Game Thread: Spurs vs Rockets — August 11, 2020 - 1PM CT

[r0drig0lac]

https://twitter.com/RealTomPetrini/status/1293286509022449665

[BillMc]

Nothing against the kid, but based on my brief observation of Luka against another NBA team, it appears he sucks.
First off he appears to be a big pussy. Bumped a couple of times and looked like he was going to cry and rubbing himself
and quitting while not responding by getting pissed off.
Secondly , he didn't appear to be as athletic as advertised against a garbage time Rockets team.
Third, He has no motor or competitive drive or fire or whatever you want to call it.
That's a harsh conclusion from 4 minutes of play and I don't even know about his skill level.
If anything give him two more years before anything is expected from him. In fairness to him he looked scared to death but thats a whole different discussion.
My biggest concern is the apparent lack of a strong motor.

He may be over-thinking and lost. It's a little like Lonnie (though Luka's much worse) where it sucks away his aggressiveness. Still, I saw nothing encouraging today but small sample for me.

[Dejounte]

It's a straight up attitude thing with this kid, I've seen it all year in Austin. He is a kid who has been the Alpha and the Omega of his domain in Europe and came to the Spurs INTO HIMSELF and is LARGES.

He hasn't got the burn he EXPECTED and was sent to Austin

While in Austin Keldon was clearly the LEADER of that Squad and Not Him

He gets to the Bubble and is playing like the SPURS have pissed in his bowl of Cheerios....


Scouts had all this pegged and still RC went after him.....
Same RC who talked shit about Manu's Olympic Teammate Louis Scola in an EMAIL where he unflattering characterized hims as "soft"


RC is washed RC Blew it with the 19th pic

KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE WAR ROOM with this one.... TBH

Drew youre fucking funny man...

[BillMc]

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsSW/status/1293285446416572416

The Ice Man....Bernard King....Blasphemy!

[gambit1990]

spurs are doing the fücking thing tbh.

[SpurPadre]

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsSW/status/1293285446416572416

Funny how Keldon doesn't really know who the REAL Iceman is or even Bonzi Wells lol. I wonder if he even knows Sean was a player! Good kid, though!

[objective]

One particular Luka Samanic weakness you saw in garbage time was the weak turnover trying to handle the ball.

For a guy who isn't an initiator or playmaker, who never runs an offense or handles in the pick-and-roll he turns the ball over like no one in Spurs history. He had the worst AST%-to-TOV% ratio of any Spurs pick in the g/d-league ever while playing more than 1 game.

3.9 turnovers per 36 for a guy who gets the ball and tries to go to the rim.

He can't shoot and it's a bad idea for him to try to do anything with the ball in his hands because he's prone to coughing it up.

[spurraider21]

Luka moving like he has stone feet. If we are trying to win out in Pop's window, why didn't get an NBA ready rotational player?
yeah... and part of what was sold is how good an athlete he was. i dont care what his gym measurables are, the guy just looks like dead weight on the floor

[SpurPadre]

yeah... and part of what was sold is how good an athlete he was. i dont care what his gym measurables are, the guy just looks like dead weight on the floor

His measurables weren't off-the-charts, though: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/luka-samanic/

A good but not great athlete with a questionable motor that looks limited against athletic players is what many scouts and analysts said about him. Still can't write him off yet though but he definitely has his work cut out for him.

[szkorhetz]

That would be too smart but we still need a token washed up SF vet.
I actually like Bellis game this bubble.
Much closer to his 14/15 self than what we have seen this year

[tmtcsc]

Keldon quickly becoming my favorite Spur. Kid’s a dog.

Luka is 3-4 years away from being anything if at all. Could easily see him out of the league in 4 years. Dude needs to get off Instagram and start putting in some serious work this offseason.

Won't take 4 years. He can't even get on the court right now? Damn.

[TDomination]

Keldon quickly becoming my favorite Spur. Kid’s a dog.

Luka is 3-4 years away from being anything if at all. Could easily see him out of the league in 4 years. Dude needs to get off Instagram and start putting in some serious work this offseason.

same here I’m loving his game

[gambit1990]

spurs could played better, but i loved the energy from the guys today!

[gambit1990]

keldon gonna be a beast for sure... when you watch it, the game just comes easy to him. great natural instincts !

