GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 22: SPURS VS. WOLVES, 3-2-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Well the most important things we must do are come ready with full team energy and play to our best level: D-out, full tilt transition, and each man responsible and accountable to team play.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 7:30pm (CT)

Earn The Stripes Mode: Bala and Blockob energy!






GO SPURS GO!!!

[ducler]

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[G R E Y]

This feels suboptimal. Next man up!

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[G R E Y]

Jakob's lovely. He's so honest about his free throw issues. Poor guy. He says he'd love it if he could take a couple of practice shots before taking the actual FT's

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[imagump1313]

There is honestly something going on with this team internally no matter how much we get told how good everyone gets along.
The body language, the effort, the attitudes. Something is not right. Not that we are a good team, but we are far better than this clown show.

[G R E Y]

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Wow...

Agree with gump.

Lonnie needs to go back to the bench.

We need to contest the weak side 3s we keep giving up.

KJ (0-1) needs to get going.

Yeah I see it with DJ tonight - the DeMar special of over-dribbling into too tight spaces when the pass was there earlier in the play.

DeMar's irritating me tonight and I can't quite place my finger on it, besides residual anger from the previous two games. I think it's because he keeps trotting down the court when the rest of the team wants to push it, and that he's settling for outside shots. We all are.

DRIVE AT THEM, SPURS!!!!!!!!!!

We are over orchestrating our O while they run back, run a simple play and hit their shots.

We need to get more rebounds - getting outrebounded 24-19, 4-3 on O.

We look vulnerable right now. We need to show some mettle.

And Derrick needs to start.

[G R E Y]

Lonnie has a ton of wasted over dribbling possessions. He's often the epitome of looking busy without doing much of anything for it.

[G R E Y]

GET LONNIE OUT OF THE GAME!

[G R E Y]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[imagump1313]

Yeah, you're welcome.
I got on the sportsbook at half time and put $20 on the Wolves to win outright. With my luck I figured that would be the only way the Spurs would have a chance

[G R E Y]

Yeah, you're welcome.
I got on the sportsbook at half time and put $20 on the Wolves to win outright. With my luck I figured that would be the only way the Spurs would have a chance

We may need you to take one for the team and go broke this season

[G R E Y]

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Jakob was wonderful tonight!

[Phreak50]

There is honestly something going on with this team internally no matter how much we get told how good everyone gets along.
The body language, the effort, the attitudes. Something is not right. Not that we are a good team, but we are far better than this clown show.

Couldn't agree more.

[turnmeup88]

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You know times have changed when the 3rd tallest guy on the court from the starting teams is 6'6....

[G R E Y]

No! No!! No!!! Oh my God No... YES!!!!

And so went my Q by Q impression of the game in which we were behind throughout then erased a 16-point 4TH Q deficit to win a thriller. That we can turn up our play when desperate and did so is great, but the question lingers – why do we wait until we’re desperate to play great?

The 32-point 4TH Q was once again our best with DeMar shifting gears to score half of them. He turned it on at will: he scored 14 points on 5-10, 4-4FT’s with 4 boards (1 on O), and 4 assists after three Q’s; in the final Q, he shot 5-9, 6-7FT’s, 4 more boards (1 more on O), and 2 more assists for 16 points. It was an incredible output when we needed it most, emphasized by that thunderous dunk, a symbol of collective catharsis from the frustration of poor play, a catalyst for the comeback. Great to see, and great that we have this go-to option, but that we needed it against one of the worst teams in the league shows we have some work to do with getting our team O synergy aligned.

This was one of those games in which DeMar was conscious of balancing getting his points with getting others involved. But perhaps we stayed with that too long as by the end of the 3RD Q, only DeMar and Jakob were having efficient games from the starters.

After the first 3 Q’s, DJ was 6-14, 3-5 from 3 for 15 points, 8 boards (1 on O), 3 assists and 2 steals. Keldon got two fouls in the 1ST Q and was taken out of his aggressive rhythm early, finishing the first half with only 0-2, 0-1 from 3, 1 assist, and uncharacteristically no rebounds and no FTA’s. By the half, Lonnie was only 1-4, no 3 attempts, no FTA’s with one assist and no rebounds.

Clearly there was a directive to get them both going as they took the most shots in the 3RD Q. It went badly for both of them.

