Game Thread: Spurs vs Rockets — Jan. 14, 2021 - 6:30pm CT

[Mugen]

This FO bringing Demar back this summer is gonna be the dumbest fucking shit tbh :lol

[tmtcsc]

Predictable trash performance. Aldridge sucked per usual and showed no leadership when it came to bringing effort against a team with nothing to lose, Derozan hadn't been around in a while and yet he starts the game & gets the last shot. That shits on Pop. No shows today, all but Keldon. It's never safe to believe this team has turned the corner. To be honest, I expected this effort against OKC. Sorry fucks.

[Texas_Ranger]

If Derozan is ever so depressed that he'd try to shoot himself, it wont work as he'd miss.

[NASpurs]

Losing close games has a major luck contingent. You know your team is good if they blow out other teams and bad if they are blown out. Losing close games really tells you nothing.

This sucks. But it doesn't mean anything particularly.

Yeah, tells us we're mediocre :lol There's middle ground between good and bad.

[BillMc]

Lonnie for all his offensive moments is (so far) not much of a defender. Especially help defense.

[Mugen]

Lonnie for all his offensive moments is (so far) not much of a defender. Especially help defense.

Sure but it's not like Fat Ass Mills was stopping anybody out there :lol

At least Lonnie was shooting well tonight.

[Capt Bringdown]

Rockets with something to prove and the Spurs without their floor leader. Not that shocking a loss.

[tmtcsc]

All you gotta do is play his driving game because his 3 pointer is non existant and you'll live with a contested mid range shot.

Bbbbuut he's always been able to shoot 3's I thought. He's just decided not to shoot them.

[Robz4000]

Losing close games has a major luck contingent. You know your team is good if they blow out other teams and bad if they are blown out. Losing close games really tells you nothing.

This sucks. But it doesn't mean anything particularly.

They lost to a G-league team bruh.

[tmtcsc]

Rockets with something to prove and the Spurs without their floor leader. Not that shocking a loss.

What floor leader are you referring to?

[r0drig0lac]

Spurs have the pieces needed to base their offense from the perimeter, get some real athletes for Aldridge (who always had a low engine and is now just old) and Jakob (who was never good at playing basketball to start) for the frontcourt and we will automatically be much better as a team.

[Kurgan]

If Derozan is ever so depressed that he'd try to shoot himself, it wont work as he'd miss.

:lol That was dark but good

[GreekSpursfan]

The fuck did i wake up to. We all know there is this thing where you play down to the competition but this shit is embarrassing.

[SpurPadre]

All you gotta do is play his driving game because his 3 pointer is non existant and you'll live with a contested mid range shot.

Exactly and when you combine that to the fact that it's telegraphed he's going to take the last shot no matter what, opposing teams know it's all in their favor.

[BillMc]

They lost to a G-league team bruh.

I hear you. They were riled up because Harden disrespected 'em. Knew this would be tough when James delivered his parting shots...

That said, Cousins, Tucker and Wood are G-league?

[NASpurs]

Aldridge's 3 point shooting is more potential than anything else. Him clanking 3 after 3 is getting tiring. Teams are like "whatever, shoot the three".

[tmtcsc]

How's Pop going to spin this? He better unload the "soft, immature & everyone needs to take credit for this loss including the coaches" cards tonight. Don't give us the I'm so angry I'm just going to give one word answers and roll my eyes when asked by the media about effort. Just a truly disgusting display. GUTLESS

[BillMc]

The fuck did i wake up to. We all know there is thing where you played down to the competition but this shit is embarrassing.

Count yourself lucky you didn't stay up all night to watch this. Ugh....

[NASpurs]

Exactly and when you combine that to the fact that it's telegraphed he's going to take the last shot no matter what, opposing teams know it's all in their favor.

Remember when Pop used to draw plays for players instead of acting like he's drawing on the clipboard and telling Demar go 1-1?

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

Watching them lose this and knowing what Pop should do to help get the win and him not doing it was so frustrating.

Aldridge was getting killed on defense and the thing that really pissed me off was not one player realized Tate was a lefty. Dude scored damn near all his points going straight left with no set up moves to go left. LMAO. I know he was laughing inside at those idiots over playing his right hand repeatedly

[timtonymanu]

Aldridge's 3 point shooting is more potential than anything else. Him clanking 3 after 3 is getting tiring. Teams are like "whatever, shoot the three".

