Game Thread: Spurs (22-26) @ Hornets (12-36) 2-7-2025 6 PM CST 2 AM RAiGA 2 PM HAWAII

[RC_Drunkford]

I can't believe they fucking let Ime get away to Houston.

Just another reminder of the old man costing us big because of his ego.

Pop is gonna coach until he dies or wins another title (which he won’t)

[LeBowen]

well that's pretty darn obvious, is it even debated? :lol

There you are, been a while since you said anything retarded.

[slick'81]

I can't believe they fucking let Ime get away to Houston.

Just another reminder of the old man costing us big because of his ego.


so many good hc's squandered

[daslicer]

I was at the game and was 4 rows behind courtside. Sucked the Spurs lost but it was a fun game and I was thankful to see Victor play. Fox is clutch and everybody first thought his game winner counted and was shook for a few seconds until they showed the replay. Tough loss but I was impressed by Fox’s competitiveness in this game.

[Raven]

There you are, been a while since you said anything retarded.

are you really blaming anyone else on that possession? good god, i can't even :lmao

[Mugen]

Sochan was guarding Bridges well and Castle was guarding LaMelo well.

So big brain Mitch decided to switch it up for the final play :lol

[Extra Stout]

How many elite players do the Rockets have?
They're also starting a midget point guard and their center is a negative on defense, no rim protection whatsoever.
Switch Spurs and Rockets coaching staff and I think we'd be pretty close to switching their W/L records.
Rockets are elite defensively and are stacked with multiple plus players. Defensively, Wemby is great, Sochan is good, Paul and Fox are OK, Castle is a work in progress, and everyone else is bad. Vassell and Johnson are galactically bad, and set a bad example for everyone else.

FVV may be short but he is still very effective.

Johnson may be in over his head, but no, Udoka couldn’t win with this lineup.

[LeBowen]

are you really blaming anyone else on that possession? good god, i can't even :lmao

I was the first one to write Castle fucked up.
Castle is the only reason we weren't blown out in that game.
If you want to continue being retarded, feel free to do so, but you can't possibly be that stupid not to realize you're just digging yourself deeper with each passing game.

[Trainwreck2100]

well that's pretty darn obvious, is it even debated? :lol

actually I was wrong Bridges should have been guarded by Vassel. Castle shouldn't have been there either but Devin got caught ball watching

https://streamable.com/ickkwk

[Velo]

A ton of players: Okogie, Mann, Mark Williams was a big that got traded, Grant Williams tore his knee apart. Richards traded too. Cody Martin. Those guys got replaced by G-Leaguers and they shot 44% from 3.

[LeBowen]

Rockets are elite defensively and are stacked with multiple plus players.

Having Wemby is worth more than having two elite perimeter defenders.


Vassell and Johnson are galactically bad, and set a bad example for everyone else.

That's the thing. I know we'll never know, but I'm 100% convinced that Udoka would never start Devin and Keldon wouldn't be getting more than 10mpg.

We have a functional starting lineup, it's just that Mitch doesn't have the balls/authority to use it.
Fox - score first point guard.
Castle - combo guard and POA defender.
Champ - 3pt shooter with good defense compared to other candidates (Devin and Keldon).
Barnes - reliable veteran, best shooter on the team.
Wemby

But instead old man CP3 has to start and Devin is still PATFO's project.
They're not doing them any favors by putting them in these awful lineups just to not hurt their egos.

[Mugen]

Rockets are elite defensively and are stacked with multiple plus players. Defensively, Wemby is great, Sochan is good, Paul and Fox are OK, Castle is a work in progress, and everyone else is bad. Vassell and Johnson are galactically bad, and set a bad example for everyone else.

FVV may be short but he is still very effective.

Johnson may be in over his head, but no, Udoka couldn’t win with this lineup.

The Rockets have Sengun at C and the Spurs have quite possibly the greatest defensive prospect of all time.

Yeah, Udoka would have this squad actually playing defense. Instead of whatever this bullshit has been.

[murpjf88]

I can't believe they fucking let Ime get away to Houston.

