Grades: Spurs at Pelicans - Dec. 27, 2020

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-san-antonio-spurs-new-orleans-pelicans-game-3/

Welp, almost a fun comeback win.

[Ice009]

Tough loss. Aldridge was so, so bad. What do the Spurs do with this guy?

Demar forced the issue and let his frustration get to him yet again. It seems to be a common thing with him.

I like how Lonnie played for the most part, and Keldon, yet again was playing with a lot of toughness and aggression out there. I hope these two can keep building on this. Murray (way too loose with the ball and some bad decisions on offense), I was really angry with for most of the game, but as mentioned, he really stepped it up and played much better in the 4th quarter.

Also, would you guys say that this is the best stretch Mills has played in a while? He's actually looking good out there, and for once I am not complaining about him.

Rudy, even though his offense helped, he was way to trigger happy for my liking.

[justinandimcool]

thanks tbh

the process on defense improved as the game went on. really encouraging considering the Spurs lack of mobility on the pick and roll. i think with more reps it’ll get only better from here

turnovers, missed open shots, and blown rebounds were killer. that’s really on the veterans to right the ship. Gay and Mills did well keeping the team under control, and DeRozan will come through more often than not though it wasn’t his night. good experience for Johnson and Walker though.

Murray needs to tighten that handle.

[Dejounte]

In three games, Pop has played the young guys way more than I could have ever anticipated prior to the start of the season.

I don't see the whole "old guys being in the way of the young guys" issue anymore.

Vassell's been given plenty of chances, but he looks lost/ not confident out there right now.

Luka's absolutely not ready.

Which young guy are we wishing had more minutes? Tre? Give me a break... he's a second round pick. No other team right now has played their 2nd round pick much.

This season is going better than I expected in both cases of 1. competing out there for wins and 2. players having minutes.

Now it's up to the players to grow.

[Dhbsr555]

Vessel is the one guy I didn’t want in the draft I know he had a good preseason but he looks every bit as I expected him to look

[XDT76]

The issue with DDR is when he started bad his game becomes worse as he becomes more and more obsess with attacking the basket himself I thought he missed a few open guys in the third that he would normally pass when his shots were falling. We really need an athletic big, Pop should tried Eubanks tonight he couldn't be worse than LMA. Eubanks would at least give you the hustle.

[XDT76]

Vessel is the one guy I didn’t want in the draft I know he had a good preseason but he looks every bit as I expected him to look

With PatWil and Smith off the board there isn't really anyone else that really fills our needs at PF/SF

[Dhbsr555]

Vessel a bust

[Dejounte]

Where are the guys during preseason who were clamoring for Vassell to start over Lonnie??? :lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao

Seriously though, Vassell will be fine. He's still learning the ropes.

[Dhbsr555]

Vessel might be a spot up shooter but his handles are garbage he can’t shoot of the dribble .. yes he can play defense but idk I hope I’m wrong .

[XDT76]

Come on give the rookie a break, if he can improve as much as DJM and LW, he will be a very good player.

[Dejounte]

I could see the rotation being either A or B below when White comes back:

A)
Murray/ White
Lonnie/ Mills
DeMar/ Vassell
Keldon/ Gay/ Lyles
Aldridge/ Poetl

^This will ease White in while he's returning to form from his injury

B)
Murray/ Lonnie
White/ Mills
DeMar/ Vassell
Keldon/ Gay/ Lyles
Aldridge/ Poetl

^We have seen Lonnie be the point guard for short periods at a time these past three games. Maybe this is for preparation for rotation B above.

[Dhbsr555]

I don’t see white coming of the bench with that contract and I think Lonnie starts

[Dejounte]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGIbmH9GRRE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUyVu926_qQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utWX1hn1ORM

[Dejounte]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEk93JabVkk

[playblair]

yo timvp start docking demar half a grade everytime he stands still on defense & watches the shooter set up & shoot without even attempting to close out hes does that ish every game

[james evans]

Vessel is the one guy I didn’t want in the draft I know he had a good preseason but he looks every bit as I expected him to look
3 games? Lol. You’re ready to throw a player away after 3 games?????

