SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 27: SPURS AT BULLS, 21-12-2023, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Devin pass to Wemby in the post. So it IS possible.

[G R E Y]

Sure, Devin. Great dunk. Where was this to start the game?

[G R E Y]

"What needs to get established is that Wemby is your #1 guy..." Bulls commentator after watching us but twice this season.

[G R E Y]

We are down 20 to the Bulls on a B2B and we now have Branham, Mamu, Julian, Blake, and SIDY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[G R E Y]

Blake nice touch at the rim after the pin and drive left side.

[G R E Y]

Blake drives into THREE defenders in the paint.

Blake the PG lmao

He's looking after getting his own O going in Austin, too.

[G R E Y]

Bad loss.

[imagump1313]

At least the guys were smiling and joking all game after each turnover.

Laugh it up guys!

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 95 BULLS 114

It's a bad loss because of how we lost and because it was a completely winnable game. We faced a team on a B2B, third game in four nights, and you couldn't tell which team was in the midst of it.

I'm going to flat out say it after 27 games: Sochan is a **** problem. I will talk about why I think that is elsewhere, but it is now abundantly clear, with an accrued amount of data, that he is not putting the team first on O, and is even at times coasting a bit on D. A LOT of our energy-suffocating plays have him directly involved.

There is NO scenario in which he looks off better scorers on the team in favour of his own shot. NO scenario in which he STILL overdribbles even after being taken off the too steep a learning curve PG duties in favour of getting to concentrate more on D. NO scenario in which he is an option ahead of Wemby.

And it is affecting the team. Guys like Tre and Branham have called him off the ball when he's come up or stood still to get moving, like he's expecting to get the ball first like he's still a guard.

He sucks the energy FROM or OUT of the team because we have to put up with his bad O lack of skills yet calling his own number. I say SIT HIM.

Mind you, Keldon has looked off Wemby as well and I don't **** like that either. But at least Keldon knows how to score well. Still, and even with Wemby's ankle perhaps still bothering him (only 10 minutes in the first half, finishing with a well below his average 22 minutes), Wemby got open plenty and we missed him. Even the Bulls commentators kept pointing it out. But most egregiously, they said it looked like Sochan was purposefully not including Wemby. So yeah the **** cat's out of the bag and has run amock knocking everything over, leaving paw prints all over the room. The culprit is evident.

And I don't really care about motives (though they do seem to be driving the results). ANY Spur not capable or unwilling for *whatever* reason to pass to Wemby should not play as many minutes until it sinks in, and if it doesn't cannot remain on our team.

Imagine having a **** generational talent who, when passed to, can make everyone's O better and easier and instead he is left to jump in the air for a WOULD-BE pass that does not get to him. It's like the second or third game in a row in which he's jumped up for the play that COULD HAVE BEEN BUT WASN'T because we didn't do the right thing.

I don't of course think Pop is telling guys to look off Wemby, but I do think it's time guys paid the price with cut minutes until it sinks in:


WEMBY IS THE #1 OPTION.

And he even facilitates to others so nicely to get some reciprocation going. Nope. **** hell. It's not stupidity. It's selfishness and I'm **** done with the energy sucking selfishness, or call it whatever you want, it's glaring and it needs to **** stop. You know how we know to involve Wemby more? Because we've done it before, more times, and better lmao

Guess who LED THE TEAM with assists? Wemby with 5 lmao

Wemby high low to a cutting Keldon. Bucket. Keldon drives, has Wemby with his hand up, nope.

Wemby with a pretty behind the back pass to a cutting Sochan for the dunk. Sochan looks off Wemby most of the night lmao.

I don't like that half of Devin's shots were once again from the arc. Too passive. Though I do like him actually involving Wemby early in the clock with basic passes to the post or running P&Rs with him.

Zach was terrific with 14 and 9.

Tre drove well, pushed the ball well, etc., as he does.

Keldon wasn't efficient but kept up the physicality, one of the few who was a downhill player much of the night.

Feels like Doug is on the last few games as a Spur. Complete D liability and isn't giving us as many of those heater nights. Wish he's be more of a vocal leader but you know it's not there when Keldon tells him about defensive mistakes. It is what it is, he's a guy who's made a career of 3s and drives, has a specific skillset and as an expiring, I hope he ends up in a good situation. Nicest of guys, but if he's not contributing with what the specific skill set as consistently as we need then hopefully a change of scenery for assets helps both sides out. He's still averaging a near career high 44.9% from the 3. That has to be enticing.

Cedi with a rare off night scoring. It happens. I hope we retain him.

Blake looked more aggressive and polished in finishing.

I hope we play Sidy more. He's been balling with great passes in Austin and is more assertive in scoring.

Yes the TOs were high again (19!), yes we were not efficient again (45.1% overall, 33% from 3), but there's an unaddressed issue that is a spirit sucking element we have to address which is what do we do with the problem that is Sochan. It's not fair that I pick on him so much but I've also been hugely patient with tons of room for learning through mistakes and a new position, and with not playing as many games having missed 30 last season, only for him to go all seemingly me-first mode. Whether it's just him trying to make things happen or whatever, he needs to get a mental approach change and earn minutes back. Whatever the fine line is between balancing directing a guy while teaching him and giving space to learn, he's doubling down on bad play on O and it is hurting the team so I'm down for a Branham, Devin, Keldon, Dom/Julian/Cedi/Mamu/literally anyone willing to pass to Wemby starting group.

This is a big elephant in the room and guys are being too nice in not talking to him about it. Or if they are saying it and the results are the same it may be an even bigger issue. And we are also at a point now that we clearly communicate that Wemby is OPTION #1, and all else flows from it. Get these aligned. We will be better for it as a team.

[G R E Y]

This is a subtle acknowledgement of O issues without throwing a young guy(s) under the bus:

Watch on YouTube

We know there are adjustments that must be made.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

"We have to play more to our strengths..."

" 'We' overdribble... 'we' overdribble..."

"As a team we have to play better for 48 minutes, let's just put it that way..."

Bless him, he's saying it without calling a team mate(s) out. It's **** clear as day per Pop above, Wemby is mature beyond his years in these interviews but agreed with Devin in general, and Devin has basically outlined that we have the tools but are not utilizing them properly due to over-dribbling (among other things, but that kept coming up).

Yep.