Grades: Spurs @ Clippers - Oct. 31, 2019

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-san-antonio-spurs-los-angeles-clippers-october-31-2019/

tl;dr: Aldridge bad. White good.

[cd021]

White and DDR showed up, pretty much every one else didn't.

[vavvi]

What's up with Aldridge?
He was okay in the preseason but in the regular season he is so bad.

[Fireball]

What's up with Aldridge?
He was okay in the preseason but in the regular season he is so bad.

he was solid offensively so far but layed his first egg tonight ...

[heyheymymy]

Thank you timvp

[monty4329]

Spot on grades as always. Not a great game, but there is no shame in losing away against Kawhi's Clippers. I don't know how many teams could stop him when he plays like that, the only mistakes he made were his own, not due to defense.
Maybe if Aldridge played better defense (he is the same as exacly one year ago, so I'll be inclined to giving him a pass until Xmas), but still not a really winnable game.

Yes, maybe LW needs to play more. But hell, the guy hit the top of the board on a wide open 3 and didn't know where to be/go on offense. I might be overcritical, but I can't see anything in him beside a smile and a superb physical specimen.

I guess Beli can't complain about playing time, he got the whole 4th quarter to get in rythm, and actually gave a good balance on offense but he can't hope for many more chances of getting the shots falling. He'll be soon out of rotation, I suppose.

Bryn is short, the poor guy can't do anything about that. The NBA took notice of this shooting and that's it, when it matters they won't let him open and look for him on defense. He'll have a much harder year than last one: today was one of the many nights like that, I am afraid.

[tbdog]

Aldridge was terrible. Looked like he was sick. No effort. Just let Herrel do anything on him. Just went through the motions against a team that does not. Leonard was too good for any of the Spurs individually. Murray is still too careless with the ball. Forbes was not good. Poeltl playing like he won't get paid.

I disagree with your DD rating. I think he was an A. He was not getting much help. Clippers were staying on Mills and Beli. Someone had to the put the ball in the basket and DD did it time after time by just driving. He mixed it up enough to get baskets, worked hard on the boards. If he does not play his A game, Spurs would be out of the game very early. He kept us alive down the stretch. Great effort.

In saying that, Clippers should be far better than Spurs will. Lou wasn't great. PG is not playing yet. It would take constant good games from LMA, Forbes, and Poeltl to best them.

[dbestpro]

So who guarded Leonard in the 4th quarter when he went off?

[BillMc]

Thanks OP

[tbdog]

So who guarded Leonard in the 4th quarter when he went off?

Everyone all game. Not many doubles. He was special tonight sadly.

[ragas]

I watched the minutes of Lyles and Poeltl once again and have no clue why Lyles got a B- and Poeltl a D-grade.

[Dejounte]

I think Derrick White guards Kawhi as well as anybody. He knows how to stay in front of him.

[BatManu20]

Aldridge’s D- grade is generous tbh. He was an absolute ghost out there. Can’t happen as a Max player. F

Dejounte continues to struggle with turnovers, especially in transition. Had a 3-on-1 fast break at on point and turned it over. Can’t do that. He’s still one of our best players already, and he’s our only player other than DeMar who attacks the basket. His defense was also outstanding for much of the game. He’ll improve, but he’s gotta be better at protecting the ball. C+

Rudy rebounded well but couldn’t hit a 3 to save his life, and a lot of those long misses led to fast breaks for the Clippers. I’d have given him a C.

Bryn struggled offensively as he does against teams with good length. He’s going to have the same struggles against the Lakers on Sunday. C-

Marco was flat out awful and should’ve been pulled far earlier in the game, but Pop gonna Pop. F

Lonnie struggled too. Made some boneheaded mistakes in crucial positions of the game. But he’s 20. I expect that from him. Pop saying he plays, “Horribly” in the peasy game presser will not instill confidence in him. Hopefully he gets over it quick cause I expect him to get some run tonight in San Fran. C-

[sananspursfan21]

The most maddening thing about this team right now is that they can’t sustain momentum. They literally have 3 minutes where they look amazing followed by 3 minutes of constant turnovers, silly fouls, and defensive lapses. If they can shore up that stuff, our guys will be pretty scary this season.

