Game Thread: Spurs vs. 76ers, 6pm CST, 1-24-22

[KingKev]

Edit: 1-23-22

- 76ers looking thin without Shake Milton, Seth Curry, Mattise Thybulle, Ben Simmons and that guy we included in the Kawhi trade as a throw in. Forget his name.

- Joel Embiid is averaging 45 and 13 in 32 minutes his last two games but tonight will be a true test as he goes up against elite NBA defending big man Jak Poetl. Collins back from assignment with Austin but listed as out - reconditioning

- My bookie has Philly favoured by 1.5, money line flirting with even money. If we can somehow contain Embiid this is a winnable game.

- New Spur addition Juancho Hernangomez should be extra motivated to show out vs Philly:

https://m.basketnews.com/news-164393-juancho-hernangomez-excited-to-join-the-spurs-shares-unusual-way-he-learned-about-getting-traded.html


Vamos!!

[John B]

Spurs Injuries: None
76ers Injuries: Matisse Thybulle - Out (Shoulder), Ben Simmons - Out (Trade Fever), Shake Milton - Questionable (Back), Seth Curry - Questionable (Ankle), Danny Green - Questionable (Hip)

Damn, Spurs are playing with a full roster! Collins could see minutes, but I expect Juancho to play also and see what he got. This is a winnable game if Poeltl plays hard vs Embiid. Pop should keep putting different looks on Embiid, Poeltl, Landale, Eubanks, Collins, KBD. Just make him have different looks, make him work hard. I rather they play him straight and not double team him, because he will find the open man like the last time. This game is winnable. Spurs by 6pts :flag::flag::flag:

[BatManu20]

Sixers missing half their team + Spurs at full strength = spurs victory tbh.

[BatManu20]

Sixers coming off a loss where they blew a 25-point lead to the clips too.

[John B]

Sixers coming off a loss where they blew a 25-point lead to the clips too.

They’re riding Embiid to the ground, and wasting his chance on a ring. That Morey is an idiot with his personal agenda. If I were Embiid, I’d ask to get traded to a team with competent GM who would do all to win.

[Leetonidas]

Embiid is going to take a wet shit on Poeltl as he is the worst matchup for Poeltl in the entire league. If Spurs can contain the role players they have a shot

[LeBowen]

Over/under for Jakob's second foul...I'm thinking like 4 minutes? :lol

Idk, it's about time for another decent win, but with that being said we'll probably lose by 15.

[Fireball]

yeah Poeltl is a great help defender but 1on1 Embiid will destroy him like he does most other centers ... no shame in that

[slick'81]

Sixers missing half their team + Spurs at full strength = spurs victory tbh.


Nostradamus has spoken

[RC_Drunkford]

Sixers missing half their team + Spurs at full strength = spurs victory tbh.

you are trolling at this point

[8sy21vd]

yeah Poeltl is a great help defender but 1on1 Embiid will destroy him like he does most other centers ... no shame in that

Totally agreed. He really struggles 1-on-1 against just competent scorers, even the corpse of Blake Griffin was owning him last game. Overall a net positive as a player and he's really improved his shooting touch but with his limitations, it would be nice to have a legit stretch 4 that can create offense, can create for others a bit, and play decent D. I think Poetl would greatly benefit from that.

[8sy21vd]

Winnable game. SA can compete with anybody but when winning time comes, they don't have the firepower on offense to get over the hump against the good teams. One volume scorer away from from being a lower level (6-8 seed) po team.

[BatManu20]

The return of Kevin McHale 2.0 will rejuvenate this team and lead them to victory.

1485004063775371265

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJv29QKakAAqsjN?format=jpg&name=medium

[Robz4000]

Sixers by 10. Embiid might go for 60 tbh.

[KingKev]

The return of Kevin McHale 2.0 will rejuvenate this team and lead them to victory.

1485004063775371265

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJv29QKakAAqsjN?format=jpg&name=medium

He’s been recalled but is out for reconditioning.

