timvp
11-01-2018, 02:48 AM
https://i.imgur.com/E7Dyfvg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VmmiAyq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/K83I7cJ.jpg
No sweaty palms tonight, folks. The Spurs went into Phoenix and annihilated the Suns by a final count of 120-90. DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge were ridiculously efficient, combining to hit 20 of their 25 field goal attempts.
The most exciting aspect of the 30-point shellacking was the continued improve play by San Antonio’s defense. This game had 103 possessions, which means their defensive rating was a stellar 87.4. A couple days ago, the Spurs had the worst defense in the NBA. After tonight’s effort, their defensive rating of 110.6 is ranked 20th in the league.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
LaMarcus Aldridge spent most of the night attacking number one overall pick Deandre Ayton. And, honestly, it wasn’t even fair. Ayton got little help from his teammates and was dealing with chronic foul trouble. For Aldridge, scoring on Ayton was like taking Halloween candy from a baby, particularly when he took the ball to the rim with aggression. More importantly, though, is the 33-year-old was 4-for-7 on midrange jumpers. Coming into this game, Aldridge had only hit 25 percent of his midrange jumpers on the season.
Grade: A-
Summary: Aldridge gave Ayton a rude introduction to elite bigman basketball.
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DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
Like Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan barely broke a sweat on his way to a game-high 25 points. After going 10-for-12 on Wednesday night, he’s shooting a career-high 52.1 percent from the field for the season. (Other career-highs for DeRozan so far this season: 27.9 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, 87 percent from the free throw line.) The Suns really could do nothing with DeRozan. Once he got by the first line of defense, there was always a clear path to the basket. Defensively, this was another good game from DeRozan. He’ll never being a shutdown defender but when he’s mentally engaged, he reads plays quickly enough to be disruptive on that end.
Grade: A-
Summary: DeRozan made it look easy tonight.
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Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
This was a good bounce-back game from Rudy Gay after his erratic showing last time out. He was calm, cool and collected outside his pair of emphatic dunks. When Gay plays under control and lets the scoring opportunities come to him, he’s a really good weapon. His outside jumper continues to look better than ever, as does his work on the boards.
Grade: A-
Summary: Gay's solid night was punctuated by highlight plays.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Bryn Forbes had a season-high seven assists and even looked like a legit point guard at times. He delivered passes off the dribble on numerous occasions, which isn’t something we’ve seen much from him. However, it wasn’t always a smooth ride. Forbes decision-making was iffy and he oftentimes hesitated while deciding whether to push the pace or run a set play. His defense was once again pretty solid -- his effort on that end remains commendable.
Grade: B
Summary: Forbes is busy learning how to be a point guard.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
I liked Dante Cunningham’s defense, especially in transition. He was hustling back to thwart easy baskets. And even when he’s out on the perimeter, he’s almost always dropping back to the paint to fight for rebounds. Offensively, Cunningham remains a work in progress. He didn’t even attempt a shot from the field until garbage time. If he can’t be a threat at all, his presence hurts the spacing. In fact, the only time Phoenix’s defense looked halfway competent was when they could freely rotate off of Cunningham and basically play the Spurs five on four.
Grade: B-
Summary: Cunningham hasn’t figured out how to do much else on this team other than hustle.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Defensively, I was pleased with Patty Mills. Sure, he has a very low expectations on that end of the court but he was scraping and getting his hands dirty often enough to avoid being too much of a liability. As long as Mills is giving that type of effort, he’s a playable part of the rotation. Offensively, it was rarely pretty. I did appreciate him going to the lane more often than usual.
Grade: B-
Summary: Mills held his own.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli was super active on the offensive end. In fact, he led the Spurs in field goal attempts. Unfortunately, his activity didn’t lead to many positives. Is it time to worry about his wayward shot? Belinelli is now shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc for the season. I don’t mind him being so trigger happy -- in fact, I think it helps give life to the bench -- but he’s going to have to start hitting shots for teams to continue to respect him. In the last few games, he’s missed wide, wide open jumpers.
Grade: C
Summary: Belinelli’s accuracy was frightening poor in this spookiest of nights.
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Pau Gasol
https://i.imgur.com/oF0jVre.png
Pau Gasol fit an entire night of production (eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks) into 16 minutes. He too, like Aldridge, made life tough for Ayton. Gasol was a rock in the paint, as he rebounded well and kept his long arms in the airspace surrounding the rim. Offensively, his passing stood out the most but he had success when he called his own number.
