SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 44: SPURS VS. THUNDER, 24-1-2024, 8:30PM (CT)

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Sure NOW Julian makes one. His first point with under a minute left.

King of no pressure makes.

Never understood signing him this fall. Mamu too, but at least he has some size

[G R E Y]

Sure NOW Julian makes one. His first point with under a minute left.

King of no pressure makes.

Never understood signing him this fall. Mamu too, but at least he has some size

Yeah I mean, unless he's one of those rare undrafted players who break through, this is the level we have.

He had that impressive stretch of 20 or so games to finish last season during which his shooting was promising. We banked on that trajectory, or at least its potential, but in retrospect the no-pressure shooting versus no-pressure D as a season winds down was a big factor.

Of course he's not a starter. And of course good teams will make getting open or shooting contested shots harder. And of course we thought he'd fill in KBD's utility role better than he is, but that's the utility role I thought he'd have.

Draft draft draft.

We need high BBIQ talent.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 114 THUNDER 140

Not with a bang but a whimper. And at this point of the season, not good enough. Ok we were playing a top conference team that has its roster, rotations, and play sets rolling around a star. It’s a lot to deal with, but how we deal with it says something now, too.

Wemby is obviously our best player. After games I’ve seen him sad, disappointed, frustrated even, but in the post-game interview he looked like he was stifling anger. Perhaps I’m wrong in my impressions, maybe imputing or projecting, but there’s definitely a sense of disappointment in expectations, measured though they are for a rebuild team.

But Tre emerging as what Pop called our ‘heart and soul’, proving to be a crucial part that keeps the team moving, was all the more evident with his absence, and that’s as much a credit to him as it is an insight into where we are collectively.

It shouldn’t really be that way at this point of the season. We came off some good Qs strung together, put together some better, more consistent level of play on the road. And yet we returned home with lower energy, tentativeness, less sure of our sets. A 7-point deficit was as close as we’d come.

Wemby, Devin, and Blake were terrific, played to their strengths, took advantage of them. We could have done a better job getting the ball to Wemby earlier (and again, not every non-Wemby-centric play is bad, but missing him when it’s the obvious right play is still a work in progress). But it is also true that the whole team, sans Tre, had to adjust to Wemby being double and triple teamed.

And yet Wemby still led us with 24 on 9-18, led us with 6-8FTs, led us with 12 boards (and led us with 6 of them on O), and led us with 4 blocks, while adding 4 assists, and 1 steal. Phenomenal on both ends, even when facing staggering D coverage, when seeking out man O challenges, and when being an elite rim deterrent and protector.

So when this happened:

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the rest of the team had to do better than 9-29 from 3 (Wemby was 0-3 so as a team we were 9-32). We were -27 on 3s, having taken 8 fewer and made half as many as out opponent. Only 17.4% of our 3s were 6+feet wide open and we made 33.3% of them. When a team makes many contested 3s, you tip your hat. But 28.1% of our opponent’s 3s were from 6+ feet wide open and they made 44.4% of them. Oof. It’s both what we set up and what we cover to contest at the arc that this illuminates. And it’s one thing when we mess up rotations – fixable; entirely another when some Spurs don’t bother moving to even pretend they will run out to contest – inexcusable.

Branham. Man. He was gifted a bench-high 28 minutes after getting benched for seven straight Qs, after playing 4 minutes in two games, and he had the **** nerve to play defense like he was playing kids on a playground. No running out to contest all 3s (literally just watched one lol); no hands up on shots in the paint (even turning his body towards the basket as the shots went up rather than closing the gap, getting a hand up, *something*); disappearing from the screen, perhaps expecting a pass ahead in transition, but instead he left his teammates to scramble for the D board undermanned, reappearing back in view as a second chance 3 was going in; letting D rebounds drop on the court and trotting over rather than tracking and running to them, getting outhustled.

I’m still shocked and put off at how lackadaisical he looked on D; lost on screens, lost on rotations, occupying empty useless space covering no one, getting blown by. Sure he led the bench in scoring with a whopping 11 points (sort of damning with faint results) and it hardly matters. A scorer who can score – he did his job, made 3-5, 1-2 from 4, 4-4FTs, and even chipped in 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block but was -28. Five of those points – so nearly half, were in the 4TH Q when the game was well and truly out of reach, and only one attempt was in the restricted area, or even in the paint for that matter, for the whole game. The stat contributions belie the D deficiencies. It was both the being absolutely lost and absolutely not giving a flying sweet **** all effort. If nothing else, if he gets benched when Tre returns, there’s lots of video evidence as to why. Yes, growth has pains and yet development is not linear, but my goodness the things he can control – effort, basic hustle plays – are stuck in first gear and it’s not good enough.

The counterpoint was Blake. He was super raw even at the start of this season, and with great effort, he has forced his way back to the lineup with incredible and more controlled speed, relentless man D, full court press, and better finishing on O. He finished with 12 on 5-5, 1-1 from 3, 1-3FTs, along with 4 boards (1 on O), 6 assists, and 1 block. He played a bit more off-ball as Devin was used more as O set initiator, but used his strengths to stand out well. After the game, he mentioned that getting stronger over the summer was important for him to fight through screens and stay balanced while still maintaining his speed.

