Grades: Spurs @ Thunder - Oct. 30, 2024

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-spurs-thunder-2025-game-4/

[benefactor]

Tipoff

OKC plays with their food for 48 minutes

Final buzzer

[Fireball]

The defense is really the only good thing to take away from this game. Getting lots of shot clock violations even with SGA on the floor is not easy but the Spurs did it. Sadly they still treat Dort as if he was the player from 2 years ago.

I think Wemby should not play against the Jazz. They say he was sick and he still looks as if his body cannot bring 100%. That rolled ankle also might need some rest, although it seems Wemby's ankles are quite elastic.

Thanks for the grades

[sananspursfan21]

4 games is a small sample size but this team looks almost identical to last year. A little better defense but otherwise an exact replica. I know it’s gotta be hard for Wemby surrounded by brickers, but he’s gotta at least try something. I hope there’s a good explanation because that was pitiful.

[Ice009]

Yeah, I agree with with pretty much all you guys said. The Thunder did play good defense as they seem to be a top notch defensive team, and also the Spurs played defense too, but just can't shoot or generate enough offense.

Much more rational grades that what some of us fans would have given.

[Brazil]

Tipoff

OKC plays with their food for 48 minutes

Final buzzer

:lol solid sumup tbh

[polandprzem]

Yes, the Thunder are the best defensive team in the NBA right now but Pop has to do a better job of getting Wembanyama the ball in advantageous areas. The Spurs had too many possessions tonight where it appeared as if there was no plan of attack. Some of that has to be on the coaching


So idk - I mean he was there on the court but OKC were in a mission to not give him good positions and they achieved that pretty easily. He was not much of a competitor there. And it's uncommon in superstars. He is yet to show it.

[Davidicus]

We missed Vassell last night. With Paul and Barnes additions, we (myself included) maybe thought we’d be alright without him. I’m now remembering how much we relied on Vassell to create offense when Vic wasn’t in the zone.

Speaking of, everyone’s gonna have to power through this Victor situation. Hes obviously thinking too hard. Call it a sophomore slump. I think he expects himself to get better year 2 so he’s trying way too hard to make that happen, and getting awful results. It’s common for any first-time (rookie) situation, basketball or otherwise, to be in the moment first go-around, and then round 2 overthink it.

I like everyone else wish he’d get closer to the basket when receiving the ball. We tried a lot of that last night and he got swamped inside, and our wings couldn’t bail him out. As he gets stronger, and more importantly he works through failures, he’ll figure out what works best. Let’s all stay calm and buckle up for the bumpy ride tbh.

[John B]

With 22 TO’s and OKC hitting hot from downtown, the Spurs only lost by 12 points and were in striking distance for most of the game. The Spurs actually never gave up despite Wemby not having a great game. There were actually some good defensive stretches from our guys, and that was a very good thing. They just can’t string shots together. Again it has a lot to do with Devin not playing imo.

Champ needs to keep shooting. They cannot afford him only taking 5 attempts with 3 pts for the game! F

I hope Wemby was feeling okay. He seemed not to be himself last night. Here’s hoping he plays and shakes it off against the Jazz tonight. That CP3/Wemby needs more work. Wemby has to continue cutting and fighting for positions. CP3 is too good not to find him if Wemby is open for a lob pass or sealed his man down low. BUT again the guys around him needs to hit their outside shots to get him open. I like Sochan’s game, but if Wemby is going to get open , Sochan, Champ need to be torching their outside shots. It’s that simple.

That brings us to Sochan. His efforts are commendable. He’s fighting every possession, crashing the board and playing great D. BUT, with him not hitting his outside shots, is Sochan a good fit next to Wemby??? Our main guy is Wemby. Wemby really needs shooters around him to open him up and not get doubled/tripled team when he’s cutting. His teammates need to punish their defenders EVERY TIME Wemby gets crowded, simple. Don’t get me wrong. Sochan is playing great, but I question the fit with Wemby if Sochan is not hitting his outside shots.