Just another reminder of the old man costing us big because of his ego.
Ime wasn't going to wait for another 5+ seasons, parked on the end of the Spurs bench until Pop was done stat padding wins. He wanted to coach now.

[cd98]

Hey our best chance at a lottery pick is if the Spurs lose. Atl likely won’t drop much farther than 10 in the East so our only hope is they lose the first play in game.

[Killakobe81]

I was at the game and was 4 rows behind courtside. Sucked the Spurs lost but it was a fun game and I was thankful to see Victor play. Fox is clutch and everybody first thought his game winner counted and was shook for a few seconds until they showed the replay. Tough loss but I was impressed by Fox’s competitiveness in this game.

This is all I’m saying. Castle was awesome. Wemby is getting better and better still plenty of season left. One 6-7 game win streak or winning 7 of 10 and they are in a playoff spot.

[Mugen]

Ime wasn't going to wait for another 5+ seasons, parked on the end of the Spurs bench until Pop was done stat padding wins. He wanted to coach now.

Oh I understand. And he should have been hired for the job.

Instead the old man decided to fucking hang around because he's got nothing better to do in retirement.

[Extra Stout]

The Rockets have Sengun at C and the Spurs have quite possibly the greatest defensive prospect of all time.

Yeah, Udoka would have this squad actually playing defense. Instead of whatever this bullshit has been.
I admit that I think Udoka would have the stroke to bury Johnson and Vassell below the bench instead of this pussy emotional we-are-family crap where they get away with anything.

[couchman]

Hopefully a lesson Castle learns well. He didn't need to leave his man wide open at the 3 pt line.

[LeBowen]

Don't get too focused on Udoka, my initial point was that good teams have a handful of great coaches on the bench.
Mazzulla was #3, got promoted unexpectedly and won in his first season.
Pop has yes men on the bench.

[NASpurs]

This is all I’m saying. Castle was awesome. Wemby is getting better and better still plenty of season left. One 6-7 game win streak or winning 7 of 10 and they are in a playoff spot.

Someone here posted earlier that the Spurs haven't won 5 games in a row since 2019. :lol I'm not holding my breath that we'll have one this year.

[John B]

The good news is that Castle is legit.

The bad news is that he might end up being our best player in a year or two tbh.

Isn’t that exciting though. I mean Wemby still not NBA strong to post like Timmy did (I dunno if he’ll ever), they need someone who can bully his way when plays slow down

[dn0774]

Not landing a backup big worth a damn at the deadline was a tacit admission that they aren't seriously trying to win anything this season. Which is honestly ok, but if thats the case then stop messing around and start Castle going forward. His development should take center stage this next 30 games. A team that won 22 games last year can't find a spot to start the 4th pick in the draft? Crazy.

If they are so scared of *breaking* their promise to start CP3 (which honestly should be null and void once we landed Fox) then send Vassell to the bench. The theory of Vassell being a shooter/microwave scorer is awesome, but that is not what is playing out most nights. Completely unreliable empty calories scorer who can't do anything else on the court besides occasionally knock down some shots. Expecting so many guys that we tanked with to just simply flip a switch and become winning basketball players is asinine.

Do the Spurs have an analytics department? The amount of minutes Castle and Sochan share on the court together is alarming considering what the advanced stats show about them as a pairing. I refuse to even talk about Keldon because he has no place on a team trying to win games, another tacit admission that the Spurs are trying to maximize ping pong balls.

K done ranting for now, pretty pissed off about that loss and some of my takes might be overreactionary.

[scott]

Tough loss but the Spurs can still make it up with an unexpected win on this road trip against BOS or the Rockets later this month.

We're now 1-3 in February.

We need to come out of this month with 8 games to go. We need to at least go 7-5 in February (but probably 8-4) to stay in contention for the play in. With that said, I'll be happy with just a competitive push down the stretch to make it like the Rockets had last year. End the season with positive momentum, have a good offseason, and come back next year like the Rockets this year.

[RC_Drunkford]

Don't get too focused on Udoka, my initial point was that good teams have a handful of great coaches on the bench.
Mazzulla was #3, got promoted unexpectedly and won in his first season.
Pop has yes men on the bench.

