SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 3: SPURS VS. BUCKS, 23-10-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

The SEGABABA is thankfully at home where our sixth man of the home crowd is once again a big factor. From one MVP to another, it doesn't get easier to implement yesterday's lessons. Playing tough and together are the foundation stones that we're building everything on, and so far these have been solid. Limiting turnovers, contesting the arc, pushing in transition, and making more 3s are the main area of improvement for the result to go our way.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Saturday, October 23, 2021, 7:30pm (CT)


(Photo from Spurs Twitter)

GO SPURS GO!!!

[G R E Y]

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[G R E Y]

My stream is wonky. Did... did I just see Bryn pointlessly foul someone on the floor - Pop dropped his head in disbelief - and then airball a 3 attempt? In **** credible...

[G R E Y]

We are missing some chances we're generating through missed passes or missed chances at the rim, but I like the pace and the push. Good counter punching.

[G R E Y]

1ST Q: SPURS 32

BUCKS 32

Take and make more 3s - check. 4-10

Better pace - check - 23 FGAs

Limit TOs - check - 3

Only first Q in which we've given up 30+ points this season. We still put up 32 points despite Derrick and DJ not scoring and only two attempts between them.

[imagump1313]

The jump in the air, telegraph passes are getting annoying. I just turned it on so I must have missed where we weren't carelessly turning it over....

[G R E Y]

2ND Q: SPURS 52

BUCKS 56

Well it's an 11-point swing from our 1ST Q 7-point lead to the half-time 4-point deficit, but really we were lucky with how clunky our O looked for a lot of the 2ND Q. Only 20 points, with our 3-point shot disappearing: 0-8 this Q. A lot of them were forced through contests. Except Bryn's. His were open. And he still missed. He's yet to connect on one. He's due for one of those can't-miss streaks he gets at a given half. May as well be this upcoming one.

Luckily our D has kept us in it. We took three charges, rotated well for great help D and block and contests and we forced some TOs and shot clock violations. Overall our D has been impressive this season. Except for when Bryn gets intentionally switched on. Luckily it hasn't burned us too badly, but he HAS to give us something on the other end.

Our O is still a work in progress. We're not making the most of our chances because we either over dribble and miss drives or shots - a case of being too selfless/not as assertive, but also recognizing the chances when they're there. It's also a function of getting used to the new O. Like the Bucks know what they want to do in transition almost instinctively because they've run it together far longer. We're still in the very early stages of what our O can be.

To that end, Lonnie leads us so far in scoring which considering he's missed some chances to drive to the rim by over-dribbling, over-probing then having an open lane with his freak athleticism but then bizarrely passing back (over-cooking the play), wasting precious time for others to do something under greater clock pressure. But when he's not overthinking it, he makes right plays - drives, passes inside, nice Js. Lonnie is the ONLY Spur that got to the FT line the entire half. Lots of missed calls. Holy moly.

DJ is frustrated in this game. Yapping to refs, needing to get aligned in discussions with Pop, just forcing things too much. Devin is being forced out of his game: 0-3. Not sure he and Lonnie should he on the court together as Lonnie is not a good floor general. It's better when they're staggered. Derrick has yet to attempt a 3 this game whereas as Keldon is 0-3. Attempts should be reversed.

We're at times being forced into shots by players that are lower efficiency ie/ Keldon and 3s, and contested 3s, but we still managed good pace, great passing (15 assists), only 6TOs. The end of the 2ND Q we unraveled a bit, but let's regroup and get our game going.

[imagump1313]

We keep running that exact same play where someone curls at the top of the key and we telegraph a pass to Poeltl or whomever is cutting weather they are open or not. I'm just watching a basketball game as a fan and I can see it coming a mile away. STOP IT!

Also, if there is such a thing as too much passing we are doing it.
Looks like thats what they talked about in the timeout.

We aren't beating Milwaukee without hitting a bunch of threes. We arent going to score inside or on the break enough.

[G R E Y]

HOW LONNIE?! HOW??! The more difficult the shot, the higher the percentage it goes in with him.