[BatManu20]

He’s been recalled but is out for reconditioning.

His energy from the sideline then lol

[BatManu20]

The ego on this loser :lol


1484716604789243905

[NASpurs]

Gunning for that top five pick baby.

[heyheymymy]

:flag:

[slick'81]

Big bad spurs coming for you phili

[Barfunk]

Where's Benito Summons lol

[PhantomDashCam]

With the NBA always looking to get young talent involved in All-Star game activities, would be hilarious if KJ gets invited to the 3PT shootout after guys like Bertans and Forbes have been passed over before. Feels like it could be a legit possibility though…

[Barfunk]

Derrick in clank mode

[itzsoweezee]

Watching for Murray's supposed stat-padding rebounds :spin

None so far hmmm . . .

[Degoat]

Emiid is jakobs daddy, jakob cant do shit against him

[itzsoweezee]

Emiid is jakobs daddy, jakob cant do shit against him

Just like the rest of the league

[KingKev]

With the NBA always looking to get young talent involved in All-Star game activities, would be hilarious if KJ gets invited to the 3PT shootout after guys like Bertans and Forbes have been passed over before. Feels like it could be a legit possibility though…

Keldon would get washed. No way he gets invited. Not enough volume behind that %

[PhantomDashCam]

Keldon would get washed. No way he gets invited. Not enough volume behind that %

Lots of guys have competed before who had no real shot at winning. KJ would fit into that group.

[gambit1990]

i'm also going with philly.

[XDT76]

Emiid is jakobs daddy, jakob cant do shit against him

Unable to watch the game but with Embiid shooting sub 30 seems like the Spurs did a good job on him.

[Dejounte]

Playing Eubanks was a headscratcher at first, but IMO, I think they’ve settled on Landale being part of the future and playing Eubanks now is more of a plan to rebuild any trade value he had left before the deadline comes. I don’t think Pop is trying hard to win anymore, and is thinking long term with the roster now.

[slick'81]

What a shitty end to the quarter

[RC_Drunkford]

Playing Eubanks was a headscratcher at first, but IMO, I think they’ve settled on Landale being part of the future and playing Eubanks now is more of a plan to rebuild any trade value he had left before the deadline comes. I don’t think Pop is trying hard to win anymore, and is thinking long term with the roster now.

same thing I was thinking

[slick'81]

God spurs are listless af

[Dejounte]

Lonnie and that turnover and then standing around while they get the rebound after the couple misses

does Lonnie even want to be an NBA player?

that was one of the most pathetic things ive seen all year… next to Luka giving up on that play during preseason

[Degoat]

Boy we suck

[PhantomDashCam]

When White is playing soft on O and Lonnie is in space cadet mode, might be the biggest Beta backcourt in the NBA.

[KingKev]

Playing Eubanks was a headscratcher at first, but IMO, I think they’ve settled on Landale being part of the future and playing Eubanks now is more of a plan to rebuild any trade value he had left before the deadline comes. I don’t think Pop is trying hard to win anymore, and is thinking long term with the roster now.

Eubanks never had any trade value lol. They are probably going to give him some opportunities to prove why they shouldn’t cut him in the coming months when they are likely forced to make tough decisions on roster count.

I agree Landale has solidified his spot at this point. 4th or 5th big.

[Dverde]

Poop gotta play Lonnie and White more this season so we can lock up that top 5 pick. Pathetic effort continues. It’s like the joy is gone away this game.

[ace3g]

Different game, same problems: can't finish at the rim and missing 3s...

[slick'81]

On ya head jakob

[slick'81]

Such shitty basketball right now

[Degoat]

This is with philly missing a big chunk of their rotational players....

[itzsoweezee]

Emiid is jakobs daddy, jakob cant do shit against him

Jakob dominating embiid lol

[GB20]

I really miss Tim Duncan. Timmy would be dominating this game.

