SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 58: SPURS AT GRIZZLIES, 1-3-2025, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Why do we keep ending up with KJ on their behemoth C in our paint?

[G R E Y]

Castle too much mano a mano vs. their behemoth C. Has to get the high arc release teardrop vs. bigs.

[G R E Y]

Dev dribble dribble dribble just can't get by a guy with his handles and then **** the bed in the miss. Ffs...

[G R E Y]

KJ great fight for D board. Again vs. their behemoth C.

[G R E Y]

We have Dev KJ Sochan Steph Fox in the final minute.

[G R E Y]

Fox step back 3 miss but fouled!

[G R E Y]

In other words, notice the two vets, three if BB is included, are not on the floor late. All core young guys surrounding Fox. Interesting...

[G R E Y]

Sochan did about as well as he could on D. Probably better to have let him step into the arc rather than push him out but...

[G R E Y]

Pleas not Dev taking this shot...

[G R E Y]

Fox clutch game winner!

Read on Twitter

And *that's* why we got him.

[imagump1313]

Way to go guys. YOU BLEW IT!

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 130 GRIZZLIES 128

PHEW!

And that's why we got Fox.

But before that, we held onto the lead. We bent; we didn't break.

But before that, there was Castle and Keldon hauling ass, hustling, competing, ripping the ball from their behemoth C's hands after the whistle, winning the game within the game.

But before that, a Pop visit laced with colourful four-letter words. Inspiring. And you could tell guys were enlivened by it. There are some leaders players want to go through a wall for. You want to make sure you make him proud. And we did.

Castle has that FU that's my damn ball energy every time he's on the court and it only looks to have increased a couple of levels. Terrific game from him on both ends. For the most part he made the right plays, good reads, good anticipation, tough physically - seeks out contact, and while he has to add to his finishing at the rim toolkit ie/ high arc teardrop released sooner before the swiping mitts of hulking defenders, and get the right angles in his releases of the ball, he flashed some creativity with that crafty left finish. He has great instincts of who to drive on, when, and how in terms of bodying opponents, getting right angles on them, and attacking with the right pace change at the right time

Brave in taking the open 3s. Sometimes there are better options with other hot hands, but film will take care of such instances to clean up and focus good to great set ups.

Steph led us with 24 (8-16, 2-6 from 3, team high 6-6FTs), bench high 7 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal. He has qualities you can't teach, only hone, and Pop's visit clearly had the right effect.

Keldon has always been the energy bringer but he had extra man up juice tonight, making a lot of extra plays we're used to and not used to seeing from him - hard drives with physicality, 3s, and steals and deft passes. Ball used to stick with him a lot, he used to have tunnel vision, he used to be near invisible off ball, he used to not make D plays.

And now look at him. All around contributor, great attitude going from main scorer to key bench player. He loves being a Spur, he loves Pop, and he is loved right back for his take on anything attitude. He and Castle went at their behemoth C for the ball, on drives, and Keldon was often left as the last line of defense at the rim with him. Punishing and punisher. He's up for all of it and we should always appreciate that. Provided an efficient 15 (6-13, 2-3 from 3, 1-4(!)FTs), 6 boards (3 on O), one each of assist, steal, and block.

Sochan had a wonderful game, showing extra juice and focus doing what he does best - at the rim activity and great D. He was super efficient, ran the floor well, made his chances, and made the most of them. Contributed our lone double double with 18 (7-9, 1-1 from 3, 3-4FTs), 11 boards - *game high 7 on O!*, 3 assists, 1 steal. Got in opponent ears and under their skin. At hos Swiss army knife pest best.

They were part of a bench unit, along with Champagnie's 14 (5-8, 3-5 from 3, 1-1FT), 7 boards (2 on O), 2 assists, 1 steal, which poured in 72 points.

The difference was that this time not only did the starters contribute more efficiently, we got what sought Fox for right when we needed it most.

The three vets, Barnes (5/1 in 18 minutes), CP3 (8/3/8/1 in 20mp, Biyombo (6/3/1/1/1 in 18mp) - and we needed every single stat! - were the foundations and support. CP3 still led us with 8 dimes, and some quality shot disturbing, ref advocacy, and pushing to get the most out of teammates even if he wasn't sharing the floor with them. Around them, the increased roles of the younger group stepped up.

Devin had a resurgent game in terms of efficiency, scoring 20 on 9-19, 2-9 from 3 (team high in attempts), 0-1FT, 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. It was good to see Devin break out of his shooting slump, and hopefully it lasts, but though his shot profile was balances, he had only ONE attempt at the rim in the restricted area. He had two attempts just outside it in the paint (1-2), and the rest of the non-3s were at the elbows or sides of the paint. Dev operated mostly on the right side for middies, making 7-10. It's deadly having a mid-range assassin when it's on. It would be good to see him drive more but tends to shy away from contact even though he has a good finishing toolkit. Use it more. Dev curbed his over-dribbling tendencies and passed sooner, but he still could not get by defenders with his handles which is weird. Slow first step, perhaps overthinks it. Somehow a game low -21?!

And not to overanalyze but Devin's the only Spur to just stand there watching, like milquetoast:

Read on Twitter

Look like you care. Have a pulse. Something... Just bugged me how he strolled on by.

Fox. Clutch. And before that, a terrific all around effort on both ends. We needed all of his 20 points, none more crucial than the game winning quick stop and shoot game winner. He shot 7-17, 1-5 from 3, 5-5FTs, with 3 boards, 7 assists, 1 block, 1 steal.

We had only 11TOs (cost us 14 points; earned 18 off of theirs) to 33 assists. We shot 3s well (14-36) but need to polish FTs (16-22). Though we were badly outmanned in size up front, we held our own with collective grit and effort, winning the rebound battle 42-41 and 13-12 on O, amd fast break points 22-11, which helped offset being pummeled 74-60PITP.

We pushed the pace a lot and caught D on their heels in transition. I like that we didn't settle for 3s on fast breaks but finished them at the rim.

I liked the tight nine-man rotation, and that we finished the game with the core group we know we are most likely keeping and going forward with: Fox, Castle, Devin, Keldon, Sochan. They played the bulk of the minutes (each at least 30 minutes) with JC at 23 and the vets with fewer still. This limited JC's overdribbling and ball sticking and failed driving tendencies, kept vets fresh and perhaps in changed roles going forward, and gave the core young guys more reps together to figure it out under pressure.

There was a time that Keldon or more recently Devin were the designated go-to shot takers. Devin doesn't have the clutch gene. Castle has no fear of taking it but is hit and miss right now. Fox is the leading clutch expert and came through.

It was an impressive stand when we could have folded. We held the line, together, with toughness and resilience, going through that wall. Message received.

[imagump1313]

Vassell should have taken that last shot.

Or Champaigne. Its was rightfully their time to tank with glory and they were both denied the opportunity.
This is a dark day.

Oh great! And now I find out we helped the Lakers by winning also. A dark day indeed......