Post#7 » by G R E Y » Wed Jan 3, 2018 7:49 am
Welcome, 2018 and Spurs first win. New York is kaleidoscope of fun. I’ve visited during the Christmas/New Year holidays before, and it has so much to offer it’s hard to know what, if anything, to say no to. How much more so for pro athlete teams. That’s why I wasn’t sure which Spurs team would show up – the still bleary-eyed, partied-out version, or the prepared, well-rested one. I shouldn’t have doubted they’d have a solid start to the new year.
A quality adjustment by Pop this game was shortening the first-half roster to nine players (10 in the whole game), each with very balanced minutes. Whereas in the last game our search for consistency saw every player get minutes in the first half, tonight zeroing in on the guys who could execute our game plan and giving them time to do it was key to maintaining a high level of play, if not always on O, at least on D.
In the first Q, our starters ranged from 7-10 minutes, and each of our four bench players had 5. By the half, four starters had 14-18 minutes, Pau with 12, and the four bench players, 10-12 minutes. Down by 9 at one point, we settled in and imposed our game for much of the night and finished the half with a three point lead.
More adjustments came in the second half where we put in work on the boards – 20 in the first half, 30 in the second. We also worked to get fouls and take advantage of being in the bonus – 7FTs in the first half, 27 in the second, for a solid 82.4% overall.
Much like in the previous game against the Knicks, we sought to establish our bigs and neutralize theirs. LMA and Pau were 6-11 in the first Q, 7-16 by the half. We made a concerted effort to keep getting the ball into LMA’s hands whenever he was guarded by the Unicorn, and though KP didn’t foul out like in the last game, his 4 fouls surely altered how aggressively he could defend. On the other end, we did a great job recognizing the mismatches on KP and the help D was on point to contest drives and rebounds. KP had a poor shooting night, and considering he’s the cog in their O, not even Kanter’s or Beasley’s solid nights could offset his struggles.
After an 0-2 first Q, Kawhi picked it up and finished the half 5-12 for 15 points. I thought he had a great night over all, a sort of calling card game, but there’s room to grow. He’s already more comfortable with players such as LMA/Pau, Tony/Murray, but when LMA in particular is out, Kawhi tends to get tunnel vision. Not to be too picky, but there were still some ill advised shots where he’d grab a rebound, wait for Spurs to set up and then just dribble away and take a shot without anyone else touching it – not Spurs ball. Or he’d post-up and pivot into a double team and then pass to someone’s knees to get out of trouble rather than to advance a play. It’ll come in time, but as Sammy mentioned, given the overall game he had, these are not long-term bad habits to correct, just wrinkles to iron out.
Kawhi’s D, along with that of the rest of the team, was strong tonight. Kawhi had a team-high 4 steals, always in the right position to anticipate and pounce on passes. Manu’s lighting quick hands intercepted passes and created loose balls, and Murray with his incredible rebounding instincts grabbed 8 in 15 minutes (3 on O, 5 on D). Although Pau shot just 2-9, and Kyle had only one point, both were integral with their presence on the boards, Pau with 8 (4 on O, 4 on D), and Kyle with 6. Wonderful to see us putting D at the heart of our focus; it energized the O, and stabilized us when the O sputtered.
Once we opened up the game in the third Q, Murray joined the short bench of Kyle, Bertans (10 points, 3-6, 2-5 from 3, 2-2FTs for the final points), Patty, and Manu (12 points on 4-6, 2-3 from 3, 2-2FTs) in meaningful playing time. He’s a higher risk, high reward type of player, and on a night when consistency was central, DM’s unorthodox play I think caught the Knicks off guard. Yes he was a bit erratic on O like with that Cirque du Soleil drive (11/10 difficulty), and at times didn’t manage the game well (not slowing it down, running the clock, setting up a play), but he was also a spark plug who several times recognized a running LMA down the middle for quick passes that had positive results, either points or FTs. LMA got to sit out much of the fourth, but Pop did well to replace Kawhi with LMA when the Knicks halved our 16 point lead – the flow of the game dictated the necessity. We trended well in getting more points in each of the first three Qs, but had another weird drought in the 4th: we made THREE shots overall, and nothing but FTs between around 10 – 2 minutes. Luckily, our steady, active D and rebound contesting kept us competitive.
Great moment when Manu the mage rewarded the “Manu!” *clap clap clap* chants from the crowd with a 3. And how about the circus pass 3 that was so hypnotizing it left all the refs confounded. It even left Pop (by the way, sharp suit and tie tonight) doubled over and smiling at their efforts to resolve it.
Really good to see a much better, more focused and energetic effort that showed more of the Spurs identity tonight.
I love this team. GO SPURS!
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
#XX