[XDT76]

I don’t see white coming of the bench with that contract and I think Lonnie starts

Hard to say, this is the Spurs and we have Manu coming off the bench for ages

[Darius Bieber]

Should have drafted Halliburton instead of Vassell...

[Prime BEEF]

With PatWil and Smith off the board there isn't really anyone else that really fills our needs at PF/SF
Precious Achiuwa and S. Bey were both available.

[spurs10]

Thanks fro the grades! Vassell just started playing in the NBA and is doing fine. LMA being so bad was a big reason we couldn't get over the hump. The comeback was looking hopeful...damn.

[PhantomDashCam]

There will be games like this for the season. Coming off a down to the wire game, then travelling on the road to play a rested, talented team (who played poorly their last game out I might add), really pleased with the effort overall.
If Lonnie keeps playing like this; that DJ, White, Lonnie, KJ lineup could be scary good much earlier than anticipated.

[Bynumite]

Ingram A



:toast

[XDT76]

Precious Achiuwa and S. Bey were both available.

Well I guess they were possible candidates as well haven't been following them, how have they been performing.

[BillMc]

Thanks OP!

[John B]

Thanks for the grades. It’s tough on a b2b and our guys competed until the last possession. We can only be proud of their defense that kept them in the game. Proud of our young guys rallying behind 14 points and not easily giving up, when last year’s team would’ve lost by 30 points at that point. Again Murray needs to be aggressive attacking and scoring. He cannot be too cute with his handles. The assist will come, like Patty does. Demar needs to keep cool AT ALL TIME. Granted the refs are not calling the fouls, but his frustration cost them 5 points turnaround. Aldridge needs to demand the ball inside. Pop needs to have him catch it at the post to get him going. Vassell is overthinking out there. He needs to just play basketball. Overall I’m happy with them not giving up.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Well, this group is more fun to watch than last year. An off night like this would have been a 25 point beatdown last season. At least this group can fight in a grind-it-out type game. The vets really let us down tonight with the exception of Patty. This is the second night in a row that LMA looks outmatched by whoever he's guarding. The young guys did all that could be expected. The Spurs could have benefitted from White's presence tonight. And whoever the gray was up above ^^^ , someone's troll account I would guess, saying Vassell is a bust, is an absolute idiot. The kid's going to be a very good player.

[John B]

I would’ve Pop put another defender on Ingram, maybe Diop? Or a double team instead of Lonnie the whole game. I always thought we could’ve kept Reynolds. Spurs could’ve used his length. Everybody else I think our guys did a pretty good job, including on Zion.

[r0drig0lac]

Aldridge...

[Dejounte]

I would’ve Pop put another defender on Ingram, maybe Diop? Or a double team instead of Lonnie the whole game. I always thought we could’ve kept Reynolds. Spurs could’ve used his length. Everybody else I think our guys did a pretty good job, including on Zion.

Yeah, watching Lonnie defend Ingram was sad to see. If there's such a mismatch there, you should at least try to make him feel uncomfortable. Lonnie was guarding him too lightly, tried to use his length but it didn't work. He's gotta be more physical.

[Dejounte]

I agree with Chinook (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=37557) though,

You can't rely on Keldon to guard players like Zion the whole game.

You have to have some reliable defenders to spell Keldon, and let Keldon focus on the offensive end.

Kawhi yearned for a more offensive role and his defense took a major hit because of it.

Will Keldon get tired of being assigned the hard defensive assignments WHILE being counted on for offense (in the future)?

Who knows.... maybe he wants to take that challenge by Pop and not pussy out like Kawhi.

Otherwise, we will need someone in the future to alternate with Keldon from time to time, even to just give him a breather.

I don't want Keldon to ever pussy out like what Kawhi did during last year's playoffs against Doncic.

Could that be Vassell? Boy better gain some weight.

[Shakril]

The game was not lost in the Fourth Quarter, but in the third. Spurs had to make up so much that in the end after a B2B the energy was not there anymore. Of course missing open shots hurts and Demars Stupid Technical and fouls at the end did not help, but all in all Spurs lost only by 3. Bench is making a good job at the moment, starters need to play better.