[DaBears]

Biggest issue i see is through 4 games, Shooting, this team in the starting lineup has NO scorers(shooters) every team we've faced thus far as at least 3 starters who are shooters. Each of those teams are playoff teams so what does that tell you.
In addition Bench needs help they have no scoring guards maybe 1 person.. Blake Wesley cannot shoot to save his life... Outside of VW defense i am not sure anyone else is playing any D at least guarding the 3. Dont get me started on Keldon Johnson what has happened to that guy, he is not a shooter but he seems to be MIA thus far in the early season.

[spursparker9]

It feels like OKC is only playing at half strength. Their HC even sneak in some load management. He knew no way that Spurs will post a threat of winning the game at any point.

[TheChillFactor]

We simply don't have enough talent on this team. We need another good player. Sochan looks better at times but he isn't more than a 5th starter on a good team.

We need Vassell back, give Castle time to learn and get another good player.

And let's be honest if Wemby had played to the level we all expected before the season we'd be 2-2 or 3-1 right now. We will never win games when he plays like this. Hopefully he gets well soon.

[MultiTroll]

Chris Pauls defense was ass on too many possessions.

Gets blown by / stands in a zone leaving the trey shooter wide open.

[z0sa]

Wemby takes 0 shots in the second half. Deserved an F, I agree. But Pop doesn't as well? The days of the sniffer are behind us at this point. I strongly disagree Pop deserves anything resembling passing at this point. If your superstar doesn't take a shot in 12 minutes of play, it's on you as a coach, squarely, in some fashion or another. End of story.

Time for accountability.

[mexicanjunior]

This team is no better than last year. Instead of giving the 8th pick away, we should have used it on someone that can actually make a 3 pointer.

[ginobilized]

First off, I'm not a cliff-jumper by nature. But....

Such a disappointing start for Wemby.

The confusion/stagnation on offense is infuriating. Same as last season. That 2nd unit just stands around and then drives hard as the shot clock winds down and throw up a bad shot or make an ill-advised pass.
Harrison Barnes looks like he knows how to play basketball some of the time and still has the tools to take what the defense gives and make them pay. CP3 has slowed to a point where his height is minimizing his game significantly. The rest seem like they're trying to figure things out and are not succeeding.

The Spurs look unprepared so much of the time. Watching the Wizards last night was such a stark contrast. Sure, they were playing the Hawks, but, they looked like an exciting young team with a bunch of talent and hope. Oh, AND they have players who can shoot!!!
The Wizards. The Washington Wizards.

The general confusion, gloominess and lack of shooting is so deeply frustrating and frankly, embarrassing. Players seem lost and hopeless at game 4 of the season. It's a bad vibe and look. Sochan brings the hustle and seems unfazed by the failures around him. Kudos to him for that. Something seems way off in Spursland and change has never been their trademark. I guess I'll just have to come to terms with another year of tanking.

[Brazil]

not the start of the season we were hoping for, this game OKC feasted on our 22 TOs and killed us in transition. TOs should be priority 00

[TheChillFactor]

i thought CP3 was supposed to get us organized and cut down on the turnovers?

When OKC had their big run in the 1st half he caught the ball while standing on the sideline and threw a pass directly to JWill for a breakaway dunk. I can accept that from Tre or Wesley as they are young, inexperienced and not that good but I thought this asshole was the Point God?

[Leetonidas]

Wemby does not look right at all to start the season. Idk if he's out of shape or sick or what but he isn't efforting like he should be. Concerning because he usually circles these matchups on his calendar and he got thoroughly outplayed and embarrassed. To not take a shot in the 2nd half and only 5 for the game for the best player on a team devoid of scoring options is alarming. Hope it's just a funk he'll break out of soon

[RC_Drunkford]

i thought CP3 was supposed to get us organized and cut down on the turnovers?

When OKC had their big run in the 1st half he caught the ball while standing on the sideline and threw a pass directly to JWill for a breakaway dunk. I can accept that from Tre or Wesley as they are young, inexperienced and not that good but I thought this asshole was the Point God?

he got infected by „dat culture“

[MultiTroll]

The confusion/stagnation on offense is infuriating. Same as last season.
https://www.businessinsider.in/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticbiassets.in%2Fthumb% 2Fmsid-85186819%2Cwidth-700%2Cresizemode-4%2Cimgsize-192691%2Fimg6111506f2a24d00018626219.jpg&w=640&q=75
What, me worry?

