SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 11: SPURS VS. KINGS, 10-11-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

We're getting great D still so that's a positive. We pushed ahead to Bryn for a left corner 3 - good, and just now Keldon stepped into their pass attempt down low, we pushed the ball, had no play on the low right side, passed back up to Lonnie, he pulled it back, surveyed, and smartly drove with physicality finishing off the glass at the rim. Sweet.

p.s Lonnie clapped his hands at Bryn to pass him the ball there, and I love the assertiveness and recognition. Between the two, we don't want Bryn creating. Give it to Lonnie to do it.

[JeffReal]

You do great commentary. I don't always have anything to say, but I read what you write. FWIW if you want to know.

Overall, it was nice to see the Spurs shoot well, and it was an entertaining game to watch.

[G R E Y]

Ok looking back I may have been a bit anxious. But we've had comfortable leads before only for the angst to set in because we gave them away. Residual buildup transferred to this game, I guess. But if fans feel it I'm sure the players and coaching staff do, too, and on the whole we did a much better job in getting and maintaining the lead throughout the whole game.

We led the entire way and had four 30+ point Qs so a very solid scoring output. We created a lot of great looks with cuts, extra passes hitting trailing players and horns and cross court swings to the weak side or one of my favourites when we pass to the big at the elbow and he swings it to the opposite corner. Just a variety of plays that we got a variety of guys to execute and it was great to have them get more game reps and experience.

Doug had a hard time for much of the night getting open at the arc but he kept on running... and running and running and even though it was a slower start, he was rewarded for all the effort with breaking open in the 3RD Q and finishing with 6-12, 4-6 from 3. What an incredible asset to have instant 3s, and even or especially ones you can trust in transition. I was impressed by his perimeter D switches to not allow open passes and have them set up on O especially in the first half.

His fellow vet Thad has come along so quickly and he fits so well with us now. Unorthodox lefty hook from a strange release point, but hey it throws defenders off and it works. He's such a deft passer from the top of the arc and we've good for several back door cuts and high low passes for open makes now. Love that play.

We've done a great job working on the P&R and our bounce pocket passes right into the hands of rolling bigs are reaping good rewards for us. We used more drive and kick plays in this game - something that was a big staple of our O the last three seasons and I got kind of sick of seeing it, but sprinkling that one in to keep defenses honest is a solid play.

Thad led us with 8 assists, terrific, and also contributed 5 rebounds (3 on O), 1 steal and 1 block. His bigs counterpart Drew led us with a career-high 10-13FTs. He kept taking a beating inside and finished well. He had a string of boneheaded plays in the 1ST Q but settled in with good hand offs, rolls, and ball protection. He was an efficient 4-5, 6 boards (4 on O), 2 assists, and 1 steal.

He was one of three starters and seven Spurs in double figures, a very balanced attack, the best kind for us.

We have a stellar 18-32 from 3, and I love both numbers. I don't expect us to hit over 50% from 3, but we also had a great balance of outside shots and inside presence as we got 31FTAs. Trouble is, we made only 20. That's 11 points left on the court. We won in every scoring category, but we made more FTs from sheer attempts not efficiency. We're less likely to score so well from the arc so attention to FTs should always be a priority.

Keldon was 1-4FTs. Yelling in misses doesn't make them go in. He has a weird catapult motion where he pulls the ball back not just above his head but back and it doesn't even look like he sees his release. On top of that he has a huge spin on it from the curling motion and it's just off. Devin has a high release but it's up above his head and his release is compact and consistent. Keldon looks like it has a lot windup, a lot of wasted motion. It's sort of like when some tennis players have huge wind ups and follow throughs on their shots while others have more economical swings and are able to still get power and better accuracy as well as recovery in positioning because there are no extraneous movements. Habits. We expect Keldon to get to the FT line more as he progresses so I hope he and Chip can rework that shooting motion to something more streamlined so that it's more accurate and less dependent on the blind catapult release. It's affecting his 3s, too. As to his Euro step, it does feel as if either he’s been figured out or he’s just not making the best reads of when to use them. Some tweaks for better awareness will help.

Loved that Pop put Keldon at the top of the arc and in a more facilitating role. Great move to get him looking at the game differently and thinking differently and seeing how he can help orchestrate plays and set teammates up with passes. He had 4 assists in this game, along with 3 steals, a block, and team-high 12 rebounds (4 on O) where he skied for several of them in our end versus opponent hands, so even though he wasn't scoring efficiently he contributed in other ways. Good improvement and I hope he takes in that this is what we want more of from him.

DJ did a much better job passing the ball ahead in transition as opposed to keeping his dribble too long and defenders getting into position or instead of passing ahead he'd take the shot off his own dribble. DJ read the plays very well with well angled and accurate bounce passes on P&Rs right into the hands of receivers, found the 3 shooters and willingly gave it up to them, took 3s when defenders went under screens (2-5, it's coming along) and still got to his spots using screens and dribbling to create space for his pet spots. He led us with 26 points on 11-21, 2-2FTs, along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists and 2 steals. His patented read of which way the ball handler will use the screen then pouncing in to poke the ball away is fun to watch.

