SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 46: SPURS VS. CLIPPERS, 20-1-2023, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

FIVE SPURS IN THE PAINT-ITIS FOR A WIIIIDE OPEN 3.

FOLLOWED BY A KELDON DRIVE WHERE HE ELECTS TO NOT USE THE GLASS AND AIRBALLS IT LOL

[G R E Y]

Nice try by Sochan, missed bunny which lacked fundamentals.

[G R E Y]

ANOTHER SWITCH ONTO TRE ON D.

[G R E Y]

Too easy. Lay a body into them.

[G R E Y]

Keldon off the dribble 3 is pretty. We rarely score in these situations so nice to see some variety.

[G R E Y]

Make that two off the dribble 3s by Keldon. Nice.

[imagump1313]

Back on track!! Keep focus guys.

Now go home and take those clown show jerseys off

[Phreak50]

Clippers seemed to shoot 70%.

Pathetic efforts on defence. No one cares.

[imagump1313]

Clippers seemed to shoot 70%.

Pathetic efforts on defence. No one cares.

Thats ok, Keep it up!!

[G R E Y]

Clippers seemed to shoot 70%.

Pathetic efforts on defence. No one cares.

They shot 63% versus a rebuilding team that's last on D rating.

We shot 57.3% vs. an expected contender that's eleventh in D rating.

So which team underperformed on D?

But we actually did some things well like have a season low in TOs.

Serious question - what were your expectations of our team coming into this season? You do realize we're not expected to be good and why? And that there are some things we are doing better now than in the beginning of the season?

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 126 CLIPPERS 131

A valiant effort, some good carry-over from what we did well in the previous game, and though some familiar bad habits resurfaced, it was to a lesser extent. When you score 126 on 57.3%FG, 53.8% from 3 and have three 30+ point Qs you should expect to be in a good position to win, though, but there were still enough untimely D breakdowns that cost us the lead and the game.

Being ready from the outset has been a challenge for us, and while scoring 36 in the 1ST indicates we were that on O, giving up 41 shows that we still lagged defensively. Half way there. We did roll the O into the 2ND and the D caught up for one of our better two-way Qs which we won 36-24 for a 72-65 half-time lead. It felt good to be the team to get over 70 for a change, and doing it on one whose D ranks 10th was all the better.

Sustaining a higher-floor level of play is something we’ve been chasing and we have been more competitive in more games. Each one has ebbs and flows, but considering our momentum finishing the half, the lacklustre, tentative way we started the 3RD Q was puzzling. It was as if we were waiting to see what was coming our way to know what to respond to rather than imposing our game as we had done. It is hard to keep up a high level of play whilst facing a push back and it’s fair to say given our work-in-progress D that our margin for error is slimmer in being able to do so. And so when our field goal percentage dipped to 47.4% we managed our lowest output of 23 points on our game low in FG’s, FGAs overall, and 3s, making 9-19 of which 2-4 were from the arc.

We bounced back well in the 4TH Q, making 11-23 of which was a terrific 7-12 from 3 (and 2-2FTs) for 31 points on 47.8%. We once again nearly doubled our 3s output in the final Q alone; we had made 7-14 up to that point. Terrific efficiency throughout, though our 3s comprised 29.2% of our total FGAs by final count, and only 21.2% after three Q’s. We made up impressive ground from the arc, but in the end, we lost the 4TH by 2 points and the game by 5 because we couldn’t sustain the scoring efficiency that kept us in it when our D couldn’t.

We made an incredible 72.7% of our shots in the 1ST Q and 60% in the 2ND so an almost 13% to an around 25% drop in efficiency in the second half is what our D had to compensate for, and while we did better for longer stretches, we couldn’t execute enough to sustain it.

For much of the game we adjusted well to switches to stay with our D assignments. But later, we allowed Tre to get switched on by bigger players again. It was as much about hunting Tre as it was a tip of the hat to Sochan who bothered with his pesky, persistent D. Too much smoke. He did well to shadow ball movers, to deny passes, to fight for fronting and post position, to force passes out, and to stay on his feet on fakes, the latter in particular being something he’s been a quick study about. He did get beaten on some drives and pushed away with off arms so he could not stay on his opponent’s hip close enough to contest. Strength, quicker reactions to first steps (which will come with practice and experience of knowing opponent tendencies), and ensuring drivers are angled away from the middle – cardinal defensive sin 101 for Pop – are things to clean up. He’s also proud of making a name for himself of getting under opponent skin and even got a tech in our favour as a result.

One habit we must remember is to not leave a hot hand unattended, especially when the ball is passed. We keep allowing passes back or losing players to the weak side only for them to get too open shots. Shadow D.

We did a far better job in the game plan of doubling then rotating correctly and running out to contest. Late in the game we did have another one of those five Spurs in the key with nobody running out to contest a wide open 3. But credit also to our better P&R reads and defense of them. We broke up their schemes by getting hands into kick out and dish attempts. We did a better job of running out to contest with hands up, too, even Keldon whose defensive attention to detail and effort stood out better than before.

If there was a pattern that stood out in this game that needs tending to on D it’s that we allowed too much space in which the opponent ran their actions. We read them well enough for the most part, but getting to passes more quickly and sticking closer to opponents is a next step.

On O we had a terrific 34 assists to a season low 6TOs (we were +4 in points off of them), and we won the points in the paint 62-54. We only had 89FGAs but had five Spurs in double digit FGAs and seven in double figures scoring. Everyone who played scored, and almost everyone except Doug (1-5, 0-2 from 3) was efficient.