[MultiTroll]

i thought CP3 was supposed to get us organized and cut down on the turnovers?
It was a cool story the Sniffers inhaled.

[onechance87]

This could be bad if we lose to utah tonight.Hopefully they give better effort tonight.

[TheChillFactor]

This could be bad if we lose to utah tonight.Hopefully they give better effort tonight.

watch Pop hold half of the roster out tonight lol

[DPG21920]

Something definitely off with Wemby. Effort and focus and execution has not been there. Life is really tough for him however and coaches aren’t doing anything to help either. Just not a fun start to the season in this regard.

Turnovers are just killing me. Spurs are no where good enough offensively to overcome 17+TO a game every night. They just aren’t. If they cant make good decisions and maximize possessions (especially with their terrible 3PT shooting) they will not win.

I was actually pretty impressed with the overall defense for most part. Sure, OKC shot lights out from 3, but on possessions where SA was set (and not scrambling due to said TO or bricks) they had a lot of great possessions on that end.

If the offense can come along (Dev please get well soon, Keldon please find your 3 ball and passing and Wemby/coaches please find a way to get him into great spots) then Spurs should be more competitive

[widowmaker]

Wemby does not look right at all to start the season. Idk if he's out of shape or sick or what but he isn't efforting like he should be. Concerning because he usually circles these matchups on his calendar and he got thoroughly outplayed and embarrassed. To not take a shot in the 2nd half and only 5 for the game for the best player on a team devoid of scoring options is alarming. Hope it's just a funk he'll break out of soon


He might be Kawahing the spurs

[rascal]

i thought CP3 was supposed to get us organized and cut down on the turnovers?

When OKC had their big run in the 1st half he caught the ball while standing on the sideline and threw a pass directly to JWill for a breakaway dunk. I can accept that from Tre or Wesley as they are young, inexperienced and not that good but I thought this asshole was the Point God?

CP3 is old and washed up. That's why he ended up on the Spurs. People here expecting he's going to turn this team around were being unrealistic.

[Mugen]

Some day, the Spurs will have a modern NBA offense with modern defensive schemes. The old man can't coach forever.

It will not be this season :lol

[R. DeMurre]

Small sample size of course, but after 4 games, here are some 3pt%s:

Wemby: 19%
Sochan: 20%
KJ: 18.8%
Castle: 0%

Spurs currently rank 22nd in the league in both 3pt% and TS%. Lots of work to do in this area.

[objective]

Little talked about storyline: how awful Keldon has been

9.5 points and 18.8% from 3

That contract has flipped upside down, should have traded him when he could score his 20 a game because his game is trash now, Spurs would have to attach picks to get rid of him like with Collins

[DPG21920]

The team just sucks to be honest. I mean, it’s been known, but so many got so hyped about adding Harrison Barnes + CP3. Those guys, while good vets, aren’t adding a lot of wins and all the real growth was always going to have to come from leaps from Socha/Dev/Keldon/Wemby etc…

Spurs really didnt do anything to improve for this season in the off season which was obvious, but they did get the young guys some good leaders to help with their growth even if it doesnt translate to wins.

But man, with Wemby playing like this and Keldon (Dev leaped last year and Sochan is on his way this year) it’s going to be tough sledding until Wemby can turn it around and Castle can find his way (hopefully)

But we have such little talent up and down the roster it’s staggering. Im willing to wager that in 2 years time (so this season + 2 more) the only guys that will be here AT BEST are Wemby/Dev/Sochan/Castle and the only two im for sure will be here is seemingly Wemby/Castle.

[Mugen]

The team just sucks to be honest. I mean, it’s been known, but so many got so hyped about adding Harrison Barnes + CP3. Those guys, while good vets, aren’t adding a lot of wins and all the real growth was always going to have to come from leaps from Socha/Dev/Keldon/Wemby etc…

Spurs really didnt do anything to improve for this season in the off season which was obvious, but they did get the young guys some good leaders to help with their growth even if it doesnt translate to wins.

But man, with Wemby playing like this and Keldon (Dev leaped last year and Sochan is on his way this year) it’s going to be tough sledding until Wemby can turn it around and Castle can find his way (hopefully)

But we have such little talent up and down the roster it’s staggering. Im willing to wager that in 2 years time (so this season + 2 more) the only guys that will be here AT BEST are Wemby/Dev/Sochan/Castle and the only two im for sure will be here is seemingly Wemby/Castle.