[Degoat]

Jakob dominating embiid lol

Hes getting everything he wants out there, just missing right now

[slick'81]

I really miss Tim Duncan. Timmy would be dominating this game.

ewwvanks and diop not cutting it eh?!

[LeBowen]

Tbh, we keep trying to find excuses in individuals and coaching, but the truth is that this team just isn't good.
Some of them could be role players on serious playoff teams, but DJ is the only one who made actual progress over the past few seasons and is a legit player.

Everyone else is slightly above average at best, despite our emotional attachment and some fancy advanced stats.
*Too early to say in Devin's and obviously Primo's case.

[PhantomDashCam]

Hype Squad will get the 50 people in attendance psyched. Have to be better than what’s going on with the team atm

[RC_Drunkford]

Scored 30 points in 19 minutes :lmao

[itzsoweezee]

Biggest difference between how Murray's been playing lately and how Murray was playing early in the year is he's just atrocious in the paint nowadays. The guy gets to the rim pretty easily, but just like the rest of the Spurs can't finish around the rim.

[GB20]

ewwvanks and diop not cutting it eh?!
I don’t know how Eubanks is in the league.

[slick'81]

Poodle getting raped inside

[Dejounte]

Vassell has been clowned on defense twice in this game

[KingKev]

Lots of guys have competed before who had no real shot at winning. KJ would fit into that group.

He has no chance of making it. He is 72nd on made 3s. It’s almost always a combination of fg% and makes that get you in.

[slick'81]

:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin

[Dejounte]

Derrick SMH

[Degoat]

Heat of the moment but as good of a shooter as Dougie is, he isnt very good at shooting lmao

[Dverde]

Any other coach not in their first year would be fired by now.

[slick'81]

Any other coach not in their first year would be fired by now.

at worst, one more season of pop

[RC_Drunkford]

I don’t know how Eubanks is in the league.

„He works hard and is a good teammate“ :pop:

[KingKev]

Tbh, we keep trying to find excuses in individuals and coaching, but the truth is that this team just isn't good.
Some of them could be role players on serious playoff teams, but DJ is the only one who made actual progress over the past few seasons and is a legit player.

Everyone else is slightly above average at best, despite our emotional attachment and some fancy advanced stats.
*Too early to say in Devin's and obviously Primo's case.

Oh man this is my exact line of thinking.

It’s crazy that people don’t see this. The problem with this board is it appears most only watch Spurs games, and some only follow box scores and hi-lites. Drew Eubanks looks great in the hi-lite reels. Eubanks and KBD are fringe NBA players while White, Jak and McDermott are average to solid role players.

Vassell, Primo and to a lesser extent Keldon still too early to tell but they aren’t anything to be overly optimistic about. The NBA is flush with young, high upside talent.

[slick'81]

When is bonner getting his number retired?!

[PhantomDashCam]

He has no chance of making it. He is 72nd on made 3s. It’s almost always a combination of fg% and makes that get you in.

Fair point. :tu

[slick'81]

Finally some energy coming out after the half

[XDT76]

Our players including DjM is at best average in handling. When they attack the rim there is always a defender in position forcing us to shoot those super high layups or floaters. Hope that Manu could help them improve on it.

[Dejounte]

Oh man this is my exact line of thinking.

It’s crazy that people don’t see this. The problem with this board is it appears most only watch Spurs games, and some only follow box scores and hi-lites. Drew Eubanks looks great in the hi-lite reels. Eubanks and KBD are fringe NBA players while White, Jak and McDermott are average to solid role players.

Vassell, Primo and to a lesser extent Keldon still too early to tell but they aren’t anything to be overly optimistic about. The NBA is flush with young, high upside talent.

”flush with young, high upside talent” just isn’t true. Ignoring teams not in the re-build, there are one, maybe two teams with maybe more young talent than the Spurs.

every other rebuilding team is just like the Spurs: one great young player (Murray) in place, and then 2-3 wait and see players.