Keldon finished three Q’s with only 6 points on 2-9 0-2 from 3, 2-3FT’s, 2 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. In other words, he got a lot of chances to score in the 3RD Q, yet made but 2-7, both deep in the paint. Lonnie was 1-10, 0-3 from 3 with only 1 rebound and 1 assist by the end of the 3RD Q. In the 3RD Q alone, Lonnie was 0-6! It was distributed in an impressive variety of ways: 0-2 at the rim with missed bunnies, 0-1 from mid range, 0-3 from 3. We actually hustled and defended well in the 3RD Q, especially late, but Lonnie’s exceptionally poor shooting and finishing really took a lot of air out of our sails. They had every opportunity to make a positive imprint on the game, perhaps more than we could or ought to have afforded given their struggles, as we went into the 4TH Q with an eleven point deficit.

(At some point, Lonnie’s struggles become something we have to address rather than living with his hurting the team as he figures things out. The last10 games, his efficiency has dropped 4% in both FG% FG3% to 36.5FG% and 33FG3%, and far too many have been open, especially at the rim. If he’s also not bringing consistent D, the role may be too much for him and the increasing pressure is getting to him mentally. There’s just been too many repeated patterns of the same mistakes that seem to be setting in all the more deeply; we need to try something different to break them up, put him in a different context ie/a bench unit that better suits his athleticism and run and gun style).

Neither played in the final 12 minutes.

It became the DeMar O show on the foundation of solid team D. Derrick contested very well, DeMar stepped up to take a charge, DJ and Devin stole it, Patty skied for a defensive rebound that he was fouled on, and Jakob, of course, blocked seemingly everything in his vicinity. He registered 4 officially, but his movement and timing disrupted many other shot attempts.

Jakob made a strong case for himself with LMA out. With his stellar 9-10 (1-3FT’s) for 19 points along with 8 rebounds (3 on O), 1 assist, and 1 steal. He rolled to the rim in P&R’s, he followed drivers to the basket, he made good cuts, set great screens. He has a nice touch at the rim but it’s not consistent, so his finishing with dunks was good to see. Except for outside shooting – ok, a big caveat, that, but we have a lot of shooters – he was wonderful on both ends. We needed to exploit our bigs advantage and used it fully. In addition to his FT challenges, we need him to develop a consistent mid range shot. Getting left out on an island when he has the ball is being exploited even by bad teams, so it’s an obvious deficiency to address. But he more than made up for it with aggressive play in this game, an impressive fill in as a starter. It hearkened back to Jakob’s bubble play and gave us a glimpse of what he can do in an expanded O role. I like Jakob being rewarded on O for all his great D work.

DJ went 0-2 (0-1 from 3), with 3 boards, 3 assists in the 4TH Q, finishing the game with 15 points but on 6-16, a solid 3-6 from 3, and no FTA’s. He also grabbed 11 boards (1 on O), tied DeMar with 6 assists, and had 2 steals. DJ is well above his career averages in points, rebounds, and assists this season with 14 / 7 / 5.2 but I though his efficiency was improved as well but he’s just below his career averages with 43.9FG%, 31.6FG3%. Like Lonnie (just not to the same game after game extent), he’s another player who has these hit or miss at the rim games. He was actually at 50% efficiency were it not for all four missed attempts right at the rim (blocked once). DJ’s man D on the opponent’s final play was about as well contested as you could hope for without fouling or getting a clean block. He closed up space, was disciplined by staying on his feet and contesting without fouling.

Patty then got the game saving D board from the grasp of the opponent to prevent any putbacks and potential fouls to seal our first win after a 15-point deficit. It was also our first win without LMA playing which is surprising given our bubble play but also not given the lack of in-game practice we’ve had this circumstance. Patty led the bench in minutes (27) and in plus / minus (+19) and found ways to contribute even as he didn’t have an efficient night: 8 points on 3-8, 1-6 from 6, 1-1FT’s with 4 boards (two of which were crucial during our 4TH Q run – he skied for a D boards and was fouled as we were in the middle of a 8-0 run and of course on the final play of the game). He was ever busy in off ball movement to get open 3 shots and drives like at the end of the first half for an +1, bringing our deficit to within 11 or driving hard on the right side and angling a high arching lay in over their contesting defender to tie the game 99-99 in the 3RD Q. He was terrific and unselfish in transition always looking to push the ball and pass it willingly to open teammates like when he found Trey down low. He’s been entrusted with being in the final line-up to finish games and it’s clear why his presence is necessary on both ends. He makes timely, winning plays.

With LMA and Rudy out, Drew and Trey got some minutes to contribute and show that they deserve steady play. Drew was an energy ball and in his 8 minutes he got a block, got an +1, made 2-3FG’s and grabbed 3 boards. He is working his way back to better conditioning but was still able to give Jakob some much needed rest.

