timvp
12-23-2018, 06:03 AM
https://i.imgur.com/4guB90b.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/00Xkc3j.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xGqC4Dv.jpg
The last game before Christmas was an eventful one. Despite a valiant late push, the Spurs fell in Houston by a final score of 108-101.
The first quarter was nip and tuck before San Antonio was able to make some hay in the second period due to strong defensive play. The Rockets went without a point for the first five minutes of the quarter. Unfortunately, the Spurs offense wasn't clicking very well either and they were only able to build a seven-point lead.
San Antonio's offense then died on the operating table late in the half. The Rockets went on a 16-0 run that started in the second quarter and extended beyond halftime. In the third quarter, Houston caught fire from three-point land and nailed nine triples in the quarter. After scoring 41 points in the first half, the Rockets scored 43 in the third quarter and led by 15 points heading into the final stanza.
In the fourth, the Rockets got up by as many as 17 points before San Antonio mustered a gritty rally. Beginning with a Davis Bertans three-pointer with 11 minutes remaining, the Spurs went on a 28-10 run over the next eight minutes to take a one-point lead.
But, on this night, it wasn't meant to be. The Rockets took the lead for good over the next two possessions by hitting three-pointers off of offensive rebounds.
When it came down to it, San Antonio's inability to grab defensive boards cost them the game. Sure, the offense sputtered and the individual defense was ugly to watch at times ... but the good guys win the game if they don't allow 19 offensive rebounds.
Coming into the game, the Spurs were fourth in the league in defensive rebounding percentage -- so this weakness on the defensive glass was unforeseen. What was the cause? The Spurs could have done a better job boxing out and a few specific players simply didn't compete well enough. But it's also true that long, unlucky bounces played a factor; the Rockets fired 54 three-pointers on the night and many times unpredictable caroms simply bounced their way.
Overall, I thought the Spurs did pretty well. They were the underdogs as they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back against a team sitting home and waiting. San Antonio definitely could have won this game despite their lackluster rebounding and the fact that they shot ten less free throws (even though they outscored the Rockets in the paint 52-32). The Spurs lost but I didn't see any reason to be too dismayed. Things didn't go their way. It happens.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
The aspect of LaMarcus Aldridge's evening that can't be overlooked was his lack of rebounding. Pulling down only four defensive boards in 31 minutes isn't going to get the job done when the man he's defending (Clint Capela) grabs eight offensive boards. Sure, those weren't all one-on-one battles for the ball since Aldridge was tasked to rotate off of him a lot to defend the lane, but the Spurs needed their starting center to pull down more defensive rebounds -- particularly key ones in the fourth quarter. Offensively, Aldridge was okay but it should have been better. He allowed the Rockets to switch and defend him with smaller players for much of the game. And while he was more physical than usual, he apparently wasn't physical enough because he didn't go to the free throw line despite shooting many contested looks in the paint. Add in a key missed layup late and it was just a forgettable night for Aldridge.
Grade: C-
Summary: Aldridge didn't do enough.
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DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
You look at DeMar DeRozan's statistics and it looks like he had a wonderful night. But, in reality, he didn't. Defensively, he was bad. One-on-one bad, help-defense bad. Offensively, he was breaking plays most of the night. The team couldn't get into a rhythm because DeRozan killed ball movement and muddied the flow. He hit a number of big shots during the comeback and I can applaud his lack of turnovers despite the high usage ... but the Spurs don't need him to dominate the action as much as he did tonight. Instead, DeRozan would have been better served playing within the offense and using some of his energy on the defensive end.
Grade: C-
Summary: DeRozan's numbers were pretty. His true impact wasn't.
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Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
The good: Rudy Gay knocked down more outside shots, once again passed the ball really well and his effort level was commendable. The bad: On offense, Gay was just a bit too herky-jerky. I'm not sure what caused it but he seemed a half-step out of rhythm all night on that end. On defense, despite his eight rebounds, his inconsistency boxing out ended up really hurting the team. He was going after the boards but he would have been better served keeping his body on his man. Hopefully that's a lesson learned ... and a valuable one at that since he's playing almost exclusively power forward right now.