Rockets don’t have that one great player. Jalen Green is trash and no one else is realistically turning into a worthy All Star one day. If you ignore the “fresh new car smell” from all their rookies, they’re all actually pretty average.

Thunder have no one that is that promising after SGA. Giddey is nice and I like him, but is he really that much more exciting than our 2-3 “wait and see” guys?

I think the Bobcats are in the same spot as us with LaMelo and Bridges.

I give you the Cavs and the TWolves, but that’s pretty much it. The Spurs catch up pretty quickly after this summer with a good pick in the draft.

Wizards have nobody.

Detroit have Cade and that’s it.

Pacers have nobody.

Who on the Magic is turning into a star? Love Franz and maybe he has an outside shot, but that’s it.

SAC is a dumpster. Rumor is they want to trade away Haliburton. Mitchell is a defense guy.

i think the tendency is people overrate the guys on other teams because they aren’t the Spurs.

[slick'81]

Welcome to the nba jock

[PhantomDashCam]

‘In other games…

https://twitter.com/austin_spurs/status/1485420913734656005?s=20

[KingKev]

”flush with young, high upside talent” just isn’t true. Ignoring teams not in the re-build, there are one, maybe two teams with maybe more young talent than the Spurs.

every other rebuilding team is just like the Spurs: one great young player (Murray) in place, and then 2-3 wait and see players.

Rockets don’t have that one great player. Jalen Green is trash and no one else is realistically turning into a worthy All Star one day. If you ignore the “fresh new car smell” from all their rookies, they’re all actually pretty average.

Thunder have no one that is that promising after SGA. Giddey is nice and I like him, but is he really that much more exciting than our 2-3 “wait and see” guys?

I think the Bobcats are in the same spot as us with LaMelo and Bridges.

I give you the Cavs and the TWolves, but that’s pretty much it. The Spurs catch up pretty quickly after this summer with a good pick in the draft.

Wizards have nobody.

Detroit have Cade and that’s it.

Pacers have nobody.

Who on the Magic is turning into a star? Love Franz and maybe he has an outside shot, but that’s it.

SAC is a dumpster. Rumor is they want to trade away Haliburton. Mitchell is a defense guy.

i think the tendency is people overrate the guys on other teams because they aren’t the Spurs.

Oh man c’mon.

The Hornets duo of Bridges and Lamello is much better than anything we have.

Orlando absolutely has more young talent than we do

Sac has been pretty vocal Haliburton and Fox are future building blocks and un likely to he traded and again more talented than any duo we have.

Bulls have guys like Ayo, Williams.

All I’m arguing is alot of the NBA has 2-3 solid young players with upside and the likes of Vassell, Primo and Johnson are nothing to be overly excited about.

[slick'81]

Devin getting away with the push off

[RC_Drunkford]

If the Spurs get a top 5 pick they should be fine tbh

[slick'81]

If the Spurs get a top 5 pick they should be fine tbh

we're all praying

[Dejounte]

Oh man c’mon.

The Hornets duo of Bridges and Lamello is much better than anything we have.

Orlando absolutely has more young talent than we do

Sac has been pretty vocal Haliburton and Fox are future building blocks and un likely to he traded and again more talented than any duo we have.

Bulls have guys like Ayo, Williams.

All I’m arguing is alot of the NBA has 2-3 solid young players with upside and the likes of Vassell, Primo and Johnson are nothing to be overly excited about.

Bridges isn’t as impressive as you think he is.

Saying Orlando has more young talent we do is vague as hell and if they did, they would be winning more games than us. They’re in the same cycle as the Thunder of collecting a group of guys who aren’t amounting to much because they’re hot garbage. You just think they do because they drafted high the years prior. The truth is, a couple years from now they’re still going to be in the same spot except they probably drafted OTHER guys because the current group hasn’t amount to much. It’s very convenient for folks to forget all this high upside young talent a few years later like amnesia.

Ayo, Williams? Are you fucking kidding me? Are you just reading a list or something and assuming they’re good?

