SPURS GAME DAY! RRT EDITION GAME 56: SPURS AT KINGS, 22-2-2024, 9PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Devin end of clock 3!

[G R E Y]

Wemby bad 3 shot. Miss.

3 against.

Then another Wemby miss down low.

Then 2 against on an uncontested alley oop. No help.

5-0 swing against.

3 point deficit.

Pop timeout.

[G R E Y]

Everything right with a pass to a cutting Devin but Devin gets swiped at the rim. Tough.

[G R E Y]

Sochan last shot? lol

Airball lol

But touch and competitive ... just fell short.

[imagump1313]

Thanks for the updates Grey.
All I can say is stupid jerseys win stupid prizes....

[G R E Y]

Thanks for the updates Grey.
All I can say is stupid jerseys win stupid prizes....

Still better than the cammos! All due respect to their purpose.

My least favourite are those SATX ones even though we recently kicked ass in them.

One year Spurs will create a City uni you'll like. Not this one (or last one, or the one before that lol), but ONE YEAR...

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 122 KINGS 127

Win three Qs. Check.

Three 30+ point Qs. Check.

Fight back from a double digit deficit to get a four-point lead late. Check.

But every play counts. And those earlier missed bunnies, the rust in the legs, the lesser movement and questionable, contested shots added up. In a close game, the two extra 3s against stand out; the 11-16FTs do, too. The boards were 42-42, and we even won the O boards 11-7 but we got three fewer second chance points. Again, lots of bunnies, lots of missed opportunities.

It was a valiant effort but we didn't give ourselves enough of a cushion versus an experienced team.

And with five starters in double figures, most with excellent efficiency (except for Wemby), we needed more help from the bench.

Keldon led that group with 18 on 7-12, 2-4 from 3, 2-2FTs with 3 assists and 1 steal. Used his big body to good effect on some drives, but to our detriment on others as there were passes to be made. Cedi chipped in 2-4, 1-2 from 3, with 2 boards, 3 assists in only 11 minutes. Blake and Branham played more together. After the game, Pop said Branham is getting more regular minutes again because he's been more assertive like we want him to be as opposed to playing in a nonchalant way. It's a damning compliment. But hopefully the message sticks. Some better looks for others, some better off-ball movement, but only 2-6, 1-2 from 3. Missed bunnies close to the rim. He did grab 3 assists (1 on O) and dish 2 assists as well in 13 minutes. Blake was only 1-4, 0-2 from 3 (at least one forced from a late clock pass to him), 2-2FTs (the result of an assertive drive). I liked the little Blake to Branham pocket pass. It was a good action between them even if the floater missed. Their inexperience showed, though, even as they showed some glimpses of good play.

Zach. 1-4, 1-2FTs, with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal. 17 minutes.

We have three experienced bench players with Cedi, Keldon, and Zach, and frankly he's a shell of himself right now. Really good passing from the top of the arc, really good two-man game chemistry with some guard teammates, but goodness he got dunked on, got bodied, and just **** missed. Some boxing out was ok, some more signs of a fight, but goodness do we ever need someone to step up and help Wemby.

Zach said he wanted more minutes alongside Wemby but he can barely play in the second unit. It's not a matter of 'earning' minutes with Wemby. Most get their share, including a lineup of Blake, Branham, Cedi, Keldon, and Wemby. But it is interesting that they've almost never played together since Zach was moved to the bench and Wemby to the 5. Wemby makes just about everyone around him better but they didn't look great together (though that was earlier in the season). We just need Zach to find his spirit again. He has to keep trying.

Zach and Cedi are also our best and most willing passers from the bench unit, which says a lot about both the experience and vision gap from the other bench players. Keldon brings the energy but he’s not quite where we need him to be. We do need him to cook versus opposing bench units, all the more so with Zach struggling on O, but there’s something to this as well:

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Of the 37 assists we had, 13 were by the bench unit, and three of those were by Blake and Branham combined.

Wemby crossed the 30 minute playing mark and in 31 minutes he netted 18 on 8-21, 1-6 from 3, 2-3FTs, with a game-high 13 boards (game high 5 on O), 4 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks to only 1TO. That's a near 5x5. Incredible. Only 14 players in NBA history have done it and Wemby was one assist away on a night he didn't look stellar on O but pushed his way through to contribute all around. He forced some contested shots rather than keeping the ball moving, he took too long to make decisions in the first half, took too many fadeaways from faceups, but like he does, the second half adjustments showed what a quick study he is. From face up to post up, from too long to decide what to do with the ball to passing quickly. Love how he thinks his way through a game.