Grade: C+
Summary: Gay didn't do good enough work on the defensive glass.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
This was a run of the mill game for Bryn Forbes. Offensively, he scored enough and limited his mistakes but the quality passing we witnessed last game wasn't on display tonight. Defensively, I thought he did all he could do on the defensive backboard in terms of boxing out and chasing down rebounds -- that wasn't on him. But he fouled too much and wasn't really helping create stops, either.
Grade: B-
Summary: Forbes was Forbes.
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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Interested outing for Derrick White. His individual defense was far and away the best on the team. In fact, he was the only Spurs player who had a prayer of slowing down James Harden. Yes, Harden scored 39 points but it took him 34 shots; he would have easily gone for 50-plus if it wasn't for White being able to take on the duties of trying to stop him. All in all, White was really active defensively on and off the ball (I counted four steals, he got credit for one steal and three blocks instead). Offensively, White helped out with a few outstanding passes and a timely three-pointer ... but everything else was ugly. He was too hesitant and found himself in the air a couple times without anywhere to go. It looks to me like White is on the edge of figuring things out but he still has a ways to go. Let's hope he gets there sooner rather than later.
Grade: B-
Summary: White was huge defensively but he wasn't without sin.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans did his job. He hit three more three-pointers, including two off the dribble (if he can hit off the dribble threes consistently, he'd be a whole different beast). He also hit a silky two-pointer that he created on his own. Defensively, he held up. When switched onto Harden, I thought Bertans did well. Heading into the game, if you told me the Spurs were going to struggle grabbing defensive boards, Bertans would have been the prime suspect. But, truthfully, it wasn't his fault. He did more than his typical share in that department.
Grade: A-
Summary: Fatherhood continues to treat Bertans well.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli didn't do much right. He missed all but one of his six field goal attempts. He wasn't making plays with his passing or his movement. Defensively, he was atrocious -- especially on the ball. The Spurs don't need Belinelli to play outstanding defense or anything like that but they can't have him being a complete and utter liability on that end.
Grade: D+
Summary: Belinelli didn't help.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Though his energy level was adequate, Patty Mills' production was sub par. His defense, or lack thereof, made it difficult to keep him on the court. The Rockets went right at him numerous times and Mills was easily overwhelmed. Offensively, he was trying to make plays but it was difficult for him to string multiple positive possessions together. Mills as of late has found ways to be an asset one way or another ... but that wasn't the case Saturday night.
Grade: C-
Summary: Mills didn't aid the cause.
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Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
Solid. Jakob Poeltl has no reason to hang his head. Maybe he could have rebounded better but that's about the extent of my critique. His pick-and-roll movement helped open things offensively. His screens and passing were again pluses. Defensively, he moved well and guarded the rim with gusto. Playing him more probably would have helped matters.
Grade: B+
Summary: Poeltl was a bright spot.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
The good: Pop showed a ton of confidence in White, which can only help hasten his development. He resisted the urge to insert Dante Cunningham into the game to help with the defensive rebounding. The defensive and offensive playcalls in the fourth were mostly correct -- unfortunately, the players failed to rebound on one end and missed a few easy looks on the other end. The bad: DeRozan should have played less on the second night of a back-to-back, especially since he wasn't actually helping much. In hindsight, Poeltl probably should have played more and Bertans definitely should have played more.
Grade: B+
Summary: Pop coached with an eye on the team's long-term development. I'm not mad.
Looking ahead: Well fought. Fixable errors. Not a moral victory but also not a bad loss.
Now the Spurs don't play again until the day after Christmas. This will be their first stretch with multiple days off since the middle of November. It'll be a good opportunity to enjoy the holidays, rest up, refocus and come back ready to take on the much improved Nuggets on December 26th.
https://i.imgur.com/00Xkc3j.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xGqC4Dv.jpg
The last game before Christmas was an eventful one. Despite a valiant late push, the Spurs fell in Houston by a final score of 108-101.