13-2 run by us! D to O LET'S GO!!!!!!!

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 81

BUCKS 85

A 13-2 run by us for a brief 4-point lead followed by a 11-0 run by them to break it open before we closed it back to within 4 points by the end of the Q. Lonnie made another one of those left side drive and finishing impossibly with his right hand behind him off glass.

If we can JUST make our 3s, PLEASE BASKETBALL GODS, PLEASE!!!

Also, we have to make sure we don't allow drives down the middle.

[imagump1313]

LOL, Derrick White........

He needs to learn its important to not turn the ball over.

[G R E Y]

Sure. By all means. Foul and hold Jakob's jersey and no calls. It's not even 'home' calls, it's the right calls missed.

[Fundamentals21]

I am going to relax a bit. Early in the season, meaningless games...

McDermott looked like Korver tonight. Career high. Good game.

Then there were the rest, working their arses off. Keldon and Lonnie being the key in our sea of attacks. Ultimately, our offense can't outdo the Bucks higher powered offense. Giannis simply drives into 4 bodies, and makes living easier for Middleton and Jrue.

We aren't going to beat a contender. Move on, take a L, and get some intelligent W's against lesser opponents. Hard to tell how good this team is 3 games in.

[G R E Y]

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I like what everyone's said.

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[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 111

BUCKS 121

Well we hung with two high-powered, high-calibre teams and were in both games, essentially but for our 3 shooting.

Doug bounced back from a poor night for a career-high 7 made 3s on 11 attempts, but the rest of the team combined for the other 3-everything else: 3-27. Great that we put up 39 3s, but Jesus are we ever labouring to make them.

Lonnie was 7-15, but 1-8 from 3. He led the bench with 17 points and the next highest scoring bench Spur had 4 points. The bench scored 32 points on 14-33. Much better than 18 yesterday, but they were 2-17 from 3. Lonnie was the leading scorer at the half with 13. And that's the Jekyll/Hyde issue with him. I still don't trust him with the ball, and he's having far more chances to do something with it.

We parted with DD and yet his early career developing his O game seems to embody Lonnie. LWIV over-dribbles, takes too long to make decisions, misses easier plays (pass to corners with open players) to over orchestrate more difficult chances (pull back, reset, allow defenders to set up, drive over screen against multiple defenders for contested shots). It wasn't the only thing he did, and made good shots but man oh man he's that guy who needs everything set just so to read the play and create something. Still. When he drove he missed teammates when he drew multiple defenders to him. Just a lot of wasted possessions. Hate to say it, but it's either a mental thing that gets in the way or his BBIQ is just not quite there. Athleticism through the roof, but he needs the same kind of conditions to score, and I don't trust him with the ball in his hands, neither his decisions with it, nor his shot selection, nor his execution.

He wasn't the only one. DJ looked bad tonight. He got 10 points, but it seemed like it was from racking up points late in the game to get his stats up. He looked lost for a lot of the game. He made his patented steal and dunk, moved well off the ball for a back door cut and dunk, but how oh HOW does he not recognize that his drives to the rim with Giannis waiting there will most likely result in blocks?!

We were determined to get Lonnie and Keldon going this game, and when DJ's role is to defer to set up others. He has these games where it looks like he forgets how to PG. Derrick was assertive and effective in his drives, though another subpar 1-5. Keldon was all kinds of wonderful again with moves we've not seen in each game so far. Great energy. He's been our most consistent and impressive scorer so far. Jakob looks more assertive on the O end, is wonderful with O rebs (team-high 6), and is finishing with excellent efficiency on O (5-9). Devin finally broke through a scoring drought with some clever spaces he found in the key for Js.

A word on Primo. Less than a minute of play time, yet was impactful on both ends. He didn't look at all fazed and in fact geared up for the defensive challenge of going up against Middleton, forced him to the outside, and contested very well for a miss. Then on O he skied for an O reb putback. Like this young man just gets it. You can see it and feel it. He has a way about him, he's smart, and he looks to make an impact each time he's out there. Not even a minute of game time, yet still left an impression.

