SPURS GAME DAY! PLAY-IN GAME 1: SPURS AT PELICANS, 13-4-2022, 8:30PM (CT)

[imagump1313]

Get it to 9 and then 3 straight weak offensive possessions with terrible shots that have no chance to go in. Another wasted opportunity

[imagump1313]

Murray just shooting us right out of the game........

[imagump1313]

Got it to 6 and 3 more horrible offensive possessions. Down 12 in the blink of an eye. See you next year lol

[imagump1313]

4Q SPURS 103

PELICANS 113

Soo much fun making the play in to look stupid again nationally for the 2nd straight year. Well hopefully the young guys learn from their ass kicking.

Vassell played well in stretches.

Poeltl was decent as well.

Murray and Johnson totally **** the bed. I hope they don't forget this game for a long time.

Everyone else was basically what they were all season.

Our defense was laughable.

Offensively we can't score a basket when the opposition really decides to stop us.

We have a bunch of work to do just to be a playoff team.(To keep it in perspective, Both the Wizards and the Knicks had better records than we did this year)

Now the draft isn't even going to be exciting, congrats!

[G R E Y]

Just got through customs.

THANK YOU, Gump, for sticking through with the thread.

Have to watch the game tomorrow , bittersweet though it will be.

Very proud of how we beat the odds for wins, how we got the all time regular season wins record for Pop, how we grew together and weathered some storms well, how we fought back in this game, and how we are set up well fo our 50th anniversary season which must include Pop.

You're the best, gump!

GO SPURS GO!!!!!!!

[imagump1313]

Just got through customs.

THANK YOU, Gump, for sticking through with the thread.

Have to watch the game tomorrow , bittersweet though it will be.

Very proud of how we beat the odds for wins, how we got the all time regular season wins record for Pop, how we grew together and weathered some storms well, how we fought back in this game, and how we are set up well fo our 50th anniversary season which must include Pop.

You're the best, gump!

GO SPURS GO!!!!!!!

Sorry I don't sound as optimistic as you usually do. I'm really not upset. This game was an expected result. Murray and Johnson were very disappointing as you will see on the replay.

WELCOME HOME!

[Phreak50]

I've said it all year, every half decent guard lights us up.

Murray, White, Vassell are all touted as good defenders and we get torched every time.

Do we want to win now (ish)?

Trade for Gobert.

Do we want to develop youngsters over the years?

Trade Murray.

[imagump1313]

I've said it all year, every half decent guard lights us up.

Murray, White, Vassell are all touted as good defenders and we get torched every time.

Do we want to win now (ish)?

Trade for Gobert.

Do we want to develop youngsters over the years?

Trade Murray.

I'm sure we are going to hear from top to bottom that the theme next year is going to be better defense. Vassell and Murray are ok isolation defenders but our problem is rotations. There is little to zero help when someone drives to the basket or another team moves the ball around just a little. People are wide open hitting set shots or layups because we have no idea how to switch. Its a system problem and our players just have not bought in to that.

I'm not really big on Gobert but we will need to do something bold like that to make a huge step forward. If we can't package some of these picks for someone like that we are just going to get 3-4 more average players that aren't going to help us right now.

Everyone wants to point to Primo because he is 19 but I'm sorry, I just don't see it. He is not anything special athletically and unless he grows 4 more inches I don't see him being much more than what we have already seen. BBIQ and seeing the game he is also just average. If he gains some confidence and plays assertively I see his ceiling being Devin Vassell quite honestly. A good player but not a star.

Murray has grown on me. He still has a lot to learn but one thing he cannot learn is being more athletic unfortunately. When teams focus on him like last night, he is not athletic enough to get consistent good shots. Everyone can't be the perfect player though so I still think he can be one of the main guys and be a leader on the team. We just cannot rely on him to be the main option as a scorer because this is what we are going to get. He does remind me a tiny bit of Ginobili (NO, I do not think he is anywhere near as good as Manu) because he will either win games for you or lose them all by himself sometimes. You just have to take what you can get and hopefully there is more good than bad.

