Grades: Spurs vs. Mavs - Mar. 10, 2020

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-san-antonio-spurs-dallas-mavericks-march-10-2020/

tl;dr: Spurs won? They're allowed to do that?

[John B]

Thanks Timvp. I appreciate the win and the pride not to be swept by freeway rival Mavs. Oh yes. I couldn’t bare watching Carlisle that satisfaction. This team loses because of defense, primarily Forbes, plain and simple. I can’t understand how he keeps earning his minutes. This team has proven it can score, and can defend with the proper lineup. Welcome back Aldridge big time. Spurs can win without Demar, but definitely not without Aldridge. Spurs need that low scoring to suck defense and rotate the ball. And Aldridge is old school bullyball down low. I’m happy to see him back. I like everybody else’s grades. Keldon is a heck of a defender and should see minutes more. I would’ve played him more to disrupt Doncic. Mavs live and die with Doncic, period. As good a player he is, hustling him would take care a lot of their offense. I like to see more Keldon in the future. The future is bright with Spurs’ young players. Lyles has been making his signing a great steal. Keep being aggressive. A very satisfactory win.

[BillMc]

Thanks OP.

Getting excited about KJ. Wish Lonnie had his motor.

[jjktkk]

Thanks for the writeup. Always good to beat the Mavs.

[EasyMoney]

I'm starting to have more faith in keldon than lonnie.

[vavvi]

Thanks for the grades!

This season is beyond frustrating. This team should have had that 6 seed.

[sananspursfan21]

Derrick White 4 blocks :wow

[JPB]

Not over, win against Memphis at home and that's two games from the eight seed with plenty of games to be played and MEM with a much harder schedule.

[Chomag]

Been saying this all season we could be at least 6th seed with this roster if Pop would have used it correctly.

[CGD]

This was LMA’a first game back right? It helps to have one of your top dogs back, who knew.

[JPB]

Memphis remaining schedule:

@
POR
@
UTAH
@
SA
vs
OKC
@
MIL
vs
NO
@
NO
vs
BOS
vs
TOR
@
TOR
vs
NY
vs
DAL
@
POR
@
DEN
vs
OKC
vs
PHI
@
HOU

[TDomination]

This has been said by many posters and I just want to bring it up again. White should be the starting PG, period! He runs the team better than Murray and seems to have a better awareness of when to attack vs when to pass.
Murray, whom I really like, i would have starting @ the 2 but obviously he must improve his shooting game for that to happen. I like them together because of their defensive potential BUT White HAS to be the PG. And Johnson at the 3. Walker can come off the bench and be the igniter. Mills would then be backup PG.

But regardless of how he has everybody else (hopefully forbes is gone in this scenario) White needs to start at the PG position.

[TDomination]

This was LMA’a first game back right? It helps to have one of your top dogs back, who knew.
yup

If derozan had gotten hurt instead of aldridge, we would have been better off in that little stretch.

[SpursRussia]

It’s so painful to see what this team could’ve been with White playing 32+ minutes every night and Forbes playing 0, yet we have to endure humiliating beatdowns by Cavs and shit because Pop went senile. Heartbreaking.

[ZeusWillJudge]

From the beginning, you could see who came to play. White, Lyles, Patty, and Keldon brought energy and toughness. Most people assumed that the Spurs were going to lose that game. Those guys showed that they were going to compete anyway. Most of the others looked like they were going through the motions. By the late 3rd quarter, the rest of the team picked up on it and looked like something we've hardly seen at all this season.

In the fourth I found myself thinking, "Damn. If Aldridge played this hard all the time, this would be a totally different season." I'm not sure if that makes things better or worse.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Someone who isn't a Spurs fan asked me the big differences between last year's team, that was just a hair away from being the 5 seed, and this year's team, that is battling for that 12th spot. "Is it all because you guys lost Bertans?"


Looking at both squads, the biggest difference, to me, has been switching White and Murray in the lineup. (Granted there are lots of other pieces at play, like Gay's decline and Pop coaching out of his ass most nights, among others.) When Derrick White got comfortable as the starting point guard last year is when things really turned around for the Spurs. His +16 last night was no fluke. I like Murray, but he's still not in the same realm as White when it comes to being a starting point guard in this league. And White seems to play better when he's getting lots of run, and not worried about having to share those 48 minutes with Dejonte. Most of us thought the team would be better as a result of getting Murray back this season, but we've obviously been much worse.

If we have a tradeable young asset this summer, it might be Murray above the rest. He's not on a rookie deal. His contract is could be a bargain if he develops, and he's not adding to the win total on the Spurs. He could fetch some decent talent, and it might just be that in the summer restructure that he could be used a sacrificial lamb towards strengthening other positions.

The Spurs have to be bold in the off season, and I wouldn't put any Spur on the "do not trade" list if the deal is right.

[ginobilized]

Thanks again for the grades, LJ!