He led us in the way that a team relies on, too, in taking control of the team and settling it in. There's a different feel about him with the ball this season and it's great to see. I'm happy to be wrong about his trajectory even as it means I'm so far also wrong about Derrick's.

He's doing well on D, had 2 steals, 1 block, 3 rebounds, and dished 6 assists, but he's scored one basket in the last two games. Pop's doing everything he can to get him going - end of Q lead PG so that he can get the final shot - well he was supposed to but it was an abysmal series of accrued bad plays: a TO from an insecure contested dribble, a foul turned into a clear path foul turned into FTs turned into another foul with 0.1 left in the Q. Just... wow.... He at least used the glass more today, but Jesus it's hard to watch him on O right now. You can tell he's fighting some demons and while he's being put in scoring situations it also looks like it's the last thing he wants to do. Just conflict on the O end and the pressure mounts on him with every miss. If he can just be alone with the basket at the side of the rim and make each shot, repeat, go to a different spot, repeat, he can hopefully get the right rhythm and movement and timing.

He's frankly looked uncomfortable on O in scoring for the whole season so far. He's starting games assertively but with each miss it's like a recurring nightmare you dread but can't wake up from. He isn't yet at the **** THIS ****! and just go balls out through this wall; he's still trying to find ways around it. It's hard to see him struggle but if this results in him figuring it out, using it to elevate his game and having that experience to pull from in the future then great. I just hope it comes sooner than later. It's not just the shot, though, it's his wonky handles. His shot is confidence. His handles have not improved and it's a liability. The book on him is pressure and he's more likely to either lose it or pick up his dribble. He can't maneuver his way out of tight spots with it. So these are the two main O culprits for him. Whatever's weighing him down confidence-wise with his shot, that's mental, but the handles he can work on in the meantime. Feels like his missing shots is affecting other O areas and he's on his heels from it. If he leans into the handles work and improves it maybe it can work in reverse so that more confidence in this area can translate into some made shots.

Tre has a small case of Derrick-itis with missed floaters and layups and Js he was making confidently in SL. More reps needed.

Other guys stepping up with Jakob and Diop out and Derrick struggling is a positive. Devin is growing before our eyes. Great defender, great shooter, 5-7 from 3, great rebounder (5), just a solid threat so that when one line-up or player is subbed out there’s no drop off with the bench player(s) coming in. A little more polish with his handles to beat his man off the dribble on drives is something that’ll open up his O game even more. Beautiful shot. Smart. Love his demeanour. I’m so happy we got to pick him and did. He’s barely scratched the surface of the player he’ll become.

Lonnie has been hit and miss and though some of his habits – missed bunnies at the rim – still happen, he’s used the glass well, is showing more assertiveness, and more controlled athleticism so that it is an advantage rather than a wild unreliable factor. He made 3s, drove, got to the FT line for 15 points on 5-11, 2-5 from 3, and 3-4 FTs. He runs off ball well go get to open spots, and he’s more reliable on D in man coverage and effort over screens of closing the gap on shooters when he goes under screens. Consistency and BBIQ – when not to take a one-and-done shot early in the clock – seldom, ok? - are what we hope from him. Great contribution on both ends tonight.

Hey look at Sparty and his 15 points in 13 minutes on 6-11, 3-5 from 3! Physical drives, didn’t over dribble, perfect in his role tonight.

Solid team rebounding without Jakob and Jock. It’s good experience but here’s hoping we don’t go without it too long. Thirty-four assists, 10 steals to only eight TOs is a terrific team effort. Fifty-four points from 3 and 48 points in the paint as well as 20 from their TOs showed the full complement of our two-way game when it’s on. It of course helps when the opponent’s shot isn’t falling – we’ve been there – but we didn’t give up too many open 3s. Cleaning up the drives right through the middle of our key is something to work on, but guys are recognizing when and where to step up on help D for contests and strips. We kept getting stripped and lost balls off us on drives so using the body and angles more to protect the ball will help. We only had 8 TOs but at least three were from this type of play alone so in terms of fine tuning the details, there are some things to work on.

Mostly the consistency in effort, not staying in O lulls too long, and finding ways to respond were the best parts of the game. The more we stay locked in first on D then on team O the stronger we are. Solid. Let’s build on it.

[G R E Y]

You do great commentary. I don't always have anything to say, but I read what you write. FWIW if you want to know.

Overall, it was nice to see the Spurs shoot well, and it was an entertaining game to watch.

Appreciate it, thank you, Jeff! Agree that this was a fun one. It's nice to have our solid play rewarded with a W.

[G R E Y]

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[Phreak50]

I said it back when Klay lit up the team for his historic quarter, the Kings are the worst defensive team I've ever seen, in terms of simply not trying. I'll say it again now.

136 points by this Spurs team is laughable.

Poor Kings fans.