Robz4000
11-05-2021, 11:54 PM
The Story:
https://i.ibb.co/yPJVLJb/Nov5-boxscore.png
The Spurs arrived in Orlando on a two game losing streak, having lost 7 of 8, and being a lousy (depending on whether you're on the sniff or tank wagon) 2-6. However, one of said wins came against this Magic team at the start of the season. Lets be real: the Magic may be the worst team in the NBA and it doesn't help that they're missing their best player in Jonathan Isaac and other rotation players. Nonetheless the Spurs were playing their second game without Jakob Poeltl, arguably their most important player, so they couldn't afford to take anything for granted.
The first quarter started out as a back-and-forth affair with each team taking a lead at different points. Towards the end of the quarter Dejounte Murray hit a couple key shots to push the Spurs up by double digits. When he subbed out the offense became bogged down a bit through a combination of spirited defense by Orlando and poor execution by the bench unit. The quarter ended with the SPurs up 10.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same on offense with both teams struggling to score. The lead remained around 10 for a majority of the quarter with some sloppy turnovers by both teams mucking things up. The Spurs did enough to push their lead to 13 at the half.
At the start of the third quarter Derrick White hit a three and Orlando had a bad turnover that seemed to spell the game was about to be blown open, but a few key shots by the Magic reeled the Spurs back in a bit. However, much like the first half Orlando failed to generate consistent offense and the quarter passed much like the second with the Spurs up 10 entering the final stanza.
The fourth quarter ended up being the highest scoring quarter of the game. Early on it seemed as if the Spurs were going to put the game away after going up 14, but a few costly turnovers along with the Magic waking up from the three point line a bit pulled them within seven. Luckily, the Spurs were able to lean on the shot-creating abilities of Murray, White, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and surprisingly Thaddeus Young along with some stingy defense to generate easy points. By the final minutes of the game the Spurs were safely ahead and the Magic never seriously threatened again.
Some things I noticed during the game:
-Team never really seemed to get into an offensive rhythm thanks in part to good defense by Mo Bamba at the rim and the lack of offensive rebounds with Poeltl out, but it is concerning that the team seems to fall apart offensively when Murray heads to the bench.
-White doesn't look all that great physically, but I still feel like he positively impacts the game even when the boxscore doesn't show it.
-Mentioned it earlier in the beginning of the grades, but this team needs Poeltl badly. The dropoff in play on both ends without him is palpable.
-That being said, if Pop starts Young while Poeltl remains out and he can play like this the team will survive. The Magic are one of those few teams that starts two bigs together in today's NBA and the Spurs survived.
-Murray and White may be the best rebounding guard duo in the whole league. Never seen a pair who can fight amonst the trees for contested rebounds play after play like these two.
-Pop continues to play Brent Forms and Josh McDermott together and that needs to stop ASAP. It's happened a few times already this season where the two have played together and opposing offenses have woken up after strong defensive play all game. Luckily it didn't happen tonight.
Grades:
Dejounte Murray - A-
It's only nine games into the season but we've come to expect a certain level of play of him so far this season. Murray has been consistent and racking up rebounds, assists, and blocks/steals; however, don't look now but his three-point percentage is starting to come around. Tonight, Orlando didn't seem to get the message so they sagged off of him quite a bit. While Murray didn't make them pay from three he did hit a number of midrange shots, especially in the fourth quarter when the Magic made their comeback attempt. As noted earlier the team looks its best when Murray is orchestrating the offense and tonight was the same. The only knock from me was some poor ball-handling at times and two bad turnovers (two of onlly three in the game, mind you).
Derrick White - B-
While Derrick looks wonky physically and it leads to poor possessions, I thought he did a fine job to keep the Spurs on track. He hit a few timely shots in the guts of the game while being a steady playmaker. Defensively, he was sturdy in the pain and a beast on the boards. Unfortunately he did shoot poorly and had a few possessions ruined by hesitating. Hopefully as the season wears on his body gets into gear.