Fox hasn’t done shit for years and Murray is better than both. Again, those two don’t look like they’re leading that team anywhere unless they keep drafting players and get lucky (which means the same position as us)

And all I’m arguing is while you may be right about the current young Spurs, you’re absolutely wrong about the guys on other teams.

[slick'81]

Do the spurs have one push left?!

[offset formation]

Poelt's stroke at the FT line looking as good as it ever has. I'd like to see him turn into a player with a standard form jumpshot than that atrocious push shot

[Elementis]

and Poeltl currently has the best FT% of spurs in the game. error in the matrix..

[KingKev]

If the Spurs get a top 5 pick they should be fine tbh

We are still set up for a bright future with cap space, no bad long term contracts (White/McDermott are your worst) so yeah a couple years in the high lottery and some luck in trades/free agency and we will be back to playoff contention but it’ll likely take more than 1 high draft pick.

I’m not arguing against Vassell/Keldon/Primo I’m more refuting that many posters on this board think our current roster just needs to develop for us to get back to being a solid team and I don’t agree with that.

[slick'81]

Here comes Dejounte's stat padding :rollin

[PhantomDashCam]

A little Klutch on Klutch pushing…

[offset formation]

Do the spurs have one push left?!

Embiid not in game. They're also missing their 2nd and 4th best player and a couple bench guys. And we've been down by double digits most of the game. And we're not even playing our rooks. We're actually trying to win.

[RC_Drunkford]

You can tell DJ has figured out how to save enough energy to take over in the 4th

[KingKev]

Embiid not in game. They're also missing their 3rd best player and a couple bench guys. And we've been down by double digits most of the game. And we're not even playing our rooks. We're actually trying to win.

Our only rookie is Landale.

[offset formation]

Primo. Jones (2nd). Weiskamp. Juancho (remember the he could be a good player for us folks)

I'd much rather see them getting 20+ minutes than this nonsense.

[slick'81]

Embiid not in game. They're also missing their 2nd and 4th best player and a couple bench guys. And we've been down by double digits most of the game. And we're not even playing our rooks. We're actually trying to win.

yup,spurs been trying to "win" all season

[KingKev]

Primo. Jones (2nd). Weiskamp.

I'd much rather see them getting 20+ minutes than this nonsense.

Primo and Weiskamp are in Austin so Landale is the only rookie avail.

[Barfunk]

We can't get over the Trump

[slick'81]

Murray with some nice passing

[r0drig0lac]

nice game for Poetl.

[PhantomDashCam]

Jakob has been the second best player on the court today. Unfortunately his direct opponent is numero uno and an MVP candidate.

[offset formation]

Primo and Weiskamp are in Austin so Landale is the only rookie avail.

Precisely. Why are they there? Were 12 games under. 500

Maybe now you're picking up what I'm putting down.

[slick'81]

Here come the sours

[Barfunk]

Was hoping we would at least be good at home this year.

[slick'81]

Winnable game vs the rockets upcoming

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs need all the Ls they can get

[slick'81]

Uh oh

[slick'81]

Spurs only down 4 with the ball:dramaquee

[Barfunk]

Fuck it, just go for a 3 straight away.

[KingKev]

Jak played that well. Nothing more he coulda done.

[Barfunk]

Awful possession

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs down 4. 14 secs left. Pop calls 2 timeouts :lol
I bet they gon shoot a 2

[slick'81]

(17-30) 13th in the western conference

[slick'81]

Bring on the rockets

[FutureMan]

Can’t believe White grabbed that one rebound. Could’ve been 3 triple doubles in a row for Murray.

[TimDunkem]

Spurs are straight up embarrassing in these situations now. Every end of the game possession in these games always end up in a turnover or bad shot. :lol

[Chomag]

Pop's designed plays out of time outs never disappoint me out of a good chuckle

[KingKev]

Bring on the rockets

tough schedule after rockets. Grizz, Bulls, Suns, Warriors and Heat.