The dude puts me to sleep the way he plays basketball. People called Tim's style boring, but he made up for his lack of flash with his basketball IQ and fundamentals. Aldridge looks like he hates being out there half the time.

[Robz4000]

Spurs' next 8 games:

Rockets
Blazers
Dubs
Mavs
Wiz
Pelicans
Celtics
Nuggets

I only see one potential win in there (Wiz) but even that could be dicey if the Wiz play better with Chuckbrook out. Perfect to ramp up the tank.

[poopbox]

Losing close games has a major luck contingent. You know your team is good if they blow out other teams and bad if they are blown out. Losing close games really tells you nothing.

This sucks. But it doesn't mean anything particularly.

This is the most revealing game of the season tbh...

If the rockets play any other team in the nba they get blow out tonight...

They have the corpse of Cousins, disinterested PJ Tucker, I was almost out the league McLemore, Woods, and a bunch of scrubs...fucking Kenyon Martin son out here getting minutes :lmao

Plus this team is continuing the theme of playing against guys who shoot like shit...then shoot lights out against the spurs...then shoot like shit again...

Woods not even shooting 30% from 3 and then started 4 / 4 against us...

The only solace in this season is hoping LMA Gay, Derozan, and Mills are gone because we have been watching these 4 players choke in crunch time way more often than not for going on 3 years now...

And I say hope cause I don't put it past Pop dumbass to bring 1 or 2 of these 4 back on a cheap deal

[Robz4000]

I hear you. They were riled up because Harden disrespected 'em. Knew this would be tough when James delivered his parting shots...

That said, Cousins, Tucker and Wood are G-league?

Current Cousins absolutely. Wood and Tucker are the only NBA-level players on their roster that played tonight.

[GreekSpursfan]

Count yourself lucky you didn't stay up all night to watch this. Ugh....

One of the few times that being from Greece helped tbh

[Kurgan]

I hear you. They were riled up because Harden disrespected 'em. Knew this would be tough when James delivered his parting shots...

That said, Cousins, Tucker and Wood are G-league?

Cousins has been waived by every good team he was on and Wood started out in G-League. Rockets already have a better frontcourt than us and they did it all in free agency this summer

[Capt Bringdown]

Expect a lot more losses like this until White gets back.

[SpurPadre]

Losing close games has a major luck contingent. You know your team is good if they blow out other teams and bad if they are blown out. Losing close games really tells you nothing.

This sucks. But it doesn't mean anything particularly.

Losing close games tells you alot about the mental makeup of the team, especially when they lose them consistently including against lottery teams. It tells you a team lacks composure and readiness to play under higher stakes in a playoff setting.

[djohn2oo8]

Wood was a steal but J’aesean Tate is an absolute dog

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

This is the most revealing game of the season tbh...

If the rockets play any other team in the nba they get blow out tonight...

They have the corpse of Cousins, disinterested PJ Tucker, I was almost out the league McLemore, Woods, and a bunch of scrubs...fucking Kenyon Martin son out here getting minutes :lmao

Plus this team is continuing the theme of playing against guys who shoot like shit...then shoot lights out against the spurs...then shoot like shit again...

Woods not even shooting 30% from 3 and then started 4 / 4 against us...

The only solace in this season is hoping LMA Gay, Derozan, and Mills are gone because we have been watching these 4 players choke in crunch time way more often than not for going on 3 years now...

And I say hope cause I don't put it past Pop dumbass to bring 1 or 2 of these 4 back on a cheap deal


the reason guys shoot the 3 so well against us is because they get wide open shots. Wood had most of his 3 point attempts wide open.

the defense gets broken down easy off the dribble which sends our defenders scrambling and over helping due to Aldridge having cement shoes. Poetl moves better but plays soft against some teams.

[GreekSpursfan]

The next time we win a game against a condending team we should all remember this day and never get ahead of ourselves. We should be tanking, fuck this 7-8th seed bs

[murpjf88]

Exactly and when you combine that to the fact that it's telegraphed he's going to take the last shot no matter what, opposing teams know it's all in their favor.
It was telegraphed long before DeRozan arrived. Before that, he went through Ginobili even when he was well past his prime. He's just a career average head coach with a below average basketball team.

[Chinook]

Spurs' next 8 games:

Rockets
Blazers
Dubs
Mavs
Wiz
Pelicans
Celtics
Nuggets

I only see one potential win in there (Wiz) but even that could be dicey if the Wiz play better with Chuckbrook out. Perfect to ramp up the tank.

