Game Thread: Spurs (4-5) vs. Jazz (1-7) Saturday Nov. 9 2024 4:00 PM CT 12:00 AM Riga

[CGD]

Yeah of course, is a great person and all but I thought the point is to win. Was -18 on the floor tonight.

Yup, he’s making rookie mistakes in Year 6.

[100%duncan]

Encouraging game from Castle.

Good to see Vassell coming out and looking spry.

Wemby still needs to learn to calm the fuck down.

KJ continues to be a Jekyll & Hyde...does stupid shit all game, then hits a huge three to give the Spurs a chance at the end.

Losing to this Jazz team is embarrassing, but let's be honest...this team ain't competing this year so losses aren't the end of the world

On the contrary, contenders or even playoff teams CAN care less about stupid losses because the regular season is becoming less and less important. Meanwhile for *aspiring*,which I would like to think we are, play-in teams need every bit of wins especially early on.

Echoing Timtonymanu here, clock is ticking. These guys need to actually play meaningful games. This organization is trending in to producing career losers.

[timtonymanu]

Yeah of course, is a great person and all but I thought the point is to win. Was -18 on the floor tonight.

Only the losers on Reddit who think we owe players to stick around because of their culture want to keep him. God I wish that Lauri trade went through.

[mystargtr34]

I'm gonna be so happy when Keldon is off this team. Such a losing player tbh.

Yeah the guy can put up a few impressive scoring games every month but it’s fools gold.

This guys processing speed on the court is so bad. His basketball brain can only comprehend 1 or 2 things at a time. “Get ball, look at basket, drive as hard as I can in straight line towards basket, when defender steps in front, bump into him and shoot basketball and scream hoping for foul call”. There’s really nothing else that goes on up in his head.

[LeBowen]

Don't fight it, ST Looves Champagnie.... bc he's cheap smh

Is anyone saying Champagnie should start when everyone's healthy?
He's a great bench shooter to have on the roster and can start when we're shorthanded.
Even though he'll never be anything more than that, he's 5th/6th best plyer on the roster, which says a lot about this team.

[murpjf88]

That's not my point. I'm just saying this constant "oh we're just tanking" attitude is not good for our players. They need to know what it's like to lose in high pressure situations. Then again, it's probably an oxymoron saying Keldon and playoffs in the same sentence. he's just a small time loser who got his reps on Olympic hype.

This team is full of losers. I'm not sure why you're singling out Johnson. Players don't tank, coaches do. Assemble a team with minimal talent, expect minimal results. Wemby is the ONLY player on the Spur's roster that would start for a contending playoff team. They're absolutely trying to win but a poor coaching staff and the absolute shittiness of this roster is what gives them the appearance that they're not.

[itzsoweezee]

Fucking monster game from wemby.

Dumbass coach failing to challenge the out of bounds call on castle lost them the game tonight.

[Thomas82]

Welp, they played with their food a bit too long. Never took this game seriously it looks like

When you play with your food you end up choking.

[timtonymanu]

This team is full of losers. I'm not sure why you're singling out Johnson. Players don't tank, coaches do. Assemble a team with minimal talent, expect minimal results. Wemby is the ONLY player on the Spur's roster that would start for a contending playoff team. They're absolutely trying to win but a poor coaching staff and the absolute shittiness of this roster is what gives them the appearance that they're not.

You’re right, but I singled out Keldon because he’s been here the longest and has been exposed to nothing but losing basketball. His game never got to evolve.

FWIW I don’t agree with you that Wemby is the only starter level player on another team. I think Vassell is legit.

[skin27]

Finally wemby showed up and had a good game! Hopefully it countinues until the end of season. Consistency is the key.

[scott]

Just got home and am going to watch the game. Looks like Wemby was much improved shooting 3s, which impacts the box score... but I'm curious to find out how he only made two 2pt FGs. I'll withhold judgement until I watch, but my initial reaction is that it's still not great that 60% of his FG attempts were 3-pointers.

Into the depths of hell I go...

[Dex]

On the contrary, contenders or even playoff teams CAN care less about stupid losses because the regular season is becoming less and less important. Meanwhile for *aspiring*,which I would like to think we are, play-in teams need every bit of wins especially early on.

Echoing Timtonymanu here, clock is ticking. These guys need to actually play meaningful games. This organization is trending in to producing career losers.

We aren't aspiring yet.

We are struggling against tanking teams, and get our doors blown off against good teams.