Also, why can’t Gay get a dunk to fall???? :lol

[Play Boban]

Play Poeltl

[sananspursfan21]

Also watching Aldridge was extremely frustrating. We saw the “I don’t care” version last night and that is the most horrifying Halloween costume I’ve ever seen. He knew the second the ball left his hands that shot wasn’t going through the net :madrun

[DPG21920]

timvp Not sure if serious OP. Doesn’t put up with defensive mistakes yet has Beli and Patty in the rotation? He very clearly puts up with defensive mistakes....from certain players.

You can’t be a coach who is serious about defense and:

1) Not try Murray /White
2) Continue to play Beli/Mills/Forbes similar or more minutes than Murray or White (let alone playing any combo of the lack of D 3 together)
3) Not play higher defensive ceiling guys like Lonnie more


Now, do I get WHY he may do the above things for offensive concerns reasons? Sure. But he’s not serious about defense in reality with his actions. He’s valuing offense more and maybe rightly so. I don’t know.

I agree with the assessment that SA poked and prodded and competed well outside of LMA, but while the number looked respectable neither the coaching nor the talent ever made you feel like SA could really threaten them. That’s the disappointing part to me; you should expect a team with the money sunk into 2 players like LMA/Derozan to compete but to just watch and know they had no real shot? It was an eye opener to what this team is as currently constructed and with current low ceiling rotations.

[John B]

Thanks for the grades Timvp. I thought we had a chance IF only we played it right. I would give Aldridge an F. He needed to drive in the middle and get fouled or create double team to give our outside shooters open looks. He is too soft and complacent if he is to lead this team. Forbes is too good a shooter not to be open, but he needs to be looking for shots and not just wait for a pass, MOVE! Get screens. Likewise Belinelli if he is going to be in the court. I don’t mind Demar shooting 21 attempts. He was going hard to the basket and did not just settle on jumpshots. I like that he took this game against nephew personal. That showed he is still bothered by being the lesser player of that trade. Murray’s handles need to be fixed. He cannot be fancy going against a great defender like Beverly. Of this, I see White as the better true PG. I can’t wait to see both playing to close. Pop playing Beli/Mills combination keeps puzzling me. Does it really work especially against a much athletic, aggressive team?

I think this team can play against the best if they chose to. But it starts with Aldridge aggressiveness in the paint, Pop’s demand for excellent defense from ALL without exception. And for crying out loud, put our best defensive stoppers on close games! Tonight is a must win to stay on top. We cannot afford to be cute. Spurs need to strike early and hold the lead. GSG!

[Maddog]

Was Aldridge I'll?
Otherwise I don't get it. A decent LMA game and it's a W

[Spurs Homer]

Of course pop is hung up on defense from lonnie

who has all the tools to be a SCORER!

of course pop values defense

look at the defensive WALL of - patty/beli/forbes!!!


:lmao:lmao:lmao

[Shakril]

I thought Poeltl had a decent game, and Lyles was non exitent. Sometimes i wonder what you guys are looking at. Yes Poeltl had some fouls, but those were the good ones. he set good screensas always, and Defense: when you have Bellinelli, Mills and sadly Walker who play terrible perimeter Defense and he rotates and noone takes his guy, what is he supposed to do?

[Chomag]

The most maddening thing about this team right now is that they can’t sustain momentum. They literally have 3 minutes where they look amazing followed by 3 minutes of constant turnovers, silly fouls, and defensive lapses. If they can shore up that stuff, our guys will be pretty scary this season.

Also, why can’t Gay get a dunk to fall???? :lol
That's what happens when you keep subbing out your players that are heating up. Would it really kill Pop to play a player an extra minute or two that currently has the hot hand? Also inserting the Mills Belli duo hasn't helped with momentum either.

[sananspursfan21]

That's what happens when you keep subbing out your players that are heating up. Would it really kill Pop to play a player an extra minute or two that currently has the hot hand? Also inserting the Mills Belli duo hasn't helped with momentum either.

It didn’t really matter last night, but it has been aggravating watching DJ do so well and then get pulled. I get it. I do. But it’s so frustrating. In addition to what you’re saying, he’s also going with stale line ups too long.

[Mugen]

timvp - Any explanation why Derrick is only getting 23 mins a game this year?