[gambit1990]

white and keldon gonna save the spurs from being a ho hum, mediocre team.

[Dejounte]

keldon gonna be a beast for sure... when you watch it, the game just comes easy to him. great natural instincts !

We should be going for prospects with natural instincts than athletic beasts from now on

[gambit1990]

We should be going for prospects with natural instincts than athletic beasts from now on
pop hasn't really gone for a lot of athletic beasts though.

[gambit1990]

this is the most excited i've been for the spurs since kawhi was still playing for the spurs.

i'm starting to come back from exile...

[gambit1990]

https://i.imgur.com/LYPk2zg.png

[BackHome]

With two number one picks they took a chance I am cool with that I’ll wait two more years before I pass judgment.

[Chinook]

What frustrates me about the Luka pick is that the Spurs had never even spoken with him. How do you pick a guy with character issues without at least doing some homework?

Still, I don't think I'd care much at all if they had selected Johnson at 19 instead. Even passing on Clarke for Keldon would be okay for me.

[objective]

What frustrates me about the Luka pick is that the Spurs had never even spoken with him. How do you pick a guy with character issues without at least doing some homework?

Still, I don't think I'd care much at all if they had selected Johnson at 19 instead. Even passing on Clarke for Keldon would be okay for me.

I had not heard that they never spoke to him. He was at the combine and presumably did interviews, they were there as I recall in addition to seeing him in person overseas.

[Chinook]

I had not heard that they never spoke to him. He was at the combine and presumably did interviews, they were there as I recall in addition to seeing him in person overseas.

I mean more RC and Pop. If I recall correctly, they asked RC and he said they hadn't. Maybe he meant only since they had selected him, but I remember the context being more like they hadn't talked to him since he ghosted his old team at least.

[spurs10]

I mean more RC and Pop. If I recall correctly, they asked RC and he said they hadn't. Maybe he meant only since they had selected him, but I remember the context being more like they hadn't talked to him since he ghosted his old team at least. I think if someone asked 'Have you spoke to him?' they'd be talking about since he was selected.

[SpurPadre]

What frustrates me about the Luka pick is that the Spurs had never even spoken with him. How do you pick a guy with character issues without at least doing some homework?

Still, I don't think I'd care much at all if they had selected Johnson at 19 instead. Even passing on Clarke for Keldon would be okay for me.

Some mocks had Keldon at 14: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/keldon-johnson/

[Chinook]

I think if someone asked 'Have you spoke to him?' they'd be talking about since he was selected.

I'll look for the interview. But I just remember it not being meant that way specifically. Burford may have taken it that way, but I think the question was in the context of Luka leaving his team.

[Chinook]

Some mocks had Keldon at 14: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/keldon-johnson/

I remember when the Suns drafted Cam Johnson at 11 people thought they meant Keldon. He definitely could've gone way earlier.

[spurs10]

I'll look for the interview. But I just remember it not being meant that way specifically. Burford may have taken it that way, but I think the question was in the context of Luka leaving his team.Makes sense.

[tim_duncan_fan]

Keldon Johnson is going to be Charles Barkley's favorite player.

[DAF86]

Keldon Johnson is going to be Charles Barkley's favorite player.

Keldooooooooooooooooooon

[tim_duncan_fan]

Keldooooooooooooooooooon

Dude is a blue chip, just based on how he is going his game. It took DJ 3 years to realize shooting 3s was important. Keldon said,"oh we need to be able to shoot 3s?"

"Bet."

And he's aggressive. You can tell dude wants to be great. And mofo is barely 20. Scary.

[KobesAchilles]

Dude is a blue chip, just based on how he is going his game. It took DJ 3 years to realize shooting 3s was important. Keldon said,"oh we need to be able to shoot 3s?"

"Bet."

And he's aggressive. You can tell dude wants to be great. And mofo is barely 20. Scary.
What I like about him is his motor and that he has dog in him. You can’t teach those two things. You can teach talent to a certain degree, but a player who is soft is going to stay soft. Like AD, he should be an unstoppable force bc he has all the talent in the world, he checks every box talent wise but he has no dog in him so he slinks back and he’s relegated as a #2 guy.

KJ reminds me of Mario Ellie. Nobody fucked with Ellie. The dude was in your face and trash talked and played hard nosed defense and hit shots. That’s all I can ask of a player.