[mikejames23]

Sucked to see Gino's disappointed face in the crowd.

Let's bring Gobert here and change things, or we're stuck as play-in failures repeatedly.

[Phreak50]

I've said it all year, every half decent guard lights us up.

Murray, White, Vassell are all touted as good defenders and we get torched every time.

Do we want to win now (ish)?

Trade for Gobert.

Do we want to develop youngsters over the years?

Trade Murray.

I'm sure we are going to hear from top to bottom that the theme next year is going to be better defense. Vassell and Murray are ok isolation defenders but our problem is rotations. There is little to zero help when someone drives to the basket or another team moves the ball around just a little. People are wide open hitting set shots or layups because we have no idea how to switch. Its a system problem and our players just have not bought in to that.

I'm not really big on Gobert but we will need to do something bold like that to make a huge step forward. If we can't package some of these picks for someone like that we are just going to get 3-4 more average players that aren't going to help us right now.

Everyone wants to point to Primo because he is 19 but I'm sorry, I just don't see it. He is not anything special athletically and unless he grows 4 more inches I don't see him being much more than what we have already seen. BBIQ and seeing the game he is also just average. If he gains some confidence and plays assertively I see his ceiling being Devin Vassell quite honestly. A good player but not a star.

Murray has grown on me. He still has a lot to learn but one thing he cannot learn is being more athletic unfortunately. When teams focus on him like last night, he is not athletic enough to get consistent good shots. Everyone can't be the perfect player though so I still think he can be one of the main guys and be a leader on the team. We just cannot rely on him to be the main option as a scorer because this is what we are going to get. He does remind me a tiny bit of Ginobili (NO, I do not think he is anywhere near as good as Manu) because he will either win games for you or lose them all by himself sometimes. You just have to take what you can get and hopefully there is more good than bad.

I just don't see it in Murray.

We need to sell high.

[JeffReal]

Gobert, huh. Where on earth do these crazy ideas come from? I seriously would like to know.

What the Spurs need is a good power forward, of course.

[G R E Y]

I watched the game Thursday night and then thought I'd better take a day or two to digest it. Also, the couple of days after a trip tend to be when rest is needed most.

Yeah so to sum up, we **** the bed lol

These pretty much up sum things up, especially now watching the verve and physicality of the other play-in games and now the first games of the first round of the playoffs:

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DJ was not himself and he was both fighting through missing games and the strength from losing 8lbs as well as rhythm combined with forcing it given the stakes. He struggled to score and yet at times tried to make something happen with his O being our top scorer. Getting into foul trouble early did not help at all. He did post something about the reffing and taking him out of the game on Instagram but frankly the refs called three fouls on BI as well and then he was playing with four fouls.

Truthfully the foul calls weren't that egregious and those that were wonky were pretty much wonky for both teams.

He had an off game and given his state of just coming off of an illness we'd have loved for him to get more reps and timing and strength but that's how things go sometimes. He was inefficient in scoring (5-19, 1-5 from 3) but still got to the FT line and did well (5-5FTs). He also grabbed 9 boards and dished 5 assists, both a bit lower than we expect, more on these in a bit.

But DJ's game was replicated by several team mates. Perhaps because we go as he does for the most part, but too many Spurs had poor games.

I did expect a lot more from Keldon who frankly had a disappointing game. Just did not rise to the level the pre-game talk was hyping up to show ("We're packing for four games..."). It's a huge learning experience. I thought he was so muted especially in the first half, and for the player who became one of our best 3s shooters, going 6-20 and 0-5 from 3 really hurt us. Nine of his 15 2s FGAs were in the non-restricted area in and around the key and he made only three of them. He made 3 of 6 in the restricted area. So, unusual to his pattern of 3s and drives to the rim, the majority of his shot attempts were in neither, and he didn't make many of any.