Vassell just came back, but now we are still missing Jones and Sochan...and Pop. Wemby is also struggling, and the team just isn't that good.

I'm fine accepting the fact that this is going to be another losing year. Making the play-in doesn't really do this team much good because we will get our asses handed to us against any serious playoff team.

[murpjf88]

You’re right, but I singled out Keldon because he’s been here the longest and has been exposed to nothing but losing basketball. His game never got to evolve.

FWIW I don’t agree with you that Wemby is the only starter level player on another team. I think Vassell is legit.

He's legit but most playoff teams would probably have him coming of the bench in a 6th man type role. He's really struggled at times defensively.

[Pauleta14]

Is anyone saying Champagnie should start when everyone's healthy?
He's a great bench shooter to have on the roster and can start when we're shorthanded.
Even though he'll never be anything more than that, he's 5th/6th best plyer on the roster, which says a lot about this team.

We'll have to agree to disagree. It's ok ^^

I find him too limited, the balance is too often negative for a cple good performances here and there that spurs fans overrate imo. I'm not reffering only to his 3pt % but overall low BBIQ and court awareness

But i'm fine with him this season bc he's cheap and not a long term project (I hope)

[LeBowen]

We'll have to agree to disagree. It's ok ^^

I find him too limited, the balance is too often negative for a cple good performances here and there that spurs fans overrate imo. I'm not reffering only to his 3pt % but overall low BBIQ and court awareness

But i'm fine with him this season bc he's cheap and not a long term project (I hope)

Being cheap is exactly why he's good value.
Good for 12-15mpg when we start competing.

Noone is giving up a FRP for Champagnie, so what exactly would be the point in trading him?
We got like 20 SRPs already.

He's on $3M a year and is worth maybe 8 to 10, that's good value for us.

[timtonymanu]

Champ is on the lower end of this team’s current problems. He will have good games and bad. It’s not like how we’re paying Keldon at a more expensive price while he provides the same worth as Champ on a nightly basis.

We still don’t have a viable option at SF so we alternate between Champ and Barnes. Neither has been godawful that we need to bench them but they would also be good options off the bench.

[LeBowen]

Champ is on the lower end of this team’s current problems. He will have good games and bad. It’s not like how we’re paying Keldon at a more expensive price while he provides the same worth as Champ on a nightly basis.

We still don’t have a viable option at SF so we alternate between Champ and Barnes. Neither has been godawful that we need to bench them but they would also be good options off the bench.

Castle/?
Devin/Champ
?/?
Jeremy/? (or even another starter, with Jeremy as 6th man)
Wemby/?

That's how I see our roster.
We need a backup PG who's a legit triple threat scorer, one good 3-D wing, one legit scorer wing and Wemby's backup.

[sananspursfan21]

When you play with your food you end up choking.

Bingo. It didn’t look like our guys were struggling as much as it did they were just going through motions. Bit them right in the butt

[timtonymanu]

Bingo. It didn’t look like our guys were struggling as much as it did they were just going through motions. Bit them right in the butt

Which was foolish cause they’re still one of the least talented teams in the league. No game is guaranteed.

[scott]

Having now watched the condensed game (and thus missed a lot of nuance that is on skipped possessions)... I want to ask - is this the offensive game we want to see?

The 3pt shot selection looked much better today, and that's a great sign. However, his offensive impact still largely depended on him having a plus-variance shooting performance of 6 for 9 from 3. If he goes 4/9 we're looking at an 18 pt performance, if he goes 3/9 (which would be closer to expectation), then it's a 15 point performance. Only two 2pt FGs seems to indicate that the offense is still not functioning in a way that puts him in positions where his size provides a huge advantage. Of course, he also had 6 turnovers.

So, honest question... is this the Wemby you want to see on the offensive end? Basically if he has a great shooting night, his stat-line will be very impressive and if he has an average shooting night it will be less so and we probably lose by a bigger margin. If he has a terrible shooting night, we lose big.

[Fireball]

good return by Vassell ... Castle and Wemby had a good shooting night and still the offense sucked (also too many TOs again)
how are they not able to create one dunk for Wemby all night (that counted)?

[TDomination]

just got back from the game. I had fun with the kids but the game itself was just very disappointing.

i think what got me most frustrated was their continuous reliance on the outside shot with negative results and as soon as they would try something inside it would lead to success. when its not going in, stop shooting them.