Yeah, but have you seen our future draft pick assets? :lol

BWrong :lol

[LeBowen]

The team just sucks to be honest. I mean, it’s been known, but so many got so hyped about adding Harrison Barnes + CP3. Those guys, while good vets, aren’t adding a lot of wins and all the real growth was always going to have to come from leaps from Socha/Dev/Keldon/Wemby etc…

Tbh, starting lineup will be fine with Devin instead of Champagnie when Wemby gets on top of his game.
The problem is that the bench is still horrible.

Keldon is a tank commander, Champagnie is a solid bench shooter, Castle is a rookie that will need some months to figure it out, others aren't NBA players.


But we have such little talent up and down the roster it’s staggering. Im willing to wager that in 2 years time (so this season + 2 more) the only guys that will be here AT BEST are Wemby/Dev/Sochan/Castle and the only two im for sure will be here is seemingly Wemby/Castle.

The issue is that PATFO are putting so much emphasis on developing players who will never be relevant.
Like who cares if Wesley is out of the league next summer or he gets another 3 year minimum deal somewhere as a 10th man. He'll never be a good backup point guard for a competitive team, let alone something more.
We've been bad for too long and now we're grasping for straws, trying to look at positive attributes of charity cases in hope they actually develop.

Even Tre who transformed our team last season just because he can bring the ball up the floor without constantly turning it over is a scrub.
Undersized point guard with subpar athleticism and poor 3pt shot. His brother is a tier above him and he couldn't get an actual contract.

[DPG21920]

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[DPG21920]

Yeah, but have you seen our future draft pick assets? :lol

BWrong :lol

I like our assets and trajectory. All that matters is that Wemby/Castle/Dev/Sochan are good and with Sochan leaping more things are looking good there. The rest of the guys will be replaced by higher end talent via those draft picks and FA/Trades soon enough.

Frustrating now, but the team knows they need that high end draft talent so team and development plan and cap management is built around that concept ^

[Mugen]

I like our assets and trajectory. All that matters is that Wemby/Castle/Dev/Sochan are good and with Sochan leaping more things are looking good there. The rest of the guys will be replaced by higher end talent via those draft picks and FA/Trades soon enough.

Frustrating now, but the team knows they need that high end draft talent so team and development plan and cap management is built around that concept ^

What trajectory? :lol

They added the most hyped project since LeBron before last season and still lost 60 games.

Year 2 of Wemby + another top 5 pick + more veterans and they're looking at another 50+ loss season.

At some point, you gotta admit that their development has been shit. Their roster building has been shit. And those people (the old man and BWrong) should be held accountable tbh.

[Mugen]

1852001840293966322

It'd be simple for most teams that didn't have a bottom 5 coach in the league tbh :lol

[MannyIsGod]

1852001840293966322

I mean yeah every game the opposing team just puts short swing man on him who can rip the ball away because they know the Spurs won't do shit to isolate him in the post against those players. It's the go go play book for everyone and I'm not sure what the Spurs expect Wemby to do on his own to take advantage of that matchup. His go to is to face them up which is the exact wrong thing to do. And isolating him does no fucking good sometimes because he's surrounded by shooters are are awful that when he makes the correct play and quick pass out we're unable to take advantage of it. Part of the problem is that Wemby makes the quick pass right away and sometimes he needs to force the issue. Instead he forces the issue in situations where he is faced up and the ball is easy to rip from him.

Sochan has made good advances to be a better player, but you can't fust keep putting non shooters around Wemby. That shit will just help the defense minimize him and Pop can't keep trying these offensive schemes that only work if we have shooters. It's infuriating how little this team does to help him with the system. The offense has somehow regressed around him this season so far which is absolutely insane. Yeah, not havnig Devin out there isn't ideal, but he's still an amazing player in his own right that Pop should be able to put into better situations.

I'm just incredibly frustrated by the lack of coaching. And yes, Wemby isn't blame less, but it's the job of the COACH to put him in good positions and to break his bad habits and if he can't do that then just retire and let someone else come in who can.