He was scoreless in the first half and largely kept out of the paint with but one attempt in the restricted area in the first 24 minutes. And while he had a great 3RD Q (3-4 in the paint) and took most of his shots in the 4TH Q (8 FGAs) only of of them was from 3 and he made three shots in the paint (two in the non-restricted area). He did grab 5 boards (2 on O) and had 4 assists but the level of requisite physicality and energy and forward game we expected from him was 24 minutes at best when we were in chasing the opponent's lead mode. He and DJ led us in minutes and attempts, perhaps an indication of who we expected to lead our scoring gameplan? Keldon finished with 15 points (including 3-5FTs).

Matching him in points but on far better efficiency was Jakob who was 7-10, 2-4FTs (better for him), 9 rebounds (team high 3 on O - quite low overall though) with 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block. Jakob was solid on both ends and was the only Spur in the +/- positive. The Cs matchup was one to watch and we once again got bested from it. Their starting C outscored and outrebounded our Cs tandem.

Part of it is that we're not a particularly tall or bulky team and so we have to be crafty with positioning and timing and pace and movement. But when we do bang with opponents, we often get pushed around or take a beating trying to match physicality. It can be done to the extent that effort can close a size gap (some big players play smaller than their size, some smaller players play bigger) but it also helps to have the requisite personnel. I know we tried to acquire Lauri and were interested in Nance and it's surely something for PATFO to address as Keldon isn't the long-term PF solution (though it's good to know we have the small ball experience as an option). I know neither is a bulk option, but still height at the PF position is something we lack. Nance outrebounded our entire bench 8-7. Lauri grabbed 8 boards in the play-in as well. Both grabbed above their averages in important moments. We didn't. In a win or go home game anything can happen, but it's also dependent on available personnel and habits developed along the way.

All season long we had issues boxing out. We've just not been good at it for whatever reasons and this is a fixable element to our game. We got badly outrebounded 53-34 even though it was 8-8 on O. We average 45.3 rebounds per game, almost identical to our opponents' 45.2 so it's clear which team outperformed and which underperformed in this department. We did take 10 more FGAs but made seven fewer baskets so we gave them far more chances to grab the ball, but again, we were not in position or hustled enough to get after the boards - a weakness I hope we address both in terms of effort, positioning, and personnel.

We did well in some areas that our consistency carried over to the play-in: We had only 6 TOs on which we gave up 9 points to getting 19 points from theirs. We also had a 13-6 fast break points edge.

We were led by Devin who in only his second year and a bigger role post-Derrick trade looked poised as he rose to the moment. Very impressive career high seven 3s made on 13 attempts for 7-15 overall, and with 2-2FTs he was the lone Spur with over 20 points, scoring 23. He chipped in 2 boards and 3 assists. I think he expended his O game with some pet moves and creating space to get shots from pet spots, and I like his growing assertiveness on O to take his shot as Pop increased the plays called for him. (That said, in one of last two home games I saw in SA, Pop quickly called a timeout after Devin gave into the temptation to take an open 3 and missed it rather than running the play intended. Pop walked onto the court, pointed to his temples and yelled, "What are you doing? Think!" So when the play is called for someone else, do your part right lol)

Pop rightly also said post game that he was well pleased with Devin's growth but he does need to get more consistent and stronger physically. While his hops and slithery moves have impressed me this year, the craft can level up with strength training to take more contact. If he can become a Middleton-type of player for us on both ends it would be a wonderful development for us.

Post-game Devin looked like he was borderline in tears at the result. He did what he could to step up for us, but we needed more from more Spurs. All season long we knew we would have to make up for the missing points from all the vets now elsewhere even as DJ stepped up to become our lead scorer. And with Keldon scoring at least 20 points in 8 or 9 consecutive games to finish the regular season, DJ averaging over 20 PPG for the season, and us averaging 113.2PPG (good for 8th in the league). Yet we couldn't manage any Qs with at least 30 PPG, and we managed only 19 assists when we average 27.9, second best in the league.

Not that I love the disappointment or frustration, but I love the fire from that disappointment given the expectation the guys had for themselves. We know from Pop on down to a man that we didn't play the way we expect. And we even fought back from a 20-point deficit down to six and it could have been four but for DJ's missed bunny on a layup. Lots of what could have been situations in this game that leave us wanting for more, wanting for better, wanting it sooner.