I haven't been to a game in a few years, but that was just irritating to watch. Its fine when a team just plain beats you but this team just takes bad shot after bad shot.

The good:
-Vassell looked good overall. I was glad to see him back in.
-When Castle drives i expect good things to happen.
-Victor defense is pretty awesome to see, especially at the end when he had a couple of blocks in 1 possession.

The bad:
-Spurs offense
-Wemby, anytime he puts the ball on the floor i cringe
-Paul when hes not hitting shots, he was useless. He made a lot of mistakes too. Making late passes and had some mental lapses.

overall, they just weren't ready to play.

[TDomination]

Having now watched the condensed game (and thus missed a lot of nuance that is on skipped possessions)... I want to ask - is this the offensive game we want to see?

The 3pt shot selection looked much better today, and that's a great sign. However, his offensive impact still largely depended on him having a plus-variance shooting performance of 6 for 9 from 3. If he goes 4/9 we're looking at an 18 pt performance, if he goes 3/9 (which would be closer to expectation), then it's a 15 point performance. Only two 2pt FGs seems to indicate that the offense is still not functioning in a way that puts him in positions where his size provides a huge advantage. Of course, he also had 6 turnovers.

So, honest question... is this the Wemby you want to see on the offensive end? Basically if he has a great shooting night, his stat-line will be very impressive and if he has an average shooting night it will be less so and we probably lose by a bigger margin. If he has a terrible shooting night, we lose big.

For me, no no no.

One one end, whenever there was a mismatch, you would see the Utah bigs taking advantage and just bullying their way to the basket for an easy basket.

Then when wemby has a clear size advantage over his defender, instead moving around and trying for better position closer ot the basketball, he positions himself deliberately 20ft away from the basket and then asks for the ball. He then does a couple between the leg dribbles which sometimes ends up in a shot or other times a turnover. I cringe when i see it though.

I think only once or twice i saw him take it down low and just score with ease on the defender. I remember saying finally!

[skin27]

Having now watched the condensed game (and thus missed a lot of nuance that is on skipped possessions)... I want to ask - is this the offensive game we want to see?

The 3pt shot selection looked much better today, and that's a great sign. However, his offensive impact still largely depended on him having a plus-variance shooting performance of 6 for 9 from 3. If he goes 4/9 we're looking at an 18 pt performance, if he goes 3/9 (which would be closer to expectation), then it's a 15 point performance. Only two 2pt FGs seems to indicate that the offense is still not functioning in a way that puts him in positions where his size provides a huge advantage. Of course, he also had 6 turnovers.

So, honest question... is this the Wemby you want to see on the offensive end? Basically if he has a great shooting night, his stat-line will be very impressive and if he has an average shooting night it will be less so and we probably lose by a bigger margin. If he has a terrible shooting night, we lose big.

the one problem with wemby’s offense is he doesn’t know how to draw foul to get to the freethrow line. 10 FTA per game is good +8 to +10 on his points.

[sananspursfan21]

Which was foolish cause they’re still one of the least talented teams in the league. No game is guaranteed.

Yuuup. Beating those scrub Blazers must have gone to their heads

[lefty20]

So, honest question... is this the Wemby you want to see on the offensive end? Basically if he has a great shooting night, his stat-line will be very impressive and if he has an average shooting night it will be less so and we probably lose by a bigger margin. If he has a terrible shooting night, we lose big.

This is not the final version though. It is still a work in progress. I would like to think a more seasoned Wemby will rely on taking what the defense is giving him, while adjusting to how he is performing in-game.

But before we get there, he and the Spurs are hellbent on exploring every facet of offense that Wemby thinks he can eventually excel at.

For the sake of our sanity and blood pressure, we should just accept it for what it is and hope it succeeds... eventually.

[spurs10]

They smoked us in the paint and then, of course, went to line twice as much. All those 3s cost us the game even though our % wasn't bad. FTs were the difference by a mile.

[z0sa]

This one just made me roll my eyes over and over, all the way to the Castle foul.

At least DV looked decent.

[CGD]

We missed Jeremy’s toughness today.

[TDomination]

They smoked us in the paint and then, of course, went to line twice as much. All those 3s cost us the game even though our % wasn't bad. FTs were the difference by a mile.

We're becoming like the Rockets during the Dantoni years. If we make the 3's we win. If we don't we lose. But for us, we are n't nearly as good as them so even if we do make a decent amount of 3's, we still lose.
And we usually aren't that good at 3's anyways so thats why we are 4-6.

