Grades: Spurs vs. Nets - Dec. 19, 2019

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-san-antonio-spurs-brooklyn-nets-december-19-2019/

tl;dr: Austria to Australia.

[tbdog]

Thanks

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

spurs only two games back from this time last year .........

[John B]

Thanks Timvp. Agree on the grades except for curve on Beli and Pop should have lower grade. He does’t deserve the minutes without playing defense, and not even making shots until later in the game. Worst he comes in before Walker. I still don’t get how Pop doesn’t see the value of Walker coming in. He electrifies the crowd and the team always seem to run when he’s in, in contrast with either Forbes/Mills. Of which, Pop should get a lower grade every time.

[RC_Drunkford]

Good grades. I was surprised by Beli being physical on defense and actually making plays. That should be a reason for Pop to play him even more minutes :lol
Those Forbes/Belinelli line ups need to go, better teams will make you pay for playing them

[TDomination]

The lineups and minute construction that pop puts out there is beyond annoying at this point. Walker has no reason to be playing less than 25 minutes. White and Murray will probably not see time together for another 20 games. Forbes starting is getting old. Annoying, frustrating and as some fans have put it, I have a hard time enjoying wins when the players I want to see (OUR SUPPOSED FUTURE) have their butts glued to the bench

[jjktkk]

Has Pop ever come and say that White is on a minutes restriction?

[sananspursfan21]

While I don’t wish for any player to get hurt, I wish Belli would receive a “minute restriction” too...

[vavvi]

Is Forbes the single worst starter in the league of those who had started every game?
He might be.

while everyone’s on Beli I think Forbes minutes should be drastically cut to 0-10 range.
Mills should play more if he’s carrying the team. White should play more. Obviously Lonnie should play more. Poeltl can play more.
Our starting lineup continues to suck. We need less Derozan and almost zero Forbes.

[Truth4sale$]

Thanks TimVP
Grading generously for Forbes, he deserved a F for that stupid foul on the 3pt shot. Popovich needs a lower grade for limiting Poertl and going with Belineli over Walker. Too many times the starters are being bailed out by the 2nd unit, only to see Popovich go back to the starters again in the 4th and see the same results as the Spurs started with. The starters have no energy and seem a step slow, the 2nd unit has some youth and better energy and body language. At what point did Rudy Gay turn into the old version of Paul Gasol-geez give this guy a night off. Are we honestly gonna say Chime Metu is worst than both Rudy Gay and Trey Lyles. How are these guys playing and he continues to sit.

[R. DeMurre]

The refusal to play Murray & White together is still the most mystifying story of the year. The Spurs could potentially have the best starting defensive back court in the NBA, but instead choose to start Forbes, one of the single worst defenders in the entire league. If the excuse is the starting line up needs shooting to space the floor, I'd point to the fact that White is shooting 42% from three so far this season, while Forbes is shooting 36%. That justification simply doesn't make sense. The irony here is Pop's reputation is as an Old School guy who thinks the 3 pt shot has ruined the purity of the game and who (in the past anyway) followed a defense first philosophy. But by starting Forbes, he's promoting a defensive liability who has hit fewer threes than Langston Galloway or Josh Hart... Forbes would have to be putting up (and making) threes at a much higher clip to realistically justify getting the minutes he gets. And the bring-him-along-slowly philosophy being employed with Walker-- what purpose does it serve? If the idea was Walker could observe savvy vets out on the floor doing their thing, then sure, I'd understand it. But Walker's watching Forbes, DeRozan, and Belinelli be incompetent on the defensive end of the floor and getting rewarded for it with minutes. After a generally terrible start of the season, the Spurs find themselves only one game out of the last playoff spot, which is incredible... but I can't help thinking that with different rotations, they'd be at .500.

[MoSpur02]

Really not sure what to think when it comes to Pop. On the pregame he talks about wanting to play Murray and White together, but we don't see it. He talked about Walker needing more time to get used to his teammates, but only played him 3 minutes in the first half. Really don't get the loyalty to guys like Belinelli, Forbes, and Gay. Sure they're more experienced overall and in his system, but this team needs to see how good, White, Walker, and Murray can play together. Guys like Carroll and Metu deserve at least opportunities here and there to get better. There aren't enough practice opportunities in the season to do that so game time is the only opportunity they'll get.

It's a real head scratcher.

[rjv]

not being facetious here but i actually think pop did a nice job of working the refs last night.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I'm really, really concerned about Pop's rotations and how he's doling out minutes this season. The group he closed the game with nearly gave it away after the second unit forged such a great comeback. Walker was a +25 in 14 minutes and White was +26 in 20 minutes. There was an obvious defensive energy boost with those two and Poetl in the game. Pulling those guys down the stretch was just dumb. We were lucky Mills was hot, and that LMA was hitting those 19 footers because as soon as that finishing group hit the floor Brooklyn suddenly found their offense and the two teams basically traded baskets after the second unit took a seat.

And Marco with 25 minutes, and playing essentially the entire 4th quarter??!! WTF.

I love Pop but the dude leaves me shaking my head a lot this season. Maybe Pop's missing Etore Messina's influence in his ear, because his in-game intuition appears to be sh!t.

[Mugen]

Missed the game but sounds like more of the same from the old man :lol

Beli playing well even in a win is just horrible for the team going forward. Forbes will never, ever lose his starting spot and he's gonna get paid by the Spurs this summer paving the way to losing Derrick/Lonnie eventually...

Pop obviously has a major vendetta against White/Lonnie, maybe they said something that didn't jive with Pop politically (or they just don't give a fuck when Pop tries to impress his ideals on his team :lol).....

Bryn can do whatever the hell he wants on the basketball court with zero repercussion, as long as he keeps stroking off the senile coach.