Keldon Johnson - B+
Big Body was all over the place tonight, using his body as a wrecking ball rushing into the paint to score or to crash the boards. His energy seemed to spread to the rest of the team, especially in the fourth quarter when it came time for the final push to put the game away. My only knock against him on this night was his hesitancy to shoot from three; he had a couple wide-open threes that he failed to take and instead opted to drive into the paint for more difficult shots.
Doug McDermott - C+
There were times early in the game where McDipshit seemed poised to have a big night, as he moved wel and put himself in position for easy buckets. However, as the contest wore on it became apparent he didn't have his legs under him as he failed to hit shots he'd normally make. With that on top of his pourous defense his upside was limited. Luckily, the Magic had to account for him at all times which opened up the floor for the youngins to do some damage.
Drew Eubanks - D+
Though Drew played hard and has the athleticism to play in the NBA, he just isn't a starting caliber bigman. Ewwbanks was overwhelmed by Orlando's bigs and was often too slow to defend out on the perimeter. He was ineffective against Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr offensively as well. We've seen him play well in limited minutes off the bench but it definitely would've been nice to see the Aussie Jock Landale get some burn in Drew's place.
Lonnie Walker IV - D
Quiet night for Lonnie, which shouldn't be happening for him in a contract year. He had a play in the first quarter where he sprinted to the rim from outside the three point line for a layup seemingly instantly, which many of us were hoping to be the beginning of a productive night for Walker. Unfortunately, he disappeared for the rest of the game. He's had his moments this season, but it's becoming worrisome that Lonnie still isn't mentally engaged game in-game out to make his impact felt.
Devin Vassell - A
I'm not sure where the ceiling on this kid is. It feels like each game he shows more and more of his athleticism and growing skillset. Whether its a silky stroke or a thunderous dunk, Vassell demonstrated a wide variety of moves in this contest. On defense he continues to be an absolute monster with his help defense and playing of the passing lanes; although he was only credited three steals I counted four other deflections that directly resulted in turnovers.
Thaddeus Young - A
Game ball tonight goes to Thaddeus Young. Without his gritty play on both ends the Spurs lose this game. He scored, he defended, he rebounded, and made great passes that resulted in easy buckets for his teammates. Before Young came here this Summer he was known league-wide for being one of, if not the best, backup bigs in the league and as his playing time increases its becoming more and more apparent this guy just knows how to play basketball. If he could shoot the three at any reasonable clip the dude would be a surefire starter. As for tonight the team was content to have him banging down low while focusing on wreaking havoc on defense.
Keita Bates-Diop - C
KBD provided a spark defensively but never really got it going on offense. For him to survive in this league he's going to need to provide something on that end. Tonight the team didn't need it but if he could've made Orlando account for him this game most likely is over early in the fourth quarter.
Tre Jones - Inc
Not a lot of burn tonight for Jones, but I did like the steady hand he provided to the team on both ends. He made his only shot but the spacing with him and KBD on the floor made things hard for the offense. The two of them make an intriguing defensive duo, however, so if either of them can develop a reliable shot the team really has a bright future with their bench defense.
Brent Forms - F
Played four minutes too many honestly. We've come to expect bad things when he sees the floor and he didn't disappoint. Made two bad rotations that resulted in open shots for the Magic and passed up an open three that seemingly irked Pop (:wow) and he never saw the floor again. Really should be more of an Inc for his grade but figured he was owed an F for past actions.
