timvp
11-22-2018, 03:37 AM
https://i.imgur.com/EbARUnu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NFYxZgE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8Hynirm.jpg
Tough loss to swallow. The Spurs and Grizzlies played a tip and tuck affair on Wednesday night in the AT&T Center. San Antonio took the lead late thanks to a heroic midrange jumper by DeMar DeRozan with less than two second remaining. On the proceeding possession, Rudy Gay got called for a foul that sent Marc Gasol to the line. After Pau's little brother hit both foul shots to give Memphis the lead, LaMarcus Aldridge missed a shot at the buzzer while Gasol avoided getting called for a foul.
The Spurs got unlucky with the late whistles, it's safe to say. However, give the Grizzlies credit. They outplayed the Spurs a majority of the game. In that sense, they deserved the win.
https://i.imgur.com/O3awyy0.gif
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LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
The bad: LaMarcus Aldridge's outside jumper remains broken. Against the Grizzlies, he was 1-for-8 on jumpers outside of the paint. Even in the paint, Aldridge's touch isn't what we've come to expect. In the last five games, he's shooting 32.4 percent from the floor. For the season, his field goal percentage is now at 40.6 percent. The good: Outside of missed shots, I don't have much to complain about regarding Aldridge's play Wednesday night. He ran the court, he was very physical, he competed defensively in the lane and moved his feet out on the perimeter to the best of his ability. Additionally, Aldridge's passing was better than usual and he went without a turnover in 41 minutes of play.
Grade: B
Summary: Aldridge played really well outside of failing to put the basketball in the hoop.
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DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
Offensively, I thought DeMar DeRozan was okay-ish. He shot well enough but he was sloppy; too many times he left his feet with nowhere to go. And while that shot with under two seconds remaining was hugely clutch, that was half of the four points he scored in the fourth quarter. The Spurs need him to be more demonstrative late in close games. Defensively, DeRozan wasn't much of a factor. He didn't make plays on that end but he also avoided glaring mistakes.
Grade: B-
Summary: DeRozan had his moments but wasn't much of a game-changer.
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Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
Rudy Gay looked a lot better physically compared to how he looked in the last outing in what was a second game of a back-to-back. He had his legs back and could move and jump once more. Offensively, he was really good -- as evident by his 21 points on ten shot attempts and no turnovers in 34 minutes. In hindsight, the Spurs should have gone to Gay much more often than they did. His defense was mostly adequate and his defensive rebounding was very helpful. His foul against Gasol with less than a second remaining was . . . disappointing. While that's almost never called a foul in that situation, Gay should have been more under control when closing out on a known flopper.
Grade: B+
Summary: Gay was quite good but the only thing he'll remember from tonight's game is the foul.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Entering the game versus Memphis, Bryn Forbes had been sizzling from deep. In the month of November, he'd hit 51.1 percent of his three-pointers. Unfortunately, he experienced some regressing to the mean. To his credit, his misses didn't cause him to hesitate and he had a handful of crafty drives to the bucket. In the three games since switching back to the starting point guard role, Forbes has one turnover in 79 minutes. Defensively against the Grizzlies, Forbes struggled. He gave good effort against Mike Conley but Memphis' star point guard was able to get whatever he wanted against Forbes' D.
Grade: C
Summary: Forbes missed three-pointers and had his hands full on defense.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
After going 5-for-5 from three-point land against the Pelicans, Dante Cunningham started off this game by draining his first two looks from downtown. He also had a couple of his better passes of the season, while also being strong on the backboard once again. That said, I thought his defense was pathetic. He offered little to no help when defending pick-and-rolls and got blown by repeatedly in one-on-one situations. Pop even had to bench him for multiple defensive mistakes. That's not what you want from a player who's playing mostly due to what he can hypothetically bring to the defense.
Grade: C-
Summary: Cunningham's hot shooting continued but his D was abysmal.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Impressive. I don't have much to critique when it comes to Patty Mills' play tonight. Defensively, he was really active. It's scary to note but he was probably the team's best perimeter defender against the Grizzlies. He gave up a few layups on overplays but he was at least trying to make things happen on that end. On offense, he had one of his better passing games and was efficient from the field. Mills has had some really bad games this year but he was honestly really, really good on this night.
