SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 61: SPURS AT WIZARDS, 25-2-2022, 6PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

JEKYLL/HYDE FIRST TO SECOND HALF OF THE Q

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 101

WIZARDS 100

Great start, terrible finish, redemptive finish, ironically at the hand of two contested Lonnie Js.

We lost the Q but still managed to stay ahead after losing an 11-point lead. God fightback.

We're only 5-18 from 3 so we have to keep pressuring the paint and not settle for one and done 3s. Run our sets.

We MUST guard the arc, we MUST keep driving to get to the FT line and make our charity stripe shots, we MUST run back on D.

[Phreak50]

Embarrassing effort.

No one even pretending to be interested in defense on either team.

[G R E Y]

More clean D pressure.

Good O movement.

[G R E Y]

Loving our high low passes and back door cuts this game. Great looks and finishes.

[Phreak50]

Sure, leave the 46% season free throw shooter in the game.

Poeltl will always be unplayable in close games.

[G R E Y]

Why is Lonnie out there late in the game? WHY?!

[G R E Y]

That was a bad O possession by DJ. ISO ball didn't work. Can't risk it. Our bread and butter is movement.

[G R E Y]

ANOTHER bad DJ possession.

Mr. All Star has to his head. This and his 5 TOs have been difference makers here.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 130

WIZARDS 130

Absolutely brutal finish to the Q. All we had to do was tie the Q but in losing it by 1 the game is tied. They finished the game on an 8-0 run on bad shots and bad D by us.

Pop absolutely forced Jakob to stay in the FT fire with the hack-a-Jak.

LONNIE SHOULD NOT BE SHOOTING 3S. EVER. IN THE 4TH Qs.

We should not still be playing as we had a 128-120 lead with less than 1: left in the game but here we are.

Gut check and hustle and BBIQ and poise time.

[G R E Y]

OT: SPURS 145

WIZARDS 145

Again, DJ makes a bad end of game choice. It's not the ISO shot so much as the time left on the clock. We got lucky. Twice.

If we could JUST HOLD a LEAD.

Defense, poise, BBIQ, hustle.

[G R E Y]

2ND OT: SPURS 157

WIZARDS 153

I need a lie down for a minute...

------------

Well to paraphrase gump - wut?!

Just a brief report about a seesaw battle. As much as I've been dogging Lonnie, he also gets full credit for great play and tonight, amidst the requisite inexplicable TOs he has to get out of his system lol, he was a big difference maker for us. After we lost our 11-point lead in the 3RD Q, his single-handed run towards the end of it not only got our lead back, it generated the right mojo with his last second bucket for the lead; we have yet to win a game this season when we are down after three Qs. Crazy stat, but there it is. Lonnie's make put us on the right path. Every play counts.

He led the bench with 23 points on a solid 9-17, AND 2-5 from 3 - the only bench player to make one! - 3-6FTs, with 4 boards (1 on O), 1 assist, 3 TOs, and second best +9 on the team. He was central in our bench's 39 points (which helped to keep pace with their 42), driving relentlessly, initiating physicality, absorbing contact, and using his freakish athleticism to give us a different look that a slashing Doug and a bully ball Keldon do. In a way, Lonnie is a blend of both of them, and his unorthodox finishing style gives us an added advantage. Solid man D as well. If I had to point out an area of improvement, in this game he was ball watching a bit and missed some cutters that were right by him for easy points, but he forced far more points than he gave up and was entrusted with end of game minutes by Pop again which forces him to just adjust and play and for the most part he's been able to get out of his head and just play through mistakes and not overthink just play.

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I think these are post-trade deadline which is interesting. Maybe some weight has come off his shoulders, too. He was in Cleveland to support DJ in the AS festivities as well as with Keldon at the Rodeo in SA and it seems he was inspired by the first and let loose in the second. Anyway, a contributing Lonnie is a huge positive difference maker for us.

DJ and Keldon poured in the points combining for 63(!) and had moments of their best patented shots. DJ got another triple double (31 on 12-20, 1-3 from 3, 6-6FTs, 13 boards with 2 on O, 14 assists) by the 3RD Q which is kind of ridiculous, but so fun and welcome. Some of DJ's decisions like end of Q and end of game ISO attempts with too much time left on the clock are decisions for film, and he uncharacteristically had 6 TOs. He was doubled aggressively in the second half and we didn't do a good job coming to him to get a good angle pass out. He didn't help his cause by getting caught in traps on the sidelines. On one inbound, he got stripped on the right sideline and we gave up a basket, he had no help when he got caught. We have long had a tendency to leave the ball handler to his own devices in the back court, and in this game it almost cost us the W.

But DJ's post-AS weariness showed, especially given we went into double OT. Fun needs rest, too, and DJ really did look weary when he TO'd it around four times in a row. Tre provided some assertive minutes even though he was only 1-3. "Drive" was clearly our mantra as Tre was second to Lonnie in FT attempts with 5, making a bench high 4. Every Spur except for Zach got to the FT line, and our relentless attack from everyone resulted in 34-43FTs. That's a lot of points left on the court, but we pushed for so many chances that it helped to offset the misses. Still, room for improvement.