I mean, they'll win more than half of those games. They literally just beat two of the top teams in the conference. This loss was bad because every win counts in a shortened season, not because it proved SA sucks.

[Dverde]

These are the games you have to win to be a top seed. Spurs just not there. Still fine with the season so far. More fight. One step forward, one step back, but the young guys are learning to dance.

[murpjf88]

I mean, they'll win more than half of those games. They literally just beat two of the top teams in the conference. This loss was bad because every win counts in a shortened season, not because it proved SA sucks.
They can win all eight of those games or they could lose all eight of those games.

[PhantomDashCam]

This loss sucked, obviously, but I’m not as down on it as some.

For key stretches, this team was playing with KJ, DJ, Lonnie and Vassell as our 4 best players.

Got to put that in perspective.

[Robz4000]

I mean, they'll win more than half of those games. They literally just beat two of the top teams in the conference. This loss was bad because every win counts in a shortened season, not because it proved SA sucks.

They beat a depleted Clippers team and a Lakers team they'd seen for the third time in five games. They haven't shown me anything yet to think they'll win those games. Hell, they've had two embarrassing losses in the past three games.

[Chinook]

They beat a depleted Clippers team and a Lakers team they'd seen for the third time in five games. They haven't shown me anything yet to think they'll win those games. Hell, they've had two embarrassing losses in the past three games.

Yeah, no. Those were impressive victories. The Spurs this year seem to be basically where they were last year: They can play with anybody but will lose winnable games. A team that apparently is so awful that they lose to a short-handed Rockets team wouldn't be able to beat LAL at full strength or LAC even not so. The skill gap would just be too big.

[Degoat]

What sucks is whenever DWhite is back he’ll be taking minutes from Lonnie and Devin probably

[BillMc]

Devin is looking more and more comfortable out there. I'm amazed how is always in the right spot on defense like 15 games or so into his career with almost no training camp/preseason.

[Chinook]

They can win all eight of those games or they could lose all eight of those games.

That's true. I think Pop lost the game trying to play that closing lineup too much. Murray, DeRozan, Aldridge and this year's Mills are way too many ball-dominant guys on the court to make consistently good offense. Hell, Johnson in this game was also just running at the basket whenever he had a chance. That Pop called a timeout only to draw up a stupid DeRozan iso was terrible. It just shows how thin the team is at the margins.

[Robz4000]

Yeah, no. Those were impressive victories. The Spurs this year seem to be basically where they were last year: They can play with anybody but will lose winnable games. A team that apparently is so awful that they lose to a short-handed Rockets team wouldn't be able to beat LAL at full strength or LAC even not so. The skill gap would just be too big.

:lol I'll give you the Lakers win but in no way was the Clippers win impressive. It was good to beat Nephew but thats about it.

[Degoat]

With all things being said, man.... Keldons ability to finish is so impressive

[Chinook]

:lol I'll give you the Lakers win but in no way was the Clippers win impressive. It was good to beat Nephew but thats about it.

So was the LAC team better than this Houston team or the previous Wolves teams? Obviously. There's no reason to believe they can't beat any of those teams, let alone all of them. They'll win games.

[Robz4000]

So was the LAC team better than this Houston team or the previous Wolves teams? Obviously. There's no reason to believe they can't beat any of those teams, let alone all of them. They'll win games.

Might go 2-6 tbh. Hoping myself they go 0-8 while losing like they did tonight to hasten the tank.

[Chomag]

What sucks is whenever DWhite is back he’ll be taking minutes from Lonnie and Devin probably
DNP's for Devin for sure , and that's wrong.

[Dejounte]

Devin's at that point where he's still learning where his spots are on offense. He looks to have a hot spot 8 feet from the basket where he pulls up for a J. Similar to Kawhi's hook.

[Dejounte]

Sad with the loss but man, so fun to watch the young guys. It's like they're my children and I'm watching them grow up.

[heyheymymy]

The best part about the young guys is you can hide the weakness of our vets with them. DDR for example is pretty bad as a superstar when you expect him to carry a team. But if you weave DDR, LMA, Mills or Gay's mins into the youth better you can make the vets more effective by letting them be selective with their skills that are still elite.

The only thing less efficient than spreading DDR too thin is doing so when you have KJ, DJ, Walker and Vassel just rotting on the bench.

I hate to be an armchair coach, but in my rotations I would run DDRs full mins through 3 quarters and then bench him for the 4th.

