SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 18: SPURS VS. HAWKS, 30-11-2023, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Dev drives for the basket and foul! WOOHOO!

[G R E Y]

Tre at the FT and floater were both short front of rim. Needs more legs under it.

We haven't seen Wemby in a LONG time.

[G R E Y]

Tre 3. Nice.

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 105 HAWKS 101

We started slow, broke the pattern to push ahead to 12(!) but watched that lead slip down to 4 on a pro scorer scoring all kinds of ways late. It looks like we intend not to foul him which is smart, but preventing him getting the ball to begin with would be smarter.

Proud of our fight this Q, and of how we poured in 39 points even though we allowed just as many late. Dev was cooking.

Get stops. Get at the rim. Get the rebounds. Make good to great shots. Let's get it!

[G R E Y]

That Wemby one handed high up and cross court pass was all kinds of badassery. WOW!

[G R E Y]

KELDON JOHNSON MOVING HIS FEET QUICKLY, STAYS BALANCED, POKES THE BALL FOR THE GREAT D PLAY!

[G R E Y]

Julian and Dev 3s are pure and sweet.

[G R E Y]

Yeah we have to be careful about pass beneficiaries in our paint.

[G R E Y]

P&R Sochan and Zach!

[G R E Y]

That's another awareness non shot by Zach, sort of half fading away half pass, half maybe shot but decided against it. It was a break in O play and late in the clock, but I'd rather he have the inclination to go forward with physical momentum than back.

[G R E Y]

KLEDON JOHNSON MAN D POKE AND STEAL!

Keldon misses layup, we miss O board putback, they get a layup. Pop timeout.

We have to finish those STRONG AT THE RIM.

[G R E Y]

ATO. We TO it on the inbound. Goodness. May grace and smart play take over for us now.

[G R E Y]

Zach another not smart play O foul. Not his best game.

[G R E Y]

Keldon's missed like 3 or 4 at the rim with wrong angles. Just take it hard for the dunk.

[G R E Y]

Sochan on a break, uses misdirection well, opens lane a little for the layup.

[G R E Y]

D to O transition - Tre to Wemby to Sochan on the left weak side cut for the dunk.

[G R E Y]

Good job getting them into foul trouble.

[imagump1313]

If I had a dollar for every totally wasted possession we had I would have a lot of dollars.....

[G R E Y]

WHAT A **** TRAVESTY. SOCHAN DOES EVERYTHING RIGHT AND GETS THE WRONG CALL.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 135 HAWKS 137

With each game we get closer to our goal of a full 48 minute game. It is also a game of mistakes and mitigating them and we did some things not as great, others much better.

TOs - we had 21 which cost us 14 points, where we were -4. These cost us less in points against but more so in chances to score.

And in the chances to score, we were a bit loose at times in finishes at the rim - lots of missed chances with bunnies on wrong angles rather than taking it harder at the basket for dunks, for instance. PITP were 56-48 against because we couldn't stop their star scorer enough and we didn't finish as well at the rim in the 4TH.

Sean in my head doing my summary right now - our guys getting the ball out of the hot shooter's hands is a crucial next step in our development. We let them bring the ball up the court too easily but for a couple of times in which we pressed full court or when Tre pressed man D when they brought up the ball.

But we had four 30+ point Qs, we kept up our lead and came from behind to get back the lead, didn't allow great runs against, played good man D from guys we don't usually expect like Keldon getting a couple of steals, got to the FT line well to get some key contributors into foul trouble, made FT very well (21-23), made four more 3s (18-14), shot very well (53.9%), rebounded better as the game progressed (47-37 overall and 11-8 on O boards).

For all the crapping on Sochan, some criticism fair, other criticism far too magnified, he had the best pro game of his career. GREAT off ball movement, communicated well and called for the ball with a hand target, kept the ball up high on O boards, was physical, energetic and very smart on both ends. I liked his tighter handles, liked how he lured defenders into the paint and kicked out, liked how he ran the P&R - so effective when he's 6'8" and running it with a C, his shot selection, good reads and passes, solid D, including a steal on the final end of game play.