[Chomag]

Keldon is my favorite current Spur by far. I love watching this dudes game and I'm excited to see him refine it over a couple more season. Also him being a Forbes killer is s big bonus.

[Kurgan]

this is the most excited i've been for the spurs since kawhi was still playing for the spurs.

i'm starting to come back from exile...

Same here. The mid-2000s isoball strategy and the Byrn Forbes lineups made this the most unwatchable Spurs team ever until the restart. They're not a great team but at least they're fun to watch again. No more fake hustle player like Forbes and Lyles wasting everybody's time.

[GAustex]

Fun game
A pleasure not having to watch Forbes or Patty.
Less Beli would have been better.

[tim_duncan_fan]

Same here. The mid-2000s isoball strategy and the Byrn Forbes lineups made this the most unwatchable Spurs team ever until the restart. They're not a great team but at least they're fun to watch again. No more fake hustle player like Forbes and Lyles wasting everybody's time.

I've got no probs with Lyles. He's a SF though, not a big, and that's management's fault. He was starting to show consistency. I'll be glad to see him coming off our bench next year.

Gonna be weird when LaMarcus gets back though. That's gonna mean less shots for Derrick, Keldon, and Lonnie.
Hopefully, LaMarcus will just pick his spots like Demar has been doing, but LA is a big rhythm crybaby.

I give Bubble Spurs better odds to beat any given opponent than I give to the team that we had before the bubble.

[ace3g]

CDxOuJwjRFA

[Sugus]

I haven't seen anyone mention this in regards to Lonnie's recent struggles finishing (does anyone have the numbers on how his % was pre-pandemic and in the bubble?), but to me, it looks like he's not really sure how much strength to use on the glass and in finishing in general. He's visibly bulked up and was shown doing a lot of work on the gym during quarantine, and I had already talked about how it might affect his shooting in the short-term, but hadn't thought that it might interfere with his finishing as well. I say this because I really didn't recall him missing that many wide open and slightly contested shots ever before, especially in that game against the Pels iirc. There's for sure another issue entirely in that he tries to avoid contact instead of finishing through it like Keldon does, and he's gotta work on that too, but I'm still a believer. If he's still missing layup drill shots by next season's start though, yeah that's something to be worried for.

But otherwise, he seems to be doing pretty well. His passes are very strong and eye-catching, even though I disliked his assist to Keldon's 3 today, just because it was a cop-out to not finish. If he can work out his touch around the rim/glass, and keep those newly found passing and playmaking tools, he can become a really special player. Overall, he's clearly trending upwards as to where he was by season's start, so it's not panic time yet. He also makes an excellent pairing with Keldon, who is completely unafraid of contact and strong finishing, and has surprisingly been pretty solid from 3, something that I thought was gonna be a hole in his game for a long time from watching his games on Austin. Lock the two of them for the summer in the gym with Chip, that's all I'm asking for.

Now that it's looking like we'll miss the play-ins even if we win out, I'm hoping the Suns win out too, tbh. Getting that 10th pick plus added chances of top-4 would be the icing on the cake for this bubble that I didn't have any hopes for, to begin with.

[daslicer]

What I like about him is his motor and that he has dog in him. You can’t teach those two things. You can teach talent to a certain degree, but a player who is soft is going to stay soft. Like AD, he should be an unstoppable force bc he has all the talent in the world, he checks every box talent wise but he has no dog in him so he slinks back and he’s relegated as a #2 guy.

KJ reminds me of Mario Ellie. Nobody fucked with Ellie. The dude was in your face and trash talked and played hard nosed defense and hit shots. That’s all I can ask of a player.

He reminds me a lot of the late Bobby Phills granted their personalities are different but his style of play is very similar to Bobby. Bobby was a great elite defender and was hard nose defender. His height and build is the same as Bobby. Bobby is a little bit stronger but when Keldon fills out he will be as strong as Bobby.

deRDhiZHXKY

[Fireball]

I haven't seen anyone mention this in regards to Lonnie's recent struggles finishing (does anyone have the numbers on how his % was pre-pandemic and in the bubble?), but to me, it looks like he's not really sure how much strength to use on the glass and in finishing in general. He's visibly bulked up and was shown doing a lot of work on the gym during quarantine, and I had already talked about how it might affect his shooting in the short-term, but hadn't thought that it might interfere with his finishing as well. I say this because I really didn't recall him missing that many wide open and slightly contested shots ever before, especially in that game against the Pels iirc. There's for sure another issue entirely in that he tries to avoid contact instead of finishing through it like Keldon does, and he's gotta work on that too, but I'm still a believer. If he's still missing layup drill shots by next season's start though, yeah that's something to be worried for.