[XDT76]

Tonight it's the vets letting us down with all having bad shooting night.

[LeBowen]

LMA and Rudy are washed, can't trade them for anything.

I still think Demar is a good player, but just an awful fit with the young guys. How could it possibly play out?
Spurs are still 2 years away from being a serious playoff team. Demar won't make the difference and elevate the team to like 4-6th seed. Young players need to learn how to close games out.
He's just slowing their growth.

And 2 or 3 years down the road, Demar shouldn't be anything more than a 6th man for a serious playoff team.
Just get some value for him, plenty of teams would be interested. Even a S&T is possible.

Spurs don't have a single useful defensive player over 6'6 right now. Can't hope to make the playoffs like that. Even if you do, it's a first round sweep by an LA team. Worst case scenario, no matter how you put it.
I'd rather watch Keldon/Lonnie/Vassell take 20 shots every game than have a false hope of making the playoffs for a couple more months.

Patty should also go, but we all know that won't happen. I'm sure there are some desperate contenders that would give up a pick for him.
Poeltl is an embarrassment, should be traded before everyone catches up on how awful he is.

So frustrating to be a fan of the only lottery team that constantly favors washed up veterans over young talent.
Not to mention that who knows if the season will even end, every team that's a first round exit or worse should get rid of valuable veterans.

A bit of a rant, but I had to do it. :lol

[NASpurs]

LMA and Rudy are washed, can't trade them for anything.

I still think Demar is a good player, but just an awful fit with the young guys. How could it possibly play out?
Spurs are still 2 years away from being a serious playoff team. Demar won't make the difference and elevate the team to like 4-6th seed. Young players need to learn how to close games out.
He's just slowing their growth.

And 2 or 3 years down the road, Demar shouldn't be anything more than a 6th man for a serious playoff team.
Just get some value for him, plenty of teams would be interested. Even a S&T is possible.

Spurs don't have a single useful defensive player over 6'6 right now. Can't hope to make the playoffs like that. Even if you do, it's a first round sweep by an LA team. Worst case scenario, no matter how you put it.
I'd rather watch Keldon/Lonnie/Vassell take 20 shots every game than have a false hope of making the playoffs for a couple more months.

Patty should also go, but we all know that won't happen. I'm sure there are some desperate contenders that would give up a pick for him.
Poeltl is an embarrassment, should be traded before everyone catches up on how awful he is.

So frustrating to be a fan of the only lottery team that constantly favors washed up veterans over young talent.
Not to mention that who knows if the season will even end, every team that's a first round exit or worse should get rid of valuable veterans.

A bit of a rant, but I had to do it. :lol

Lots of truth bombs in there, great post.

[Dex]

Is there something wrong with the AT&T Center rims? We consistently shoot like crap at home even when we get wide open looks

[spurraider21]

Pop is soft. goes to patty/derozan/aldridge like a pacifier when a game is close, no matter how well anybody else is playing

[slick'81]

Patty mills for a 1st rounder:lol

[Jordan Jackson]

What sucks is whenever DWhite is back he’ll be taking minutes from Lonnie and Devin probably

I’m wondering what happens to the closing lineup when DWhite gets back. Wouldn’t put it past Pop to continue to run Patty out there.

This man started Bryn Forbes last season. I got low expectations.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Our defense is mind boggingly terrible and we have one of the softest frontcourt in the league

[daslicer]

Rockets exploited how the Spurs have no rim protection. Lamarcus or Poetl can't defend the paint.

[duncan2k5]

Pop is soft. goes to patty/derozan/aldridge like a pacifier when a game is close, no matter how well anybody else is playing

Aldridge broke pop when he made him shift the offense to passing to lma on every possession simply because he asked for a trade...then gave him an extension before that season even started...pop in his prime would have shipped him out for a bag of chips simply for having the audacity to demand a trade after playing like shit in the playoffs

[Dejounte]

That's true. I think Pop lost the game trying to play that closing lineup too much. Murray, DeRozan, Aldridge and this year's Mills are way too many ball-dominant guys on the court to make consistently good offense. Hell, Johnson in this game was also just running at the basket whenever he had a chance. That Pop called a timeout only to draw up a stupid DeRozan iso was terrible. It just shows how thin the team is at the margins.

Really fascinating how you continually keep a blind eye to the defense and always attribute all losses to our offense. Mind-boggling.

