SPURS GAME DAY! RRT EDITION GAME 53: SPURS AT NETS, 10-2-2024, 5PM (CT)

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We now have Branham, Sochan, Julian, Mamu, and Dom in with about 3 and a half minutes left.

Branham the PG shoots and misses lol

Sochan steals and layup in.

Almost as if there's a formula there...

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I just saw Julian with a Doug move - gets the pass while moving forward, dribbles far ahead to catch up to the ball while it is out of defender prying hands, and grabs is further ahead, ready to shoot. Crafty little move, that. Just has to make the shot.

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4TH Q: SPURS 103 NETS 123

When you loose four Qs it’s looking at how they’re lost that has value. The middle two Qs are now giving us fits. We keep switching up which Q (or Qs) in which we wane, from starts, to ends, to 3RD Qs, to now the middle two; an added two-fer to the 2ND Q woes of last game.

When you don’t score well (three starters combined for 16 points *sigh*) the pressure on the dominant scorers increases, and though Wemby, Devin, and Keldon held their own, there’s only so much they can do by themselves.

And when you allow three 30+ point Qs, it’s not just bad shooting that is an issue. On D, even Julian is getting lured into passively occupying the paint while we track switches and nobody ends up rotating out to the arc for 3 after 3 after 3. They made 17 of them (a game after we got lit up for 16), making 50% of their attempts (a game after the opponent shot 59.3%).

It also doesn’t help that we got banged in the paint, with too often only one screen necessary to get by out perimeter D. Dom was much better at reading the P&Rs and covering them, and so he got the minutes Zach normally does in the second half. Pop was diplomatic about the switch, but it’s clear for all to see why. Dom even boxed out – an actual positioning and fighting to keep a guy behind him box out – to good effect. He struggled to score (1-5) but made 5-6FTs, grabbed 9 boards including 7 on O – all team highs, in 12 minutes.

Yes Zach is struggling mightily, especially on D, and his drop off has been nothing short of shocking, but Dom has also stepped up in the vacuum to make the most of his opportunity. Good for him.

Wemby faced another tall, wiry-strong counterpart who gave him fits with physicality, especially right into his stomach and chest. He tried to counter it with a more outside game. Of his seven paint attempts, only two were in the restricted area. He made 3-7 in the paint, 1-3 in non-paint 2s, and 3-6 from 3, a shot he’s been noticeably better from this month, making 45.5%, and that includes 0-3 in the first game in February. So he’s finding a way when he’s being taken out of his best spots inside. And it’s a good thing, too, as he was doubled front and back making alley oops more difficult, too.

Devin played a game-high 34 minutes and showed out well, making 17 on 7-19, 2-6 from 3, 1-1FT with 6 boards (1 on O), 4 assists (team high), 1 block. He’s really put the team on his back this RRT. He’s still showing frustration when less experienced players make mistakes, but he’s also using the energy to make good plays on subsequent chances.

We did a poor job moving off ball (compounded by opponent D fighting to keep us rooted and making it harder to run around screens) and Devin’s options kept dwindling until he called for and used high screens to take later clock off the dribble 3s. But he’s been stepping up on both ends with better energy and better shots (not as many 3s, not settling for them, looking actively to create other shots for himself and others).

His back court partner only shot 2-3, 0-1 from 3, 2-2FTs, with 2 boards (1 on O), only 2 assists, 1 block. Just an ineffective game for Tre though he ran around the court, tried full court pressure, tried fighting around screens. But he got lit up on the other end.

Sochan was muted. He finished with making something of the game, 4-9, 0-2 from 3, 5 boards (1 on O), 3 assists, 1 steal, but was more through instinct and physicality and less from focus and details. He got caught in wasted space not boxing out and us paying for it with multiple O boards and points against and got caught chasing drivers, too. Just a step slow. He did make 3-4 in the restricted space, so he was one of the few Spurs who could use his physicality effectively to counter defenders. But he was too cowered on those spin hooks and baby Js in the paint (missing both). Hopefully he gets the reps and confidence to extend fully and release up high, making more use of his stature. Some good contests, some good man D, but we need more of what he’s shown he can bring when he’s on.