Brett Brown is only on the bench so Pop can get drunk with him

[Mugen]

Isn’t that exciting though. I mean Wemby still not NBA strong to post like Timmy did (I dunno if he’ll ever), they need someone who can bully his way when plays slow down

No it's not exciting wtf, it'd mean Wemby got nowhere near his ceiling and this franchise is fucked :lol

[dn0774]

Hopefully a lesson Castle learns well. He didn't need to leave his man wide open at the 3 pt line.

Honestly, Bridges is a 29% 3 pt shooter this year, not the worst guy to leave in terms of odds. Absolutely a mistake that he should learn from (just let the dude get a layup when you're up 2). Teams/scrubs going on heaters every time the Spurs come to town is getting tiring. Lamelo missed the last 5 games on a tanking team but you know he couldn't wait to play the Spurs for what was essentially their Super Bowl. Just embarrassing.

[Mugen]

Tough loss but the Spurs can still make it up with an unexpected win on this road trip against BOS or the Rockets later this month.

We're now 1-3 in February.

We need to come out of this month with 8 games to go. We need to at least go 7-5 in February (but probably 8-4) to stay in contention for the play in. With that said, I'll be happy with just a competitive push down the stretch to make it like the Rockets had last year. End the season with positive momentum, have a good offseason, and come back next year like the Rockets this year.

Let it go, scott. This team ain't doing any of that shit this season :lol

[Obstructed_View]

Someone here posted earlier that the Spurs haven't won 5 games in a row since 2019. :lol I'm not holding my breath that we'll have one this year.
They just traded for an all star and lost to a 12 win team.

[Pauleta14]

Don't get too focused on Udoka, my initial point was that good teams have a handful of great coaches on the bench.
Mazzulla was #3, got promoted unexpectedly and won in his first season.
Pop has yes men on the bench.

There are diff types and stages of coaching.

Mazzulla didn't have to build a team from scratch and benefited from Ime's work, especially on the defensive end. Things are a lot easier for him than Ime in Houston who has to do all the dirty and patience job.

In the end a team 99% of the time ends up at the image of their coach in terms of personality, that's why I've always been I'm very optimistic about Ime (got killed last season for saying Rockettes had a great future and roster btw), not so much with Mazzula who's massively overrated with his dogmatic nerdy strategies "a la" Pep Guardiola.

And that's why I don't want Mitch from the get-go. Don't want my team at his image ffs

[widowmaker]

Whats up with these nail biter games lol

[BatManu20]

Whats up with these nail biter games lol

Spurs are a poor shooting team (which leads to a lot of fast breaks the other way) and give up a fuck-ton of offensive rebounds. Surefire way to keep bad teams in games.

[BatManu20]

1888068506085642405

[dbestpro]

We added a better player so now maybe its time to add a better coach.

[dn0774]

You think Ime would be letting Pop coach through him from afar ala what Mitch Johnson is doing? No way. Mitch was put in a tough spot no doubt, but his personality appears to be to avoid any kind of conflict no matter what. Say what you want about Ime and Mazzula (and I am a Mazzula fan), their record is going to be a result of their choices and not what their front office is "suggesting". Ime glued Reed Sheppard to the bench so tight he got sent to the G-League despite what their front office likely wanted.

[skin27]

If you watch the replay castle’s man was yhe number 8 guy. It was fox who left bridges at the corner to help with lamelo ball. Sochan got blown by lamelo.

[Knoxxx]

Tank goodness for the L!!! Could those be the extra ping pong balls we needed!?!

[hater]

Yeah hope we miss the playoff tbqh

But the guys are playing well :tu

Great times :tu

[hater]

Tank goodness for the L!!! Could those be the extra ping pong balls we needed!?!

:tu

We need lots of Ls but entertaining ones

[Knoxxx]

:tu

We need lots of Ls but entertaining ones

You could not have scripted a better loss than that one. Not sure Fox thumb should be risked on too many more games this season. Wemby could probably use some DNP allergies as well.

[hater]

You could not have scripted a better loss than that one. Not sure Fox thumb should be risked on too many more games this season. Wemby could probably use some DNP allergies as well.