The first 3 games played in the +/- stat all Starters are negative. That shows me, they are losing the Starter Match Up every time and the bench has to make up too much.

LMA - 27
LW IV - 26
DMR - 12
Lyles - 8
DJM - 5
Keldon - 4
Vassel + 33
Mills + 36
Poeltl + 39
Gay + 44

[Truth4sale$]

Great write up.
Really tough cover for Lonnie due to his lack of experience and giving up about 4-5 inches to Ingraham,. That being said. I like that he is finally getting some time to grow and develop. He makes mistakes but will learn from it and improve. I would have liked to see Murray cover Ingram. He has more experience.

[Chinook]

I agree with Chinook (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=37557) though,

You can't rely on Keldon to guard players like Zion the whole game.

You have to have some reliable defenders to spell Keldon, and let Keldon focus on the offensive end.

Kawhi yearned for a more offensive role and his defense took a major hit because of it.

Will Keldon get tired of being assigned the hard defensive assignments WHILE being counted on for offense (in the future)?

Who knows.... maybe he wants to take that challenge by Pop and not pussy out like Kawhi.

Otherwise, we will need someone in the future to alternate with Keldon from time to time, even to just give him a breather.

I don't want Keldon to ever pussy out like what Kawhi did during last year's playoffs against Doncic.

Could that be Vassell? Boy better gain some weight.

Keldon is young. He can and should take as many hard defensive assignments as possible. He doesn't have to be a 30ppg guy any time soon. Guarding big strong PFs in particular is what would hamper him, because it's not just about energy. Guarding some wing and then going down and getting 15-18 points is totally doable. In big games/series, even getting 25 points isn't hard to imagine. That's basically just a question of conditioning. But when you're going against a weight disadvantage, it's a matter of putting real stress on the muscles and joints in the lower body. Youth can help, but not nearly as much.

[Chinook]

I would’ve Pop put another defender on Ingram, maybe Diop? Or a double team instead of Lonnie the whole game. I always thought we could’ve kept Reynolds. Spurs could’ve used his length. Everybody else I think our guys did a pretty good job, including on Zion.

I actually thought Walker started to guard Ingram really well in the second half. He seemed to take offense to Brandon's performance, because he stayed with him much better. Yes, there is a size issue that might not always be surmountable. It reminds me of Danny versus Durant back in the day. Sometimes, KD would just be too much. But Green got his too. If this were like a seven-game series, you'd have to get some TOs on Ingram to make the numbers work. Playing the screen more aggressively certainly helped. All in all, I was happy Pop left Lonnie out there, because I think it'll pay dividends down the line.

[Dejounte]

The next game with the Lakers will have similar match ups to this one.

Big, strong PF - LeBron
Tall, shooting forward - Kuzma

I'm not sure why Anthony Davis didn't play last night.

Hopefully Pop has something up his sleeves against Kuzma. I could see him killing us out there. He's not as much of a 3 level scorer as Ingram is. He's a streaky shooter from 3, so we might be okay.

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1343355861658439680?s=19

Definitely a Tim Duncan post move

[TheChillFactor]

idk what you idiots are watching half the time.

stop looking for lebron james when you watch vassell and look for things that show promise. it's his third nba game.

i have been impressed (on the whole, through 3 games) with how he belongs out there from day 1, shoots when he is supposed to, passes when he should, shows promise defensively, and has shown willingness to put the ball on the floor here and there.

i wonder what this thread would have said about a rookie Duncan, Manu or heaven forbid Parker.

i'm surprised how so many of you have learned nothing from watching excellent basketball for 20 years.

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/AssassinateHate/status/1343529434436014082?s=19

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/TheTyJager/status/1343577811022475267?s=19

Remember, small sample size

[B1gduff]

Lamo the same dumb fuck that wanted Vassal to start over Lonnie are complaing. Its fucken 3 games, dumbass can understand this fact.

dude has 7 pts and 5 Rebs in 12 mins against a much better defensive team... STop complaing anf bitching

[B1gduff]

Dejounte still needs to work on handles, 6 to can't have that. But he's showing flashes of what he can be.