Grade: A
Summary: Mills was strong in all facets and helped give the Spurs a chance to win.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. I was pleased with how he played. Offensively, he spaced the floor wonderfully, he had a couple great passes and was extremely decisive with all his action. Defensively, he had his best rebounding game of the season and was moving his feet well. It wasn't all good, though: he got overwhelmed in the paint by bigger players and he made a few mistakes rotations-wise.
Grade: B+
Summary: Bertans was the first player off the bench and he responded with a strong outing.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Wow. Marco Belinelli couldn't have played much worse. Defensively, he was sieve. Multiple Grizzlies easily got around him and to the basket. On offense, there was no playmaking, no energy or anything else of note. Twice the Spurs had 2-for-1 opportunities at the end of quarters and Belinelli thought it was a good idea to chuck two of the worst attempts I've ever seen.
Grade: F+
Summary: Pitiful.
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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Um, I guess this a tiny step in the right direction. Derrick White is still shying away from handling the ball and also passed up wide open shots. But, hey, he didn't turn the ball over and played relatively error-free. White had a few good passes and played solid defense. Let's hope that elusive rhythm is right around the corner.
Grade: B-
Summary: White wasn't bad. He wasn't good, either.
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Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
Jakob Poeltl didn't play much but he did well in his limited minutes. He had a good finish on offense and a well-timed block on defense. After a slow start to the season, he's starting to play with confidence and it's making him much more valuable.
Grade: Inc.
Summary: Poeltl was fine.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
I had a few areas of disagreement with Pop: 1) Aldridge played too much. Why not give Poeltl more minutes, especially with Aldridge struggling from the floor so much? 2) The coaching staff should have called more plays for Gay. 3) This looked like a game where extended minutes for Bertans could have made things a lot easier on offense. 4) It's difficult to justify having DeRozan inbounding the ball on that final play when he's the clutchest player on the team.
Grade: C-
Summary: Pop had some head-scratchers.
Looking ahead: The Spurs head out on a four-game road trip that starts with a back-to-back in Indiana and Milwaukee. Considering they're now under .500 at 8-9, this is obviously a dangerous time for the good guys.
A 2-2 road trip would be a success but it won't be easy.
https://i.imgur.com/NFYxZgE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8Hynirm.jpg
Tough loss to swallow. The Spurs and Grizzlies played a tip and tuck affair on Wednesday night in the AT&T Center. San Antonio took the lead late thanks to a heroic midrange jumper by DeMar DeRozan with less than two second remaining. On the proceeding possession, Rudy Gay got called for a foul that sent Marc Gasol to the line. After Pau's little brother hit both foul shots to give Memphis the lead, LaMarcus Aldridge missed a shot at the buzzer while Gasol avoided getting called for a foul.
The Spurs got unlucky with the late whistles, it's safe to say. However, give the Grizzlies credit. They outplayed the Spurs a majority of the game. In that sense, they deserved the win.
https://i.imgur.com/O3awyy0.gif
https://i.imgur.com/PFSQ1DA.gif
https://i.imgur.com/31BBMJG.gif
-------------
LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
The bad: LaMarcus Aldridge's outside jumper remains broken. Against the Grizzlies, he was 1-for-8 on jumpers outside of the paint. Even in the paint, Aldridge's touch isn't what we've come to expect. In the last five games, he's shooting 32.4 percent from the floor. For the season, his field goal percentage is now at 40.6 percent. The good: Outside of missed shots, I don't have much to complain about regarding Aldridge's play Wednesday night. He ran the court, he was very physical, he competed defensively in the lane and moved his feet out on the perimeter to the best of his ability. Additionally, Aldridge's passing was better than usual and he went without a turnover in 41 minutes of play.
Grade: B
Summary: Aldridge played really well outside of failing to put the basketball in the hoop.
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DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
Offensively, I thought DeMar DeRozan was okay-ish. He shot well enough but he was sloppy; too many times he left his feet with nowhere to go. And while that shot with under two seconds remaining was hugely clutch, that was half of the four points he scored in the fourth quarter. The Spurs need him to be more demonstrative late in close games. Defensively, DeRozan wasn't much of a factor. He didn't make plays on that end but he also avoided glaring mistakes.
Grade: B-
Summary: DeRozan had his moments but wasn't much of a game-changer.