Trey was a pro, ready and all fundamentals, making plays that didn’t show up on the stat sheet but were helpful to the team: he boxed out even if he didn’t get the rebound, allowing a teammate to get the ball like in the final play where Patty got the board, he screened well, and drove more assertively than I’d ever recalled. He was an efficient 3-4, 1-2 from 3, 2-4FT’s, 2 boards, and 2 assists. He played within himself and asserted himself well within his role.

Last season he got a big chance to step up and stand out through unexpected circumstances as Lonnie has this season. It’s great that Trey hasn’t hung his head and competes for minutes better when given the chance. I don’t think Lonnie will get his minutes curtailed to such an extent, but he really does need a shake up.

Derrick is working his way back, and it frankly can’t come soon enough. His shot was off but his assertiveness was not: 4-11, 2-6 from 3, (but didn’t get to the FT line), and 2 boards. He is always finding ways to help and in this game he led the team with 8 assists. He’s a natural facilitator, passing to Drew for his +1 play, and with a deft touch looped a perfectly placed high-low seeing eye pass to Jakob for a lay in as well as the pass in transition to Jakob for the basket and foul on which we finally took the lead 101-99. He balanced passing with taking his own shots (he’s far better at taking his shot from his dribble). He played an important role in the final Q’s defense that helped turn the game in our favour. He contested cleanly, he blocked shots, he prevented easy drives to then push the ball in transition.

He’s so much better with the ball in terms of protection and decision making that with his return it’s hard not to compare to Lonnie. Like in the previous game, his mid-air pass was picked off; he kept getting blown by on drives; he over-dribbles over a screen then backs out, winding down the clock as he decides what to do; he made bad reads like when Jakob had position under the basket but Lonnie took and missed a contested 3. It’s hard to make a case for Lonnie to keep starting when Derrick, still getting his legs under him, is already outplaying him. It was his role once and should be again, for the sakes of Lonnie, Derrick and the team.

Even with Derrick back, Devin played 20 minutes. He played within himself, was terrific in getting into open spaces to hit his shots, and was solid defensively. He trailed smartly for an +1, he went over Jakob’s screen to make a shot in the paint, he used a stop and pop for 2 towards the end of the 1ST Q, he rebounded well on both ends, got into passing lanes to disrupt and steal. He shot 3-6, 0-1 from 3, got 4boards (1 on O), had1 assist, and 1 steal. He played one minute less than Keldon and Lonnie but did more to impact the game than the two of them combined and was rewarded for his good play with 4TH Q minutes. His role is D and 3, but shows flashes of more with his intelligent reading of the plays as they unfold. Because of that, he is also a plug and play player with any team mates. He’s making a good case for himself to keep being given good minutes. And he’s proven trustworthy overall with them.

We found our rhythm from our better D once we stopped throwing away possessions. These were a function of personnel and their collective competitiveness and cohesion. With LMA and Rudy out, we were only 7-26 from 3, so everyone not named Jakob has to be mindful of picking up the slack. We are making it harder on ourselves when both are too low. Our 1-5 from 3 in the 4TH Q was aided by our opponent’s 1-7. The central thrust of our turnaround was our D to O transition and its fallout. By the end of the 3RD Q, our opponent made 8-9 FT’s to our 9-10FT’s. In the 4TH Q, whereas they made 1-2FT’s, we were relentless and poured in 9-14FT’s which helped offset our 3s. We finished the game on a 30-11 run which is great to be able to pull off. We won the series, but that we needed to in this manner shows the work we need to do.

Even this team was successful in exploiting our weak side for their made 3s so our D needs work in communicating and rotating to better close out. Getting outrebounded once again, this time 49-45 (9-7 on O) is going to take a better collective effort. Our fast breaks once again were at times badly spaced and we made what we could but not ought to have out of them. But most importantly, we have to start games with urgency and collective purpose. We’ve been out of sync to begin too many games and it almost cost us again were it not for some 4TH Q heroics from DeMar, Jakob and our defense. Gump is right that something feels off about us and it’s showing in our starts. We tried shoehorning some players as starters last season and it went abysmally for us. We cannot afford to give the same leeway to players this season when there’s a better balance to be had on both units with the bubble starters – at the very least its back court – restored. There’s a reason that unit and that bench worked so well. The players and the roles were far better suited to the collective enterprise. Let’s get back to that again.

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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