Lonnie looks really good and comfortable. He could be our number scorer and the potential to be a number 1. Still needs to improve add more to his skill set, but he's heading the righ direction.

Keldon is our thired score and has the potential to a 20+ ppg scorer.

[BackHome]

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1343355861658439680?s=19

Definitely a Tim Duncan post move

I have been low in Poodle not for his defense but because of his Zero offense. But I have to give him credit for really trying to improve and this at least a good indicator that hopefully he has been working with Timmy. As far as the team I am not concerned with wins or looses but more concerned that the young players are improving and adding to their game. So as far as Poodle as long as he keeps being aggressive on offense when he can I don’t mind if he makes it or misses it cause you can’t get better unless ya try.

[Capt Bringdown]

yo timvp start docking demar half a grade everytime he stands still on defense & watches the shooter set up & shoot without even attempting to close out hes does that ish every game

Murray may be the most over-rated player in Spurstalk history.

[Darius Bieber]

timvp should start doing a SpursTalk Podcast atleast during the pandemic shutdown period. I'd definitely listen to quick postgame thoughts after every game and a weekly rewind.

[John B]

Last night's game also showed Spurs needed another 6'7 defensive player. I was hoping what Diop could do there. I guess will see with the two games against Lakers

[poopbox]

LMA is so bad...to old to slow to dumb not motivated...yuck...

[Prose]

summary of the last two games: demar giveth, demar taketh

[Prose]

something I have noticed is if Rudy is our best player for the game we usually lose...maybe because for him to play well he ball stops, and it becomes a feedback loop where the wrose we play we ended up feeding him the ball

[Sugus]

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1343355861658439680?s=19

Definitely a Tim Duncan post move

"Poeltl didn't work on his offensive game at all!!"

I don't remember which poster I was talking to about this (Drunkford?), but it's obvious he's worked on his game. Shooting = / = offense, despite this modern era being shooting-obsessed.

[Dejounte]

"Poeltl didn't work on his offensive game at all!!"

I don't remember which poster I was talking to about this (Drunkford?), but it's obvious he's worked on his game. Shooting = / = offense, despite this modern era being shooting-obsessed.

This was just one of his moves from last night, too.

There's a couple flashy moves where he missed the shot, yet people care more about him missing the shot than the new move he displayed.

I wish some Spur fan would be useful on here and start uploading Spur player highlights. Seems no one is doing that this year. We can't even get a Keldon one from any of the last three games. People be slacking over here.

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/N_Magaro/status/1343587627182780418?s=19

[John B]

[QUOTE=Dejounte;10382750]https://twitter.com/N_Magaro/status/1343587627182780418?s=19[/
Aldridge :bang:bang:bang

[NASpurs]

The fat fuck coming in to the season out of shape and lazy per par.

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/PaulGarciaNBA/status/1343648837869703171?s=19

[John B]

https://twitter.com/PaulGarciaNBA/status/1343648837869703171?s=19
That would’ve been Demar if things went Spurs way last night, and would be good shoving on ESPN’s face

[BacktoBasics]

They have to play LaMarcus if they have any hope of moving him. He’s clearly the odd man out with this team. So far I’m happy with DDRs ability to adapt and fit. LW4 is playing good but he’s clearly not ready to take over as the primary scorer.

[phxspurfan]

No mention of the abomination of play calling from Pop, eh

[phxspurfan]

They have to play LaMarcus if they have any hope of moving him. He’s clearly the odd man out with this team. So far I’m happy with DDRs ability to adapt and fit. LW4 is playing good but he’s clearly not ready to take over as the primary scorer.

It seems they shopped him in the offseason (especially before the draft) and nobody really wanted him. What's funny is teams that could really use him (Lakers, Warriors) went with shittier options and are being burned for those choices now.

[JeffDuncan]

The remarks about LMA are funny. Guys, he's old - too old for a young man's game. You're not seeing lack of motivation, or any of that psychological stuff. You're seeing age.

