timvp
11-05-2018, 03:14 AM
https://i.imgur.com/GpxVpV6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HQ8yoek.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/u1bMHgl.jpg
San Antonio's four-game winning streak came to a screeching halt on Sunday night. The Magic, who entered the game riding a four-game losing streak, clearly outplayed the Spurs on their way to a 117-110 victory.
Orlando expanded their lead to 26 points with nine minutes remaining in the game. The Spurs, to their credit, battled back and actually got within five points with 1:41 left in the ballgame. Unfortunately, the run proved to be too little, too late.
This was the Spurs' first back-to-back of the season and the result was ugly. Their defense, which had been the best in the league over the previous four outings, majorly regressed as the Magic scored at a rate of 120.6 points per 100 possessions.
For San Antonio's defense to meltdown against the Magic is surprising considering Orlando entered the game with the second worst ranked offense in the league. But let's give the Magic credit, they played hard, hit a lot of difficult shots and jumped on San Antonio from the opening tip. They deserved the W.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
LaMarcus Aldridge just didn't have a very good game. My biggest beef with his play was his defense, or lack thereof. He was decent when defending the low block but was a disaster when asked to move his feet out on the perimeter. Whenever Pop put him at power forward, it was scary how unable Aldridge was to function outside the paint. Let's hope it was fatigue making him that slow and immobile. Otherwise, Aldridge will have to stick with playing center from now on. Offensively, he wasn't too good, either. He was sloppy with the ball and wasn't physical enough to establish position. Aldridge was mostly floating around the midrange and didn't do much to help the Spurs provide a post presence.
Grade: C-
Summary: Aldridge was sub par on both ends. Hopefully he was just tired.
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DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
Speaking of fatigue, it looked like minutes finally caught up to DeMar DeRozan. He came into the game second in the league in minutes per game at 37.4 and appeared to run out of gas by halftime. After scoring 19 points in the first two quarters, DeRozan was nearly invisible in the final two periods. His effort on defense was less than ideal throughout the contest. Overall, though, it's difficult to be too upset with his statistical production. DeRozan scored 25 points on 16 shots, grabbed seven rebounds and handed off five assists. Turnovers (4) were a problem, but that too looked like it could have been fatigue induced.
Grade: B
Summary: DeRozan was productive in the first half against the Magic but then vanished.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Bryn Forbes had a rocky evening. He struggled with foul trouble for a lot of the night. Forbes' ball-handling and playmaking were sub par, even for him. On the plus side of the equation, he was sufficiently aggressive looking for his own shot and nothing seemed to dull his confidence on offense. His defense was decent -- outside of the fouls. He was reaching way too much on D and that got him in trouble with the whistles.
Grade: B
Summary: Forbes was brimming with confidence but the results were uneven.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
The good: Dante Cunningham made a lot of hustle plays on defense, particularly in transition and when the halfcourt defense broke down. He also was physical on the glass. The bad: Pretty much everything else. Cunningham's individual defense wasn't good. When Pop put him at small forward, Cunningham's lack of mobility became blindingly obvious. While he's mobile for a power forward, he's way too earthbound to defend shooting guards or small forwards with any sort of speed. Offensively, Cunningham was even worse. He was getting in the way and always seemed a step or two behind in the motion offense.
Grade: C-
Summary: All in all, Cunningham was hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court tonight.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans got the start at small forward with Rudy Gay sidelined. Unfortunately, Bertans was unable to snap out of his funk. Offensively, he couldn't cash in on his numerous open looks. (To his credit, he kept shooting despite the misses.) His passing was also uncharacteristically off target. Defensively, he was mostly okay. He got overwhelmed physically a few times but his fundamentals were better than usual -- except for on the defensive glass where Bertans forgot to box out a few times and forgot to jump for the rebound a few other times.
Grade: B-
Summary: Bertans got a chance to shine but didn't truly take advantage of it.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Offensively, Patty Mills was solid. He forced Orlando to account for him at all times because he was constantly probing for shots. I have no qualms with Mills being a shoot-first point guard because that's when he's at his best. Tonight, his passing was adequate and he did a good job of taking care of the ball. Defensively, Mills took a step backwards. His improved effort on D was a big reason for the recent team-wide recovery. But against the Magic, Mills didn't have the edge he had in the previous four games. He played passively and the Magic had success going right at him. When the diminutive Australian doesn't play with a chip on his shoulder, it's difficult for him to survive on D.
Grade: B-
Summary: Offense? Good. Defense? Not good.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli is another player who thrived on offense but was a sieve on defense. On the defensive end, he wasn't staying in front of his man and his transition D was often poor. Offensively, there wasn't much to complain about. He was his energetic self, knocked down a couple difficult shots, got to the free throw line a season-high five times and avoided turnovers.
Grade: B
Summary: Belinelli provided instant offense but his defense was missing in action.