The first quarter was nip and tuck before San Antonio was able to make some hay in the second period due to strong defensive play. The Rockets went without a point for the first five minutes of the quarter. Unfortunately, the Spurs offense wasn't clicking very well either and they were only able to build a seven-point lead.
San Antonio's offense then died on the operating table late in the half. The Rockets went on a 16-0 run that started in the second quarter and extended beyond halftime. In the third quarter, Houston caught fire from three-point land and nailed nine triples in the quarter. After scoring 41 points in the first half, the Rockets scored 43 in the third quarter and led by 15 points heading into the final stanza.
In the fourth, the Rockets got up by as many as 17 points before San Antonio mustered a gritty rally. Beginning with a Davis Bertans three-pointer with 11 minutes remaining, the Spurs went on a 28-10 run over the next eight minutes to take a one-point lead.
But, on this night, it wasn't meant to be. The Rockets took the lead for good over the next two possessions by hitting three-pointers off of offensive rebounds.
When it came down to it, San Antonio's inability to grab defensive boards cost them the game. Sure, the offense sputtered and the individual defense was ugly to watch at times ... but the good guys win the game if they don't allow 19 offensive rebounds.
Coming into the game, the Spurs were fourth in the league in defensive rebounding percentage -- so this weakness on the defensive glass was unforeseen. What was the cause? The Spurs could have done a better job boxing out and a few specific players simply didn't compete well enough. But it's also true that long, unlucky bounces played a factor; the Rockets fired 54 three-pointers on the night and many times unpredictable caroms simply bounced their way.
Overall, I thought the Spurs did pretty well. They were the underdogs as they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back against a team sitting home and waiting. San Antonio definitely could have won this game despite their lackluster rebounding and the fact that they shot ten less free throws (even though they outscored the Rockets in the paint 52-32). The Spurs lost but I didn't see any reason to be too dismayed. Things didn't go their way. It happens.
-------------
LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
The aspect of LaMarcus Aldridge's evening that can't be overlooked was his lack of rebounding. Pulling down only four defensive boards in 31 minutes isn't going to get the job done when the man he's defending (Clint Capela) grabs eight offensive boards. Sure, those weren't all one-on-one battles for the ball since Aldridge was tasked to rotate off of him a lot to defend the lane, but the Spurs needed their starting center to pull down more defensive rebounds -- particularly key ones in the fourth quarter. Offensively, Aldridge was okay but it should have been better. He allowed the Rockets to switch and defend him with smaller players for much of the game. And while he was more physical than usual, he apparently wasn't physical enough because he didn't go to the free throw line despite shooting many contested looks in the paint. Add in a key missed layup late and it was just a forgettable night for Aldridge.
Grade: C-
Summary: Aldridge didn't do enough.
-------------
DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
You look at DeMar DeRozan's statistics and it looks like he had a wonderful night. But, in reality, he didn't. Defensively, he was bad. One-on-one bad, help-defense bad. Offensively, he was breaking plays most of the night. The team couldn't get into a rhythm because DeRozan killed ball movement and muddied the flow. He hit a number of big shots during the comeback and I can applaud his lack of turnovers despite the high usage ... but the Spurs don't need him to dominate the action as much as he did tonight. Instead, DeRozan would have been better served playing within the offense and using some of his energy on the defensive end.
Grade: C-
Summary: DeRozan's numbers were pretty. His true impact wasn't.
-------------
Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
The good: Rudy Gay knocked down more outside shots, once again passed the ball really well and his effort level was commendable. The bad: On offense, Gay was just a bit too herky-jerky. I'm not sure what caused it but he seemed a half-step out of rhythm all night on that end. On defense, despite his eight rebounds, his inconsistency boxing out ended up really hurting the team. He was going after the boards but he would have been better served keeping his body on his man. Hopefully that's a lesson learned ... and a valuable one at that since he's playing almost exclusively power forward right now.