He. Is. Too. Old. The spring in his step is gone. He's done, he's washed. In the NBA, 35 and 1/2 rolling downhill toward 40 is an old man.

Oh, LMA probably has a few good games left. There will be nights when his shot is falling, and when he feels peppy. But those games will be fewer and farther between.

As far as trying to trade him, nah, forget it. He'll probably retire after this season. If he has any sense he will. It's time.

Which then means the Spurs had better be shopping seriously for a tall, young forward for next season. The latter part of this season would be fine, too, although the Spurs don't have much history of midseason trades, as best I recall.

[Chinook]

Nah, what you're seeing is an old man trying to work himself back into shape. Long layoffs are devastating to older players who have to struggle to maintain way more than younger guys. That's why Jordan retired instead of going for a four-peat. You're talking about a guy who didn't play for nine months, coming off and injury and who typically starts off slow AND who's trying to learn a new system. This wasn't going to be quick. I don't know if he'll ever get it this year, but he'll likely look way better around March than he does now. The Spurs have to start running offense through him first and not try to get him started on PnPs.

[Leetonidas]

DD costs the Spurs another game due to his emo whining. To be fair though, that foul call was pretty weak, I know the challenge got denied but Ingram lowered his shoulder and just ran Demar over. If anything it should have been a no call

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

The remarks about LMA are funny. Guys, he's old - too old for a young man's game. You're not seeing lack of motivation, or any of that psychological stuff. You're seeing age.

He. Is. Too. Old. The spring in his step is gone. He's done, he's washed. In the NBA, 35 and 1/2 rolling downhill toward 40 is an old man.

Oh, LMA probably has a few good games left. There will be nights when his shot is falling, and when he feels peppy. But those games will be fewer and farther between.

As far as trying to trade him, nah, forget it. He'll probably retire after this season. If he has any sense he will. It's time.

Which then means the Spurs had better be shopping seriously for a tall, young forward for next season. The latter part of this season would be fine, too, although the Spurs don't have much history of midseason trades, as best I recall.

The last 3 seasons he's looked pretty bad for 30 or so games and then things pick up. I admit, he's definitely reaching those twilight years, but I think he's capable of better than we've seen so far.

[RC_Drunkford]

"Poeltl didn't work on his offensive game at all!!"

I don't remember which poster I was talking to about this (Drunkford?), but it's obvious he's worked on his game. Shooting = / = offense, despite this modern era being shooting-obsessed.

Poeltl has clearly worked on his offense, otherwise there would be no pic of him shooting a 3-pointer on the Internet, but we haven’t seen any of this in games. This was the first time ever he displayed a new move. It’s called the drop step. It’s the most basic post move ever. It’s good to see that he has it in his game. If he could finally add a hook shot he would have a go to move and a counter. I just wonder how long it will take for him to really incorporate those in games.

As far as his „shooting“ goes, he didn’t improve there at all.

[RC_Drunkford]

People here seem to be surprised about LaMarcus playing like hot garbage at the start of the season. Y’all the same guys who were complaining about this last season. And the season before. Y’all got a short memory I guess. That’s what he does. LA doesn’t need rest, he needs reps. That’s how he gets it going. He’s never looked that bad and the long lay off and shoulder surgery seem to make things more difficult, but he still has some gas in the tank. At the moment he‘s dragging the team down for sure.

[Sugus]

Poeltl has clearly worked on his offense, otherwise there would be no pic of him shooting a 3-pointer on the Internet, but we haven’t seen any of this in games. This was the first time ever he displayed a new move. It’s called the drop step. It’s the most basic post move ever. It’s good to see that he has it in his game. If he could finally add a hook shot he would have a go to move and a counter. I just wonder how long it will take for him to really incorporate those in games.

As far as his „shooting“ goes, he didn’t improve there at all.