Pop - B-
Rotations made sense for the most part and he avoided playing Forms too much, but when he did he played him alongside McDermott. This team has loads of young guys on the roster who need playing time, some of whom (looking at you, Lonnie) that are already poor defenders. It makes no sense to play two guys who are known commodities that are some of the worst defenders in the league together. It's also frustrating that Pop has seemingly no idea the coach's challenge exists nor how to use it. I liked most of the plays he called and he did seem to have the team adjust from last game with the Mavs with Poeltl out as the team did much better rebounding. Would've been nice to see Jock get some burn tonight as well but that would be asking too much with Pop at the helm.
https://i.ibb.co/yPJVLJb/Nov5-boxscore.png
The Spurs arrived in Orlando on a two game losing streak, having lost 7 of 8, and being a lousy (depending on whether you're on the sniff or tank wagon) 2-6. However, one of said wins came against this Magic team at the start of the season. Lets be real: the Magic may be the worst team in the NBA and it doesn't help that they're missing their best player in Jonathan Isaac and other rotation players. Nonetheless the Spurs were playing their second game without Jakob Poeltl, arguably their most important player, so they couldn't afford to take anything for granted.
The first quarter started out as a back-and-forth affair with each team taking a lead at different points. Towards the end of the quarter Dejounte Murray hit a couple key shots to push the Spurs up by double digits. When he subbed out the offense became bogged down a bit through a combination of spirited defense by Orlando and poor execution by the bench unit. The quarter ended with the SPurs up 10.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same on offense with both teams struggling to score. The lead remained around 10 for a majority of the quarter with some sloppy turnovers by both teams mucking things up. The Spurs did enough to push their lead to 13 at the half.
At the start of the third quarter Derrick White hit a three and Orlando had a bad turnover that seemed to spell the game was about to be blown open, but a few key shots by the Magic reeled the Spurs back in a bit. However, much like the first half Orlando failed to generate consistent offense and the quarter passed much like the second with the Spurs up 10 entering the final stanza.
The fourth quarter ended up being the highest scoring quarter of the game. Early on it seemed as if the Spurs were going to put the game away after going up 14, but a few costly turnovers along with the Magic waking up from the three point line a bit pulled them within seven. Luckily, the Spurs were able to lean on the shot-creating abilities of Murray, White, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and surprisingly Thaddeus Young along with some stingy defense to generate easy points. By the final minutes of the game the Spurs were safely ahead and the Magic never seriously threatened again.
Some things I noticed during the game:
-Team never really seemed to get into an offensive rhythm thanks in part to good defense by Mo Bamba at the rim and the lack of offensive rebounds with Poeltl out, but it is concerning that the team seems to fall apart offensively when Murray heads to the bench.
-White doesn't look all that great physically, but I still feel like he positively impacts the game even when the boxscore doesn't show it.
-Mentioned it earlier in the beginning of the grades, but this team needs Poeltl badly. The dropoff in play on both ends without him is palpable.
-That being said, if Pop starts Young while Poeltl remains out and he can play like this the team will survive. The Magic are one of those few teams that starts two bigs together in today's NBA and the Spurs survived.
-Murray and White may be the best rebounding guard duo in the whole league. Never seen a pair who can fight amonst the trees for contested rebounds play after play like these two.
-Pop continues to play Brent Forms and Josh McDermott together and that needs to stop ASAP. It's happened a few times already this season where the two have played together and opposing offenses have woken up after strong defensive play all game. Luckily it didn't happen tonight.
Grades:
Dejounte Murray - A-
It's only nine games into the season but we've come to expect a certain level of play of him so far this season. Murray has been consistent and racking up rebounds, assists, and blocks/steals; however, don't look now but his three-point percentage is starting to come around. Tonight, Orlando didn't seem to get the message so they sagged off of him quite a bit. While Murray didn't make them pay from three he did hit a number of midrange shots, especially in the fourth quarter when the Magic made their comeback attempt. As noted earlier the team looks its best when Murray is orchestrating the offense and tonight was the same. The only knock from me was some poor ball-handling at times and two bad turnovers (two of onlly three in the game, mind you).
Derrick White - B-
While Derrick looks wonky physically and it leads to poor possessions, I thought he did a fine job to keep the Spurs on track. He hit a few timely shots in the guts of the game while being a steady playmaker. Defensively, he was sturdy in the pain and a beast on the boards. Unfortunately he did shoot poorly and had a few possessions ruined by hesitating. Hopefully as the season wears on his body gets into gear.