Grade: C+
Summary: Gay didn't do good enough work on the defensive glass.
-------------
Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
This was a run of the mill game for Bryn Forbes. Offensively, he scored enough and limited his mistakes but the quality passing we witnessed last game wasn't on display tonight. Defensively, I thought he did all he could do on the defensive backboard in terms of boxing out and chasing down rebounds -- that wasn't on him. But he fouled too much and wasn't really helping create stops, either.
Grade: B-
Summary: Forbes was Forbes.
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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Interested outing for Derrick White. His individual defense was far and away the best on the team. In fact, he was the only Spurs player who had a prayer of slowing down James Harden. Yes, Harden scored 39 points but it took him 34 shots; he would have easily gone for 50-plus if it wasn't for White being able to take on the duties of trying to stop him. All in all, White was really active defensively on and off the ball (I counted four steals, he got credit for one steal and three blocks instead). Offensively, White helped out with a few outstanding passes and a timely three-pointer ... but everything else was ugly. He was too hesitant and found himself in the air a couple times without anywhere to go. It looks to me like White is on the edge of figuring things out but he still has a ways to go. Let's hope he gets there sooner rather than later.
Grade: B-
Summary: White was huge defensively but he wasn't without sin.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans did his job. He hit three more three-pointers, including two off the dribble (if he can hit off the dribble threes consistently, he'd be a whole different beast). He also hit a silky two-pointer that he created on his own. Defensively, he held up. When switched onto Harden, I thought Bertans did well. Heading into the game, if you told me the Spurs were going to struggle grabbing defensive boards, Bertans would have been the prime suspect. But, truthfully, it wasn't his fault. He did more than his typical share in that department.
Grade: A-
Summary: Fatherhood continues to treat Bertans well.
-------------
Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli didn't do much right. He missed all but one of his six field goal attempts. He wasn't making plays with his passing or his movement. Defensively, he was atrocious -- especially on the ball. The Spurs don't need Belinelli to play outstanding defense or anything like that but they can't have him being a complete and utter liability on that end.
Grade: D+
Summary: Belinelli didn't help.
-------------
Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Though his energy level was adequate, Patty Mills' production was sub par. His defense, or lack thereof, made it difficult to keep him on the court. The Rockets went right at him numerous times and Mills was easily overwhelmed. Offensively, he was trying to make plays but it was difficult for him to string multiple positive possessions together. Mills as of late has found ways to be an asset one way or another ... but that wasn't the case Saturday night.
Grade: C-
Summary: Mills didn't aid the cause.
-------------
Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
Solid. Jakob Poeltl has no reason to hang his head. Maybe he could have rebounded better but that's about the extent of my critique. His pick-and-roll movement helped open things offensively. His screens and passing were again pluses. Defensively, he moved well and guarded the rim with gusto. Playing him more probably would have helped matters.
Grade: B+
Summary: Poeltl was a bright spot.
-------------
Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
The good: Pop showed a ton of confidence in White, which can only help hasten his development. He resisted the urge to insert Dante Cunningham into the game to help with the defensive rebounding. The defensive and offensive playcalls in the fourth were mostly correct -- unfortunately, the players failed to rebound on one end and missed a few easy looks on the other end. The bad: DeRozan should have played less on the second night of a back-to-back, especially since he wasn't actually helping much. In hindsight, Poeltl probably should have played more and Bertans definitely should have played more.
Grade: B+
Summary: Pop coached with an eye on the team's long-term development. I'm not mad.
Looking ahead: Well fought. Fixable errors. Not a moral victory but also not a bad loss.
Now the Spurs don't play again until the day after Christmas. This will be their first stretch with multiple days off since the middle of November. It'll be a good opportunity to enjoy the holidays, rest up, refocus and come back ready to take on the much improved Nuggets on December 26th.