Grade: A-
Summary: Gasol was in the middle of everything when he was on the court.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Defensively, things remain a struggle for Davis Bertans. When he’s defending out on the perimeter, he just looks so uncomfortable. He has bad instincts and ends up out of position way too often. When he’s in the paint, it’s difficult for him to box out successfully. Let’s hope he figures it out because the Spurs could really use his outside shooting touch in the rotation.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans’ defense is a work in progress, to put it kindly.
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Quincy Pondexter
https://i.imgur.com/loUbrtn.png
This is the second straight game Quincy Pondexter was part of the rotation. While he remained mostly in the shadows, there were a few bright spots. Pondexter had a couple of impressive steals that showed off his awareness and anticipation. I’m not sure if he’s going to finish the year on the roster but it appears he could provide a little bit of a defensive boost if given the chance. He’s not a stellar defender by any means but he’s solid on that end and he doesn’t get in the way on offense. Is that enough to keep him on the roster? We’ll find out.
Grade: B+
Summary: Pondexter’s defensive might have caught the coaches’ attention.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
The Spurs realized early that the Suns had no one to guard either Aldridge or DeRozan. The coaching staff went after those mismatches relentlessly and the game was basically over by halftime. Overall, this team’s improvement defensively has been nothing short of miraculous the last three games. Pop deserves credit for tweaking the rotation to help give the Spurs a fighting chance on that end. Cunningham in the starting lineup isn’t beautiful . . . but it’s working for now. Playing Pondexter is also providing some positives.
Grade: A-
Summary: The team is really responding well to Pop’s adjustments so far early in the season.
Looking ahead: Yes, the Suns are a bad team who were missing their best player in Devin Booker. But, even factoring in the sub par competition, the Spurs were impressive in this blowout victory.
Next up is two rest days followed by a home game against the Pelicans on Saturday night. With Anthony Davis back in action, that will be a really good test for the Spurs. If they can extend their winning streak to four games, many NBA pundits might have to think about grabbing their shovels to unbury the Spurs.
https://i.imgur.com/VmmiAyq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/K83I7cJ.jpg
No sweaty palms tonight, folks. The Spurs went into Phoenix and annihilated the Suns by a final count of 120-90. DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge were ridiculously efficient, combining to hit 20 of their 25 field goal attempts.
The most exciting aspect of the 30-point shellacking was the continued improve play by San Antonio’s defense. This game had 103 possessions, which means their defensive rating was a stellar 87.4. A couple days ago, the Spurs had the worst defense in the NBA. After tonight’s effort, their defensive rating of 110.6 is ranked 20th in the league.
-------------
LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
LaMarcus Aldridge spent most of the night attacking number one overall pick Deandre Ayton. And, honestly, it wasn’t even fair. Ayton got little help from his teammates and was dealing with chronic foul trouble. For Aldridge, scoring on Ayton was like taking Halloween candy from a baby, particularly when he took the ball to the rim with aggression. More importantly, though, is the 33-year-old was 4-for-7 on midrange jumpers. Coming into this game, Aldridge had only hit 25 percent of his midrange jumpers on the season.
Grade: A-
Summary: Aldridge gave Ayton a rude introduction to elite bigman basketball.
-------------
DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
Like Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan barely broke a sweat on his way to a game-high 25 points. After going 10-for-12 on Wednesday night, he’s shooting a career-high 52.1 percent from the field for the season. (Other career-highs for DeRozan so far this season: 27.9 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, 87 percent from the free throw line.) The Suns really could do nothing with DeRozan. Once he got by the first line of defense, there was always a clear path to the basket. Defensively, this was another good game from DeRozan. He’ll never being a shutdown defender but when he’s mentally engaged, he reads plays quickly enough to be disruptive on that end.
Grade: A-
Summary: DeRozan made it look easy tonight.
-------------
Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
This was a good bounce-back game from Rudy Gay after his erratic showing last time out. He was calm, cool and collected outside his pair of emphatic dunks. When Gay plays under control and lets the scoring opportunities come to him, he’s a really good weapon. His outside jumper continues to look better than ever, as does his work on the boards.
Grade: A-
Summary: Gay's solid night was punctuated by highlight plays.