I miss playing inside out. Penetrate first then dish to the 3. Instead of lets just pass around the perimeter than just settle for a 3, over and over and over again.

[Pauleta14]

This is not the final version though. It is still a work in progress. I would like to think a more seasoned Wemby will rely on taking what the defense is giving him, while adjusting to how he is performing in-game.

But before we get there, he and the Spurs are hellbent on exploring every facet of offense that Wemby thinks he can eventually excel at.

For the sake of our sanity and blood pressure, we should just accept it for what it is and hope it succeeds... eventually.

Are we all acting as if last season didn't happen now as if we're all discoveing Wemby???

This offensive game makes no sense, he's a role player shooting 3s and setting screens.

It's awful to watch him play like that when you know what he's capable of. What a waste smh

[lefty20]

Are we all acting as if last season didn't happen now as if we're all discoveing Wemby???

This offensive game makes no sense, he's a role player shooting 3s and setting screens.

It's awful to watch him play like that when you know what he's capable of. What a waste smh

Right, Wemby and Spurs appear to be keeping what he did in the 2nd half of last year in the back pocket.

He wants to try working on improving other things in live game situations. Specifically, his perimeter game. And the Spurs seem to be on board with this.

Best we can hope for is that this pays dividends down the road, tbh.

[stephen jackson]

We are the least talented team in the nba for sure .

[timtonymanu]

We are the least talented team in the nba for sure .

Nah that goes to Portland. That’s why we beat them.

[stephen jackson]

Nah that goes to Portland. That’s why we beat them.
Sorry second worse and champagnie has to go he’s useless along with Collins and kj

[rankingtear]

i know were suppose to have a meltdown but it is the cleanest offensive game i've seen from Wemby. We have a legit downhill guard in Castle and Devin looks real good.

[baseline bum]

Trade away Champagne, when he and his contract are still valueable, and just run Castle together with Vassell asap

Can't agree. He's on a bargain contract but isn't good enough to get you a first, and this team already has a billion seconds. If his contract is needed as part of a larger trade that improves the team then of course he's movable but on his own I don't see him fetching anything more interesting than just keeping him.

[Pauleta14]

Right, Wemby and Spurs appear to be keeping what he did in the 2nd half of last year in the back pocket.

He wants to try working on improving other things in live game situations. Specifically, his perimeter game. And the Spurs seem to be on board with this.

Best we can hope for is that this pays dividends down the road, tbh.

You missed the whole point.

Impressive tbh :lol

[poopbox]

Nah that goes to Portland. That’s why we beat them.

Ayton , Sharpe, and Grant would easily be the second best players on this team after Victor.

[The Truth #6]

Waiting for the rationalizations that this is in fact a tanking year after all.

[Robz4000]

Ayton , Sharpe, and Grant would easily be the second best players on this team after Victor.

I'll give you Grant but :lol Ayton and Sharpe...

[mystargtr34]

Agree with ayton and grant but sharpe is just a basketball meme at this point. Donald trump has seen more court time over the last 2 years

[Robz4000]

Agree with ayton and grant but sharpe is just a basketball meme at this point. Donald trump has seen more court time over the last 2 years

Ayton is basically Zollins getting starter minutes at this point tbh.

[jesterbobman]

Watching the 2nd half now. Lack of positional size at PF (No Sochan is part of it) was a big issue, especially with the Jazz playing 2 shooting bigs, so they could just march a mismatch down to the block and attach whoever was on their PF (often, Keldon). Keldon, especially with the weight loss isn't big enough to be playing that position when the other team has a genuine big at the PF spot.

[hoopdreams11]

Eubanks has no money guaranteed in 2025. Just saying since Mamu can’t get minutes.

[mudyez]

Without Pops All Time legacy in play and no chance to make playoff noise, I'm ok with losses.

Just need to flip the switch and don't give the players a feeling that losing is common.

[Mal]

Can't agree. He's on a bargain contract but isn't good enough to get you a first, and this team already has a billion seconds. If his contract is needed as part of a larger trade that improves the team then of course he's movable but on his own I don't see him fetching anything more interesting than just keeping him.

I am thinking about swap rights for 2029, since 2028 and 30 are already with swaps, and you cannot trade for 32 yet.

[Raven]

guard penetration and bad switching on the perimeter was the main reason for the loss. But this isn't as bad of a utah team as we have seen so far. All in all, I am positive about this team being a 4th seed if everyone is healthy, but losing either wemby, sochan or vassell isn't recoverable.