...Wait, what? First you say he hasn't worked on his offensive game at all unlike Dejounte, then shown clips of him attempting a new move in a game, now you say he has worked on it, but we "haven't seen any of this in games"? What does it even mean? The clip was literally from yesterday's game. I know of the drop step, and I'm excited to see him doing it, especially since it's the first time (though if you've been looking closely, it's not the first time he's attempted a new/fancy move around the post, he's been trying through the preseason and first two games sparingly). I can only guess you were being hyperbolic in your original comment.

I don't know if/when he'll add a hook shot, but at any rate, seeing him develop is great, especially looking back at his contract. I don't expect him to learn how to shoot the 3, he most likely never will (at an NBA level) and we shouldn't expect that from him when it's never been his game. Not every player is a LMA or Blake Griffin type, just my opinion though.

[RC_Drunkford]

You obviously didn’t get what I was saying. My point was that he talked about expanding his offensive game for 2 years but has never shown any new moves. This was the first time of him showing some type of new offensive move in an NBA game. So if you need 2 years to do a drop step in games, you have to be really slow (mentally that is).

Yes he will never be a 3-point shooter but why in hell is he working on a corner 3 then if he can’t even shoot a hook shot?

[tbdog]

LMA will be fine. He always takes time to get it going and it'll take longer due to the long lay off.

[Sugus]

You obviously didn’t get what I was saying. My point was that he talked about expanding his offensive game for 2 years but has never shown any new moves. This was the first time of him showing some type of new offensive move in an NBA game. So if you need 2 years to do a drop step in games, you have to be really slow (mentally that is).

Yes he will never be a 3-point shooter but why in hell is he working on a corner 3 then if he can’t even shoot a hook shot?

I did get it, it was (and is) just factually wrong, as evidenced by Poeltl's new moves this past few games (and during the preseason, if you were watching). It's pretty clear he made his offense a big part of the off-season workouts, and so far it's looking to be paying off. I didn't see him talking as heavily about offense last off-season, though that could've just been me not paying attention. I agree that a drop step is basic, but Poeltl was always projected as a D-first center, so I'm not exactly surprised to see a lacking offensive game. The fact that it's developing is what's important, IMO, especially with Timmy likely working him out.

If I had to guess, I'd say he's working on a corner 3 since that's what the league is demanding today. You'll be paid exponentially more as a 3pt shooting center than a hook-shooting one, so that's a smart decision by Poeltl to prioritize his outside shot, even if I'm personally skeptic.

[RC_Drunkford]

I did get it, it was (and is) just factually wrong, as evidenced by Poeltl's new moves this past few games (and during the preseason, if you were watching). It's pretty clear he made his offense a big part of the off-season workouts, and so far it's looking to be paying off. I didn't see him talking as heavily about offense last off-season, though that could've just been me not paying attention. I agree that a drop step is basic, but Poeltl was always projected as a D-first center, so I'm not exactly surprised to see a lacking offensive game. The fact that it's developing is what's important, IMO, especially with Timmy likely working him out.

If I had to guess, I'd say he's working on a corner 3 since that's what the league is demanding today. You'll be paid exponentially more as a 3pt shooting center than a hook-shooting one, so that's a smart decision by Poeltl to prioritize his outside shot, even if I'm personally skeptic.

he should prioritize free throw shooting and post moves. And what new move other than the drop step have you seen so far?

[Dejounte]

he should prioritize free throw shooting and post moves. And what new move other than the drop step have you seen so far?

Give me a moment and I'll post some GIFs

[rankingtear]

The faster pace is killing LA's defense or what's left of it, more possesions he gets attacked on the PNR and in transition. The Dejounte and Poeltl lineup to start the 2nd gets us back in games. A lot of frustration is showing from the other players and Pop on LA defense the last few games.

[dbestpro]

Turnovers usually tell the tale of why you lose. Murray = 6 turnovers.

[rankingtear]

Turnovers usually tell the tale of why you lose. Murray = 6 turnovers.

We would have been NBA champs last season if that is the case.

[BackHome]

The last 3 seasons he's looked pretty bad for 30 or so games and then things pick up. I admit, he's definitely reaching those twilight years, but I think he's capable of better than we've seen so far.