Not all wants are alike, though. Lonnie liked these tweets after the game:

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This from a player averaging 12.1PPG in 23MPG on still near bottom of the team (again) crappy 40.7FG%, usage second only to DJ this season at 23.6%. And in those six fewer minutes that he usually averages, he still managed almost as many attempts (5-9, 2-4 from 3) as he averages overall anyway (10.9FGAs, 5 of which are from 3). Could it have something to do with Lonnie not being able to beat 6'0" rookie Alvarado with his handles, which he still cannot do well versus various opponents unless he has a running start? To his credit he is thrilling in the open court, but his faults are his faults still - efficiency, handles, inconsistency. Or could it be that he got caught on a back door cut by Alvarado for an easy lay in? Or could it be that as our most athletic player he only had a single basket at the rim (all his other attempts were long 2s or 3s) and no FT attempts? Or could it be that Lonnie only got a single rebound and no other measurable stat was recorded in said 17 minutes? Or could it be we find JRich more reliable on both ends? All of these are a factor.

To his credit, Lonnie at some point unliked those tweets. And it could have been the post game emotional reactionary gesture that he thought the better of when a cooler head prevailed. But I wonder sometimes about his lip service to 'the Spurs way' when he later acknowledges that a play was for another player but he took the shot (like that game winner against the Jazz earlier this season), or when he would take plays off on D, or when he takes one and done shots involving no one else. I get it, guys have to learn to adjust not only to the system on the court but to ways of handling chafing from it in the media.

DJ went through a phase where he lashed out at the Spurs on social media when returning from injury he wasn't adjusting as a starter well and Derrick replaced him for like 8 games. But that's all in the past. He grew and moved on from it. Lonnie complained in the past in a passive aggressive way about getting more minutes. Well he's had more minutes, shots, usage than ever and he's still near the bottom in efficiency. He's still at the bottom for his draft class. It's actually brutal. And when all he looks at is scoring without looking at anything else he contributes, well, oof.

I like Lonnie (though I want to like him more but find these types of things of putting) and don't want to make too big of a deal about it. But that he's still sending signals through social media even in a reactionary way when younger guys like Primo or Tre or Devin don't or when someone more like him in DJ had done in the past but no longer does (at least not directed at the team) these are reference points for responses.

Lonnie acts like he needs to be unleashed like he's been held back or something, knowing that he has to defend, run our sets, contribute in ways beyond scoring and when he does the latter, to frankly be more efficient at it. I guess I'm reactionary about his SM activity about his role and Pop, and I've been critical of him throughout the season. But I wonder if given that Primo has been starting, Devin has been promoted to the starting line-up in only his second season, and that JRich got a lot of minutes (starter minutes in this game) since coming over that Lonnie looks around and sees himself being surpassed. I wonder whether Pop sees something in Lonnie that keeps him on the bench.

Yes we need a balance in scoring between the starters and bench and Lonnie's been our designated go-to sixth man scoring punch off the bench. But we've had Primo, Devin, and JRich on the bench, and each of them has started more games this season. Devin and JRich are capable, more efficient scorers who defend well so their presence on the bench could have been equally effective as has been. But elevating Devin to the starting group and Lonnie starting but six games indicates roles for each. Even though Lonnie's our most athletic player, and his man D is impressive in person - he absorbs a lot of physical contact well (both on D and O), and moves his legs better to get to a position rather than reaching in as much as he used to, he's been firmly entrenched in his bench role.

Primo looked off on O and was only 0-3 in only 10 minutes. He still had 2 rebounds and 2 assists and a 0 +/-. Good passing vision, great feel, super green still. Really like his poise and physical potential. He's listed as 6'5" but when he stood next to Wiggins in our home game he looked almost as tall and he is a BIG guy physically who will only get stronger and fill out more. Obviously not ready for the role, so it's curious that Pop thrust him into it but we have to know not only what we have with any player but also how they respond to poor games, to hard lessons, to various roles. (Perhaps we've seen enough of Lonnie to have a good enough report about it).