[tbdog]

Remember when Pop used to draw plays for players instead of acting like he's drawing on the clipboard and telling Demar go 1-1?

He drawed up the play to get Demar the ball. I think he was hoping for a switch.

[tbdog]

Spurs gave up three 3s in a row that gave Houston all the momentum. It really feels like teams will get a good 3 point shot on us down the stretch.

[Dejounte]

That's true. I think Pop lost the game trying to play that closing lineup too much. Murray, DeRozan, Aldridge and this year's Mills are way too many ball-dominant guys on the court to make consistently good offense. Hell, Johnson in this game was also just running at the basket whenever he had a chance. That Pop called a timeout only to draw up a stupid DeRozan iso was terrible. It just shows how thin the team is at the margins.

USG% tonight:

1. Lonnie Walker - 29.6%
2. Keldon Johnson - 27.2%
3. DeMar DeRozan - 20.9%
4. LaMarcus Aldridge - 19.8%
5. Patty Mills - 17.5%
6. Dejounte Murray - 17.4%
7. Rudy Gay - 17.1%
8/9. Devin and Poetl - 12.6%

https://www.nba.com/game/hou-vs-sas-0022000176/box-score#box-score

NBA Average is 20%

LaMarcus ranks #53 in usage among all NBA players with an average of 23.7%
DeMar ranks #59 in usage among all NBA players with an average of 23.3%
Dejounte ranks #67 in usage among all NBA players with an average of 22.8%
Patty ranks #88 in usage among all NBA players with an average of 20.5%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2021_advanced.html#advanced_stats::usg_pct

The Spurs are the only team next to the Raptors without a player averaging 25+% USG from any of its rotational players.

The ball is being shared evenly among players, better than 90% of the entire NBA. This stat could even go lower if DeMar didn't take it upon himself to be the closer in games.

For additional comparison, if we look at any of the currently decent teams without a "true star" like us, for example the Pacers-- they have three guys above 24%: Sabonis, Brogdon, and Oladipo at 27%. For a team without an established star, the Spurs are sharing the ball as well as any team could have. For a team with "ex-stars" in Aldridge, DeMar... that's impressive.

[CGD]

How does you starting center on grab 2 rebounds?

[Dejounte]

How does you starting center on grab 2 rebounds?

Because LMA is slow to rotate and nobody boxes out (Houston had 13 box outs compared to Spurs' 5).

https://www.nba.com/game/hou-vs-sas-0022000176/box-score#box-score

[Ice009]

Man, just watched the game. I can't believe we lost. Spurs defense is trash giving up too many threes.

Also, why is Mills always out there? He's a sieve on the defensive side of the ball. Chuck, chuck, chuck and poor defense is what he usually gives. If he's not on that night, I don't think he should be playing in the 4th quarter closing the games.

What is the strategy with Mills? If he's allowed to keep chucking and puts up 6th man of the year numbers on offense while playing poor defense, are the Spurs actually planning on paying him? That money needs to be saved for the youth and/or better free agents. I sure as hell hope the Spurs aren't planning on paying him if his offensive numbers look good at the end of the season.

[Dejounte]

Man, just watched the game. I can't believe we lost. Spurs defense is trash giving up too many threes.

Also, why is Mills always out there? He's a sieve on the defensive side of the ball. Chuck, chuck, chuck and poor defense is what he usually gives. If he's not on that night, I don't think he should be playing in the 4th quarter closing the games.

Part of me thinks it's to raise his trade value.

[Ice009]

Part of me thinks it's to raise his trade value.

Thanks for the reply. I just did an edit asking what you guys think is the Spurs strategy with Mills. You don't think the Spurs would be stupid enough to pay him big money if he ends up putting up 6th man of the year numbers on offense, do you? If they're looking to trade him, then I don't mind him chucking, but if not, they better not be looking to pay him in the off-season.

[Dejounte]

Thanks for the reply. I just did an edit asking what you guys think is the Spurs strategy with Mills. You don't think the Spurs would be stupid enough to pay him big money if he ends up putting up 6th man of the year numbers on offense, do you? If they're looking to trade him, then I don't mind him chucking, but if not, they better not be looking to pay him in the off-season.

The Spurs seem high on Tre Jones and that indicates to me that he's the successor to Mills. I don't see a scenario where both are on the team long-term. Doesn't make sense to have two midgets on the team. The Spurs usually have just one.