[exstatic]

It’s crazy to me that Utah has Markannen, Collins, and Filipowski. They literally have three of the same archetype of player this team needs.
Yeah,really only Markannen moves the needle.

[RC_Drunkford]

guard penetration and bad switching on the perimeter was the main reason for the loss. But this isn't as bad of a utah team as we have seen so far. All in all, I am positive about this team being a 4th seed if everyone is healthy, but losing either wemby, sochan or vassell isn't recoverable.

4th seed? If you turn the standings upside down maybe

[The Truth #6]

Good to see Blake is making progress. He works like a maniac but with a little more control now. Actually had one amazing dish last night. His finishing is no longer abysmal. Still a long way to go but his elite speed and work ethic are helpful.

With Devin, great to see he can still score and looks healthy. I'll be honest, his first two possessions didn't actually inspire me, going right into hero ball, but I think if he could somehow be convinced to save that for the end of a possession, not the beginning of one, the team will be better served. His competency is needed. But can't have both he and VW playing one on one while the team stands around.

[Dejounte]

Good to see Blake is making progress. He works like a maniac but with a little more control now. Actually had one amazing dish last night. His finishing is no longer abysmal. Still a long way to go but his elite speed and work ethic are helpful.

With Devin, great to see he can still score and looks healthy. I'll be honest, his first two possessions didn't actually inspire me, going right into hero ball, but I think if he could somehow be convinced to save that for the end of a possession, not the beginning of one, the team will be better served. His competency is needed. But can't have both he and VW playing one on one while the team stands around.

Exactly it. I’ve always said Vassell is most effective when he doesn’t take more than two dribbles. It’s really unfortunate for Sochan to get injured to delay us from seeing him, Vassell, Castle, Wemby all in the same lineup.

[ismael-robert]

It's rough when you're clamoring for them to take bubble wrap off tre n branham

[RC_Drunkford]

Vassell/Wemby 2-man game will be our best offensive set. That high pick & roll from last season is damn near unstoppable if they execute it right.

[scott]

Waiting for the rationalizations that this is in fact a tanking year after all.

It’s definitely coming.

This FO and Coaching Staff has the best grift imaginable going.

Roll out your dumbass loser coaching ideas, then when they predictably fail and you’re headed for the lotto for the 6th straight year you can just say it was on purpose and that everyone needs “patience”.

It’s like waiting for Donald Trump’s health care plan.

[RC_Drunkford]

It’s definitely coming.

This FO and Coaching Staff has the best grift imaginable going.

Roll out your dumbass loser coaching ideas, then when they predictably fail and you’re headed for the lotto for the 6th straight year you can just say it was on purpose and that everyone needs “patience”.

It’s like waiting for Donald Trump’s health care plan.

people here been saying this since 2018. Apparently it has been a giant stealth tank since then :lol

[scott]

people here been saying this since 2018. Apparently it has been a giant stealth tank since then :lol

Just got to have a little patience. Just imagine how Gregg and this FO are going to be able to dominate the league once that 20131 pick comes into play. Us fans have to stop being so myopic!

[PhantomDashCam]

Sniffer alert incoming. :lol

I’m not as down on this loss as some in the thread.
This one actually felt eerily similar to a “trap” game during our winning runs.

My biggest concern is that the team thinks they are collectively superior to certain opponents, and thus can take games off. That obviously cannot fly and I hope the vets and coaching staff are taking the requisite steps to remind them of this.

I’m loving the game to game improvement we’re seeing from Castle.
He’s probably not getting this much run if Sochan is healthy. Hopefully his shot continues to improve where the team feels confident to have them both on the floor, starting, by seasons end.
To finish off two heavily contested drives against the league’s second best shot blocker was sublime. :tu

[rankingtear]

Wemby hitting different variety of 3's this game, even in the corner where he struggle bcz his feet is too big. Off screen, step back, trailing, catch and shoot. People are saying he does not need to shoot too many 3 in game to improve, that might be the case for Sochan or Sidy who only need to shoot wide open ones but scorers like Wemby need these in game shot reps.

[Arcadian]

I just wanna say getting to this game from NW San Antonio sucked ass because of all the construction on I-10 & 1604. Took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to drive what would normally take 30 minutes.

[Fireball]

No grades so far. Guess TIMVP has seen enough for this season :pctoss