[rascal]

Looking at the schedule before the season a 1-3 is what was the most likely outcome with two road game losses at Dallas and OKC and a home split with Houston. Spurs are exactly where you would expect them to be at 1-3.

[spurraider21]

We missed Vassell last night. With Paul and Barnes additions, we (myself included) maybe thought we’d be alright without him. I’m now remembering how much we relied on Vassell to create offense when Vic wasn’t in the zone.

Speaking of, everyone’s gonna have to power through this Victor situation. Hes obviously thinking too hard. Call it a sophomore slump. I think he expects himself to get better year 2 so he’s trying way too hard to make that happen, and getting awful results. It’s common for any first-time (rookie) situation, basketball or otherwise, to be in the moment first go-around, and then round 2 overthink it.

I like everyone else wish he’d get closer to the basket when receiving the ball. We tried a lot of that last night and he got swamped inside, and our wings couldn’t bail him out. As he gets stronger, and more importantly he works through failures, he’ll figure out what works best. Let’s all stay calm and buckle up for the bumpy ride tbh.
i dont know how vic's poor start is a matter of him "Trying to hard" he's just of just lazily standing around the perimeter instead of actively working to put himself in good position or create scoring opportunities

he's either completely gassed or feels a little full of himself like he's entitled to have a better season just because

[objective]

The team just sucks to be honest. I mean, it’s been known, but so many got so hyped about adding Harrison Barnes + CP3. .

Yeah, I think the reasoning going into the season was that any minutes played by Paul, Barnes, and even Castle were going to be competent minutes by credible NBA rotation players and that would be an improvement over last year.

Unfortunately Paul has just sort of replaced the Jones minutes with another more or less back-uo quality player who has no business starting in the current NBA, and because Jones is hurt, the other point guard minutes are just as bad as last year

Barnes is doing replacement level things in the front court, but now Keldon Johnson has devolved into a flaming wreckage who stinks up the joint

Castle is the Prince of Bricks who is already passing up shots, who could have seen that coming? So while he's defending good for a rookie, he's playing guard like Sochan was last year, probably even worse

This roster is just trash

[Raven]

i thought again that the biggest problem was keldon, he seems to be forcing a lot and missing when he is open from three. I think that for him to become valuable in this league, he needs to be a ballhandler, but i also think that for now it is negatively impacting the team. Also the team seems to never be in transition which is unacceptable given how young they are. Wemby has been playing bad all season, except in his passing to and from sochan. shooters as expected, aren't performing, and at some point they will just have to.

[Cardinal]

It won’t happen, but I’d love to see Mamu at least get a shot at the backup forward minutes instead of Keldon

[Chinook]

1852001840293966322

Yeah, I said this a couple of hours ago. The Spurs are trying to do whatever they can teams to stop cross-guarding. Sochan's been doing a yeoman's job, but teams are willing to live with it. I thought for a second Pop was going to experiment with Collins/Wemby. I would prefer Bassey instead because of the vertical threat. In reality, Wemby's playing like a wing with below-average coordination and handles. It's going to be very hard to punish a cross-match so long as that's the case.


i dont know how vic's poor start is a matter of him "Trying to hard" he's just of just lazily standing around the perimeter instead of actively working to put himself in good position or create scoring opportunities

he's either completely gassed or feels a little full of himself like he's entitled to have a better season just because

As I said in other threads, I think what folks are seeing as passiveness might be progress. Wemby "actively working to put himself in good position or create scoring opportunities" is basically what's been the problem most of the year. Centers do not do that. They take advantage of the opportunities created for them. Wemby actually held a screen at least once last night. By my rough calculations, Wemby was plus-2 in the second half and minus-6 in the first despite the second half being supposedly when the bottom fell out. For the first time all year, Wemby finished with a higher plus-minus than Collins. They were able to go on runs with him on the court, and that hasn't usually been the case this year.

The Spurs NEED quality center play. The offense requires that way more than it requires good PG play. It's critical that Wemby learn how to meet the basic requirements to play the position, because it's the best place for him to play at this point. Last night, whether it was by conscious choice or because of some issue, he made real progress toward doing that. If Wemby can keep that up, and the team can adjust to real center play again, and Wemby can use that as a foundation to grow his immense talent, they're cooking.