It feels as if different players are featured in different games so far. I don't know whether that's by opportunity or design just to get various guys the experience of figuring out ways to score. It'll pay dividends with more reps. But like Sean said during the broadcast, we are missing simple plays. Some like the ones I mentioned earlier, others like what Sean pointed out. GSW runs a high screen for off ball mover (Klay) to get him open space up top. Instead, Derrick dribbled up left, Jakob rolled, to the rim, and Doug's man followed him, and although Derrick drove and got the 2, we missed a chance to get the ball to the hot hand. Reps will also only be as useful as the various plays we use them on. We still got 29 assists despite the woeful non-Doug 3 shooting, and despite good drives, we only got to the FT line SIX times. The disparity was 22-6 in FT chances, and 18-5 made FTs. That's a 13-point difference in a 10-point game. At home. Okay, NBA...

So we missed some opportunities on O versus a team that has plays like I said so ingrained that it's like they're automatic. We put up more shots but They made some flat out well defended and contested shots. Our D was flat out excellent for the most part. We allowed some drives inside, and we sagged on some pull up Js and gave away way too much space, but we were way better in contesting 3s, our switching was great, and our help D and running back in transition were all on point. Derrick stepped to take, I believe, three charges, and Jakob took one. He was called for a foul on another that was identical as the charge he took, but that's the risk. Just very active, smart, disruptive, clean defense throughout the game.

That we stayed with them on the second game of a back-to-back in a different time zone (as both coaches pointed out) showed a lot of solid play. Third game, third high scorer, with all five starters in double figures, six in total. A few tweaks on O and more chemistry there and we'll be making the right reads and making the shots we need to. We have to keep pushing through and keep the faith that the work will reap good results.

[Phreak50]

Both Murray and White have their strengths and weaknesses but neither are proper point guards or proper shooting guards.

One needs to go.

I like Murray's aggressiveness and intent to score but he isn't very good at it.

On the other hand, White is a better shooter and finisher at close range but rarely looks for his shot.

It's fun to watch a totally different style of Spurs and finally after all this time, Pop is lightening up and praising a young team for competing.

But ... If we are being honest we don't have players that will ever be stars. If you put Embiid in place of Poeltl or Mitchell in place of White or so and and so forth and we still have a team struggling to make the playoffs.

We have a bunch of good, 3rd best players on a competing team.

[Tomjas]

Simmons gets you into the playoffs

Just saying

[Saberestar]

4TH Q: SPURS 111

BUCKS 121

Well we hung with two high-powered, high-calibre teams and were in both games, essentially but for our 3 shooting.

Doug bounced back from a poor night for a career-high 7 made 3s on 11 attempts, but the rest of the team combined for the other 3-everything else: 3-27. Great that we put up 39 3s, but Jesus are we ever labouring to make them.

Lonnie was 7-15, but 1-8 from 3. He led the bench with 17 points and the next highest scoring bench Spur had 4 points. The bench scored 32 points on 14-33. Much better than 18 yesterday, but they were 2-17 from 3. Lonnie was the leading scorer at the half with 13. And that's the Jekyll/Hyde issue with him. I still don't trust him with the ball, and he's having far more chances to do something with it.

We parted with DD and yet his early career developing his O game seems to embody Lonnie. LWIV over-dribbles, takes too long to make decisions, misses easier plays (pass to corners with open players) to over orchestrate more difficult chances (pull back, reset, allow defenders to set up, drive over screen against multiple defenders for contested shots). It wasn't the only thing he did, and made good shots but man oh man he's that guy who needs everything set just so to read the play and create something. Still. When he drove he missed teammates when he drew multiple defenders to him. Just a lot of wasted possessions. Hate to say it, but it's either a mental thing that gets in the way or his BBIQ is just not quite there. Athleticism through the roof, but he needs the same kind of conditions to score, and I don't trust him with the ball in his hands, neither his decisions with it, nor his shot selection, nor his execution.