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Pau Gasol
https://i.imgur.com/oF0jVre.png
Pau Gasol was the man most responsible for the fourth quarter comeback. Pop had seemingly waved the white flag but Gasol wasn't quite ready to surrender. His inspired play can be seen on the stat sheet as he totaled 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots despite playing less than half the game. In retrospect, Gasol should have played some of Aldridge's minutes because he was demonstrably better than San Antonio's starting center on both ends of the court.
Grade: A-
Summary: Gasol played like a man possessed during the frantic fourth quarter comeback.
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Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
If there was one silver lining to this disappointing loss, it's the fact that Jakob Poeltl showed signs of life. He was a beast on the offensive glass; the Magic really struggled to stop Poeltl from getting his hands on San Antonio's missed shots. His passing was impressive and the seven-footer registered his first blocked shot of the season. Defensively, Poeltl was a definite plus -- both individually and when providing help. While the Austrian is still figuring out how to fit on the offensive end, this was the first time he looked comfortable in silver and black.
Grade: A-
Summary: Poeltl looked like the player the Spurs traded for.
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Quincy Pondexter
https://i.imgur.com/loUbrtn.png
With Gay out, Quincy Pondexter found himself in the rotation. All told, he didn't do much to move the needle either way. His defense was okay . . . but compared to his lackluster teammates, it stood out as above average. He pressured ball-handlers well and cut off drivers. Offensively, Pondexter was also okay. He didn't get in the way often and acted like he knew what he was doing most of the time.
Grade: B
Summary: Pondexter soaked up the extra minutes that were available and didn't hurt the team.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
Pop riding DeRozan and Aldridge heavy minutes to begin the season appeared to catch up to him this game. The coaching staff never really found a group that played well together tonight. Playing Cunningham at small forward was a bad decision. In hindsight, Pop should have given more minutes to Gasol and probably either Belinelli or Pondexter. Sticking with Poeltl when he found a rhythm didn't really help the Spurs in this game but should pay off down the line.
Grade: C+
Summary: The Spurs looked tired and Pop deserves a portion of that blame.
Looking ahead: This is a tough loss to swallow. Being at home, the Spurs needed this win against a much inferior team. That is especially true with the difficult schedule that lies ahead.
The coaching staff had gotten away with playing the two stars big minutes until this back-to-back. We'll see if fatigue becomes a theme this season or if this turns out to just be an early season hiccup.
https://i.imgur.com/HQ8yoek.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/u1bMHgl.jpg
San Antonio's four-game winning streak came to a screeching halt on Sunday night. The Magic, who entered the game riding a four-game losing streak, clearly outplayed the Spurs on their way to a 117-110 victory.
Orlando expanded their lead to 26 points with nine minutes remaining in the game. The Spurs, to their credit, battled back and actually got within five points with 1:41 left in the ballgame. Unfortunately, the run proved to be too little, too late.
This was the Spurs' first back-to-back of the season and the result was ugly. Their defense, which had been the best in the league over the previous four outings, majorly regressed as the Magic scored at a rate of 120.6 points per 100 possessions.
For San Antonio's defense to meltdown against the Magic is surprising considering Orlando entered the game with the second worst ranked offense in the league. But let's give the Magic credit, they played hard, hit a lot of difficult shots and jumped on San Antonio from the opening tip. They deserved the W.
-------------
LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
LaMarcus Aldridge just didn't have a very good game. My biggest beef with his play was his defense, or lack thereof. He was decent when defending the low block but was a disaster when asked to move his feet out on the perimeter. Whenever Pop put him at power forward, it was scary how unable Aldridge was to function outside the paint. Let's hope it was fatigue making him that slow and immobile. Otherwise, Aldridge will have to stick with playing center from now on. Offensively, he wasn't too good, either. He was sloppy with the ball and wasn't physical enough to establish position. Aldridge was mostly floating around the midrange and didn't do much to help the Spurs provide a post presence.
Grade: C-
Summary: Aldridge was sub par on both ends. Hopefully he was just tired.
-------------
DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
Speaking of fatigue, it looked like minutes finally caught up to DeMar DeRozan. He came into the game second in the league in minutes per game at 37.4 and appeared to run out of gas by halftime. After scoring 19 points in the first two quarters, DeRozan was nearly invisible in the final two periods. His effort on defense was less than ideal throughout the contest. Overall, though, it's difficult to be too upset with his statistical production. DeRozan scored 25 points on 16 shots, grabbed seven rebounds and handed off five assists. Turnovers (4) were a problem, but that too looked like it could have been fatigue induced.
