Grades: Spurs @ Cavaliers - Jan. 7, 2024

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/2024-spurs-cavaliers-grades-35/

[SouthernFryd]

I give the SPURS a lotta crap about their Defense and BBIQ...deservedly so, imho. lol

But, yesterday, I saw some of the best Pressure/trapping Defense I've ever seen in those last couple of minutes. Spurs were all over their shit, all the time. We still may not have the best BBIQ, but I've never said we weren't athletic. Those young, athletic legs were put to damn good use pressuring the ball at the end. Shocked the hell out of me...Cleveland too :)

Their announcers were like, "WTF??" haha.

Btw, I really liked Cleveland's announcers. Smart. I believe it was former Cleveland player Austin Carr? Guy is top notch. Thought I was listening to Sean.

[wildbill2u]

Osman tries hard and is sometimes all over the court---and that can be a problem when he leaves his man for an outside the arc doubleteam and the guy drills a wide open three. Compagnie is useless. Malaki is not consistent and still has much to learn on defense so he really isn't ready for anything but some garbage minutes. Ditto Wesley.

Move Barlow to PF permanently next to Wemby. Sochan needs to go to Austin for a while to learn how to play basketball.

[mudd]

Barlow and Westly improved their game in Austin. Its been fun watching them play. Sochan needs to learn how to play.

[rjv]

oddly enough, wesley may wind up having more potential than branham. also, it's highly unlikely that champagnie has any long term future with this team.

[The Truth #6]

I think Champagne is great...as like a 9th man. I wouldn't cut him. We just need more talent.

I agree that Blake may have a better outlook than Branham at this point, talk about a 180 from the end of last year, actually, even just in Summer league. If Branham had Blake's intensity he would be a whole different player. But Branham is trending towards Lonnie Walker vibes, which is a bummer.

[scott]

Problem with Champ is that there is no one who can take his place in the SL if you want Keldon coming off the bench. You can maybe make a case for Doug... but then our already shaky D will head straight into the dumpster fire. Dejounte is right that SF is the biggest immediate hole on the team. PG still needs to be upgraded, but we have passable player in Jones... we have no passable players at starting SF if you want Keldon off the bench.

[baseline bum]

Osman tries hard and is sometimes all over the court---and that can be a problem when he leaves his man for an outside the arc doubleteam and the guy drills a wide open three. Compagnie is useless. Malaki is not consistent and still has much to learn on defense so he really isn't ready for anything but some garbage minutes. Ditto Wesley.

Move Barlow to PF permanently next to Wemby. Sochan needs to go to Austin for a while to learn how to play basketball.

Disagree, Branham is very consistently dogshit. What's amazing is there is only one player in the league who has played 20+ games and has a worse defensive field goal percentage than Branham, and he's a rookie drafted in the second round playing less than 10 minutes a game for Milwaukee (namely, Andre Jackson). Branham is so much worse a defender statistically than he even looks by the eye test.

[baseline bum]

I think Champagne is great...as like a 9th man. I wouldn't cut him. We just need more talent.

I agree that Blake may have a better outlook than Branham at this point, talk about a 180 from the end of last year, actually, even just in Summer league. If Branham had Blake's intensity he would be a whole different player. But Branham is trending towards Lonnie Walker vibes, which is a bummer.

Trending towards Alfredrick Hughes vibes, half expect to hear about Malaki running his Benz up the embankment on 281 tbh

[NASpurs]

Problem with Champ is that there is no one who can take his place in the SL if you want Keldon coming off the bench. You can maybe make a case for Doug... but then our already shaky D will head straight into the dumpster fire. Dejounte (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=51342) is right that SF is the biggest immediate hole on the team. PG still needs to be upgraded, but we have passable player in Jones... we have no passable players at starting SF if you want Keldon off the bench.

We have one expensive, shitty ass bench . :lol

Our $20 mil per year SF needs to be benched because he's a liability in the starting lineup.

Great job PATFO!

[spurraider21]

oddly enough, wesley may wind up having more potential than branham. also, it's highly unlikely that champagnie has any long term future with this team.
he always had more potential. he was just seen as a boom/bust pick

[spurraider21]

I think Champagne is great...as like a 9th man. I wouldn't cut him. We just need more talent.

I agree that Blake may have a better outlook than Branham at this point, talk about a 180 from the end of last year, actually, even just in Summer league. If Branham had Blake's intensity he would be a whole different player. But Branham is trending towards Lonnie Walker vibes, which is a bummer.
branham's summer league performance was also disappointing as well. but wesley's was particularly bad since he just looked exactly the same as he did as a rookie. branham needs gleague time

[spurraider21]

We have one expensive, shitty ass bench . :lol

Our $20 mil per year SF needs to be benched because he's a liability in the starting lineup.