And in his stead JRich played 32 minutes scoring 12 on 4-9, 2-4 from 3, 2-2FTs, along with 2 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He's fit in surprisingly well with an engaging personality, some more experience that the younger guys, especially Primo, are soaking up, and his leadership and easygoing but competitive way has made him popular in the locker room and trustworthy on the court. He doesn't need the ball in his hands a lot to do something usually good with it.

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The other players with 17 minutes were Zach who chipped in 5 points on 2-4, 0-1 from 3, 2 boards, and 1 block and Tre who contributed 4 points on 1-2 from 3 and 1-2FTs, along with 2 boards, an assist, and a steal. Our bench scored 33 of our 103 points. There were enough changes throughout the season that it affected its contribution and the necessity to keep an experienced constant likely contributed to Lonnie's steady role there, too.

Pop ran a tight eight man rotation with Primo chipping 10 minutes and Keita registering 6 minutes (so maybe nine-player rotation is more accurate, but really eight in terms of O contribution). I thought it would be a tight rotation and we just couldn't get it going.

Like Pop said, we wilted under pressure and reverted to not only how we played three months ago but also our worst habits reared their heads. It was also an emotional time with Hammon leaving for her next job and I wonder how that affected the team as well. It didn't sit well with me when I found out about it on twitter before the game and I wanted some time to mull it over and frankly it still doesn't sit well.

So, ok, the WNBA season starts in two or three weeks. And the draft is apparently early next week. And let's assume when she got hired for the WNBA coach/GM position that there was an agreement in place about when she'd leave for her new position.

For weeks now Hammon has been doing double duty with the Spurs and preparing for her WNBA team. For weeks now the guys have been talking about the goal of making the play-in. We made it with some games to spare in the regular season. So up until that time Hammon was both working away on the multi-faceted complexities of her new position while doing her work for the Spurs.

She's the lead assistant. So as the lead assistant, knowing that our goal of making the play-in was an increasingly likely reality, she was somehow ok with leaving before the most important game of the season? Sorry but that's not ok. A lot of work would have already been done for her new team, so would traveling to this one extra game to support Pop and the players really have made that much of a dent to whatever schedule's in place? What's the motto here? There's a me in team? Yay! Go team!

If I'm being unfair or it's not that big a deal, ok. But this is someone who sought Pop out for the coaching opportunity, and having her get nurtured and contribute to the development of the players all this time only to not be there at that particular moment really feels off.

It was surprising and disappointing and it stood out like the choice to do an interview with Jabari Young stood out. What's the team supposed to say? You can't force someone to stay. But it's telling when there are other options what someone chooses to do. The choice, its timing, and the optics of the timing are equally poor.

On a positive note, there are things we can take from this game in particular (the season in general is for another thread). For one, some things never change: apparently Pop had the guys watch film of the game after the game hahahaha! You KNOW he was disappointed in the effort not only from his blunt post-game assessment but this reliable and tough facing of **** ups and making sure that the sting of the poor play not only stayed with us viscerally but also visually. And in showing film, it's clear there are things we can fix even with our new group, even with players having to play out of position due to injuries, even with a roster that will continue to be retooled.

The task is to take the disappointment, balance it with the growth and resilience we've shown, and make the necessary changes for a team that actually makes the playoffs. All the guys talked about the difficulty of a long off-season, but if these play-ins and playoffs have shown already, it's that consistency and toughness only rise in them. And that consistency and toughness must be hones throughout the season.

Pop said post-game that he'll get excited about the draft picks when he sees who we draft. It's clear PATFO know all the better what our needs are, and soon we will know exactly where we are picking. It'll be interesting to see which players are retained for next season. It's been not only about development, but a whole season of auditioning for positions at the same time. Some players have assured themselves spots, others are incomplete assessments of early in their development, others are likely on the cusp.

The players are itching for a post-season berth. It'll be interesting to see to what extent this season has accelerated PATFO's vision for the kind of team they eventually want to field. I do think that playoffs is a solid goal and we're not that far away and once we know who we draft will help clarify our direction with FAs and trades as well. Exciting times ahead for our 50th anniversary season.