He wasn't the only one. DJ looked bad tonight. He got 10 points, but it seemed like it was from racking up points late in the game to get his stats up. He looked lost for a lot of the game. He made his patented steal and dunk, moved well off the ball for a back door cut and dunk, but how oh HOW does he not recognize that his drives to the rim with Giannis waiting there will most likely result in blocks?!

We were determined to get Lonnie and Keldon going this game, and when DJ's role is to defer to set up others. He has these games where it looks like he forgets how to PG. Derrick was assertive and effective in his drives, though another subpar 1-5. Keldon was all kinds of wonderful again with moves we've not seen in each game so far. Great energy. He's been our most consistent and impressive scorer so far. Jakob looks more assertive on the O end, is wonderful with O rebs (team-high 6), and is finishing with excellent efficiency on O (5-9). Devin finally broke through a scoring drought with some clever spaces he found in the key for Js.

A word on Primo. Less than a minute of play time, yet was impactful on both ends. He didn't look at all fazed and in fact geared up for the defensive challenge of going up against Middleton, forced him to the outside, and contested very well for a miss. Then on O he skied for an O reb putback. Like this young man just gets it. You can see it and feel it. He has a way about him, he's smart, and he looks to make an impact each time he's out there. Not even a minute of game time, yet still left an impression.

It feels as if different players are featured in different games so far. I don't know whether that's by opportunity or design just to get various guys the experience of figuring out ways to score. It'll pay dividends with more reps. But like Sean said during the broadcast, we are missing simple plays. Some like the ones I mentioned earlier, others like what Sean pointed out. GSW runs a high screen for off ball mover (Klay) to get him open space up top. Instead, Derrick dribbled up left, Jakob rolled, to the rim, and Doug's man followed him, and although Derrick drove and got the 2, we missed a chance to get the ball to the hot hand. Reps will also only be as useful as the various plays we use them on. We still got 29 assists despite the woeful non-Doug 3 shooting, and despite good drives, we only got to the FT line SIX times. The disparity was 22-6 in FT chances, and 18-5 made FTs. That's a 13-point difference in a 10-point game. At home. Okay, NBA...

So we missed some opportunities on O versus a team that has plays like I said so ingrained that it's like they're automatic. We put up more shots but They made some flat out well defended and contested shots. Our D was flat out excellent for the most part. We allowed some drives inside, and we sagged on some pull up Js and gave away way too much space, but we were way better in contesting 3s, our switching was great, and our help D and running back in transition were all on point. Derrick stepped to take, I believe, three charges, and Jakob took one. He was called for a foul on another that was identical as the charge he took, but that's the risk. Just very active, smart, disruptive, clean defense throughout the game.

That we stayed with them on the second game of a back-to-back in a different time zone (as both coaches pointed out) showed a lot of solid play. Third game, third high scorer, with all five starters in double figures, six in total. A few tweaks on O and more chemistry there and we'll be making the right reads and making the shots we need to. We have to keep pushing through and keep the faith that the work will reap good results.

As a Suns fan I am interested in why Thad Young doesn't play for you guys. Do you know if they are just waiting to trade him?

I would understand to not play him close to the trade's deadline but this early is even weird.

[imagump1313]

Simmons gets you into the playoffs

Just saying

I believe this but it looks like you guys are going to be stuck with him...

[G R E Y]

Simmons gets you into the playoffs

Just saying

But defense isn't our problem. Assists aren't either. It's simply making 3s. We're taking more but making less outside of Doug. Ben helps with neither.

Besides, Morey doesn't even want role player CJ and three 1st round picks. Keldon and Primo are not available, and DJ and Lonnie plus 2-3 1st round picks isn't enough. So whichever players become available in December will supposedly open up non-role players (or a combination of players not now available) is apparently what Morey is after.

It wouldn't surprise me if we are at the most involved in a bigger deal that sends Ben elsewhere. There's a lot going on with him that we've already dealt with and are happy to see the back of.