SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 33: SPURS VS. JAZZ, 27-12-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Fresh off a solid performance in which we did what we needed to do, we face a team looking to avenge a recent loss so we will have to raise both our floor and ceiling: efficient, varied scoring but based on better ball protection, interior defense and guarding of our arc. Full focus, heart, and effort for 48.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Monday, December 27, 2021, 7:30pm (CT)

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GO SPURS GO!!!

[ducler]

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[imagump1313]

We are two of the "healthiest" teams in the league ATM. I'm sure they haven't forgotten the game we won a couple weeks back so I'm thinking we will get their best effort. Interesting to see how we react.

[G R E Y]

Weird fouls called, yes?

[G R E Y]

Derrick too hesitant on O so far, picking up his dribble too early, too.

[G R E Y]

Ball and shot hog Lonnie at it again.

Also, we have to stop Clarkson...

[G R E Y]

Devin is SO SMART off ball already. Once he develops a handle he can use to blow by opponents, watch out.

[G R E Y]

1ST Q: SPURS 27

JAZZ 34

We finish on the wrong end of a 10-4 run with Tre and Derrick being too meek on O and Lonnie being far too much of a bloody hog. He has SEVEN shot attempts, more than double of any other Spur. True he's made three, BUT he's also missed a several cutters for passes inside.

Derrick needs to get his O game going. Tre, too. Can't say it enough. They have to be a threat to make SOMETHING happen on O otherwise it's far too easy for the opponents to defend us.

We're allowing too many points in the paint via drives. They blew it open by banging in the paint and then sniping from the arc towards the end of the Q. We have to be aware of their patterns.

[G R E Y]

WE ARE 1-7 FROM 3 SO ON A 4 ON 2 WE TAKE A TRANSITION... 3 MISS. CHRIST ALMIGHTY...

EDIT: OK WE GET ANOTHER FAST BREAK CHANCE, LED BY JAKOB IN THE OPEN COURT AND HE SMARTLY PASSES TO DEVIN ON THE RIGHT SIDE FOR A LAYUP. LIKE I SAID, DEVIN IS BBIQ PERSONIFIED.

[G R E Y]

REQUISITE GET BRYN OUT OF THE GAME REQUEST... **** DUMMY...

[Fundamentals21]

Can we get rid of Bryn and give those minutes to Joe Wieskamp? I'd be a little more hopeful for our future.

[G R E Y]

Can we get rid of Bryn and give those minutes to Joe Wieskamp? I'd be a little more hopeful for our future.

Yeah he's sucked. I see Joe in more of Doug's role, so it's a nice transition. I hope we can trade Bryn before the deadline.

[G R E Y]

We have 8 points with just under two minutes left in the 2ND Q...

[imagump1313]

We seem to be making a concerted effort to drive everything to the basket, which I like but its a strange strategy against this team.

[G R E Y]

2ND Q: SPURS 43

JAZZ 53

We lost the 2ND Q 19-16, but basically doubled our Q output in the final two minutes, so good push towards the end of the Q.

We're labouring on O in terms of made 3s - only 1-11(!) to their 4-14 - and at the FT line where we are 4-9(!) to their 9-14. Very poor shooting where we excelled just yesterday.

I like how Derrick asserted himself more and drove and finished better. Devin is not only smart but his drives look so pretty. He's leading us in scoring with 8 points by exploiting his strengths on off ball movement, great cuts, and pretty finishes at the rim.

Jock is the only Spur to make a 3.

Only three starters even attempted a 3. We can't be so Jekyll and Hyde from one game to the next. Part of that is also taking the shots that opponents allow, but we're just not doing a good job in getting more open ones.

They also have a 30-20 rebounding advantage, so we're not getting second chance points whereas it feels like they're mucking about in our key time and again and getting their hands on balls.

Big difference form yesterday to what we're being allowed to get on O tonight, and we're adjusting to having to work harder as the game progresses. Some guys are in their own mode within the team concept -- looking at you, Lonnie!!! grrr - and the one and done shots when we're not even ready to rebound are **** killers. At least he peppers it with some drives and makes. Bryn, on the other hand, uugh...

Tre is a dogged defender and does a good job setting up teammates, but his O game is sorely lacking. We need some scoring punch from him like what we saw in Summer League.

We did do a good job cutting their 15-point lead down to 10 in the last two minutes of the 2ND Q on solid D followed by tough, physical drives. More physicality and energy on both ends by us is needed.

