SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 74: SPURS AT BLAZERS, 23-3-2022, 9PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Keldon's playing some good D so far...

[G R E Y]

2ND Q: SPURS 81

BLAZERS 53

Well what can I say? Spurs are shutting everyone up, me included.

Want ball movement? 22 assists. Check.

Want 3s in the flow of our O? 22 of our 49FGAs are from the arc. Made 13. Check.

Want god drives? 10-11FTs. 21-11 fast break points. Check and check.

Want good rebounding? 23-21, 5-5 on O. Check.

Want good hustle response after their runs? 10-point lead in the 2ND Q for 36-26. Check.

Want better D? 5 help D blocks. Check.

We're playing some inspired basketball plain and simple and beautiful.

And when we got complacent, we responded with increased determination.

Let's see what can I nitpick? lol

Well Jakob is only 3-8. That's because he's missed FOUR bunnies. Some of our TOs were sloppy.

But better help D in the 2ND Q, some tenacious and infectious D by JRich who ran down balls, who ran out to their 3 shooters and took up all the space, Keldon sneak leaking out to pressure their perimeter ball handlers, DJ stealing cookies and driving for the layup.

Just inspired ball. Sure, opponent counts, as does our freak 3s show, but we've played to the level of the competition and taken plenty of team plenty lightly, so to see this incredible output is downright FUN!

Now keep it up, Spurs! Give the young guys a chance for plenty of minutes.

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[G R E Y]

Well we blitzed ahead in the 3RD Q but have just allowed a 7-0 run. Sort of sloppy. Fine razor's edge when we're playing with such fervour - it's either clicking well or we're passing past each other.

[imagump1313]

We have to play this team 2 more times?

My hopes of Banchero are fading....

[G R E Y]

We've reached the 100-point mark at just over 4:30 left in the 3RD Q.

[G R E Y]

:waaa: We have to play this team 2 more times?

My hopes of Banchero are fading....

I thought I wanted Chet more but the lone March Madness game I watched (so now I'm an expert lol) he looked soft and was almost completely taken out of the game with some physicality.

People say he's wiry thin 'like KD' but Durant looks Mr. Universe compared to Chet. His muscles actually look concave somehow. Weird.

I'd go with Jabari Smith because Banchero apparently doesn't play any D, but it's looking like a moot point now...

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 114

BLAZERS 81

OMG we just gave up a wide open drive on their last point!!! Just kidding. Well we did, but despite the sloppier Q we still executed well enough to win it 33-28.

We were 3-10 from 3 in this Q so it's back down to earth, yet still impressive that we put up 10, and they were not forced.

Jakob great blocks.

Loving JRich on our team. He doesn't need the ball in his hands as much as Derrick, much as I love him.

Keldon noticeably fighting over screens. Great to see.

Good ball movement.

Let's stick to our D principles.

[G R E Y]

Pop playing Tre, JRich, Joe, Keita, and Zach. Must be the first time this five has played together in a game.

[G R E Y]

And now Pop's playing Primo, Tre, Joe, Jock, Zach...

[imagump1313]

Weiskamp doing his best McDermott impressions

[imagump1313]

CAN SOMEBODY GUARD EUBANKS PLEASE!?!?!?!?

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 133

BLAZERS 96

Well. Mission accomplished. We didn't take our opponent lightly, executed our game plan, ran sets with some new lineups, and even though our D was helped by their misses, we did force many others.

We had five players in double figures, four starters, and JRich, who is becoming more seamless and likeable by the game. Loved his running down the court to prevent easy layups, running out to the arc to prevent shots, staying with drivers, etc. It didn't feel as if he took as many shots as he did. He's quick with his decisions and we flow well with him. He was inefficient (6-16, 3-11 from 3 for 15 points) as was our bench overall except for Zach, which contributed 39 points.

Zach got a nice ovation from the fans. Nice to see. He got 8 on (3-6, 0-2 from 3, 2-2FTs), and 9 boards (2 on O), 3 assists, and 2 blocks. There were some awkward drives late in the game when we had the two-bigs with Jock lineup, but the passing between them was fine. Good reads for help D and positioning down low for rebounds and blocks. Mostly played withing himself and provided some tenacity.

Tre was only 1-4, 0-2 from 3, but he got 8 boards (1 on O), and team-high 9 assists. He looked mostly solid running the team, especially when JRich or DJ were at his side. Vets help. He looked a bit less so in the final stretch with the hardly used (or brand new?) lineup it was harder to run our sets. A 19-15 4TH Q wasn't exactly a clinic, but the game was well at hand. Loved his fight over screens, staying with perimeter players relentlessly, drove well himself; contributing besides scoring while already providing solid D is a high floor start.