The 15-point FT difference helped to offset the 3s disparity in their favour. They made seven more 3s than we did for a 21-point advantage. Our 9-29 from the arc needs work in both categories. Doug's 0-3 from 3 reflects that need as well. And that our newly formed back court was a poor 2-10 from the arc will surely be discussed as well. Still, timing is everything, and DJ's clutch 3 at the end of the shot clock to give us a lead late in the game was a gutsy make.

Keldon led us with a career high 32 on 10-20, team high 5-9 from 3, 7-7FTs, with 7 boards (1 on O) and 2 assists. He scored in a variety of ways, using his bulk, touch, accuracy, and of course wanton physicality. Great to see the chemistry developing as well as his adjusting to getting shots within our system. I do wonder whether we can grow to entrust more than DJ as the clutch shot taker? If it's only DJ right now, it's too easy for opponents to game plan in close late game situations.

Devin as starter didn't fare badly except for from the arc. 1-7 will happen, but it's been happening more than not lately and that's what we have to live with when a second year player is finding his consistency in a bigger role. Keldon took on this same challenge - getting (forcing his way, really) a starting spot late in the season in his second year and that steeper curve resulted in his game growing a lot more so as to keep the position. We've clearly seen enough of Devin's game to have made a trade to open up the spot, and with Derrick's departure we now have more minutes for Devin, Tre, and Lonnie. So far the gamble is paying off with each one showing more in a given game.

We will need more from our back court in the 3s department, though, there's no sugar coating it. Not much you can do except keep getting game experience. In the meantime, Devin's drives and pretty finishes at the rim were effective, too. Solid D and rebounding, but you can see that the bigger role is something he's adjusting to. Fine. Growth is the goal.

Jakob has been phenomenal for us, getting a career high as well with 28 points on a stellar 12-15, including calling for the pass late in the second OT and making a clutch pop-a-shot to seal the game. Kudos to DJ for giving up the ball and making the right pass in a pressure situation. Trust and chemistry between them has grown so much since Jakob has been inserted as the starting C, and his bigger O role better balances the gold standard D he provides. He even made 4-8FTs when Pop kept him in the fire of hack-a-Jak. He made 4-6FTs in that pressure situation. Good to go through this now and have the experience.

Zach is still easing himself into game action and rhythm, making 2-5 in 16 minutes. I liked his help D timing on O boards (3) and in getting a block (1) and several contests. He will not play tomorrow, and that perhaps explains Jock's DNP tonight, but his adding 1 assist and 2 steals give a glimpse into the breadth of his game.

We also showed our search for quality PF play continues. We've shored up our Cs rotation for the better, but Doug as starting PF and Diop as back up PF are plug in solutions. Diop has a nice touch at the rim on back door cuts and drives, and makes FTs well, and can even hit a 3, but frankly all his scoring is a bonus. He's a terrific character and a reliable defender. A freakish wingspan is always disruptive even as his frame is more slight than that of his opponents; there's only so much a less physical presence can do. Their guards even drove at and pushed back Jakob at times, so ensuring that the first step and easy shots don't go up early and running down drives for blocks are where their mobility is most useful.

Satoransky pitched in 9 minutes and was the experienced driver off DHOs we expect. He drove drove drove and made 3-4FTs. He didn't look out of place on D switches. His length and experience are welcome as were his 3 points in a close game. At least we got a glimpse of another acquisition.

We had 17 TOs(!) and gave up 19 bloody points but luckily we took better than we gave, getting 25 points off of their 16 TOs. Our rebounding was overall solid as we won the boards battle 50-39, including 16-11 on O boards, though frankly they got some timely ones late in the game to keep the pressure up till just about the last play.

We had a double digit lead a few times, absorbed their runs for which Pop called timeouts to stem momentum and reset our play - Devin got an earful for holding his 3 clank pose as an opposing player ran behind him and made a quick layup, DJ did, too, for his shot selection and timing, and whoever kept giving up back door cuts (Lonnie lol, and sometimes Keldon) - and keep pushing.

It was hardly a defensive clinic on either side. We didn't do well fighting through screens and covering the space to contest from behind them, rather plopping into screeners than working to anticipate and maneuver around. Keldon and Doug stand out as getting stuck at times, Devin stands out at anticipating them well. We were getting clocked on their 3s makes at over 60% efficiency in the first half. They finished at a much lower but still damaging 42%, trying to offset the waning efficiency with a barrage of attempts, 38 in total. Wewerefrankly lucky in many of them as we were late to contest and they had several wide open chances, but in an O dominant game, we implemented more of our game plan for longer.

There is a lot to take to the film room defensively, but to our credit we persevered through runs versusa team that is still fighting for something and needed this game. We left it all out on the court, pushed through mistakes, and just gutted it out. There have been plenty of times in which we wilted late from the pressure and inexperience, so it's good to see the progress here, messy though it is as we find ways to get through these types of games. Good to get the reward for the fight.

Ok, so not brief after all. The search for brevity continues.

[imagump1313]

2ND OT: SPURS 157

WIZARDS 153

I need a lie down for a minute...

No sense even trying to explain that game. Just wait for the DNP list tomorrow