Take and make more 3s, get their C to foul out. Make our FTs. Come back, get the lead, keep it. Fun. Fin.

[G R E Y]

Apparently EVERY drive of theirs will result in a foul. Every. Single. One.

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 70

JAZZ 82

So we've made a concerted effort in increasing the energy and physicality but apparently aren't touched when we miss all those contested shots at their rim.

Both teams have now made six 3s, we even have one more made FG, but Jesus Christ they have 18-25FTs to our 4-9FTs. WE HAVE FOUR OF NINE FREE THROW chances. Who's the home team? Who's the lead ref?

I heard the magic words - "Spurs down by 16..." We have them right where we want them. Let's turn it now.

[G R E Y]

Our G-Leaguers HAVE FORCED THEM TO PUT THEIR STARTERS IN. 8-0 RUN.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 104

JAZZ 110

We won the 4TH Q 34-28, almost an inverse of the 1ST Q we lost, with the middle two Qs being close but still us behind we didn't make a big enough push at the end to pull through. Still, we were on the second game of a back-to-back, third game in five nights, and without our anchor, DJ, and we still pulled an 18-point deficit to within six.

A slower start did us in really. Slower not in terms of pace as both teams were about even, but in the crispness of our execution. Just looked like mental fog was taking over and we made uncharacteristic bad passes for TOs, read the plays incorrectly on O, missed cutters, missed P&R chances, missed the fast break chances, missed the extra pass for the open shot.

We were outrebounded 55-44, but took 14 more FGAs, actually made five more shots overall, made one more 3, and won the points in the paint convincingly 68-54 but the bloody FTs did us in. We had nine FT chances all game. **** NINE! We made only four, so poor execution on our part but what in the blue hell was the 30FTAs against? Nothing we did could close that 23-4 gap. Well driving more and getting calls. I'd say we settled for outside shots too much but given out PITP output... Part of it is on us to be more disciplined in not reaching in, for instance, so control what we can even if it felt tilted.

Lonnie was in 'get mine at the cost of the team concept' mode. Again. One and done shots too early in the clock without teammates being set up for rebounds and long rebounds led to quick transition points for them. He wasn't the only culprit, but he's stood out the last maybe three games or so in being not just the scoring spark plug off the bench but also in how he's doing it, reverting to looking for nothing but his own shot first. It really stood out. I've commented in previous games that even when the shots went in, the reads of situation and time weren't good. When the shots don't go in, his pushing for stats in a contract year stand out badly. Perhaps I'm imputing motives here, but there's a decided shift in his approach and that it skips steps in our system - good to great shots, make the extra pass, keep moving, and trust that your teammates will get the ball as opposed to over dribbling and only passing the ball when there's no other option. He did also drive sparingly but well and finished better at the rim so it's not all a piling on him. After all, he did fight over screens well, stayed with drivers better, got some strips down low and forced secondary options on their drives. And though he was a team worst -23, he wasn't the only Spurs with 5-13, (1-4 from 3). He did look for others more towards the latter part of the game and got 3 assists, but missed some chances earlier on.

After leading us in scoring Keldon struggled finishing at the rim and from the arc. He got swatted and deflected and contested time and again in the key. Sometimes fouled, sure, but he just couldn't get the Euro to work, the right angles in tight spaces, except for when he got a first step and was able to use his momentum and physicality and right touch at the rim. But that touch was far and few between just not getting through. We struggle versus big front courts, and we tend to just double down and create self-fulfilled prophecy by congesting the key with little spacing and putting ourselves in a position to make near perfect passes or else... and or or else happened with strips inside, deflections, etc. They got 8 steals to 9 of our TOs.

Even Jakob was uncharacteristically inefficient with 5-11 but did a lot of board work with a team high 13 boards, team high 4 on O, and second on the team with 5 assists. Busy night. Sometimes I think I expect so much from him that when he has a near 50% efficiency it's a bit disappointing, but that's a great night for any other player. Bigs are expected to have a higher efficiency given the proximity to the rim they usually operate in, but there's also such physicality they have to handle, and covering for others' mistakes as they're often the last line of defense. On top of all that work, Jakob has grown as a deft passer. He's more patient at the top of the key, waiting for movers, cutters, or DHOs. His elbow passes to the weak side stand out, too. His asset of being so mobile (lead a fast break tonight!) and slinky around the rim means that sometimes he gets tossed around by more power-centered bigs. Keldon was a big help with 7 D boards, but the boards challenge was evident in that Jakob got nearly half of all our O boards.