Grade: B
Summary: DeRozan was productive in the first half against the Magic but then vanished.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Bryn Forbes had a rocky evening. He struggled with foul trouble for a lot of the night. Forbes' ball-handling and playmaking were sub par, even for him. On the plus side of the equation, he was sufficiently aggressive looking for his own shot and nothing seemed to dull his confidence on offense. His defense was decent -- outside of the fouls. He was reaching way too much on D and that got him in trouble with the whistles.
Grade: B
Summary: Forbes was brimming with confidence but the results were uneven.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
The good: Dante Cunningham made a lot of hustle plays on defense, particularly in transition and when the halfcourt defense broke down. He also was physical on the glass. The bad: Pretty much everything else. Cunningham's individual defense wasn't good. When Pop put him at small forward, Cunningham's lack of mobility became blindingly obvious. While he's mobile for a power forward, he's way too earthbound to defend shooting guards or small forwards with any sort of speed. Offensively, Cunningham was even worse. He was getting in the way and always seemed a step or two behind in the motion offense.
Grade: C-
Summary: All in all, Cunningham was hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court tonight.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans got the start at small forward with Rudy Gay sidelined. Unfortunately, Bertans was unable to snap out of his funk. Offensively, he couldn't cash in on his numerous open looks. (To his credit, he kept shooting despite the misses.) His passing was also uncharacteristically off target. Defensively, he was mostly okay. He got overwhelmed physically a few times but his fundamentals were better than usual -- except for on the defensive glass where Bertans forgot to box out a few times and forgot to jump for the rebound a few other times.
Grade: B-
Summary: Bertans got a chance to shine but didn't truly take advantage of it.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Offensively, Patty Mills was solid. He forced Orlando to account for him at all times because he was constantly probing for shots. I have no qualms with Mills being a shoot-first point guard because that's when he's at his best. Tonight, his passing was adequate and he did a good job of taking care of the ball. Defensively, Mills took a step backwards. His improved effort on D was a big reason for the recent team-wide recovery. But against the Magic, Mills didn't have the edge he had in the previous four games. He played passively and the Magic had success going right at him. When the diminutive Australian doesn't play with a chip on his shoulder, it's difficult for him to survive on D.
Grade: B-
Summary: Offense? Good. Defense? Not good.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli is another player who thrived on offense but was a sieve on defense. On the defensive end, he wasn't staying in front of his man and his transition D was often poor. Offensively, there wasn't much to complain about. He was his energetic self, knocked down a couple difficult shots, got to the free throw line a season-high five times and avoided turnovers.
Grade: B
Summary: Belinelli provided instant offense but his defense was missing in action.
-------------
Pau Gasol
https://i.imgur.com/oF0jVre.png
Pau Gasol was the man most responsible for the fourth quarter comeback. Pop had seemingly waved the white flag but Gasol wasn't quite ready to surrender. His inspired play can be seen on the stat sheet as he totaled 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots despite playing less than half the game. In retrospect, Gasol should have played some of Aldridge's minutes because he was demonstrably better than San Antonio's starting center on both ends of the court.
Grade: A-
Summary: Gasol played like a man possessed during the frantic fourth quarter comeback.
-------------
Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
If there was one silver lining to this disappointing loss, it's the fact that Jakob Poeltl showed signs of life. He was a beast on the offensive glass; the Magic really struggled to stop Poeltl from getting his hands on San Antonio's missed shots. His passing was impressive and the seven-footer registered his first blocked shot of the season. Defensively, Poeltl was a definite plus -- both individually and when providing help. While the Austrian is still figuring out how to fit on the offensive end, this was the first time he looked comfortable in silver and black.
Grade: A-
Summary: Poeltl looked like the player the Spurs traded for.
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Quincy Pondexter
https://i.imgur.com/loUbrtn.png
With Gay out, Quincy Pondexter found himself in the rotation. All told, he didn't do much to move the needle either way. His defense was okay . . . but compared to his lackluster teammates, it stood out as above average. He pressured ball-handlers well and cut off drivers. Offensively, Pondexter was also okay. He didn't get in the way often and acted like he knew what he was doing most of the time.
Grade: B
Summary: Pondexter soaked up the extra minutes that were available and didn't hurt the team.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
Pop riding DeRozan and Aldridge heavy minutes to begin the season appeared to catch up to him this game. The coaching staff never really found a group that played well together tonight. Playing Cunningham at small forward was a bad decision. In hindsight, Pop should have given more minutes to Gasol and probably either Belinelli or Pondexter. Sticking with Poeltl when he found a rhythm didn't really help the Spurs in this game but should pay off down the line.
Grade: C+
Summary: The Spurs looked tired and Pop deserves a portion of that blame.
Looking ahead: This is a tough loss to swallow. Being at home, the Spurs needed this win against a much inferior team. That is especially true with the difficult schedule that lies ahead.
The coaching staff had gotten away with playing the two stars big minutes until this back-to-back. We'll see if fatigue becomes a theme this season or if this turns out to just be an early season hiccup.