I think Fox can play thru. Not playoffs of course.

We need to be entertainibg but tank.

Wembys 3rd year will be something to behold.

Of course we need to pray for health, always. :tu

[CGD]

1888068506085642405

The bbiq on this guys is damn good.

[Raven]

I was the first one to write Castle fucked up.
Castle is the only reason we weren't blown out in that game.
If you want to continue being retarded, feel free to do so, but you can't possibly be that stupid not to realize you're just digging yourself deeper with each passing game.
what does one have to do with the other? Answer to the comment you're quoting instead of running narratives.

[Raven]

actually I was wrong Bridges should have been guarded by Vassel. Castle shouldn't have been there either but Devin got caught ball watching

https://streamable.com/ickkwk

yeah, no. Vassell goes to contest the shot at the rim as he should, while castle decides he needs to get the rebound instead of backing off towards the 3pt line. There is no reason for castle to move towards the rim with 1sec to go when he has no chance of contesting the shot.

[spursgu]

Terrible loss but all the losers saying stuff like wemby should go to LA or calling him soft, sneezey etc. should maybe stop posting for a while.

I get that you're insecure losers that have to live through your sports teams but have some goddamn perspective other than getting off on being shitposty.

[z0sa]

If you watch the replay castle’s man was yhe number 8 guy. It was fox who left bridges at the corner to help with lamelo ball. Sochan got blown by lamelo.

The plan for Sochan was to prevent an open 3 pointer. He did his job well. Too bad somebody else (looks like Castle) didn't do theirs.

Growing pains, yeah. But against the Hornets? Tough way to lose.

[Knoxxx]

This is funny that a good L triggered all this catfighting.

[MannyIsGod]

2 games in and its clear to me Paul needs to come off the bench. I don't know if Mitch has the balls to do it, but frankly there's no reason to start him. It's redundant and just confuses the offense. I would start Castle in his place, and I would make sure that Devin was told the ball is not to stick when it comes to him. Paul is valuable to this team and has been really helpful but it makes zero sense to start him next to Fox. I don't get what the benefits to that are and it has been clear what the downsides are.

[CGD]

2 games in and it’s clear to me Paul needs to come off the bench. I don't know if Mitch has the balls to do it, but frankly there's no reason to start him. It's redundant and just confuses the offense. I would start Castle in his place, and I would make sure that Devin was told the ball is not to stick when it comes to him. Paul is valuable to this team and has been really helpful but it makes zero sense to start him next to Fox. I don't get what the benefits to that are and it has been clear what the downsides are.

That’s why he’s the new tank commander. Obviously he needs to come off the bench, and anchor that unit. Castle needs to get reps with Fox and Wembs.

[onechance87]

2 games in and its clear to me Paul needs to come off the bench. I don't know if Mitch has the balls to do it, but frankly there's no reason to start him. It's redundant and just confuses the offense. I would start Castle in his place, and I would make sure that Devin was told the ball is not to stick when it comes to him. Paul is valuable to this team and has been really helpful but it makes zero sense to start him next to Fox. I don't get what the benefits to that are and it has been clear what the downsides are.

yea our d has been bad.Fox,paul and vassell is just small and soft at defending.Would actually put castle and champ to add lenght.
Vassell has been a major disappointment with his d and shooting.

[HankChinaski]

That slow start in the first quarter was rough.

Fun game to watch regardless if they lost.

[tbdog]

That loss is the one that keeps you out of the top 10. It's a dreadful loss. Again, Mitch just does not change his rotation. The spurs rebounding is awful. Hornets had TJ Gibson out there. Perfect time to play Mamu. But we don't see it.

[lefty]

dammit

Hornets announcer is entertaining though

[szkorhetz]

”Loose balls and boards right now, loose balls and boards.. "

[daslicer]

This is all I’m saying. Castle was awesome. Wemby is getting better and better still plenty of season left. One 6-7 game win streak or winning 7 of 10 and they are in a playoff spot.

