SPURS GAME DAY! RRT EDITION GAME 59: SPURS AT WOLVES, 27-2-2024, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Devin steal and dunk. Finally.

[G R E Y]

Keldon drives good things happen. Settles for 3s - not so much.

[imagump1313]

I grew tired of this, was watching the Red Wings 3rd period.....

Something not depressing

[G R E Y]

Of course we don't read the rotations right and give up an open 3.

[G R E Y]

Devin alley oop to Wemby.

Wemby a couple of rebounds.

Wemby trailing for the dunk.

[G R E Y]

Sure. We look good with time running out.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 109 WOLVES 114

*sigh*

When you expect better but get this.

Lack of movement. No boxing out in sight. Watching O boards drop to the floor.

Guys either trying to ‘do things’ aka trying to make a play themselves or not plugged in at all. Meanwhile in the few instances in which we actually passed ahead quickly, made the extra pass, we made the open shots.

It’s a tough situation to play the best defensive team last on the RRT, but even the basic things in our control like passes to the post (one sailing over Sochan’s head), not running P&Rs, overdribbling were costly. Even for facing a great D team, we made things easier for the opponent.

Last game Keldon got benched for a bad D play. He bounced back with a 20 point performance on 7-17, team high 5-11 from 3, bench high 6 boards (team high 3 on O), bench high 4 assists, 1 steal to 3TOs. His O tendencies did emerge at times with over dribbling, missing passes ahead, barrelling into the paint versus multiple defenders, but overall he gave a far more positive contribution. Really good response.

Sochan got benched two minutes into the 3RD Q and finished with 0-2 and only 1 assist in 16 minutes. Hands at his sides, beaten on drives, watching guys go by him. When the shot’s not falling at least other contributions can keep a guy in the game. But too many zeros across too many stats, and not enough D fundamentals and effort, combined with early 3RD Q mistakes got him and Wemby pulled. There’s a stubbornness to Sochan that he doesn’t always channel constructively. When he’s resolute to get under an opponent’s skin he’s impactful. When he decides to take a half off there’s no yelling or cajoling or inspiring him out of it. I think the yanking is good and I think some competition for his minutes will be as well.

Wemby was put back in and responded well. He had an 8 point (2-5, 1-1 from 3, 3-3FTs) first half and willed his way to 17 points (5-13, 2-7 from 3, 5-5FTs), 13 rebounds (1 on O), 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, alongside 5TOs (so that’s 9 in the last two games). He played 34 minutes in this game, second only to Devin’s 39. It’s clear who we’re relying on most.

And despite Devin having one of those bad inbound TOs in the 3RD and that weird underhand scoop miss close to the basket, he was kept in the game as he was mostly productive and frankly we can’t afford to bench everyone who made bad mental errors. We’d either be left with third stringers or have to forfeit the game. Devin led us with 21 on 9-18, 2-8 from 3, 1-3FTs, along with 6 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals. Solid two-way game, pushing through, finding ways to keep us rolling.

Collins reverted to bad O and still poor D. Five points on 2-5, 1 board (!), 3 assists, 3TOs, -11 in 14 minutes. No boxing out, ni contesting, no covering space, no discernible D effort in sight. Sure, man, take your time. Another guy with no competition for his role. Will need fixing.

At least Julian showed signs of life again, with 7 on 3-6, 1-3 from 3, 3 boards (1 on O), 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, good movement, wonky D at times.

Blake struggled again: 0-3, 2-2FTs, 1 assist in 12 minutes, but Branham once again stepped up with good movement, getting to his spots, making his shots. He finished with 12 on 4-5, 2-3 from 3, 2-2FTs, with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 block. He at least tried on D, swivelling his head to make sure of where the ball and his man were but guarding Ant is a tall task for anyone let alone a player with D work in progress to put it kindly, and it had predictable results.

We will need more than a combined 1 assist from our bench back court, too.

Steady Cedi stepped up with 10 on 4-8, 2-4 from 3, 2 boards (1 on O), 1 assist, but -16 in 22 minutes.

So that’s 49 points from the bench. Good. We also shot it more efficiently, made three more 3s, had 9 steals, and 7 blocks. Trouble is, our opponent had 16 steals and 8 blocks, an aggressiveness that accounted for a lot of our 22TOs (!) which cost us 30 points against. It’s really what cost us the game again. Tough when we make it hard on ourselves like that. It’s what also accounts for 11 extra FGAs for the opponent, providing more of a cushion for misses we couldn’t give ourselves.

One of the things we were looking for is a response to the poor previous game, and though we had good bounce back games from some players, others regressed. Some were running on fumes, some were running on just not showing up this game and hoping to just get through it. And so we ended up collectively doubling down on the worst errors for 42TOs in two games, giving up 64 points combined. OOF.

It is the variance that we need to try to contain. Raising the floor to a more consistent level of good play is a start, and of that, mental focus for better ball protection is a good point of emphasis. The RRT grind is done. Let’s see how we respond at home.

[G R E Y]

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