GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 40: SPURS VS. HORNETS, 22-3-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

The reward for a solid 3-2 road trip is an unprecedented nine games at home.We have a chance to settle in and build chemistry, energized by the comforts of home off the court and continuity on it. The first of four games this week has us playing an undermanned opponent which we must approach with the vigilance and respect that requires our best game: D to O transition, purposeful passing and drives, good to great scoring, and ball protection throughout. Let's get our home stay started right!

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Monday, March 22, 2021, 7:30pm (CT)

Earn The Stripes Mode: Back court to front court; D to O - all for one!









GO SPURS GO!!!

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[G R E Y]

I hope Derrick has FU game to shut up all the jerks who abused him online after the last game. He actually de-activated his twitter after it. Some "fans" don't deserve to cheer for our team.

Anyway, GO SPURS GO!!!

[imagump1313]

Charlotte announcers are super annoying...

[G R E Y]

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We are allowing them to impose their game on us. That's it.

It's manifesting in their 48-39 shots taken, and in their 8-18 from 3 to our 4-17 from 3, and in their 19-7 assists, and in their 24-16 rebounds, including 7-2 on O boards.

We're being outhustled and out-executed all over the floor. We need to rededicate ourselves to our defensive principles.

I can't stand watching DMar lazily lift his hand up almost after the shot goes up. He's moving his feet well enough to prevent drives inside, but contesting is not optional but a crucial part of defense. Move feet, have hands up!

We also must protect the arc much better.

On O, we're over thinking it - drive hard at them, get them into foul trouble, move the D with side to side passes, with cuts, with trailers - and for the love of God make our shots, Spurs!

We've yet to see our best team game, and we need to bring it for the final two Q's if we want to win this game.

[imagump1313]

I can't stand watching DMar lazily lift his hand up almost after the shot goes up.

EXACTLY what I keep saying!!!!!! Annoying as fu**

[G R E Y]

Charlotte announcers are super annoying...

I caught just the tail end of the game of theirs because the Spurs feed stopped, and yeah that was more than enough. You'd think they were 35-5 or something.

Anyway, unfortunate miss by Patty, but they played better, so the result reflects that. Lessons to take from this one.

[G R E Y]

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Lessons. Road weary and fatigue-filled, but lessons nonetheless.

[Phreak50]

Only watching the box score while at my work desk but wtf Pop?

Career high and then 9 minutes?

And Mills 32 mins?

I give up.

Lonnie bolts as soon as he can.

[G R E Y]

Only watching the box score while at my work desk but wtf Pop?

Career high and then 9 minutes?

And Mills 32 mins?

I give up.

Lonnie bolts as soon as he can.

Lonnie's hand hurts. It's why he missed the game prior to the career high. BUT he was also getting torched on D. He was -15 in 9 minutes. There's only so much that can be on other guys. Even if his hand wasn't right, even if one of his three fouls shouldn't have been called, he had three fouls in nine minutes and team-worst -15. That's on feet and head. This was second worst to Drew who was a brutal -9 in 2 minutes and never saw any other action again.

Patty minutes was fine - he was producing... on both ends. He led the bench in 3s, he was solid defensively and we needed him.

You can make a better case for Rudy's minutes but even he scored more than three starters. We looked like the tired team we are and lost to a motivated group.

[imagump1313]

Only watching the box score while at my work desk but wtf Pop?

Career high and then 9 minutes?

And Mills 32 mins?

I give up.

Lonnie bolts as soon as he can.

Also, he wasn't making any shots and forcing bad ones. Very Bryn Forbes-like.

As for Mills, Charlotte's guards are small with Ball being out.(Graham and Rozier are both 6'1") so Im guessing we thought Mills could actually guard someone.

[Phreak50]

That's just BS. It's edgy BS by Pop that's outdated and only going to drive young players away.

That's precisely the reason Lonnie is so inconsistent.

[imagump1313]

That's just BS. It's edgy BS by Pop that's outdated and only going to drive young players away.

That's precisely the reason Lonnie is so inconsistent.

Walker was hurting us more than helping us last night. Its just the way he was playing. The only person he has to blame is himself for inconsistent playing time.

Im in total agreement about Mills. 15-20 minutes should be tops for him.

[G R E Y]

That's just BS. It's edgy BS by Pop that's outdated and only going to drive young players away.

That's precisely the reason Lonnie is so inconsistent.

Well two fellow fans who watched the game are telling you that Lonnie didn't have it yesterday, AND his hand being in pain may be a factor. Are we supposed to put a player that is not 100% and hurting the team with his play out there? Why? We're actually trying to win games. When Lonnie contributes to that, he gets minutes and chances ie/ Bucks

Pop subbed DeMar out for the final defensive possession, then subbed him back in for the final O one. Are we supposed to keep DeMar out there because he's the 'star' and should be out there all the time or acknowledge that DeMar was terrible defensively yesterday (second to Lonnie at -12 despite leading us in scoring) and Pop did what was perhaps feather ruffling for said star but best for the team for that play?

I really want Lonnie to grow into 'that guy'. The fact remains that after all his social media pining for more minutes last season, he's finally gotten them this season - and as a starter for half of it - and hasn't shown the leap we wanted but we hope will be there with some more experience.

Lonnie is averaging 26.2 minutes per game this season - fifth on the team - in what is really his second year, having missed one for recovery. He's averaging 10.4FGA's per game - sixth on the team this season. So the fact is he's had every opportunity to break through. If he had consistently, he'd have surely been given even more of the O responsibility - like Keldon has!

But to blame Lonnie's minutes in this game on Pop is to not acknowledge that it lays squarely on Lonnie's play. Inconsistencies are not the result of lack of minutes or opportunities. He is dead last in defense metrics! Like all by himself like Bryn was. I'm not saying he is Bryn defensively, but I am saying that playing against starters and defending them is a bigger task than he can manage at this point of his career. With his D not being where it needs to be, and his getting every chance to shine on O but not breaking out, how is any of that on Pop?! Why isn't Lonnie bearing the responsibility?

And taking it a step further that 'it's only going to drive young players away' - like who? DJ, Derrick, Lonnie and Keldon have all come up in our system. DJ and Derrick took whatever time they took to get to reliable starter phase. Keldon and Lonnie are in their second playing years. We have FOUR starters developed in our own program as we transition to the younger group. They rank 2-5 in minutes per game!

Our vets minutes by contrast are as follows: DeMar as the main guy leads the team in 34.2MPG, but is second to DJ for FG attempts per game at 14.1 (his second lowest since his rookie season yet still producing 20.6 PPG.). Patty is 7th at 25.7 minutes, and Rudy is 9th at 21.7 minutes. Patty is also 7th at 10.2FGA's per game and Rudy is 8th at 9.8 per game.

So we have a very balanced team with balanced minutes and shots per game, with only three vets, none of whom are stealing minutes or shot chances from the vets BUT we do have other guys to fill in when one guy struggles. Lonnie struggled. Other guys got a shot.