[spurraider21]

As I said in other threads, I think what folks are seeing as passiveness might be progress. Wemby "actively working to put himself in good position or create scoring opportunities" is basically what's been the problem most of the year. Centers do not do that. They take advantage of the opportunities created for them. Wemby actually held a screen at least once last night. By my rough calculations, Wemby was plus-2 in the second half and minus-6 in the first despite the second half being supposedly when the bottom fell out. For the first time all year, Wemby finished with a higher plus-minus than Collins. They were able to go on runs with him on the court, and that hasn't usually been the case this year.

The Spurs NEED quality center play. The offense requires that way more than it requires good PG play. It's critical that Wemby learn how to meet the basic requirements to play the position, because it's the best place for him to play at this point. Last night, whether it was by conscious choice or because of some issue, he made real progress toward doing that. If Wemby can keep that up, and the team can adjust to real center play again, and Wemby can use that as a foundation to grow his immense talent, they're cooking.
im not saying wemby needs to break the offense, dive to the rim, and put his hand up to call for the ball every time.

but part of doing center things also includes getting his ass closer to the basket. yes, holding screens is an improvement, and generally on defense i have noticed he doesnt jump at every pump fake anymore. but im not sure how much he's helping the offense when the other team has a wing on him, and wemby just catches the ball 21 feet out, and cant really do anything with it other than putting up a bad shot or passing it back to somebody else.

teams can get away with putting wings on wemby if he's not going to punish them for it with his height advantage. if he catches the ball 12 feet from the rim instead of 22 feet from the rim, he can just rise up for a high percentage shot until the other team adjusts

[Joseph Kony]

1852001840293966322
Obvious to all of us but begs the question - wtf do the Spurs do in film sessions? Wtf do they do in practice??

[LeBowen]

Obvious to all of us but begs the question - wtf do the Spurs do in film sessions? Wtf do they do in practice??

History lessons.

[objective]

Obvious to all of us but begs the question - wtf do the Spurs do in film sessions? Wtf do they do in practice??

"For film today, we'll be watching a documentary on the history of the Chatham Islands and the plight of the Moriori people. After that in practice we'll resume our work on the traditional textile weaving from the steppes of Kyrgyzstan."

- :pop:

[Chomag]

Obvious to all of us but begs the question - wtf do the Spurs do in film sessions? Wtf do they do in practice??

I bet they are pretty versed on the geology of Africa by now tbh

[Ice009]

It feels like OKC is only playing at half strength. Their HC even sneak in some load management. He knew no way that Spurs will post a threat of winning the game at any point.

Yeah, I agree. I don't think this was a moral victory at all like how some posters are saying the Spurs hung in there. I don't think OKC was even that focused on the game. OKC IMO didn't have to try 100% to win this game.

[Chinook]

im not saying wemby needs to break the offense, dive to the rim, and put his hand up to call for the ball every time.

The issue is, that is so far how he's approached being aggressive. I'd love see him attacking the offensive glass more than he has been this year. If Sochan is going to take the opposing center off the dribble, the glass should be wide open for a put-back.


but part of doing center things also includes getting his ass closer to the basket. yes, holding screens is an improvement, and generally on defense i have noticed he doesnt jump at every pump fake anymore. but im not sure how much he's helping the offense when the other team has a wing on him, and wemby just catches the ball 21 feet out, and cant really do anything with it other than putting up a bad shot or passing it back to somebody else.

See to me, him catching the ball so far out is directly related to his usual way of asserting himself. He can't hold post position against a competent defender. He just can't. It's a physical thing, especially since refs let defenders get away with an absurd amount of contact against him in that area (there were multiple times when Brooks was allowed to actually hug Victor for some reason). So the longer Wemby holds position, the farther he'll get pushed. If he runs down the court ahead of everyone and calls for the pass, by the time the pass is ready to be made, Victor would go from the mid-post all the way out to the three-point line. That means Wemby has to wait until the pass is ready to be made to do his seal. In order to prevent teams from setting up on him, he should spend the intervening time setting screens to generate movement. Once all that happens and guys are out of the way, then he should go 1) Seal, 2) Target 3) Finish. This is totally something that can be schemed up. But it requires guys to buy into it for the sake of it rather than buying into it solely as a means of creating a crease to call for the ball.