Agreed I have been pretty high on Castle for a while and was adamant that the Spurs had to find a way to keep him instead of trading him for Fox. When the Fox trade went down, and Castle wasn't traded, I was ecstatic. I definitely believe Castle will be an all-star in a few years once he can consistently hit his jump shot and has an outside chance of possibly being superstar one day.

[daslicer]

dammit

Hornets announcer is entertaining though

I was at the game. It sucked to lose but it was a very fun game to watch live in person.

[Fireball]

those were embarassing two games ... we can be happy to have escaped with one win on the RRT so far

[hater]

dammit

Hornets announcer is entertaining though

Del Curry is one of them.

They are great

[Manu-of-steel]

That loss is the one that keeps you out of the top 10. It's a dreadful loss. Again, Mitch just does not change his rotation. The spurs rebounding is awful. Hornets had TJ Gibson out there. Perfect time to play Mamu. But we don't see it.

I was hoping Mamu instead of Keldon will be on the floor, but Mitch isnt into that.

[Sugus]

:lol @ comparing these losers who never been to the playoffs in a regular
season game against the Hornets bench to the 2013 finals with the original Big 3

Who's comparing, tbh? I merely brought a familiar example to the table to explain a widely-known phenomena.

Reading comp, man. It's the shit.

[Sugus]

I respect Sugus overall but did he really just compare this team to a championship team with championship level players lol.

No. Why is it so hard for people to read what is on the screen, instead of what they want to read? Jesus, it's tiresome debate.

Again, "painfully close loss that lights a fire under team's ass" is not Spurs or even NBA-specific.

Not saying they'll be world-beaters, but that was surely a blood-raising loss. Nothing more.

[Sugus]

You can literally copy and paste the bolded after every Spurs loss this season. It's rinse and repeat for the silver and black. You'd think after 40+ games. they would try something different. I know the coaching staff will get hammered for tonight's loss but the majority of players on this roster are either past their prime or low IQ scrubs. There isn't a coach in the world that can transform this team into a winner.

Well, they did just trade for a major star player that they have to work to integrate into the team. So there's that in terms of "trying something different".

But I don't disagree otherwise; some players clearly stick out every time I watch the team. We'll see what happens in the off-season. I doubt anyone can complain about what happened at the trade deadline...

[Sugus]

I'm glad you responded to that as I wouldn't know what to say to that take. Completely difference ballgame/universe we're looking at here with that take. You can light all the fires under the players asses you want, doesn't mean some of the players on this team can extinguish them.

Why do people keep thinking I literally said "yeah the Spurs are gonna play like 2014 Spurs from now on!!"? Jesus, reading comp, seriously...

Yeah, some of the players like Keldon are beyond helping themselves. But some are not.... And those are the ones you want having fires lit under them.

Anyhow, if nobody sees Fox's clutch plays and almost-game-winning performance, on his second game integrating into a team deathly known for 4th quarter collapses through the season, that suddenly begins to do the opposite - claw back from deficits and make it a ball game in the clutch -, as a notable positive, then yeah, different universes we're watching here, I guess.

[RC_Drunkford]

Who's comparing, tbh? I merely brought a familiar example to the table to explain a widely-known phenomena.

Reading comp, man. It's the shit.

it's not a familiar example at all, which is exactly the point. Just admit it was stupid and get over it.

[Sugus]

This is all I’m saying. Castle was awesome. Wemby is getting better and better still plenty of season left. One 6-7 game win streak or winning 7 of 10 and they are in a playoff spot.

Insane that the Lakers fan has the level head in the thread :lol how far things have fallen

[Sugus]

it's not a familiar example at all, which is exactly the point. Just admit it was stupid and get over it.

How is one of the most important moments in Spurs fandom not a familiar example in a Spurs forum, about a Spurs game, tbh?

Seems to me like you're still missing my point, and it wasn't a very deep one. Go back, read the posts, it's no big deal.

[Sugus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8dPjzezZYo

I'm watching the highlights again and keep thinking the exact same thing. How are people so down and about after that ending???

The Spurs have been notorious for clutch-time collapses for the entire season, and despite everyone's disbelief in their trading chops, have just gone and brought in a major star player, Mr Clutch Player award-winner, and the guy has clearly demonstrated his value in only his first 2 games here. Came a literal second short of winning us a game we had no business being in.