But otherwise, he seems to be doing pretty well. His passes are very strong and eye-catching, even though I disliked his assist to Keldon's 3 today, just because it was a cop-out to not finish. If he can work out his touch around the rim/glass, and keep those newly found passing and playmaking tools, he can become a really special player. Overall, he's clearly trending upwards as to where he was by season's start, so it's not panic time yet. He also makes an excellent pairing with Keldon, who is completely unafraid of contact and strong finishing, and has surprisingly been pretty solid from 3, something that I thought was gonna be a hole in his game for a long time from watching his games on Austin. Lock the two of them for the summer in the gym with Chip, that's all I'm asking for.

Now that it's looking like we'll miss the play-ins even if we win out, I'm hoping the Suns win out too, tbh. Getting that 10th pick plus added chances of top-4 would be the icing on the cake for this bubble that I didn't have any hopes for, to begin with.

Lonnie really is missing many layups because he sprints to the basket very quickly but is not able to lay up the ball softly (kinetic energy I guess) ... it looks like Russel Westbrook in his early days, no problems getting to the rim, but missing touch to make the basket ... Lonnie really needs to find a way to hit the breaks

[RC_Drunkford]

What frustrates me about the Luka pick is that the Spurs had never even spoken with him. How do you pick a guy with character issues without at least doing some homework?

Still, I don't think I'd care much at all if they had selected Johnson at 19 instead. Even passing on Clarke for Keldon would be okay for me.

he went out to lunch with Pop, Tim and RC. I think that was when he went to San Antonio for a workout

[lefty]

CDxOuJwjRFA
Amazing nothing happened in his photo

[lefty]

I hate watching the no-defense NBA.


It’s seriously no fun to watch.
Defenses are better today, stop living in the past tbh

[hater]

Defenses are better today, stop living in the past tbh

Better?

Todays nba you cant even touch a fucking opponent defensively. How is that better?

Its different yes..but better is on th3 eye of the beholder.

I miss the good ol days where you can put a midget on his ass 3 or 4 times and hell stop trying to go to the basket :lol

[hater]

Sam3 thing with soccer or any other sport tbqh.

Its all pussyfied now

Was watching highlights of 1986 world cup and the Italian league. Holy shit :lol they would lay noggas ojt left and right. Maradona was a fuckibg beast taking that punishment

Not saying thats better but going to the other extreme is gay and pussy and boring

[hater]

Oh and :lol todays nba

[lefty]

I hate watching the no-defense NBA.


It’s seriously no fun to watch.


Better?

Todays nba you cant even touch a fucking opponent defensively. How is that better?

Its different yes..but better is on th3 eye of the beholder.

I miss the good ol days where you can put a midget on his ass 3 or 4 times and hell stop trying to go to the basket :lol
:lol Personally I prefer the old NBA style of defense ttbh, but when you think about it, any slow YMCA reject can grab and karate kick a player going to the basket, it doesn't require any skill tbh

And an ISO scorer has to be very skilled today because of the zone D and different schemes coaches can throw at you

Objectively speaking, playing defense by relying on your fundamentals, footwork, positioning etc, is more difficult

Derek Harper and Laimbeer would be considered shitty defenders if they played today tbh :lol

[hater]

:lol personally I prefer the old NBA style of defense ttbh, but when you think about it, any slow YMCA reject can grab and karate kick a player going to the basket, it doesn't reauire any skil tbh
And an ISO scored has to be very skilled today because of the zone D abd different schemes coaches can throw at you

Objectively speaking, playing defense by relying on your fundamentals, footwork, positioning etc, is more difficult

Derek Harper and Laimbeer would be considered shitty defenders if they played today tbh :lol

Depends what rules are applied.

Laimbeer would be a max player if 80s rules were used.