It's nice to see some competitive fire on the floor. Keldon seems to really bring a tough mentality to the team. His intangibles are very high. That sequence of him dogging Doncic is one of the (few) highlights of the season for me. That reminded me of the San Antonio Spurs.
LMA plays so much better with White than DJM. Not sure what the coaches are thinking on that. It's pretty obvious who should start for the sake of the team. It's a real head-scratcher.

It would be nice to end the season on a competitive note, even if it drops the draft pick.

[duncan2k5]

Thanks Timvp. I appreciate the win and the pride not to be swept by freeway rival Mavs. Oh yes. I couldn’t bare watching Carlisle that satisfaction. This team loses because of defense, primarily Forbes, plain and simple. I can’t understand how he keeps earning his minutes. This team has proven it can score, and can defend with the proper lineup. Welcome back Aldridge big time. Spurs can win without Demar, but definitely not without Aldridge. Spurs need that low scoring to suck defense and rotate the ball. And Aldridge is old school bullyball down low. I’m happy to see him back. I like everybody else’s grades. Keldon is a heck of a defender and should see minutes more. I would’ve played him more to disrupt Doncic. Mavs live and die with Doncic, period. As good a player he is, hustling him would take care a lot of their offense. I like to see more Keldon in the future. The future is bright with Spurs’ young players. Lyles has been making his signing a great steal. Keep being aggressive. A very satisfactory win.

This team hasn't proven anything...we have been losing with Aldridge all year...how quickly we forget

[duncan2k5]

This has been said by many posters and I just want to bring it up again. White should be the starting PG, period! He runs the team better than Murray and seems to have a better awareness of when to attack vs when to pass.
Murray, whom I really like, i would have starting @ the 2 but obviously he must improve his shooting game for that to happen. I like them together because of their defensive potential BUT White HAS to be the PG. And Johnson at the 3. Walker can come off the bench and be the igniter. Mills would then be backup PG.

But regardless of how he has everybody else (hopefully forbes is gone in this scenario) White needs to start at the PG position.

We were losing when Murray was on the bench and white was starting...the team is just bad

[duncan2k5]

Someone who isn't a Spurs fan asked me the big differences between last year's team, that was just a hair away from being the 5 seed, and this year's team, that is battling for that 12th spot. "Is it all because you guys lost Bertans?"


Looking at both squads, the biggest difference, to me, has been switching White and Murray in the lineup. (Granted there are lots of other pieces at play, like Gay's decline and Pop coaching out of his ass most nights, among others.) When Derrick White got comfortable as the starting point guard last year is when things really turned around for the Spurs. His +16 last night was no fluke. I like Murray, but he's still not in the same realm as White when it comes to being a starting point guard in this league. And White seems to play better when he's getting lots of run, and not worried about having to share those 48 minutes with Dejonte. Most of us thought the team would be better as a result of getting Murray back this season, but we've obviously been much worse.

If we have a tradeable young asset this summer, it might be Murray above the rest. He's not on a rookie deal. His contract is could be a bargain if he develops, and he's not adding to the win total on the Spurs. He could fetch some decent talent, and it might just be that in the summer restructure that he could be used a sacrificial lamb towards strengthening other positions.

The Spurs have to be bold in the off season, and I wouldn't put any Spur on the "do not trade" list if the deal is right.

The biggest difference is everyone else got better and we stayed the same

[duncan2k5]

Thanks again for the grades, LJ!

It's nice to see some competitive fire on the floor. Keldon seems to really bring a tough mentality to the team. His intangibles are very high. That sequence of him dogging Doncic is one of the (few) highlights of the season for me. That reminded me of the San Antonio Spurs.
LMA plays so much better with White than DJM. Not sure what the coaches are thinking on that. It's pretty obvious who should start for the sake of the team. It's a real head-scratcher.

It would be nice to end the season on a competitive note, even if it drops the draft pick.

So what if LMA plays better with white? We are building around LMA now?

[FkLA]

Someone who isn't a Spurs fan asked me the big differences between last year's team, that was just a hair away from being the 5 seed, and this year's team, that is battling for that 12th spot. "Is it all because you guys lost Bertans?"


Looking at both squads, the biggest difference, to me, has been switching White and Murray in the lineup. (Granted there are lots of other pieces at play, like Gay's decline and Pop coaching out of his ass most nights, among others.) When Derrick White got comfortable as the starting point guard last year is when things really turned around for the Spurs. His +16 last night was no fluke. I like Murray, but he's still not in the same realm as White when it comes to being a starting point guard in this league. And White seems to play better when he's getting lots of run, and not worried about having to share those 48 minutes with Dejonte. Most of us thought the team would be better as a result of getting Murray back this season, but we've obviously been much worse.