-------------
Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Bryn Forbes had a season-high seven assists and even looked like a legit point guard at times. He delivered passes off the dribble on numerous occasions, which isn’t something we’ve seen much from him. However, it wasn’t always a smooth ride. Forbes decision-making was iffy and he oftentimes hesitated while deciding whether to push the pace or run a set play. His defense was once again pretty solid -- his effort on that end remains commendable.
Grade: B
Summary: Forbes is busy learning how to be a point guard.
-------------
Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
I liked Dante Cunningham’s defense, especially in transition. He was hustling back to thwart easy baskets. And even when he’s out on the perimeter, he’s almost always dropping back to the paint to fight for rebounds. Offensively, Cunningham remains a work in progress. He didn’t even attempt a shot from the field until garbage time. If he can’t be a threat at all, his presence hurts the spacing. In fact, the only time Phoenix’s defense looked halfway competent was when they could freely rotate off of Cunningham and basically play the Spurs five on four.
Grade: B-
Summary: Cunningham hasn’t figured out how to do much else on this team other than hustle.
-------------
Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Defensively, I was pleased with Patty Mills. Sure, he has a very low expectations on that end of the court but he was scraping and getting his hands dirty often enough to avoid being too much of a liability. As long as Mills is giving that type of effort, he’s a playable part of the rotation. Offensively, it was rarely pretty. I did appreciate him going to the lane more often than usual.
Grade: B-
Summary: Mills held his own.
-------------
Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli was super active on the offensive end. In fact, he led the Spurs in field goal attempts. Unfortunately, his activity didn’t lead to many positives. Is it time to worry about his wayward shot? Belinelli is now shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc for the season. I don’t mind him being so trigger happy -- in fact, I think it helps give life to the bench -- but he’s going to have to start hitting shots for teams to continue to respect him. In the last few games, he’s missed wide, wide open jumpers.
Grade: C
Summary: Belinelli’s accuracy was frightening poor in this spookiest of nights.
-------------
Pau Gasol
https://i.imgur.com/oF0jVre.png
Pau Gasol fit an entire night of production (eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks) into 16 minutes. He too, like Aldridge, made life tough for Ayton. Gasol was a rock in the paint, as he rebounded well and kept his long arms in the airspace surrounding the rim. Offensively, his passing stood out the most but he had success when he called his own number.
Grade: A-
Summary: Gasol was in the middle of everything when he was on the court.
-------------
Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Defensively, things remain a struggle for Davis Bertans. When he’s defending out on the perimeter, he just looks so uncomfortable. He has bad instincts and ends up out of position way too often. When he’s in the paint, it’s difficult for him to box out successfully. Let’s hope he figures it out because the Spurs could really use his outside shooting touch in the rotation.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans’ defense is a work in progress, to put it kindly.
-------------
Quincy Pondexter
https://i.imgur.com/loUbrtn.png
This is the second straight game Quincy Pondexter was part of the rotation. While he remained mostly in the shadows, there were a few bright spots. Pondexter had a couple of impressive steals that showed off his awareness and anticipation. I’m not sure if he’s going to finish the year on the roster but it appears he could provide a little bit of a defensive boost if given the chance. He’s not a stellar defender by any means but he’s solid on that end and he doesn’t get in the way on offense. Is that enough to keep him on the roster? We’ll find out.
Grade: B+
Summary: Pondexter’s defensive might have caught the coaches’ attention.
-------------
Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
The Spurs realized early that the Suns had no one to guard either Aldridge or DeRozan. The coaching staff went after those mismatches relentlessly and the game was basically over by halftime. Overall, this team’s improvement defensively has been nothing short of miraculous the last three games. Pop deserves credit for tweaking the rotation to help give the Spurs a fighting chance on that end. Cunningham in the starting lineup isn’t beautiful . . . but it’s working for now. Playing Pondexter is also providing some positives.
Grade: A-
Summary: The team is really responding well to Pop’s adjustments so far early in the season.
Looking ahead: Yes, the Suns are a bad team who were missing their best player in Devin Booker. But, even factoring in the sub par competition, the Spurs were impressive in this blowout victory.
Next up is two rest days followed by a home game against the Pelicans on Saturday night. With Anthony Davis back in action, that will be a really good test for the Spurs. If they can extend their winning streak to four games, many NBA pundits might have to think about grabbing their shovels to unbury the Spurs.