Great job PATFO!
excluding rookie scale deals, keldon is one of the better contracts in the league tbh. yes on this squad, the bench is the best place for him to be, but you arent finding his offensive production (which is reasonably efficient) for much cheaper

there are better contracts out there, including dejounte. but also brunson, mikal bridges, etc... but johnson's is a good one as well

[Chomag]

Sorry fellas but Sochan and Branhem are not NBA caliber players.

[Chomag]

Barlow is the better player then Sochan

[Dex]

Barlow is the better player then Sochan

Sochan breaks the flow because he is trying to do too much on every single play.

I'm all about effort and energy, but you also have to see the game and let things work out like they should.

Wemby was suffering from this in his early games too...trying to chase after opportunity...but he learned to dial it back.

[rjv]

he always had more potential. he was just seen as a boom/bust pick

agreed but what i should have been more clear about was that i think from this point in time, wesley is ascending whereas maliki has plateaued.

[baseline bum]

agreed but what i should have been more clear about was that i think from this point in time, wesley is ascending whereas maliki has plateaued.

Seems more like Wesley has flatlined but Branham is tanking like Enron stock.

[spurraider21]

Seems more like Wesley has flatlined but Branham is tanking like Enron stock.
Wesley's in a weird place. I think his defense is more mature right now.

Offensively he's less mistake prone but he's also just generally doing less. If he just made that pass to the trailing Wemby against the Bucks instead of getting chased down by Giannis...

[Mugen]

https://media.tenor.com/FyayP5TA0fwAAAAi/pedro-pascal.gif

[SpurSpike]

I didn't watch the game but from what iv heard the Spurs had a timeout left to advance the ball in the final seconds and for some reason the Spurs didn't use it. Surprised that is not considered when grading Pop as that is a pretty basic and obvious thing to do, is it not?

[Mugen]

I didn't watch the game but from what iv heard the Spurs had a timeout left to advance the ball in the final seconds and for some reason the Spurs didn't use it. Surprised that is not considered when grading Pop as that is a pretty basic and obvious thing to do, is it not?

:pop: that's not who we are

[baseline bum]

I didn't watch the game but from what iv heard the Spurs had a timeout left to advance the ball in the final seconds and for some reason the Spurs didn't use it. Surprised that is not considered when grading Pop as that is a pretty basic and obvious thing to do, is it not?

I don't think they could have advanced it because Tre Jones pushed the ball forward with possession to keep it from going out of bounds. Probably still should have taken the timeout as soon as it got to Sochan's hands but it still would have been an inbounds from 2/3 court away.

[LeBowen]

Wesley's in a weird place. I think his defense is more mature right now.

Offensively he's less mistake prone but he's also just generally doing less. If he just made that pass to the trailing Wemby against the Bucks instead of getting chased down by Giannis...

Wesley looks decent because we've got no other point of attack defender.
And we've got noone else who's that fast with the ball and can penetrate the defense.
Too bad that he's got almost no playmaking instincts and can't shoot, making him effectively useless if we're ever to be a serious team.

Right now we're grasping for straws and trying to see some positives in these charity cases.
Wemby and Devin are obviously legit NBA players.
Keldon can be a solid sprak off the bench with his energy, but can't be a starter on a serious team due to his atrocious defense.
Everyone else is somewhere between being a charity case (Collins, Tre) to being an actual detriment to the team (Branham).

[rjv]

Seems more like Wesley has flatlined but Branham is tanking like Enron stock.

i'd say that wesley was asystole but has a pulse now.

[CorrectCrusader]

oddly enough, wesley may wind up having more potential than branham. also, it's highly unlikely that champagnie has any long term future with this team.

His defense is legitimately great. Branham can't even shoot right now which makes him a nothing.

[spurraider21]

Wesley looks decent because we've got no other point of attack defender.
And we've got noone else who's that fast with the ball and can penetrate the defense.
Too bad that he's got almost no playmaking instincts and can't shoot, making him effectively useless if we're ever to be a serious team.

Right now we're grasping for straws and trying to see some positives in these charity cases.
Wemby and Devin are obviously legit NBA players.
Keldon can be a solid sprak off the bench with his energy, but can't be a starter on a serious team due to his atrocious defense.
Everyone else is somewhere between being a charity case (Collins, Tre) to being an actual detriment to the team (Branham).
i think right now the spurs roster has 7 legit NBA caliber players... wemby, vassell, keldon, collins, tre, osman, graham. considering graham is in the doghouse for whatever reason, we only have 6 in the rotation, one of whom is currently hurt

mcdermott used to be, but he looks spent

the rest are guys who simply havent proven they belong yet, with varying degrees of optimism that they will get there

[playbonner15]

Barlow and Wesley playing better this game. Hope Pop gives them more mins