Diop was back to earth in his role. We needed some size and length and he was disruptive defensively, but wasn't really that impactful versus an experienced team that knows its sets and executes them with precision.

Doug was a quiet assassin for us. Such an asset doing what he always does - moves, cuts, drives, and makes 3s. 17 on 7-13, 3-6 from 3, with 4 boards was a better output. Perfect fit for our system, still gets his chances inside and out without taking anything away from others. Something Lonnie could do well to observe and trust more.

Derrick started very slow again and we needed a more assertive version of him all around. He was quite tentative not only with his own shot but also in his decisions. It felt like he was more reactive to what defenses were doing rather than pushing to impose our game, and so got caught picking up his dribble early and teammates had to bail him out, or made those near impossible passes inside to Jakob that got picked off. He got more comfortable and assertive as the game progressed so that he led us in scoring (21 on 8-16, 3-6 from 3, 2-3FTs), got 2 boards, led us with 8 assists, had 3 steals, and a block. Terrific all around game, but much like Derrick, the team was chasing what we'd bottled in yesterday's game.

Devin keeps showing more flashes of the burgeoning incredible player he can become. He has this feline quality to his style of play. He moves quietly and gets into spaces that surprise opponents, then pounces ferociously at the rim. He makes such smart plays on both ends, plays his game within our system (see, Lonnie, it IS possible!) and is being entrusted with bigger responsibilities. He led the bench in minutes (29), points (13), and rebounds (6). He doesn't really push his O game to the point of strain and when he doesn't have it, he gets busy contributing in other ways. Love that blend of BBIQ and instincts and I can't wait to see the kind of player he grows into.

Bryn - trade bait. Sorry, man. He knows what he has to do, what he excels at and at times still overdoes with what we don't need and not enough of what we do. 0-3 isn't cutting it. At least gone are the 20MPG games.

Thad - DNP. One public negotiation too many. To his credit, there he was on the sidelines during a timeout talking to the huddle of players who were to get back onto the court, animated, and holding their attention. Solid vet turn and example. No media; still helping the team.

Jock struggled to score(3-8, 1-5 from 3), the 3 just wasn't there after his first make, but this is a tough matchup for many teams' bigs.

We're going to need to get more from Tre on O. It's just the way it is. There are PGs behind him coming up (and we didn't extend bigger Weatherspoon who is now killing it on O for the Warriors' G-League team). We have a big drop off in PG O contribution and we need him to step up and bridge that gap. 1-1, 1 board, 2 assist isn't cutting it. On D he's relentless in staying with opponents but will need to add both DJ's and Derrick's pokes for steals and Patty's bulk, shadow D getting right into a ball handler's space, and wide stance to not be moved. Right now, opponents are just shooting over him. As he gets more experience and develops his body more, he'll learn how to mix his relentless competitive will with other tools to stop bigger opponents.

The G-League group showed out. 8-0 run to force opponent starters back in and Primo, Joe, Cacok, Tre, and Drew still gave them a run for their money. Their 15-point lead was trimmed to 6 by the end of the game. Interesting picks now given our FA signings and how our team is constructed. Looks like Primo will be taking someone's spot by next season at the latest. We have a lot of guards and some are on the older end of the young vets, some with contracts up in the air, some FAs. While they're still here, Primo develops as he's being increasingly incorporated into the big clubs' line-ups.

Same thing for Joe. He can snipe the 3 so we're already talking about replacing Bryn with him, but I think once Doug's contract is up, we will have transitioned to Joe in that 3s and drives role. The crowds cheer Primo's name now, but unheralded Joe has noticeably improved as well. He doesn't pass up 3s, has great body control and confidence on his drives, is already 6'7", and when he fills out his beanpole body, will be the next 3s and drives dominant guy on our team.

Same as Jock has supplanted Drew, and we took the surprise choice of releasing Luka when we signed Zach (same with Quinn when we drafted Tre, and the jury is up on that one but it's also early). Looking back, the path of raising the floor is in place with choices PATFO made. To bring it back to the game thread, we're seeing growth with the youth movement on the big club, glimpses of better team cohesion with the Austin players, and some interesting pushes for position already.

One of the signs of our growth is pushing through slower starts or valleys with whichever subs come in to make an impact. I like that we competed and finished strong when we were down big, that we had some moxie to keep competing. Guys want their chance to show how they've improved and force Pop to play them and in so doing gave us a strong push late. Good to finish strong. Bodes well.