[offset formation]

Jak played that well. Nothing more he coulda done.

Yup. Imo, his best game as a Spur...except for the fact Embiid dominated him once he started playing from 2nd quarter on. I like Poeltl's improvement though on his FT form. Very encouraging for the development of an actual jumpshot out to 15-17 feet, which would make him deadly.

[RC_Drunkford]

Perfect outcome. Need to loose all the games against the Rockets to further improve our draft position. We‘re not far from being 15th in the west

[offset formation]

tough schedule after rockets. Grizz, Bulls, Suns, Warriors and Heat.

Bulls are without most everyone besides DeRozan for like 2 months now. That one should be a very easy W tbh. They're going to start dropping like a lead weight in the standings given the injuries.

[KingKev]

Perfect outcome. Need to loose all the games against the Rockets to further improve our draft position. We‘re not far from being 15th in the west

We’ll get them 2 more times in the next 2 weeks. Rockets have shown some glimpses recently so very losable games for us given how bad we have been playing.

[offset formation]

Perfect outcome. Need to loose all the games against the Rockets to further improve our draft position. We‘re not far from being 15th in the west

Yes perfect outcome, but not perfect game. We need to be losing but getting better simultaneously. Our youngest players need run against NBA talent. You learn a lot from them in these situations. And they develop against their peers not 2nd level talent.

[KingKev]

Bulls are without most everyone besides DeRozan for like 2 months now. That one should be a very easy W tbh. They're going to start dropping like a lead weight in the standings given the injuries.

Lavine is likely back next week so its really just Caruso/Ball for 6-8 weeks.

[offset formation]

Lavine is likely back next week so its really just Caruso/Ball for 6-8 weeks.

Undoubtedly minute restricted though and not as explosive as normal.

[offset formation]

Lavine is likely back next week so its really just Caruso/Ball for 6-8 weeks.

Undoubtedly minute restricted though and not as explosive as normal.

[BackHome]

Perfect outcome. Need to loose all the games against the Rockets to further improve our draft position. We‘re not far from being 15th in the west

Now We Cooking...:)

[BackHome]

We are still set up for a bright future with cap space, no bad long term contracts (White/McDermott are your worst) so yeah a couple years in the high lottery and some luck in trades/free agency and we will be back to playoff contention but it’ll likely take more than 1 high draft pick.

I’m not arguing against Vassell/Keldon/Primo I’m more refuting that many posters on this board think our current roster just needs to develop for us to get back to being a solid team and I don’t agree with that.

I agree that is why I am not going to Spazz when our next high draft pick is in G League we really need to get a top 7 in this draft and next years draft to get us where we want.

[KingKev]

Undoubtedly minute restricted though and not as explosive as normal.

Sixers were without 4 of their top 8 players tonight. There is no such thing as an easy win for us this year. We’ve lost to really bad and depleted teams multiple times.

[boutons_deux]

Spurs hit 62 points in the second half

A strong 32 points in the fourth quarter and still lose

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

choo choo

:lma :lma

[BatManu20]

Yea Bulls are losing lots of games now with all these injuries. Spurs prob win that one tbh.

[BatManu20]

Good loss tonight though. :flag:

[John B]

I think Spurs could’ve won with better shooting. Keldon is shooting great at 3 leading the league, but the rest of the guys are not. Spurs attempted 10/30, and just converted 68% at FT, while the Sixers sank 87% which was the game. Kudos to Poeltl for showing up, and 6 players in double figures. McD is streaky but inconsistent. And Diop while playing great defense needs also to score for his 15 minutes or either Zollins/JHG is going to take those minutes.

[KingKev]

^ better shooting usually helps.

[John B]

^ better shooting usually helps.

Well that’s the ballgame. 30 3pt attempts was good. We were complaining before that they’re not shooting enough 3’s. They’re also going to the line more, including Murray. And even Poeltl is shooting better FT.