Save the acrobats for cirq du soleil or ballet. I like the guy that will put someone in a wheelchair once in a while

[lefty]

Sam3 thing with soccer or any other sport tbqh.

Its all pussyfied now

Was watching highlights of 1986 world cup and the Italian league. Holy shit :lol they would lay noggas ojt left and right. Maradona was a fuckibg beast taking that punishment

Not saying thats better but going to the other extreme is gay and pussy and boringEvery team tried to murder Maradona in 86 tbh :lol he took punishement in every single game

[hater]

Also dont forget life wqs tough for qn 80s nbaer back then.

Cocaine, hookers and booze on a daily basis. Now its tiktok and instagram while wearing a thong mask :lol

:lol t:lold:lolys nb:lol

[Coach X]

Defenses are better today, stop living in the past tbh
Disagree

OFFENSES are better today. Players are much more skilled, everybody can dribble and shot from distance. Shooting range has increased the spaces and teams maximize advantage given by these circumstances. Pace is higher, and most of the players can play fast. Teams are taught to generate good shots in a few seconds. Rules variations emphasize this fast paced, non contact basketball.

Nowadays, defenses are way behind offenses level. Players hardly can single guard his man, spacing makes difficult for team mates to help out or double. Rotations are innefective most of the times. There is no size to protect the basket as oftenly the only big is playing defense out of the paint. Etc. Rules and refereeing don't help either.

Individually and collectively, offenses have progressed tremendously but defenses aren't catching up at all. Same with 3pt+dribbling and low post game. Current basketball is unbalanced. I miss some balance. It's like having just desserts for every meal: kids are happy with it but adults are missing something else.

[hater]

Disagree

OFFENSES are better today. Players are much more skilled, everybody can dribble and shot from distance. Shooting range has increased the spaces and teams maximize advantage given by these circumstances. Pace is higher, and most of the players can play fast. Teams are taught to generate good shots in a few seconds. Rules variations emphasize this fast paced, non contact basketball.

Nowadays, defenses are way behind offenses level. Players hardly can single guard his man, spacing makes difficult for team mates to help out or double. Rotations are innefective most of the times. There is no size to protect the basket as oftenly the only big is playing defense out of the paint. Etc. Rules and refereeing don't help either.

Individually and collectively, offenses have progressed tremendously but defenses aren't catching up at all. Same with 3pt+dribbling and low post game. Current basketball is unbalanced. I miss some balance. It's like having just desserts for every meal: kids are happy with it but adults are missing something else.

Of course offenses are better.

You cant touch the fucking guy :lol

[lefty]

Depends what rules are applied.

Laimbeer would be a max player if 80s rules were used.

Save the acrobats for cirq du soleil or ballet. I like the guy that will put someone in a wheelchair once in a while

Well obviously it's hard to compare eras; different rules, different approach, culture, etc

I am guilty of time transporting X player to Y era, but that's not how it works; Laimbeer or Harper would have learned a different type of game and skills if they were born 22 years ago
Imagine Laimbeer doing crossovers before shooting a 3, that woud be weird to watch :lol but realistic if he was from the current generation

[hater]

Id like to see how good offenses today are after an elbow to the back of the head or an uppercut to the ribcage :lol

[lefty]

Disagree

OFFENSES are better today. Players are much more skilled, everybody can dribble and shot from distance. Shooting range has increased the spaces and teams maximize advantage given by these circumstances. Pace is higher, and most of the players can play fast. Teams are taught to generate good shots in a few seconds. Rules variations emphasize this fast paced, non contact basketball.

Nowadays, defenses are way behind offenses level. Players hardly can single guard his man, spacing makes difficult for team mates to help out or double. Rotations are innefective most of the times. There is no size to protect the basket as oftenly the only big is playing defense out of the paint. Etc. Rules and refereeing don't help either.

Individually and collectively, offenses have progressed tremendously but defenses aren't catching up at all. Same with 3pt+dribbling and low post game. Current basketball is unbalanced. I miss some balance. It's like having just desserts for every meal: kids are happy with it but adults are missing something else.
Well yeah today's game benefits smaller perimeters players

The same way 80s-90s rules favored big men

But yeah I get what you mean when you are saying today's game lacks balance and variety, that's something I miss
(along with true rivalries)