Tre led us with 8 assists and chipped in 1 steal and 1 board en route to 8 points on 3-6, 1-1 from 3. At times he’s been the standout back court player, and in this game he facilitated for others to shine.

You never know which O version of Romeo will show up and it turns out he brought one of his best of the season. He had a terrific two way game, defending well and frustrating his defenders with aggressive fights through screens, moving to open spaces, and bringing out the tool bag on O: he made C&S 3s, faked and drove with crafty finishes at the rim with no hesitation, and got fouls called for +1s. He was once again at the right place in the right time for an O board putback as well as a sweet help D block. He finished with 13 on 6-10, 1-3 from 3, 6 boards (2 on O), second best on the team 5 assists, and 1 block.

Keldon led us in scoring with 23 on 9-16, 3-7 from 3, 2-3FTs, along with 3 boards, and 2 assists. He drove like a bull and didn’t get some calls but kept trying. If there’s something that stood out that he needs to do better it’s protecting the ball when he gets a pass in the post, and work on his handles there. He struggled from the arc making 1-5 throughout the game before hitting two consecutive off the dribble late 4TH Q 3s. We rarely make non-assisted 3s so good to see these.

On O Sochan stood out with his court vision and made cross court passes to the weak side to open team mates at the arc, got into the paint for timely O board putback dunks, and took three-level shots. He finished with 16 on 6-10, 2-2 from 3, 2-2FTs, 6 boards (team high 4 on O) and 2 assists. What he’s added on O when he brings up the ball is adjusting his speed at just the right time, finding open spaces, and forcing defenses to move which opened up better passes.

Jakob tied Sochan in overall boards with 6 (1 on O), 4 assists, and 1 steal while scoring 11 on 5-10, 1-2FTs. He had a big load to manage on both ends and got pushed around a bit but didn’t let up in holding his own.

Our bigs were as much of a load as they had to put up with. Collins had a great game scoring 17 on 7-9, 1-2 from 3, 2-2FTs along with 2 boards and 4 assists. He did a great job sealing his defenders in the post, and used quick, controlled footwork for spins opposite to where he felt pressure behind him for hard dunk finishes. Five of his seven paint attempts were in the restricted area and he made all of them. This was probably one of his best O games, assertive and forward moving.

JRich joined Collins to lead the bench with 17 on 6-10, 3-5 from 3, 2-3FTs, and led the second unit with 4 boards (2 on O), and had 3 assists. He’s been bringing the juice for a while now. In his last 10 games, he’s averaging 14.2 points on 53.8%, 40.4% from 3, 87.5%FT’s, 3 boards, and 3.9 assists per game, all above his season and career highs.

Stanley used his physicality to be noticeably bothersome on D and he was once again two-way useful with 10 points on 4-7, 2-3 from 3, and 3 boards and 3 assists in only 15 minutes. What a solid signing.

Pop used a 10-man unit mixed with vets, experienced players, and rookies, rounding out with Malaki who in 18 minutes scored 9 on 4-6, 1-1 from 3 along with 3 boards (tied with JRich for bench high 2 on O), and 3 assists. It was a good bounce back game by him after struggling in the previous one. That’ll happen for a rookie putting together the learning and implementing from game to game.

To mzfk69’s point about Malaki in the previous game thread, he has been struggling with 3s efficiency since the new year, but in a broader perspective, in each month since the season began, he’s been playing increased minutes, with ever higher FGAs, 3 point attempts, and PPG even as his efficiency has fluctuated. December was his best month efficiency-wise, though in January he’s reached personal bests in rebounds and assists as well. He’s looking more comfortable using screens to get to his spots, has improved the arc of his shot, and it looks like the game is slowing down for him in terms of his ability to create shots, finishing drives, and just knowing where to be and where and when to take shots. His decisions of what to do with the ball are more sound, and his point creation looks more confident. I have no doubt that he’ll continue to figure things out. His FT%, regarded as a good indicator of 3s efficiency, has remained consistently high so I expect the 3s to follow. We’ll have a three-level sniper when he does.

With all that scoring there were fewer rebounds to go around, and though we won the rebounding battle 34-32 and 12-11 on O boards, we still have a habit of not boxing out as well as we can and should. We allowed to many points on second chances from the O boards we gave up. Sometimes it’s a matter of a defensive breakdown so that an outmanned big (usually) is tasked with having to choose which opponent to cover in the moment. Sometimes the help D is late. Sometimes we don’t come to the ball fast enough. And at others, we do all things right except find the man to box out and we don’t secure the possession.

We didn’t get to the FT line enough and didn’t get some calls our way like when Romeo was plowed on a screen and got hit in the mid section another time. All we can do is keep trying. You can see Keldon is increasingly frustrated at the non-calls, but keeping the stonecutter’s credo in mind is the way through.

We were only 10-14FTs which put us at -4 in made FT’s and -6 on attempts. Cuts, fakes, and quicker decisions with the ball, sustained physicality and vertical, transition pressure, as well as continuing the good work we do in the paint will cumulatively help.

Our D continues to be a work in progress though we looked like we did more good things in terms of rotations, switches, and contests. We had fewer breakdowns and for shorter stretches though the ones that came were familiar and will hopefully continue to trend the way right way.

Loved our compete level and togetherness on both ends. Bottle it. Take it and use it on the road now.

[G R E Y]

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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[G R E Y]

POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

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