Agreed, also people are quick to forget he didn't play in the bubble at all so it's been awhile since he has been play real game situations. The older you get the longer it takes you to get back in shape which will probably happen in about a month he should be good.

But I do agree I think LMA is the odd man out that's why I am hoping we are in the lottery again cause we are not signing anyone good. If we hit the lottery in the right number we could land our future starting SF/PF or PF/C. If we loose LMA and Derozz yeah we tanking for sure people still underestimate how good they really are but they will see when they are gone.

[Slippy]

Nah, what you're seeing is an old man trying to work himself back into shape. Long layoffs are devastating to older players who have to struggle to maintain way more than younger guys. That's why Jordan retired instead of going for a four-peat. You're talking about a guy who didn't play for nine months, coming off and injury and who typically starts off slow AND who's trying to learn a new system. This wasn't going to be quick. I don't know if he'll ever get it this year, but he'll likely look way better around March than he does now. The Spurs have to start running offense through him first and not try to get him started on PnPs.

Pretty much this.

Lonnie Walker however needs to get the ball more. Im seeing quarters of explosion but they go away from him too often.. need to see 4 full quarters on Lonnie getting involved . They not running any plays for him at all.

The defence on Ingram 1on1 was top notch .. couldn't ask for much more considering he gave up inches and had ingram chasing Steve adams screens to free up in the second half.. btw Jacob attempts at defending the shooter was really no different to LAs.. allowed too much space on the shooter when switched.

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/N_Magaro/status/1343962465760120833?s=19

The man to man D from both Derrick and Keldon is going to be INSANE.

[Dejounte]

Running the offense through Aldridge is counter intuitive to how fun the Spurs have been playing as of late. Basically a guaranteed loss at this point. Everybody plays worse when the pace slows down because no one except Derrick White is good in the half court. That's not playing to anybody's strength except a 36 year old man who we have to wait for three months just to "get going again". Pretty sad for being the second highest paid player on the team. He needs accountability for his play and I'm glad there was some when he was benched in the 3rd game.

[Chinook]

I mean, guys have to get good at playing in the half court regardless. Otherwise, they're just a paper tiger. That doesn't mean SA can't run when they have an advantage, but low-skill guys running PnPs for Aldridge isn't the best use of offense no matter what.

[Dejounte]

If somehow the Spurs could make a trade for either Dort from Oklahoma or Royce O Neal from Utah...

[Fusternino]

LMA is clearly the odd man out now of the 4 big expiring contracts. I can't see him taking a cheap mentor role like Gay/Mills.

[duncan2k5]

I remember when ppl used to bash me for saying we need to trade LMA... now look at us... Same way ppl are bashing me for saying we need to trade DeMar ASAP... if we keep him, look what happens in a couple years... This board will be on meltdown mode... And I'll be here saying "told you so"

[Dejounte]

I remember when ppl used to bash me for saying we need to trade LMA... now look at us... Same way ppl are bashing me for saying we need to trade DeMar ASAP... if we keep him, look what happens in a couple years... This board will be on meltdown mode... And I'll be here saying "told you so"

Fuck off, you annoying child

https://64.media.tumblr.com/0230fb863d2e045f7fe6bda53f1ad844/tumblr_nn4zd4OUf01tfbtrwo1_400.gif

[duncan2k5]

Fuck off, you annoying child

Brilliant in-depth analysis...you must be a genius

[Dejounte]

Brilliant in-depth analysis...you must be a genius

Better than your dumbass repeating the same shit over and over again. Come up with something new, idiot

https://64.media.tumblr.com/0230fb863d2e045f7fe6bda53f1ad844/tumblr_nn4zd4OUf01tfbtrwo1_400.gif

[XDT76]

I remember when ppl used to bash me for saying we need to trade LMA... now look at us... Same way ppl are bashing me for saying we need to trade DeMar ASAP... if we keep him, look what happens in a couple years... This board will be on meltdown mode... And I'll be here saying "told you so"

If years is the measure to go by, then you can start saying the same thing about Vassell and KJ. You will get there eventually. If you said that about Timmy 20 years ago you would have been right like about a few years ago.