SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 24: SPURS VS. NUGGETS, 9-12-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

We're getting suckered into their pace and making mistakes like mid-air passes for TOs and fouls.

Now we're fouling all over the place. 3RD Q woes

[G R E Y]

I get that Jakob sags to get boards, but Christ when Jokic is at the top of the key it's really not THAT far to go out and at least get a hand up on. Can we at least pretend to contest the switches on pick and pops?

[imagump1313]

IDK if you have been watching the Spurs feed or not the last couple games but having Fabricio Oberto sitting in for Sean Elliot has been great. I always loved that guy!

Yeah they brought Fab in after starting him in Austin or on the radio, don't recall. He's super nice but has always kind of creeped me out in that he looks like a Bond villain. Totally on me lol but he provides good basketball commentary and has a nice demeanour and pace to contributions. Isn't afraid of silence, doesn't over talk.

Loved that Beadle hasn't come in with her frantic high-school cheerleader energy to talk about everything BUT the game while the game is going on. Not sure whose idea it was for these segments, but man what a distraction. Like Fab from what I've heard.

Yeah, I don't understand the Beadle thing. I like her, but that segment is completely useless. Might as well have Kim Kardashian sit in.

[imagump1313]

Poeltl doesn't need any help committing fouls. They are all over him tonight LOL. In a HOME game...

[G R E Y]

DREW **** TWO MISSED **** BUNNIES AT THE RIM.

USE. THE. ****. GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[G R E Y]

Lonnie FFS what a dumb **** drive - against at least two defenders, off balance, didn't use glass, miss. Christ it's like the mental light goes off at just the wrong times, like the wires aren't connected properly.

[G R E Y]

PUT. THAD. IN!

DREW THE **** TURNOVER MACHINE.

[G R E Y]

WHEN WILL DJ LEARN TO STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP ONE-HANDED PASSES?!

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 100

NUGGETS 90

We've reached one hundred points in three Qs

Sluggish, and I wish we'd have really turned a corner forward in either of the last two Qs, but considering our patterns of trouble in the middle two Qs and averaging getting outscored in them, that we won both by a point each, I like that we're going into the final Q with a double digit lead.

We have to be DILIGENT, INTELLIGENT, RESILIENT, AND POISED, using the best of our strengths of movement and making sure we cut off the key and the arc and get all rebounds. STRONG PUSH FOR A STRONG FINISH!

[G R E Y]

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF BASKETBALL GODS PUT SOMEONE IN FOR DREW!

[G R E Y]

AND JAKOB IS IN!

[G R E Y]

YEAH LET'S CONTEST THE **** ARC, SPURS! COME ON!!!

[G R E Y]

Settle down the D, move better, make more crisp passes, make more purposeful drives and makes. Protect our key, protect our arc, protect the ball, grab all rebounds, Spurs.

[G R E Y]

I don't understand our rush to score points up double digits and trying to go mano-a-mano against them. This is THEIR game, WE are up, WE must be disciplined and run the clock well and execute better.

[G R E Y]

Pop giving no quarter to the refs RRAWWWR!!!

[G R E Y]

DJ insisting on getting his points here at the expense of his teammates is NOT a good PG look. Why take 3s when Doug and Diop are on the court? Doug for the 3s -reward him for all the running, Diop with solid two-way play, reward him with some attempts. DON'T JUST LOOK FOR YOUR OWN especially with early clock shots, Christ.

Then he fouls a 3 shot...

[G R E Y]

PHEW! and YEAH!

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 123

NUGGETS 111

Solid team win versus a fatigued but still well oiled executing machine of a team that we had to be vigilant about for the whole game. In a way, these closer games where we have to keep withstanding runs and tests is better for us as we have to stay locked in. Even then we had some lulls.

We made some errors that are well within our control to improve, and made some good plays on both ends to keep pulling ahead every time they brought it close. It's nice to be on the leading end-to-end and gaining experience of staying ahead end of a game.

Anyway, most nights I'm chasing sleep as I finish these well into the night but I'm actually fatigued at a normal hour so I'm taking advantage of it and I'll finish this tomorrow.

