as 6 boards (3 on O) in 30 minutes. He’s ever reliable in running the team, scored in three levels, and committed no TO’s.

Jakob also reached the double digit mark in shot attempts, making 7-13, and a fine 3-5FTs (second highest for us) for 17 points. He’s now at 59.2%FT’s for the season, over 6% above his career average, and only 0.2% off from his career high. He was the lone starter with a double double grabbing 12 boards (team high 6 on O), and getting a massive 5 blocks (4 in the 1ST Q alone!) I really like how Jakob does so many little things quickly. He moves up and comes to take a pass from curling PGs, uses his body to protect the ball for cleaner DHOs, rolls ready for the pass, makes some fakes, uses good footwork with a nice touch at the basket. The requisite call for dunking it whenever he can still stands, but the longer near top of key Js at around 12-13’ range are an appreciated addition to his game.

Sochan scored in double digits again with 11 on 5-9, 0-2 from 3, 1-1FTs, was tied for second on the team with 5 assists, while also getting 3 boards (1 on O), and 2 steals. He did well to pull the chair on his O counterpart who tried to post him up. Sochan was called for a foul, but I liked the quick move to get his man off balance. He also made a driving dunk on the player who blocked him three times in the previous game. I love the moxie.

Our bench outscored theirs 52-40, led by 15 of Doug doing Doug things making 6-9, 3-4 from 3, with 5 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 24 minutes. Fellow vet JRich was also efficient with 12 on 5-10, 2-6 from 3, 1 board, 1 steal, and 1 block, and led the bench with 5 assists. We keep hearing whispers of their names in trade talks but we have to appreciate them while they’re with us. Excellent attitudes, leadership by example, mentorship, all while their reliability stabilizes our floor.

Collins joined Jakob with the other double double with 14 points on 6-12, 1-3 from 3, 1-1FTs, and tied Jakob with 12 boards (4 on O) along with 4 assists, and 1 steal. He made tip ins, finished alley oop passes, an elbow J, and a 3. He’s putting together a career season with better all around contributions, scoring in a variety of ways, and defending well. He’s also our most frequent fouler at 3.4 per game (the only Spur over 3), often late in games. He seems an easier target for opponents and refs of late, like it’s becoming expected that he’ll get a foul called on him. He does need to figure out how to resist leaning forward with his arms at drivers. But he’s a valuable addition to our team. Worth the gamble to sign him, and the wait for him to get healthy.

Stanley continues to be a seamless, reliable addition making 3-6, 1-3 from 3, though he missed both his FT’s for 7 points in 14 minutes. He also had 2 boards (1 on O) and 3 assists. If there’s a deficiency to his game that we hope improves in his time with us it’s his FT which stand at 59.1%.

Malaki made 2-5 in his 18 minutes of play and was also 0-2 from 3 for 4 points, 1 board, and 2 assists. His shot selection shows the chances he’s looking to create – at the rim, mid range, and at the arc - which I love about his scoring mindset. He looks more comfortable creating each, too. He’s averaging 80%FT’s having made 20-25 in total for the season. Increasing his 0.9 per game FTA average as well as improving his overall efficiency (he’s at 42.6%FG and 30.4% from 3) are good, manageable goals for the second half of the season.

We did many things well this game: 33 assists to only 12TOs where we were +5 in points off of them; 7-6 in steals; 11-8 in blocks; 19-16 in fast break points; 70-68 points in the paint.

But we did allow 51.5% from the field on six fewer attempts and a whopping 63.6% from 3. It was good to see us taking a healthy amount of 3s ourselves again, making 11-34, but we allowed 14-22. The second and third Qs were especially damaging, allowing 6-9 and 5-6, respectively. We rank last in opponent 3s percentage at 39.7%. OOF. The thing is, we’re 7th best in the number of 3s opponents attempt against us at 32.3 per game, so that efficiency hurts all the more. It’s an individual read and effort in response issue as well as a team-wide communication, rotation, and contest one. Time and again we have multiple Spurs deep in the key and frozen when the kick out happens. Love it when we run out to contest but there are breakdowns before these happen that often lead to just allowing the shots to go up. All teams have these situations, but we need to work on the right steps that lead to the final contest. When we do, we’re better at running out at the shooting hip to ensure we don’t foul while still trying to get a hand on the ball. Love it. We just clearly need more of it for the whole game.

Good all around effort, balanced scoring (bench made 7 of our total 3s; starters made 17-20 out of our 18-23 total FT’s), balanced distribution (bench had 16 assists; starters, 17) and better effort for longer. The more competitive we are for longer by executing the right way, the stronger our foundation. It can be deflating when the results are not Ws, but the benefits are still there whether we are solidifying fundamentals or still having lots to learn from each game. Loved our energy and hunger. Take these to the next one.

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NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

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