That's only a few more minutes than Fatty and Trey Lyles and 6 fewer than Bryn F'n Forbes....

are we just going to go with Pop's BS mad scientist excuse on why arguably the best guard on the team is relegated to a role player :lmao

[poopbox]

Wait so why does Pop need Lonnie Walker to be a "defensive stopper"?

[Mugen]

"The version of Pop who doesn’t put up with defensive mistakes is the best version of Pop..."

Agreed, except that version hasn't been around for a decade

If I'm Lonnie and hearing "you gotta defend to get minutes on this team"...I take one look over at the Trash Bros. getting heavy minutes in front of me and roll my eyes clear out of my head :lol

[ceperez]

Very suspicious that both Aldridge and Poetl didn't play well.

Could this be intentional? A way to avoid showing one's cards?

[ZeusWillJudge]

If Aldridge wasn't sick, I think you have to at least wonder if that was a statement. We've all seen him have bad games, but that was a whole other level. He wasn't bad... he just wasn't playing. I don't know if there's trouble in paradise, but I'd give it about 50-50 after that showing.

The Clippers didn't challenge Lyles' defense much because they had a much wider lane to drive through most of the night.

Our hopes that DDR had gotten better over the offseason are officially dead. He may be playing a little differently in SA than Toronto, but he's basically who he's always been.
Do you extend that? If a team could surround him with exactly the right pieces, they could make it to the conference finals. The Spurs don't have those pieces, and I don't think they would ever build an entire team around DeRozan ball - especially not at his age.


Belinelli without three pointers is a shit sandwich without the bread. I know that's grotesque, but so is Belli's play so far.

If you're saying that Pop is preparing Lonnie for the future by yelling at him and not putting him in the game, then I can't argue. I remember other young players getting yelled at, but they got put back on the floor later. And those teams had other players who were much, much better than Beli to take those minutes. So if Pop made a point with Walker at the expense of the W/L record, I guess he's the HOF coach and we should just marvel at his genius. But I can't help thinking he's become a one trick pony. (I'm not saying the Spurs WOULD have won, but Pop's rotations last night made sure they didn't have a real chance.)

We all talk about the "New NBA", and that usually means small ball and lots of 3's. But it sure looks like things have changed in other ways, too. I'm not so sure that there's much of a future in abusing a young prospect publicly these days, and yanking him off the court almost as soon as he got there. Maybe Lonnie is "special" like Tony and Manu, and he'll thrive under that. But if he's not in the mood, there goes another player. And no matter what, I'm pretty confident saying that Lonnie isn't getting better sitting on his ass.

[el contusione]

As an overall team I would give them a F even tho they didn't get blown out. Spurs kept on breaking down on defense. There were so many open opportunities for the clippers and some of them they just missed. Some of the guys had no clue where they need to be. On offense in the 4th Q there was a sequence where for like more than 5 possessions it was only iso ball for DDR. There's no ball movement, no one is cutting, everyone was just watching Demar dribble and go to the basket. Ugliest type of bball to watch. This maybe the identity of the team now. I know this is early in the season and the chemistry may improve. However, the early signs are not good.

[John B]

timvp (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=8) - Any explanation why Derrick is only getting 23 mins a game this year?

That's only a few more minutes than Fatty and Trey Lyles and 6 fewer than Bryn F'n Forbes....

are we just going to go with Pop's BS mad scientist excuse on why arguably the best guard on the team is relegated to a role player :lmao
I can only suspect White is on minutes restrictions also with his time with FIBA. Spurs are one PG injury away from mediocrity and Pop is being ultra conservative.

[RC_Drunkford]

Aldridge deserves an F, there's no reason for him to score 5 points when he's able to drop 45 on Gobert. Hard to win with him stinking it up. The defense was actually alright, the offense looks really bad though. Spurs need to shoot a lot better on the road and it seems like they don't run real sets out there. A lot of posessions are hectic going late into the shot clock without generating an open look.
Funny thing is Spurs could've actually won if they made their free throws. Everybody was bricking them.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If Aldridge wasn't sick, I think you have to at least wonder if that was a statement. We've all seen him have bad games, but that was a whole other level. He wasn't bad... he just wasn't playing. I don't know if there's trouble in paradise, but I'd give it about 50-50 after that showing.

The Clippers didn't challenge Lyles' defense much because they had a much wider lane to drive through most of the night.