One thing I don't see the Spurs do enough is to run a 4/5 screen with Sochan and Wemby. That will either force a switch or force Wemby's man into a chasing position, giving him the time to curl and shoot.


teams can get away with putting wings on wemby if he's not going to punish them for it with his height advantage. if he catches the ball 12 feet from the rim instead of 22 feet from the rim, he can just rise up for a high percentage shot until the other team adjusts

I don't know if you remember his pre-season games last year where he was killing it from midrange off screens. But it's exactly as you say. It's very hard to contest a shot in the mid-post if Wemby can get a clean catch. I have no idea why they stopped going to those plays. It's not like they run them and they get snuffed out. They simply don't do them.

[RC_Drunkford]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg

[RC_Drunkford]

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:pop: "maybe I should start Sochan at PG"

[z0sa]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg

Good ol' quintuple team. :cry but it's Wemby who's the problem :cry

No, this shit roster full of non shooters is the problem. He actually did try to get it to the one guy there who was open and can shoot, but it was picked off. Not surprising when you're quintuple teamed.

[objective]

Never forget that when Pop decided to replace Sochan as the starting point guard, he didn't turn to Tre Jones, his first choice was Cedi Osman who had to slink back to Europe after nobidy wanted him.

Brilliant coaching mind.

[z0sa]

It's sad watching Chet drive all the way to the basket and throw up bullshit because no one can even double safely off of Thunder players - then get sucked off about it. meanwhile, Wemby can't touch the ball for 2 seconds without literally 5 guys sagging into the paint on him. Could have been more assertive? Certainly, he could have put up shots. But I think the point is both made and fair. He can't go 1 on 3/4/5 and expect anything good out of it. What sophomore, even of Wemby's talent, is expected to read triple/quadruple teams excellently?

[RC_Drunkford]

Never forget that when Pop decided to replace Sochan as the starting point guard, he didn't turn to Tre Jones, his first choice was Cedi Osman who had to slink back to Europe after nobidy wanted him.

Brilliant coaching mind.

typical Pop. He only figured it out once Osman was injured. Same with Gasol/Poeltl and a bunch of other rotations back in the day. He must have cataracs for a while now.

[Manu20]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg

Perfectly sums up why VW has been struggling this first 4 games. Dallas, Houston and OKC were sending aggressive and decisive double/triple teams which I think has caught Victor and the coaching staff by surprise.

At least tonight the Spurs are playing the Jazz, which on paper are the easiest opponent the Spurs have had. Hopefully this game is a confidence builder for our struggling team.

[objective]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg

Yikes

Everyone likes to shit on Russell Westbrook for being a bench disaster who can't shoot ..

But sadly Castle has been much worse. 3-12 on three vs 0-8. Half the points, more turnovers, and worse spacing.

[Chinook]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg

Are we doing to start doing this again? I pulled up the game on my DVR, so no YouTube time stamp for this one. This the play where Wemby got the rebound and proceeded to drive into the middle of OKC's defense trying to score on Chet (and shoves him for an uncalled offensive foul). The Thunder send Michell to double, and rather than hitting the wide open Barnes, Wemby decides to dribble behind his back, at which point Mitchell digs the dribble and gets the strip.

So the question is: Why did the two Thunder not involved on the play (Williams sank to take Mamu at the dunker's spot when Mitchell doubled as part of a pre-rotation). Is it because they didn't respect the other guys? Maybe, but Barnes and Branham are shooting very well this year and shot well in this game. So whether you're talking about the immediate pass out of the double or the eventual swing, sagging off doesn't make sense. The other explanation is because they were confident they could get the ball out of Wemby's hands before he passed to the other guys. That seems more likely.

(Also :lol I looked up at my DVR on the other screen to see I just happened to stop the game at literally the same frame as the one in this screenshot. Like I'd watched that sequence through like five or six times writing this, so I didn't intend to do that. Oh well.)

[MannyIsGod]

Yikes

Everyone likes to shit on Russell Westbrook for being a bench disaster who can't shoot ..

But sadly Castle has been much worse. 3-12 on three vs 0-8. Half the points, more turnovers, and worse spacing.