Joe played 20 minutes and it really didn't feel like it. He passed up some 3s and some of his fakes and drives were a bit on the slow side, but he was assertive in taking them but just not finishing with shots. He still balanced these with 2-8 from 3 (2-9 overall). We did a good job setting him up with more chances. Pure form, just has to release quicker, perhaps get used to taking more contested shots, have more faith in it.

Welcome back to Keita. Too bad his 3 was downgraded to a 2 (foot on the line) otherwise we would have set our record for number of 3s made. He got to the FT line well, making a bench high 4-4 in only 10 minutes. Also tallied 4 boards and 1 assist.

Jock only played 8 minutes, surprisingly. I guess we wanted a full game to Zach and a good number of reps, especially for the first time in his original arena. A couple of FTs, rebounds, and assists. He sealed his man down low when we clearly tried to get him the ball, and had some words for the Blazers bench at the end of the game. Must not be easy to play the Drew role when Drew was starting and playing well. It's a matter of opportunity and staying ever ready. Ironically, we got Zach and Jock to spread the floor but they combined 0-2 from 3 and Drew went 2-3 from the arc. But it's the first time Drew's made two 3s in a game, as is often the case of a player wanting to show up his former team.

DJ was a man on a mission. He made three 3s to end the 1ST Q - a first for him, and part of a huge 45-point run. We were blitzing them from the arc, from drives, from FTs. He really was laser focused on leading the charge ever forward and finished with a terrific 10-14, 3-5 from 3, team high 5-6FTs, along with 6 boards (1 on O), 7 assists, and 1 steal. Tons of deflections and good contests, extra bounce in his step all game. I don't expect he'll be given the credit he deserves, but this was anything but an empty stat game. He led us with 28 points and was the cog around whom our game revolved and flowed. Full two-way game on display.

His new back court partner, Devin, had a resurgent game, making 4-5 from 3 (4-10 overall), 4-4FTs, with 4 boards (1 on O), 5 assists (great!), and 2 steals in 24 minutes. He's a silent assassin. He balanced his attempts between drives and 3s (good that he didn't settle for outside shots only), but he didn't connect on any inside. He did, however, get to the FT line well, ran the floor well, moved the ball soundly, and made quick decisions with the ball.

With all due respect to Derrick and Lonnie (and previously Keldon), when guys take even a step too long with the ball the flow stalls. In this game, the flow was exceptional because nobody overdribbled, looked for his shot only, and made quick decisions with the ball. 35 assists, with all but one Spur registering one.

Our back court tandem combined for 7-10 from 3! WOW! We've had games with worse FT percentage. Excellent, assertive output. We decided to just pour on the 3s and we made 19-44 (!) out of 94FGAs. Who is this team?! The best part is that but for some stretches, it didn't feel overbearing but like like part of the flow of our game.

We were so energized that at times we failed to execute from erratic passes on alley oop attempts. But we did a great job putting mistakes and opponent runs behind us and kept charging forward.

Keldon wasn't the only one who was roaring his way through the game as usual. But he surely wasn't outdone what with his drives, made 3s (5-8), getting to the FT line (5-6), with 4 boards (the kind he had to fight for, not the kind that fell into his hands), and one each of assist, steal, and block. He scored 26 on 8-14 overall, but what was most impressive, what stood out the most, was his defensive attention and effort. He fought hard over screens, he leaked out to surprise perimeter ball handlers and push them to nearly half court, contesting well. Just a terrific, noticeably improved D effort. So awesome to see.

Jakob finished on 8-13 after a poor start due to four missed bunnies. But he had a lot of O board putbacks and racked up points (16). He grabbed 9 boards, and a game-high 6 on O. Only one assist, and got a steal, but also got a career-high 6 blocks. His mobility and reaction response for help D, particularly in the second half, was amazing.

Our newest starter for now, Primo, was impressive with his drive and kicks. Some really nice finds and movement without the ball. He played within himself, scoring 8 on 3-5, 2-3 from 3, along with 5 assists (1 on O) which he grabbed from prying opponent hands well, and 3 assists. He wasn't treated like a rookie to nearly ignore by his teammates and he was integrated well. We looked for him and made extra passes as he moved to the left corner.

Sure we were nearly healthy and playing a depleted team. We've been in these situations before where we took an opponent lightly, had a lackadaisical mental approach, and either made it too difficult on ourselves and flirted with a bad outcome or flat out earned it. Well we earned this one, too. It started with our mental approach which seeped into our energy and our execution.

Lots of guys got good reps, put in decent to great games, and built some chemistry. It's a feel-good win, one we needed, and one we need to put past us. What we take from this and more importantly, how we apply it to the next game, are our next steps.