Our hopes that DDR had gotten better over the offseason are officially dead. He may be playing a little differently in SA than Toronto, but he's basically who he's always been.
Do you extend that? If a team could surround him with exactly the right pieces, they could make it to the conference finals. The Spurs don't have those pieces, and I don't think they would ever build an entire team around DeRozan ball - especially not at his age.


Belinelli without three pointers is a shit sandwich without the bread. I know that's grotesque, but so is Belli's play so far.

If you're saying that Pop is preparing Lonnie for the future by yelling at him and not putting him in the game, then I can't argue. I remember other young players getting yelled at, but they got put back on the floor later. And those teams had other players who were much, much better than Beli to take those minutes. So if Pop made a point with Walker at the expense of the W/L record, I guess he's the HOF coach and we should just marvel at his genius. But I can't help thinking he's become a one trick pony. (I'm not saying the Spurs WOULD have won, but Pop's rotations last night made sure they didn't have a real chance.)

We all talk about the "New NBA", and that usually means small ball and lots of 3's. But it sure looks like things have changed in other ways, too. I'm not so sure that there's much of a future in abusing a young prospect publicly these days, and yanking him off the court almost as soon as he got there. Maybe Lonnie is "special" like Tony and Manu, and he'll thrive under that. But if he's not in the mood, there goes another player. And no matter what, I'm pretty confident saying that Lonnie isn't getting better sitting on his ass.

I've seen LMA with those no effort games before. I wouldn't be surprised if he bounces back and plays well tonight. His most consistent attribute is his inconsistency.

[Keepin' it real]

Sounds like I picked the right time to cancel my NBA League Pass subscription. tbh

[phxspurfan]

This team has the potential to put forth some of the best defensive lineups on the court second to the Clippers. It will be good to see those lineups once the minutes restrictions are lifted

[spurs10]

LMA was really bad and that alone made it impossible to win.

[Dingle Barry]

Aldridge deserves an F, there's no reason for him to score 5 points when he's able to drop 45 on Gobert. Hard to win with him stinking it up. The defense was actually alright, the offense looks really bad though. Spurs need to shoot a lot better on the road and it seems like they don't run real sets out there. A lot of posessions are hectic going late into the shot clock without generating an open look.
Funny thing is Spurs could've actually won if they made their free throws. Everybody was bricking them.

Forget the points, his rebounding was the real horror show. He got out-rebounded by our PG despite playing 10 more minutes than him. Pathetic.

Derozen's turnovers and LMA's no show made this game unwinnable. Game was only close because LAC was cold from 3.

You can't let a team get up 11 more shots than you.

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

What's up with Aldridge?
He was okay in the preseason but in the regular season he is so bad. He's 34, he's going to have games like this.

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

Aldridge’s D- grade is generous tbh. He was an absolute ghost out there. Can’t happen as a Max player. F

Dejounte continues to struggle with turnovers, especially in transition. Had a 3-on-1 fast break at on point and turned it over. Can’t do that. He’s still one of our best players already, and he’s our only player other than DeMar who attacks the basket. His defense was also outstanding for much of the game. He’ll improve, but he’s gotta be better at protecting the ball. C+

Rudy rebounded well but couldn’t hit a 3 to save his life, and a lot of those long misses led to fast breaks for the Clippers. I’d have given him a C.

Bryn struggled offensively as he does against teams with good length. He’s going to have the same struggles against the Lakers on Sunday. C-

Marco was flat out awful and should’ve been pulled far earlier in the game, but Pop gonna Pop. F

Lonnie struggled too. Made some boneheaded mistakes in crucial positions of the game. But he’s 20. I expect that from him. Pop saying he plays, “Horribly” in the peasy game presser will not instill confidence in him. Hopefully he gets over it quick cause I expect him to get some run tonight in San Fran. C-If He's 20 and making bone headed decisions during crucial positions of the game means he shouldn't be playing.

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

Of course pop is hung up on defense from lonnie

who has all the tools to be a SCORER!

of course pop values defense

look at the defensive WALL of - patty/beli/forbes!!!


:lmao:lmao:lmao Jonathan Simmons had all the tools to be a scorer too.

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

Very suspicious that both Aldridge and Poetl didn't play well.

Could this be intentional? A way to avoid showing one's cards?you serious?