[Ice009]

The Spurs seem high on Tre Jones and that indicates to me that he's the successor to Mills. I don't see a scenario where both are on the team long-term. Doesn't make sense to have two midgets on the team. The Spurs usually have just one.

So you definitely think they are showcasing him? The other thing that makes me worried is that the TNT commentators were saying that Pop was talking very highly of Patty's play this season. That doesn't sound like Pop is looking/wants to trade him. I'd love it if he was gone and would rather play the more defensive minded player such as Tre Jones right now. Vassell also needs more playing time IMO. Spurs defense is pretty porous.

[Dejounte]

So you definitely think they are showcasing him? The other thing that makes me worried is that the TNT commentators were saying that Pop was talking very highly of Patty's play this season. That doesn't sound like Pop is looking/wants to trade him. I'd love it if he was gone and would rather play the more defensive minded player such as Tre Jones right now. Vassell also needs more playing time IMO. Spurs defense is pretty porous.

How else would you get other teams' attention?

It's car salesman 101.

[lebomb]

Game should have finished with LA, Demar, Murray, Keldon, and Walker. Drive to the bucket and get a foul minimum.

Spurs will get better once White returns. He is that solid controller of the team IMHO.

[Ice009]

How else would you get other teams' attention?

It's car salesman 101.

Yeah, true. I hope you are right.


Game should have finished with LA, Demar, Murray, Keldon, and Walker. Drive to the bucket and get a foul minimum.

Spurs will get better once White returns. He is that solid controller of the team IMHO.

I would have much preferred that closing line-up to playing Mills. Pop loves playing Mills all the time.

I'm not thinking about White at all. He's not playing right now, so we have to look at the guys who are here now and what they can do to help/contribute to getting wins.

[RC_Drunkford]

Is there something wrong with the AT&T Center rims? We consistently shoot like crap at home even when we get wide open looks

sure that's why all the other teams low % shooters hit 3s against us all the time :lmao

[Dex]

sure that's why all the other teams low % shooters hit 3s against us all the time :lmao

:lol

It's really weird though. To your point, other teams shoot lights out in our gym but our guys can't hit the broadside of a barn.

[RC_Drunkford]

:lol

It's really weird though. To your point, other teams shoot lights out in our gym but our guys can't hit the broadside of a barn.

maybe a lot of players on our time are just garbage?

[Dex]

maybe a lot of players on our time are just garbage?

They've played well enough on the road....5-2 on the road, 1-4 at home.

[RC_Drunkford]

They've played well enough on the road....5-2 on the road, 1-4 at home.

the entire NBA has a better road than home record. And it's definitely not the rims that are a result of that

[ace3g]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EryJbOWXYAA-M2w?format=jpg&name=large

[Dejounte]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EryJbOWXYAA-M2w?format=jpg&name=large


:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin: rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin

[PhantomDashCam]

https://twitter.com/shaqtin/status/1349757072754307073?s=20

[Sugus]

So where's my crown Sugus?

:worthy: :king

As soon I saw DD was coming back, I knew my prediction was way off :lol glad I missed this game

[Sugus]

this loss is on the vets. Keldon, Lonnie, DJ and Vassell all played great. Meanwhile the vets had to much Chucky Cheese and threw up bricks. I'm not even blaming DeRozan for that miss, it should've never gotten to the point where we need to tie it up to go OT. This should've been a blow out. Flopovich deserves some blame as well for playing 50 Mills instead of Walker. Play Lonnie in the 4th and we win this. Totally expected this to happen though. Typical Flopovich coaching. Some people said he's the best motivator in the league :lol

Looks like this was a pretty good game, tbh. Youngings show out, vets keep showing they're not worth keeping/resigning, another L for the tanking effort. It's been a pretty good season thus far :clap

[duncan2k5]

So you definitely think they are showcasing him? The other thing that makes me worried is that the TNT commentators were saying that Pop was talking very highly of Patty's play this season. That doesn't sound like Pop is looking/wants to trade him. I'd love it if he was gone and would rather play the more defensive minded player such as Tre Jones right now. Vassell also needs more playing time IMO. Spurs defense is pretty porous.
We aren't trading mills...ppl have been speculating for YEARS that Pop plays mills and other players these minutes to boost trade value, and not one trade gas ever happened...pop is playing Mills because he thinks that's our best chance to win... unfortunately I think Pop is past basketball at this point

[Thomas82]

Typical "I know what everybody wants me to do and what I should be doing, but I'm going to do the exact opposite because my ego comes first" game from Pop. Smh.