Julian. 1-5, 0-3 from 3, 3 boards (1 on O), 1 assist in 19 minutes. He did the Doug dribble farther ahead to catch up to it and shoot. New wrinkle. Ok. But we’re 4 on 5 on O when he’s not contributing the 3 in the 3 and D profile.

Julian is a big body. He has to show absolute all out hustle and be the Swiss army knife utility guy we hoped could fill in for KBD. He and Zach are the ones who stand out as players we need more from each game. I don’t know whether we had to rise up to the cap floor or what, but neither is bringing enough of what we saw when we signed them for. Zach’s frustration is mounting with a dumb O foul retaliating before the ball was even inbounded. Maybe Julian as starter is overwhelmed by the role but he can control effort. Zach may be disappointed to lose his starting spot but he’s not even handling back up well. Seven first half minutes. 0-2, 0-1 from 3, 2-2FTs, 1 board, 2 assists, 2 TOs, 3 fouls. Benched in the second half.

Cedi did his job as always, moving well, making 2-5, 2-3 from 3, 2-2FTs, 5 boards (1 on O) in 12 minutes.

Keldon had a resurgent game leading the bench with 19 on 7-14, 3-6 from 3, 2-2FTs, with strong physical drives, nice touch finishes. Loved his Euro step. He can finish off glass with either hand now, too. He and Sochan are the bigger bodies who can impose their size and strength well. Devin has gotten stronger and can better finish through contact, but he’s not the bruising type. The rest are more slashing speedy finesse types of players.

That said, Blake has looked more willing to be physical in addition to quick. His defense continues to stand out well (team high 2 steals) and his energizing dunks, absorbing hits along the way, shows his change in mindset and approach. He’s turned himself into an asset with aggressiveness, speed, and effort. He’s also refined his looks, both shot selection and finding others. He made 2-3, 0-1 from 3, 2-2FTs, and had a bench high 3 assists as well in 16 minutes.

Branham. Has all sorts of potential but has yet to put it all together in a consistent, trustworthy way, trustworthy in the sense of knowing he’ll choose to make the right play, keeping the ball moving, making the extra pass, finding a teammate quickly as opposed to being the end point of the ball movement regardless of how contested he is.

He showed some frustration a couple of times with Wemby not giving him the ball back on a pass and switch but my guy, you play off of Wemby, not the other way around. They have to figure out better positioning and angles between them to make post passes easier and more accurate. Branham has a more natural chemistry with Zach on P&Rs right now so he is capable of doing it, just needs more reps with Wemby. But for every good play in which he makes the right extra pass (not as a bailout because he can’t shoot) he then goes on a string of shoot-first choices that aren’t best for the team. He finished with 5 points on 2-8, 1-5 from 3, 2 O boards, 2 assists in 19 minutes. We’ve tried him as starter, sixth man, O initiator, off ball, but haven’t found his best spot. His efficiency has dropped overall and on 3s. Considering his shot splits are around 60/40 on 2s/3s, and that of his 2s, he takes the most from the 3-10ft range yet this is also his least efficient shot within 16 feet, some adjustments need to be made. And considering his dwindling 3s efficiency now stands at 29.8%, it would also be great if more than half his shots would not come from the arc. He is averaging 10% more from the FT line for a team-best 92.9%, so perhaps he could find a niche driving more to get to the FT line more? These are his highest yielding shots. Simplify. Start from what you’re good at spread out from there.

We got lit up from 3 and the 20-point loss can be broadly attributed to the -18 on their 6 extra 3s made, and -3 on second chance points. Add 58-44 PITP against and 24-14 against on fast break points and well, we got it handed to us. We were too slow, not utilizing our strength of pace, then even slower in half court, not getting to our spots or getting pushed out of them, then not running back on D quickly enough and covering literally the middle of the paint for easy points. Lots went wrong, starting with getting physicality imposed on us and not enough guys not doing enough when their shots were not falling. Another chance to right the path on Monday.

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