Solid team win.

-------

Ok, so we faced a team on an SEGABABA after travel, and to whatever extent that affected the game, so be it. We were just in that very situation, and it's something al teams have to deal with. We had to take care of our side game and we did just that.

As I mentioned earlier, they tried to outpace us to overcome inefficiency, and picked their spots to make bursts of runs. We got a big lead and needed it because their talented C still got a triple double. We also had to overcome getting bodied a lot by their PF down low. This is where having Keldon would have helped, but we adjusted well to double him or send help D to seal up the baseline.

Although we got outshot 94-88FGAs, we still made 46-42 FGs largely on 3s and points in the paint. The 3s were even as both teams made 15 (them on 39 attempts, us on 35). I think both those numbers for us are very encouraging. We're actually one of the top teams in terms of taking 'good' 3s:

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This, along with the steps of taking more 3s and limiting non-paint 2s are steps in the right direction.

But we also did a great job in rebounds, grabbing 54-33, and 14-5 on O. This was crucial as we got badly outrebounded previously and made a concerted effort to get the points inside as well as limit second chance points on us, something that we also improved upon from the previous game. The rebounding contributed to our 58-44 points in the paint advantage as well.

We did, however, give up 18 points off of our13 TOs, and even though they were the tired team, we got only 7 points off of their 9 TOs. Something to clean up. We must also be careful about the amount of 3s we give up. That we made 15 is great, and though some of their shots were very well contested (you tip your hat and move on), others we did not rotate well to and did not get out to contest nearly closely enough. Something else to be aware of. Better communication and response to close out will help.

Despite the big scoring Qs and close Qs, we still won each of them, and despite their runs (perhaps, in part, because of them) we kept pushing back well to stay ahead from end to end. They even closed the lead down to four points and we managed to steady our play on both ends to bring up the lead. It's great experience for us versus a talented, disciplined team that executes its sets well.

I thought we'd be hurting with Keldon out but with Devin back and Lonnie stepping up, we were able to put together a crisp, efficient team game. Diop started in Keldon's place, and chipped in 7 points on 3-8, 1-2 from 3, 0-2FTs. He was more impactful defensively as his length was a factor in deflections and preventing easy passes and shots, and on the boards. He grabbed 9, and tied the team high with 3 on O. He also contributed 2 assists, and 2 steals. Solid.

Jakob only scored 9 points on 4-7, 1-3FTs, team-high 6 boards on O for 9 in total, and dished out SEVEN assists. I love that we're using him as a facilitator and that he's embracing that role growth as well. Add the 2 blocks he got and the other additional shots he altered, he was a crucial part of our O game even if he didn't score as much. Great all around, impactful two-way contribution. He got into foul trouble, and you can tell he was targeted to get him out and to get him to the FT line, but neither ended up impacting us negatively. I think he's going to be targeted in these ways more as he is the D cog down low, and so we must help him out with his board work and doubling his man when we can.

Joining the front court was Doug who was spry and quick and effective just about every time he touched the ball. He scored 17 points on 6-12, 3-7 from 3, 2-2FTs, and grabbed 3 boards. What isn't on the stat sheet is how much better he is in moving his feet to stay with the dribbler, at having his hands up as he does so, at how getting switched on is no longer some big advantage to the O team. Love his game and how well he fits with not only our system but our young group as well.

Our back court was solid on both ends. We are at our best when we have multiple scoring threats going, as well as the steady, dependable D from them. They were efficient and for the most part took their shots within the flow of the game from what we tried to construct. I do think that at times DJ takes unwarranted shots too early in the clock when we're up, not sure what that's about, but overall his 'get mine' tendency is not as prominent now since more of the team is more reliably able to contribute and we have better chemistry to get more of them going as well.

Derrick led us with 23 on assertive 9-14, 2-6 from 3, 3-4FTs, along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks. And he stepped up to take a patented charge as well. When he wasn't using his body on D, he was using it on O to drive and drive and drive, breaking down their D time and again. All of his non-3s shots were in the paint. You can tell he really gets up for the team from his home state. Love it when he plays this way.