If we have a tradeable young asset this summer, it might be Murray above the rest. He's not on a rookie deal. His contract is could be a bargain if he develops, and he's not adding to the win total on the Spurs. He could fetch some decent talent, and it might just be that in the summer restructure that he could be used a sacrificial lamb towards strengthening other positions.

The Spurs have to be bold in the off season, and I wouldn't put any Spur on the "do not trade" list if the deal is right.

Tbf Pop made the switch to White early in the season for a few weeks and the team still sucked. They should both start and close. Stagger them the rest of the game. 30 mpg for both. Have the ball in Derrick's hands when they are both on the court. It's so obvious he's a natural PG and DJ isnt. Just a better decision maker, playmaker, and floor general. Easiest way to do that is to send Forms to the filipino league where he belongs. He's the real problem, always has been.

I like that the ball was in Derrick's hands down the stretch yesterday instead of DeMar's. Whether it was to get LMA the ball in his spots or to let him playmake, it worked a lot better than what we've seen in most 4th quarters this year.

[JeffDuncan]

Tbf Pop made the switch to White early in the season for a few weeks and the team still sucked. ...



Derrick got the start after the 8-game losing streak, and in the next 8 games, with him starting, they went 4-4. So, not great, but not as sucky.

[Larry O]

Well, what a difference LMA made for this team to get a W! I think that if he didn't play, it would have been another "L," but he was ballin' yesterday! Also, I hate to say this but Beli… his offensive contributions off the bench also helped this team to get the win, too! :) DW4... I think when he starts at PG, he benefits this team over DJ. He should have the ball in his hand in the 4th quarter & in crunch time over Murray. If this team still wants that 8th spot for the playoffs, they gotta string up wins NOW! Memphis will be getting Jackson, Jr back soon, which may help them, BUT the Spurs also need to get their guys well & stay healthy for this push, if they decide to make that run. We'll see what will happen as the regular season goes down the stretch.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Derrick got the start after the 8-game losing streak, and in the next 8 games, with him starting, they went 4-4. So, not great, but not as sucky.

And, Derrick was still having to look over his shoulder every time he made a mistake. I'll be curious to see how White (and the Spurs) plays, knowing he'll have a little more freedom these next few games.

[vavvi]

Someone who isn't a Spurs fan asked me the big differences between last year's team, that was just a hair away from being the 5 seed, and this year's team, that is battling for that 12th spot. "Is it all because you guys lost Bertans?"


Looking at both squads, the biggest difference, to me, has been switching White and Murray in the lineup. (Granted there are lots of other pieces at play, like Gay's decline and Pop coaching out of his ass most nights, among others.) When Derrick White got comfortable as the starting point guard last year is when things really turned around for the Spurs. His +16 last night was no fluke. I like Murray, but he's still not in the same realm as White when it comes to being a starting point guard in this league. And White seems to play better when he's getting lots of run, and not worried about having to share those 48 minutes with Dejonte. Most of us thought the team would be better as a result of getting Murray back this season, but we've obviously been much worse.

If we have a tradeable young asset this summer, it might be Murray above the rest. He's not on a rookie deal. His contract is could be a bargain if he develops, and he's not adding to the win total on the Spurs. He could fetch some decent talent, and it might just be that in the summer restructure that he could be used a sacrificial lamb towards strengthening other positions.

The Spurs have to be bold in the off season, and I wouldn't put any Spur on the "do not trade" list if the deal is right.

For me the biggest reasons are horrendous decline in coaching and LMA’s decline

[Gorepopovich]

DeRozan 12 AST....wow

[bdictjames]

If we have a tradeable young asset this summer, it might be Murray above the rest.
I completely agree. As improved DJM is this year, he simply cannot run an offense, nor is he good enough to be a starting shooting guard. He is a combo guard, no more, no less. It appears Derrick White has a lower upside, but is more stable. I'd rather have more stability in the team, tbh.

[duncan2k5]

I completely agree. As improved DJM is this year, he simply cannot run an offense, nor is he good enough to be a starting shooting guard. He is a combo guard, no more, no less. It appears Derrick White has a lower upside, but is more stable. I'd rather have more stability in the team, tbh.

Why? The team sucks...go for the upside... No one was talking about whites PG skills two years ago... Murray wlis already more impactful than white, and in two year's time, his ability to run a team will be better .. the reason y'all say Murray can't run a team is because he isn't as willing as White to just post up LMA all game... It's not as if white is out there operating the offense like Steve Nash...

[bdictjames]

Why? The team sucks...go for the upside... No one was talking about whites PG skills two years ago... Murray wlis already more impactful than white, and in two year's time, his ability to run a team will be better .. the reason y'all say Murray can't run a team is because he isn't as willing as White to just post up LMA all game... It's not as if white is out there operating the offense like Steve Nash...
The team is in disarray when Murray is in the helm man. Botched passes, no offensive schemes. This one's not on Pop, it's on the head of the snake. And when it's on Murray, I'm sorry, we can't last. He shot 3-16!