He led us with 33 on an incredible 12-14, 3-3 from 3, 6-6FTs (team high) along with 8 boards (3 on O), 6 assists, 1 steal and 5 TOs. Just a smart two-way performance. He's big so it may be more difficult for him to move his legs versus perimeter guys, but keeping them in front of him or preventing passes to them or getting on up into their space are his next defensive steps. Very very proud of his heart and hustle and reads and execution tonight.

Keldon had a couple of steals on man D that I though were the best heads up effort and timing and smarts plays of his career. That block and steal and layup he had earlier this season was an incredible, heady sequence, but putting together these types of defensive stops is impressive and necessary. Now we KNOW he can do it. Good stuff. He also scored 22 on 8-15, 2-3 from 3 (good shot distribution) to go along with 11 boards (team high 4 on O), 3 assists, and 1 steal. His handles were so impressive tonight. Really controlled but aggressive and tight. Terrific all around game by Wilder.

Wemby had some impressive first half moves and makes, impactful on both ends, but he fell hard on his hip in taking a charge and he was not sure to play tonight because of some sort of hip soreness. In the first half he had 12 points on 5-7, 1-2 from 3, 1-1FT, with 7 boards (2 on O), 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks and finished with 21 on 9-16, 1-5 from 3, 2-2FTs, with 12 boards (2 on O), 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks to only 2TOs. In the 4TH Q, he was un-Wembylike going only 1-5, 0-3 from 3 and 1-2 down low. It happens, but I do wonder what his fitness felt like tonight as he was sucking air hard at some times and maybe the hip was a bit tender.

And finally Devin joined in on the 20+ points parade with 25 off the bench (but really in 27 starter-like minutes) on 8-14, 4-10 from 3, 5-5FTs, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 2TOs which are of the type where he gets caught with too many defenders on him in a tight spot and throws into too tight a space or loops it out and we have to chase it down. Still, loved his outside-in game, his chemistry with Tre (who tied Zach actually for team high 7 assists), and good switches and rotations with Sochan.

Really nice to see Julian's game clicking again. Nice 3s, patient, balanced shots. Made 5-8 from 3. Crucial for us as the season progresses. If we can get this 6'7" forward to add some more D and rebounds, pretty much the ideal complementary impactful player, and only 22.

Zach led us with 7 assists but didn't have a clean game with his shot selection, how he shot it, playing smaller than his size, on his heels at times, off balance, rushed a bit. It's the playing up to his size that I'd like to see more of. He only shot 3-5 in 34 minutes of play so that was a bit surprising. His rim protection and getting beaten by back door cuts has to get better.

Teamwide we got caught by a couple of sequences in which we slept on their big who was wide open down low behind our D for dunks, something to be more mindful of.

Even though we were very efficient, the combination of Branham going 1-5, Tre also going 1-5, and Cedi going 1-7 was too much to overcome. If getting stops was going to be a load, we had to get that extra bit on O and it was distributed among too few guys.

That's crazy to say given we poured in 135 points, had six players in double figures scoring, four of whom scored at least 20 points but there it is. Thirty-four assists spread among everyone except for Julian and Bassey is excellent, too.

We ended up chasing our opponent for to much of the 4TH Q, well, one player really, and it's a lesson in both ball protection by us and in cumulatively giving up points to end Qs by star players who know it all adds up and hunt for patterns to exploit. Allowing great players to get the ball back too easily is one pattern, not bodying them enough is another. Worth repeating.

We tried the 3-2 zone for a bit but great penetrators do just that even though it did take some players out of their rhythm. I like the different looks and especially the man D coverage. Don't recall many instances of all five Spurs in the paint and nobody rotating out to a wide open shooter. I liked the extra passes, the quicker decisions with the ball, finding team mates on the weak side, finding the leakers out ahead in transition, finding the trailers, driving and kicking out, just a much better, smoother O roll.

We did a lot of good things right. We have to clean up less each game. And we have to find the will to put it all together better once again. So close. We are so close. Keep pushing.