DJ was a terrific 7-16, 3-8 from 3 (some off his own dribble using the screen, which is great to see him adding to his game), 3-4FTs (above his average, god sign), 8 boards (3 on O), 1 steal, and team-high 9 assists. Not only a stat stuffer, but an impactful stat stuffer. For some reason DJ missed everything but one mid range J from the left side in this game, but made 305 in the paint and 3-4 3s from the middle-to-slightly right side of the arc. I love when he gets into his rhythm dancing-on-a-string dribble to cross over opponents, create space, and his his mid range Js or get into the key for good touch floaters. But even our mid range lover has lowered the number of non-paint 2s he takes. He's more judicious as to when he takes them, and that's a positive.

Good Lonnie led the bench in minutes (26) and points (21) on solid 7-12, 3-5 from 3, 4-4FTs along with 2 boards (1 on O) and 5 assists (great!). He talked about discussing being more aggressive with Manu, about how Manu was encouraging him that he belongs and he has a lot to offer with his game. So with Manu's voice in his head, there was Lonnie driving relentlessly when he wasn't shooting 3s. ALL of his shots were either from the arc or in the paint. Some were weird, off-balance, non-glass using attempts versus multiple defenders, but several others were off the glass, using his physicality and speed to get by one defender and absorb the contact from another at the rim. I rip into him a lot so it's on fair to give him full credit when he plays well, and he was central to our balanced scoring threat. THIS is the Lonnie we need him to be. Bottle it, and repeat!

Joining was Drew as the first big off the bench again and he contributed a big-leading 14 points on 5-8, 1-1 from 3(!), 3-3FTs, 6 boards (1 on O), and a block. He got caught defensively at times, getting blown by on drives, but played with a ton of energy, running out in transition, catching full court passes for dunks, or fakes and put ins.

It was great to see Devin back, and he looked like he was fully healed. He had an extra spring in his step, and showed it with a fantastic dunk where he changed the position of the ball mid air to get it away from swatting hands for a fierce dunk. In 17 minutes, he chipped in 9 points on 4-8, 1-5 from 3, 5 boards, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. LOVE his burgeoning two-way game.

Tre didn't take any shots but was a bull and a pest on D and contributed 2 boards (1 on O) and 5 assists. I think he's still finding his way in terms of rhythm and pet shot making. Sometimes he takes 8 shots and even though I like his moxie in driving at bigger defenders, he has to get the experience of finishing around them or using the rim as protection with reverse finishes because he's getting blocked noticeably when going forward at bigger players right now. It's a matter of timing, quick release, and craftiness around the rim. It'll come, just with some adjustments along the way.

gump must have been thrilled with Bryn's 6 minutes

It's interesting that Thad and Drew alternate being the first big off the bench. Not sure it 'means' anything beyond Thad struggling a bit in a couple of games and so we went with an energy big to see what help Jakob could get. Also, with Dec. 15 around the corner, we have to be mindful of keeping Thad healthy.

As to our play, I think we still have some room for improvement in terms of being mindful about boxing out. Game in, game out, we're out of position too much or don't hustle enough for the 50/50 balls. I also hope we are more mindful about limiting unforced TOs. Those out of timeout steps out of bounds or travels are signs of lack of focus at times. Just some crispness we can clean up. I loved our strong start and our resilience throughout the game to withstand their runs, but we have to be ever focused on making sure we cover the 3s and limit drives inside. It takes just one guy not recognizing where he needs to go for it to go sideways versus a good team. And as for our switches, we got caught with our guards on their bigs inside quite a lot so it's also a matter of recognition, helping one another out or switching back where possible.

A solid two-way team win, and the reward is an even tougher test in the next one. We have a lot of good things to build on, keeping in mind as well to improve our transition play, our boxing our fundamentals, and our ball protection. We'll need them all going forward.

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS
[tweet]So all of his non-3s shots were in the paint[/tweet]

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