This has become more and more common since 2018 IMO.

[Thomas82]

Aldridge broke pop when he made him shift the offense to passing to lma on every possession simply because he asked for a trade...then gave him an extension before that season even started...pop in his prime would have shipped him out for a bag of chips simply for having the audacity to demand a trade after playing like shit in the playoffs

Not to mention the fact that he asked for the trade after his team was in the Western Conference Finals, which is as far as he's ever been in the playoffs.

[Chinook]

Spurs' next 8 games:

Rockets
Blazers
Dubs
Mavs
Wiz
Pelicans
Celtics
Nuggets

I only see one potential win in there (Wiz) but even that could be dicey if the Wiz play better with Chuckbrook out. Perfect to ramp up the tank.

I mean, they'll win more than half of those games. They literally just beat two of the top teams in the conference. This loss was bad because every win counts in a shortened season, not because it proved SA sucks.

5-2 with the Pelicans game postponed. The Spurs pissed away gimme games, but they are not the bad team some folks want to believe they are.

[DAF86]

5-2 with the Pelicans game postponed. The Spurs pissed away gimme games, but they are not the bad team some folks want to believe they are.

They need to trade your guy before the rest of the league catches up to the fact that he's almost done, tbh.

[Robz4000]

5-2 with the Pelicans game postponed. The Spurs pissed away gimme games, but they are not the bad team some folks want to believe they are.

I'll eat crow tbh. They prolly lose in NO like usual and they got lucky with the Guests missing their second and third best players, but luck is part of the game.

[Chinook]

They need to trade your guy before the rest of the league catches up to the fact that he's almost done, tbh.

The team needs him. I don't care if so-and-so advanced stat says whatever. They clearly wouldn't be better if he weren't in the rotation. In the very least, he allows Poeltl to play off the bench, where Jakob seems way more effective. I don't know if you believe he had a bad offensive game tonight, but I think it's pretty clear Denver respected his shooting, and that spacing bent the defense to the benefit of the guards. Poeltl would not have been able to do that.

That said, Aldridge should've lost weight if he knew this was going to be his role. this year. He doesn't need his bulk to play in the post, and he needs the mobility on both sides of the ball. It's crazy that he looked so slimmed down during the bubble but blew back up by the time the season started like four months later. It's unideal, so maybe LMA will want a trade eventually, and you'll get your wish.

[DAF86]

The team needs him. I don't care if so-and-so advanced stat says whatever. They clearly wouldn't be better if he weren't in the rotation. In the very least, he allows Poeltl to play off the bench, where Jakob seems way more effective. I don't know if you believe he had a bad offensive game tonight, but I think it's pretty clear Denver respected his shooting, and that spacing bent the defense to the benefit of the guards. Poeltl would not have been able to do that.

That said, Aldridge should've lost weight if he knew this was going to be his role. this year. He doesn't need his bulk to play in the post, and he needs the mobility on both sides of the ball. It's crazy that he looked so slimmed down during the bubble but blew back up by the time the season started like four months later. It's unideal, so maybe LMA will want a trade eventually, and you'll get your wish.

I don't know if he will, but he's surely not happy with his current role. To be a 25 minutes per game spot up shooter, I'm sure he would much rather fill that role on a contender.

[Chinook]

I don't know if he will, but he's surely not happy with his current role. To be a 25 minutes per game spot up shooter, I'm sure he would much rather fill that role on a contender.

Young LMA would definitely not be. Old LMA might not want to move across the country in the middle of the season. He knows he's young enough to still have a couple of years to ring chase if that's his goal. I will say he seems to like his teammates more than he has at some points in his Spurs career. He might be okay with a trade, but he might be okay with playing it out too. We'll see. It definitely doesn't seem like he did everything he could to excel at his role, and to me that suggests he didn't think he was going to be doing this so much. Pop might bring him back into the paint later in the year if DeRozan and Murray continue to hit threes.

[Dejounte]

I see LMA smiling on the bench all fourth quarter. He aint unhappy. And I've seen unhappy faces from him when Kawhi was still here.

[RC_Drunkford]

Aldridge definitely gets a lot of blame here for being the only major free agent to ever sign with the Spurs while also doing everything they asked him to do. I think he's accepted his role and he said he's fine with finishing his career here. The team would just be much better with a mobile, 3-point shooting Center, but they are hard to come by