[ZeusWillJudge]

"Speaking of too much, I just don’t understand Pop’s trust in Belinelli."

Well, LJ, you gave Beli a B+. I guess Pop sees the same thing you do.


Lonnie was a crazy +25 in 14 minutes of play. All it really means is that the TEAM kicked ass while he was on the floor. But when Lonnie came into the game, everything changed. He may not have made the shots, but he was a big difference maker in last night's win. There's no doubt in my mind that White is a different player when he's on the floor with Lonnie. I don't know what's gotten into Poeltl, but the timing sure seems to go along with the Rise of SkyWalker.

The SL would have lost that game. They looked lethargic and content just to keep it competitive. The bench won that game. Gay shot terribly, but if DDR or Aldridge had been in with the other four reserves, they would have ISO'd it into a loss. And Gay didn't let anyone completely run over him on the defensive end. Bad shooting or not, he was the right piece to have on the floor with the other four during the comeback.

[FkLA]

So Marco poked the ball from behind after the offensive player drove right past him (again). Who gives a shit? He's still a fucking bum.

It's absolutely disgusting that not defending Nephew a couple plays can lead to a month long benching for one guy. Or a charge leads to him apparently losing his rotation spot. Yet another guy does this all season:

https://i.imgur.com/D4mhnNE.jpg

...and it somehow leads to a promotion as a closer/2nd half starter.

[RC_Drunkford]

I completely understand Pop's love for Belinelli. He's over 33 and washed up. Pop always plays washed up vets over the superior young player. Last example was playing Pau Gasol over Poeltl until Pau broke his foot. Then he was forced to play Poeltl. Had Gasol not gotten injured, he'd still get minutes. They are still paying him 5.1 million by the way.

Pop's love for Forbes is a bigger mystery. Forbes is only 26 and in his 3rd year. But I assume that love stems from the kid being a hard worker and beating the odds of being undersized and undrafted.

[RC_Drunkford]

So Marco poked the ball from behind after the offensive player drove right past him (again). Who gives a shit? He's still a fucking bum.

It's absolutely disgusting that not defending Nephew a couple plays can lead to a month long benching for one guy. Or a charge leads to him apparently losing his rotation spot. Yet another guy does this all season:

https://i.imgur.com/D4mhnNE.jpg

...and it somehow leads to a promotion as a closer/2nd half starter.

:pop: "Who cares about analytics. When I played in the 50s we didn't have them"

[Sugus]

Biggest takeaways from these last couple of games is that the Spurs actually have a surprising amount of young talented players. Poeltl has been really impressive, White seems to be healing from his foot injury and thus playing better, and DJ slowly but surely is building up trust in his jumper and getting back into the game. No explanation for Lonnie as his ability and talent are obvious to anyone not named Pop. The things bringing this team down are old, washed up vets, and the Vet Master that allows them free reign - like a snake slithering to try and get rid of its old skin, the Spurs suffer when vet-heavy lineups face the court and get rejuvenated as the youngster-filled bench comes into the court.

There's a lot of hope for the future. I don't know whether any of our core young players are championship material (we sure as fuck aren't finding out as long as Pop is coaching) but a new season and HC, with some strategic salary-dumping and bench-banishing of worthless vets, would make the Spurs an actually good to great team. Can't wait, tbh.

[Slippy]

So Marco poked the ball from behind after the offensive player drove right past him (again). Who gives a shit? He's still a fucking bum.

It's absolutely disgusting that not defending Nephew a couple plays can lead to a month long benching for one guy. Or a charge leads to him apparently losing his rotation spot. Yet another guy does this all season:

https://i.imgur.com/D4mhnNE.jpg

...and it somehow leads to a promotion as a closer/2nd half starter.

Did you notice the new age defense marco was to trying lay on from t h e perimeter. He was positioning himself sideways allowing his man an open driving lane. That's no defending at all. That's telling the guy just drive. I want Lamarcus to defend you. Haha

[tonski17]

Thanks timvp, Forbes should be benched. He's not good in making extra passes as well

[KobesAchilles]

Get rid of Forbes and MARCO from the rotation and watch the positive results tbh

[Slippy]

Get rid of Forbes and MARCO from the rotation and watch the positive results tbh

It ain't rocket science. You got 2 of the worst defenders from the perimeter in the SL. Then you have our ready for retirement coach panics and decides to start the second worst defender in the league (number 1 is probably Bryn)for the second half alongside them.

That's suicidal but you got armchair experts here dissecting everything else wrong with the spurs.

Start fixing the defense and take it from there.

[vavvi]

So Marco poked the ball from behind after the offensive player drove right past him (again). Who gives a shit? He's still a fucking bum.

It's absolutely disgusting that not defending Nephew a couple plays can lead to a month long benching for one guy. Or a charge leads to him apparently losing his rotation spot. Yet another guy does this all season:

https://i.imgur.com/D4mhnNE.jpg

...and it somehow leads to a promotion as a closer/2nd half starter.

Wow Mills is really good on offense. I mean I knew he was good but didn’t realize he was that good

[JeffDuncan]

...

https://i.imgur.com/D4mhnNE.jpg



From a roster of 15 guys, the Spurs have one player who's a net positive at both ends of the floor. One.

A team like that could have a losing record.

[RC_Drunkford]

From a roster of 15 guys, the Spurs have one player who's a net positive at both ends of the floor. One.

A team like that could have a losing record.

And most people here want to trade that player :lmao

[Collins21]

And most people here want to trade that player :lmao

Is that player Aldridge??

[JeffDuncan]

Is that player Aldridge??

Yes, LMA.

[Collins21]

Yes, LMA.

It matches what my eyes see on the court. If we traded DeRozan for 3 that can play defense and hit adequate shots this team would be much better. The problem I have is that people tend to lump LMA in with DeRozan and that's unfair.