I honestly didn’t have high hopes for him at the start of the season, but he’s winning over fans and coaches and teammates with his improved, impactful play. There’s still lots of room to grow, but it’s not only his more honed skills that stand out but also his all out effort.

Devin has been making a noticeably concerted effort to drive more, use his physicality, finishing toolkit to good effect. It’s a more assertive role, more energy created that others feed off of, and the shot selection this game reflected it: 21 on 9-14, only 1-4 from 3, 2-2FTs, with 5 boards (1 on O), team high 7 assists, and 1 block. I loved his changes of speed, his decisiveness, his quick finding and taking of open spaces to get to the rim. I loved his fighting through screens to stay with his man. Good leadership by example on both ends.

When Sochan puts together a complete two-way game, I forget he’s only a second year player progressing well after only one season in college. Then games like this one remind me of his need for growth. On O he looked like a rookie playing his first game: 1-7, 0-3 from 3, but he did grab 5 boards (2 on O) and dished 4 assists. I do like that his passes are in better locations for shooters, not so many in the ankles and shins areas haha

It’s good that he keeps driving hard at bigger rim protectors, but equally frustrating that he keeps finishing the same way and getting the same results, mostly getting blocked. He keeps releasing the shot too late and too low, right into the sweet spot of getting stopped. He needs to make adjustments so that he at least gets to the FT line more for the effort. If Keldon can learn to do it as a bigger bruiser type, and if smaller guard players can figure out how to do it, so can Sochan. On D he bites on fakes too much, something correctable with reps. Games like this are a good measuring stick for how his developing skill set fares versus more experienced defenders. It’s fine in terms of the feedback he’s getting and I trust, given how he’s grown so far, that he’ll get better.

Julian. When his shot is on it’s a good buoy but when he’s off it’s an anchor. He was 1-5 (all from 3), and that lone make was in the final minute or so of the game. He registered 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, and is a bigger defensive body, but hopefully we see more growth in other shots when the 3 isn’t falling. He’s still at around 40% from 3 this season, but his overall FG efficiency has dropped to just over 41%, about 5% less than last season, so he has to take care to finish those better. He’s an excellent FT shooter, so perhaps a more drive and 3s profile, something akin to what Doug and Cedi do but with better D, is where we’re hoping he progresses to. He has all the tools and physical profile to get there. Just needs more reps and constant high effort off ball and finishing better at the rim.

Zach continues to struggle since his return from missing about a month of game action. He scored 11 on 3-8, 1-2 from 3, 3-4FTs (good!), along with 3 boards (2 on O – good), 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks in 17 minutes. Inefficient, but one of his better all around contributing games. He still tends to play smaller than his size, gets lit up on D at the rim by smaller players, and sort of cowers and crouches too much at the O rim. When he’s confident, those baby hooks are released when he’s fully extended. But of late these have been less vertical or forward and more leaning away from the rim. It’s a more passive shot, off balance, not taking it to the defender, and looks like he more doesn’t want to miss than wants to make the shot. He is one of the few Spurs who remembers to box out now and again. We know the aggressive, positively impactful player he can be. Hopefully he gets back to that soon.

Twins Doug and Cedi were terrific in their roles. Love their movement, quick shots, quick decisions. Pros.

Keldon struggled versus some very good defense that was largely bigger and heavy, something he’s not always used to. He chipped in 7 on 3-8, 0-2 from 3, 1-1FT (this needs to be higher, though it’s not always about the effort but about the call), with 1 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. Good effort running out to contest.

Our bench got outscored 64-52, and in general we trended the wrong way as the game progressed. We’ve had good 3RD Qs but came out flat and uninspired in this one. It’s part of why our D to O transition play looked better in the first half.

We were winning PITP in the first half but finished 64-58 against with far too many drives into and down the middle of our paint. Cardinal sin for Pop.

We were leading in fast break points at the half but finished down 20-13.

We were leading in rebounding at the half but finished down 47-38, including 16-12 on O boards. This with Pop yelling from teh sidelines for our guys to rebound. Oof.

Our Tos were a respectable 7 at the half but ballooned to 18 by the end of the game which cost us a whopping 33 points. OOF.

So even as we faced a more polished, talent-filled team a couple of years ahead in its development and build, we can still control what we can, and to that extent we waned as the game wore on. Like Pop shouldn’t have to be motioning on the sidelines for guys to move off ball, or for us to push the pace, or for us to **** rebound. Wemby stood out well not only because of his otherworldly talent but because of his effort regardless of score. He went hard at his counterpart; he made things happen with teammates around him going through the motions. Devin and Blake and Doug and Cedi looked good with respect to energy-creating effort as well.

We have to control what we can, and we still at times revert to waiting for the game to end rather than realizing that roster spots are on the line. Continue as you choose to your peril or success, gents. This team will look much different by next season, and who stays will in large part be determined by who shows a competitive spirit regardless of score or outcome. Not sure what some guys are saving it for, and of course, growth in skills development and team play are important, but it’s how guys deal with adversity that will determine their continued status with us. Let’s see how we respond.

[G R E Y]

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