Keldon Johnson - B+
Big Body was all over the place tonight, using his body as a wrecking ball rushing into the paint to score or to crash the boards. His energy seemed to spread to the rest of the team, especially in the fourth quarter when it came time for the final push to put the game away. My only knock against him on this night was his hesitancy to shoot from three; he had a couple wide-open threes that he failed to take and instead opted to drive into the paint for more difficult shots.
Doug McDermott - C+
There were times early in the game where McDipshit seemed poised to have a big night, as he moved wel and put himself in position for easy buckets. However, as the contest wore on it became apparent he didn't have his legs under him as he failed to hit shots he'd normally make. With that on top of his pourous defense his upside was limited. Luckily, the Magic had to account for him at all times which opened up the floor for the youngins to do some damage.
Drew Eubanks - D+
Though Drew played hard and has the athleticism to play in the NBA, he just isn't a starting caliber bigman. Ewwbanks was overwhelmed by Orlando's bigs and was often too slow to defend out on the perimeter. He was ineffective against Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr offensively as well. We've seen him play well in limited minutes off the bench but it definitely would've been nice to see the Aussie Jock Landale get some burn in Drew's place.
Lonnie Walker IV - D
Quiet night for Lonnie, which shouldn't be happening for him in a contract year. He had a play in the first quarter where he sprinted to the rim from outside the three point line for a layup seemingly instantly, which many of us were hoping to be the beginning of a productive night for Walker. Unfortunately, he disappeared for the rest of the game. He's had his moments this season, but it's becoming worrisome that Lonnie still isn't mentally engaged game in-game out to make his impact felt.
Devin Vassell - A
I'm not sure where the ceiling on this kid is. It feels like each game he shows more and more of his athleticism and growing skillset. Whether its a silky stroke or a thunderous dunk, Vassell demonstrated a wide variety of moves in this contest. On defense he continues to be an absolute monster with his help defense and playing of the passing lanes; although he was only credited three steals I counted four other deflections that directly resulted in turnovers.
Thaddeus Young - A
Game ball tonight goes to Thaddeus Young. Without his gritty play on both ends the Spurs lose this game. He scored, he defended, he rebounded, and made great passes that resulted in easy buckets for his teammates. Before Young came here this Summer he was known league-wide for being one of, if not the best, backup bigs in the league and as his playing time increases its becoming more and more apparent this guy just knows how to play basketball. If he could shoot the three at any reasonable clip the dude would be a surefire starter. As for tonight the team was content to have him banging down low while focusing on wreaking havoc on defense.
Keita Bates-Diop - C
KBD provided a spark defensively but never really got it going on offense. For him to survive in this league he's going to need to provide something on that end. Tonight the team didn't need it but if he could've made Orlando account for him this game most likely is over early in the fourth quarter.
Tre Jones - Inc
Not a lot of burn tonight for Jones, but I did like the steady hand he provided to the team on both ends. He made his only shot but the spacing with him and KBD on the floor made things hard for the offense. The two of them make an intriguing defensive duo, however, so if either of them can develop a reliable shot the team really has a bright future with their bench defense.
Brent Forms - F
Played four minutes too many honestly. We've come to expect bad things when he sees the floor and he didn't disappoint. Made two bad rotations that resulted in open shots for the Magic and passed up an open three that seemingly irked Pop (:wow) and he never saw the floor again. Really should be more of an Inc for his grade but figured he was owed an F for past actions.
Pop - B-
Rotations made sense for the most part and he avoided playing Forms too much, but when he did he played him alongside McDermott. This team has loads of young guys on the roster who need playing time, some of whom (looking at you, Lonnie) that are already poor defenders. It makes no sense to play two guys who are known commodities that are some of the worst defenders in the league together. It's also frustrating that Pop has seemingly no idea the coach's challenge exists nor how to use it. I liked most of the plays he called and he did seem to have the team adjust from last game with the Mavs with Poeltl out as the team did much better rebounding. Would've been nice to see Jock get some burn tonight as well but that would be asking too much with Pop at the helm.