I mean if Castle was a finished product then maybe this would be a good comparison to make but the dude has literally played less than 5 NBA games and is a teen. LOL what even is this? If he could shoot he would not have been the fourth pick.

[LeBowen]

I haven't played 2K in some years, but that screenshot looks like one of those park games where 60 rating scrubs constantly call for the ball and defenders ignore them because they can't do shit. :lol

[spurraider21]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg
whats really painful/funny about this is last year we would find all these stills of the spurs defense having everybody in the paint and getting mad because we allowed so many unnecessary wide open 3 pointers as a result

but on the other side, teams are able to do that against us but get away with it since we cant knock down 3's

[scott]

https://i.ibb.co/FkpDvxw/Spurs-lol.jpg

Curious what Castle is calling for here. When he has had wide open 3 point opportunities like this he has either hesitated to shoot, or hit some poor child in the 6th row with his shot

[Seventyniner]

Curious what Castle is calling for here. When he has had wide open 3 point opportunities like this he has either hesitated to shoot, or hit some poor child in the 6th row with his shot

His man has his back turned and is 15 feet away. If Victor can zip the pass to Castle fast enough he might be able to get almost to the rim before anyone can react. Or he could swing it over to Barnes instead.

[spurraider21]

Curious what Castle is calling for here. When he has had wide open 3 point opportunities like this he has either hesitated to shoot, or hit some poor child in the 6th row with his shot
the ballhandler is getting swarmed and he's making himself an available passing outlet

[scott]

Shifting gears... I want to talk a little bit about Sochan.

I, like most folks, am impressed with the progress he's shown thus far. He's crashing the boards, playing good D, and has been an offensive threat on cuts, put backs, and close-basket situations.

However, there were a few moments last night that made me still question where this guy is at, mentally. I counted at least two possessions in the first half where Wemby was being guarded b Caruso 1-1, and Sochan was guarded by Chet. Both times, Sochan drove on Chet to disastrous, predictable results. It was the kind of tunnel vision dumb dumb play that we've grown accustom to seeing from Keldon.

Now, I don't entirely blame Jeremy for this... I think it's more a function of the lack of a coherent offensive structure and game plan. Jeremy hasn't had a contingency plan drilled into his head yet. You know, all the shit the coaches are supposed to be doing with these guys. But this is the kind of shit that not only leads to bad basketball results, but stunts the progress we're seeing out of Jeremy and the rest of the team.

[scott]

the ballhandler is getting swarmed and he's making himself an available passing outlet

I was mostly kidding... but it's still a "I'm open!!! OH SHIT NO DON'T PASS IT TO ME!" kind of thing.

[z0sa]

Curious what Castle is calling for here. When he has had wide open 3 point opportunities like this he has either hesitated to shoot, or hit some poor child in the 6th row with his shot

:lol :lol fucked up but true.

Don't get me wrong, it's early and Castle deserves the same multiple season window a guy like Wesley does, certainly. Just hate that his skill set only somewhat overlaps with what we need right now. It's more seasons plural of pain for the silver and black, not because of castle, but because we punted on every pick after that had players who could at least shoot straight if nothing else.

[Mugen]

:lol How are people surprised that the old man who's openly said he hated 3 pointers has been badly left at the side of the road by modern NBA offenses?

[RC_Drunkford]

a lot of the problems seem to be that we are playing too slow. We are 28th in pace after being 9th last season and when CP3 is on the floor our offense is the worst in the league. Let's just hope these are growing pains, but he really needs to push the ball in transition.

[scott]

:lol :lol fucked up but true.

Don't get me wrong, it's early and Castle deserves the same multiple season window a guy like Wesley does, certainly. Just hate that his skill set only somewhat overlaps with what we need right now. It's more seasons plural of pain for the silver and black, not because of castle, but because we punted on every pick after that had players who could at least shoot straight if nothing else.

I really like Castle a lot... but we need to be honest. His shot is looking rough

[spurs10]

I really like Castle a lot... but we need to be honest. His shot is looking rough He's bound to be shooting them a lot before and after games. He was looking alright in the pre-season on a game or two.

[z0sa]

I really like Castle a lot... but we need to be honest. His shot is looking rough

:lol yeah, real rough. That last one I saw barely hit the backboard, though it might have just been the camera angle.