Devin led us with 37 minutes and in it he got a game high 32 points on stellar 13-18, 3-4 from 3, 3-5FTs, 1 rebound, 7(!) assists. He finished in a variety of ways, finished through contact, scored off screens and finding his pet pockets of space, and was judicious with (didn't settle for) 3s. Aggressive on O, assertive with his decisions, terrific D both man and help, and that two-man game with Wemby is getting sweeter by the game. Getting better all around with his scoring, defending, and passing package. These two lift the floor and ceiling of our team now and in the future.

Sochan is a bit of a Jekyll/Hyde player but I guess it's expected in this only his second year. The weird misses at the rim, the weird body contortions preceding them, the lack of full extension that contribute to them are all effort but less experience and consistent craft in doing so. His game was like this season - more raw at the beginning, more utilizing his body to its full capacity, protective to the point of it working against him to more bounce and focused energy and execution. Guess it took some time to get his legs under him and muscle memory coming to the fore. He finished with 16 on 7-15, 1-1 from 3, 1-2FTs, with 8 boards (1 on O), 2 assists, 2 steals. Eleven of these shot attempts were deep in the paint and he flat out missed six of them. He was contested at times but none were blocked. He just has to get better at finishing with more skill and patience at the rim. Certainly plenty of chances created. Sochan has to make more of them.

He got crushed on some screens (some moving but not called) but also adjusted to anticipate and work his way around them, too, to stay with his man. Was a bit slow in the recovery of a first step even though some were from bigs and forwards. That extra half second quicker response from his legs will really help, be it smaller strides to catch up or quicker body twist to cut off angles better. But overall very solid D and once again all around contribution. It's fun watching him figure things out even as it's frustrating seeing him grind through rim mistakes that will need a summer of seasoning to look more polished.

For a player who did not like the PG development trial by fire he sure loves to over dribble the ball. There were several missed opportunities to get the ball to players who had already done the right thing by running ahead, spreading the floor, but he settled for DHOs well after the D had settled in. I get trying to ensure mistakes aren't made, but this is more wanting to feel the ball in his hands. Well if that's the case, then either take on the responsibility of a point-forward or **** accept the off ball path of a PF. Don't blend the worst of the two by both holding onto the ball too long and then making a safe pass up top which only puts the O set up responsibility in someone else's hands with less time left to do it. In short, pass the **** ball ahead in transition. It's basic .5 101.

Our actual PG, Tre, led us with 9 assists while scoring 10 on 5-8, 0-1 from 3 (thank goodness the shot selection was much better), and grabbed 2 boards (1 on O). Crafty finishes be it floaters or drives through outstretched arms is becoming somewhat of a specialty. Sochan should take note of his and Devin's finishes. Note: our starting back court combined for 16 assists. Excellent.

Julian was much better. Ran to spaces well, made his shots in them (4-6, 2-3 from 3) including both corners, and we did a good job making extra passes and getting him the ball in good shooting readiness positions. He was also much better cutting and finishing at the rim. That give and go with Wemby early in the 3RD for a Julian dunk was sweet. He was a much more willing defender, covering spaces and contesting better as well.

Overall we did a better job playing to individual strengths with our shot selection and play execution with Tre taking only one 3 and Sochan only one as well. Wemby's lone 3 make was an off the dribble one which he's making far better than C&S but he just didn't have the right O stuff in terms of judicious selection. He was more pushed out of his best spots and forced into making tougher ones but he'll learn from this. Strength is a factor, too, but so too is just experience versus each opponent. Branham resisted the chuckasaurus tendencies and actually made good plays like driving and kicking out, running to open spaces for mid range attempts, driving. He neither settled for 3s nor only shot the ball when he got it. These glimpses of better decisions are encouraging.

Only 8TOs to 37 assists, our 9 steals on their 10TOs is good activity on both ends.

We were just a bit late on some 3s close outs after getting crushed on screens (it's hard to stop Sochan and Keldon in their tracks), we had some running back on transition D lapses, and we had some 5 or 6-points swings that didn't go our way enough. But we boxed out better, played together better once we shook off the rust, and just kept coming.

The finishing off of opponents late in games has to be there late in Qs first. It's surely something we notice being done to us and we have to get better at these details. But the heart and the better cohesiveness is there. The better off-ball movement and cuts at the right times and to the right places is there, the better passes to cutters is there, and the attention to rebounding is there. The push back is there. And the break of woeful middle two Qs is there. These are good improvements. How much we have left to do it after expending considerable energy in this one is the upcoming challenge.

[G R E Y]

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[imagump1313]

Thanks for the updates Grey.
All I can say is stupid jerseys win stupid prizes....

Still better than the cammos! All due respect to their purpose.

My least favourite are those SATX ones even though we recently kicked ass in them.

One year Spurs will create a City uni you'll like. Not this one (or last one, or the one before that lol), but ONE YEAR...

If they would just stick with black, silver and white they might come up with something.