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Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
Rudy Gay looked a lot better physically compared to how he looked in the last outing in what was a second game of a back-to-back. He had his legs back and could move and jump once more. Offensively, he was really good -- as evident by his 21 points on ten shot attempts and no turnovers in 34 minutes. In hindsight, the Spurs should have gone to Gay much more often than they did. His defense was mostly adequate and his defensive rebounding was very helpful. His foul against Gasol with less than a second remaining was . . . disappointing. While that's almost never called a foul in that situation, Gay should have been more under control when closing out on a known flopper.
Grade: B+
Summary: Gay was quite good but the only thing he'll remember from tonight's game is the foul.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Entering the game versus Memphis, Bryn Forbes had been sizzling from deep. In the month of November, he'd hit 51.1 percent of his three-pointers. Unfortunately, he experienced some regressing to the mean. To his credit, his misses didn't cause him to hesitate and he had a handful of crafty drives to the bucket. In the three games since switching back to the starting point guard role, Forbes has one turnover in 79 minutes. Defensively against the Grizzlies, Forbes struggled. He gave good effort against Mike Conley but Memphis' star point guard was able to get whatever he wanted against Forbes' D.
Grade: C
Summary: Forbes missed three-pointers and had his hands full on defense.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
After going 5-for-5 from three-point land against the Pelicans, Dante Cunningham started off this game by draining his first two looks from downtown. He also had a couple of his better passes of the season, while also being strong on the backboard once again. That said, I thought his defense was pathetic. He offered little to no help when defending pick-and-rolls and got blown by repeatedly in one-on-one situations. Pop even had to bench him for multiple defensive mistakes. That's not what you want from a player who's playing mostly due to what he can hypothetically bring to the defense.
Grade: C-
Summary: Cunningham's hot shooting continued but his D was abysmal.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Impressive. I don't have much to critique when it comes to Patty Mills' play tonight. Defensively, he was really active. It's scary to note but he was probably the team's best perimeter defender against the Grizzlies. He gave up a few layups on overplays but he was at least trying to make things happen on that end. On offense, he had one of his better passing games and was efficient from the field. Mills has had some really bad games this year but he was honestly really, really good on this night.
Grade: A
Summary: Mills was strong in all facets and helped give the Spurs a chance to win.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. I was pleased with how he played. Offensively, he spaced the floor wonderfully, he had a couple great passes and was extremely decisive with all his action. Defensively, he had his best rebounding game of the season and was moving his feet well. It wasn't all good, though: he got overwhelmed in the paint by bigger players and he made a few mistakes rotations-wise.
Grade: B+
Summary: Bertans was the first player off the bench and he responded with a strong outing.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Wow. Marco Belinelli couldn't have played much worse. Defensively, he was sieve. Multiple Grizzlies easily got around him and to the basket. On offense, there was no playmaking, no energy or anything else of note. Twice the Spurs had 2-for-1 opportunities at the end of quarters and Belinelli thought it was a good idea to chuck two of the worst attempts I've ever seen.
Grade: F+
Summary: Pitiful.
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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Um, I guess this a tiny step in the right direction. Derrick White is still shying away from handling the ball and also passed up wide open shots. But, hey, he didn't turn the ball over and played relatively error-free. White had a few good passes and played solid defense. Let's hope that elusive rhythm is right around the corner.
Grade: B-
Summary: White wasn't bad. He wasn't good, either.
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Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
Jakob Poeltl didn't play much but he did well in his limited minutes. He had a good finish on offense and a well-timed block on defense. After a slow start to the season, he's starting to play with confidence and it's making him much more valuable.
Grade: Inc.
Summary: Poeltl was fine.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
I had a few areas of disagreement with Pop: 1) Aldridge played too much. Why not give Poeltl more minutes, especially with Aldridge struggling from the floor so much? 2) The coaching staff should have called more plays for Gay. 3) This looked like a game where extended minutes for Bertans could have made things a lot easier on offense. 4) It's difficult to justify having DeRozan inbounding the ball on that final play when he's the clutchest player on the team.
Grade: C-
Summary: Pop had some head-scratchers.
Looking ahead: The Spurs head out on a four-game road trip that starts with a back-to-back in Indiana and Milwaukee. Considering they're now under .500 at 8-9, this is obviously a dangerous time for the good guys.
A 2-2 road trip would be a success but it won't be easy.