I get the heartbreak of a tough loss in the moment, but look it through the morning after.... That was a really encouraging loss. I can't wait to see the team after an off-season to gel, and jettison the anchor weights on the team. We now have at least 3 surefire building blocks to lean on. Last season we only had the 1.

Look at the bigger picture, fellas. Killakobe is right -- we have a bright future ahead, and it's not too late to take your head off your ass and enjoy the bumpy ride towards the mountaintop.

[Mugen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8dPjzezZYo

I'm watching the highlights again and keep thinking the exact same thing. How are people so down and about after that ending???

The Spurs have been notorious for clutch-time collapses for the entire season, and despite everyone's disbelief in their trading chops, have just gone and brought in a major star player, Mr Clutch Player award-winner, and the guy has clearly demonstrated his value in only his first 2 games here. Came a literal second short of winning us a game we had no business being in.

I get the heartbreak of a tough loss in the moment, but look it through the morning after.... That was a really encouraging loss. I can't wait to see the team after an off-season to gel, and jettison the anchor weights on the team. We now have at least 3 surefire building blocks to lean on. Last season we only had the 1.

Look at the bigger picture, fellas. Killakobe is right -- we have a bright future ahead, and it's not too late to take your head off your ass and enjoy the bumpy ride towards the mountaintop.

Brotha, nobody is down about the ending.

They're down because they had no business being in that situation against a 12 win tanking team missing half of their roster.

You're making it sound like they lost Game 7 to the '96 Bulls when, in reality, they had to claw their way back against the f'n Charlotte Hornets in February :lol

[Sugus]

Brotha, nobody is down about the ending.

They're down because they had no business being in that situation against a 12 win tanking team missing half of their roster.

You're making it sound like they lost Game 7 to the '96 Bulls when, in reality, they had to claw their way back against the f'n Charlotte Hornets in February :lol

I guess it's a matter of expectations then. The Hornets played out of their mind and it's the modern era, have y'all never seen a bullshit team get red hot from 3 before?

The Cavs and Boston lost to the Hawks this season, did they panic and make a fuss about it? (well I don't know, but I sure hope they didn't :lol).

At the end of the day, I tend to agree that a team is only as good as its top-8 rotation, and the Spurs have made some significant progress there. Guess it's the glass-half-full approach. I'm not judging Keldon's performance as if I expect him to get any better, for example. Now Castle? That was a performance you can build upon, for sure.


You remember how Spurstalk was up in arms last season about us having "the worst defense of all time"? Notice how you haven't heard any of that this season? Exactly. Bumpy ride to the mountaintop.

[RC_Drunkford]

I guess it's a matter of expectations then. The Hornets played out of their mind and it's the modern era, have y'all never seen a bullshit team get red hot from 3 before?

The Cavs and Boston lost to the Hawks this season, did they panic and make a fuss about it? (well I don't know, but I sure hope they didn't :lol).

At the end of the day, I tend to agree that a team is only as good as its top-8 rotation, and the Spurs have made some significant progress there. Guess it's the glass-half-full approach. I'm not judging Keldon's performance as if I expect him to get any better, for example. Now Castle? That was a performance you can build upon, for sure.


You remember how Spurstalk was up in arms last season about us having "the worst defense of all time"? Notice how you haven't heard any of that this season? Exactly. Bumpy ride to the mountaintop.

you know literally any NBA team can get hot from 3 if you leave them wide open everytime right?

Newsflash: we have the worst defense in the NBA in January. Not even the Wizards or the Hornets are that bad. And they don't have Wemby.

[Killakobe81]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8dPjzezZYo

I'm watching the highlights again and keep thinking the exact same thing. How are people so down and about after that ending???

The Spurs have been notorious for clutch-time collapses for the entire season, and despite everyone's disbelief in their trading chops, have just gone and brought in a major star player, Mr Clutch Player award-winner, and the guy has clearly demonstrated his value in only his first 2 games here. Came a literal second short of winning us a game we had no business being in.

I get the heartbreak of a tough loss in the moment, but look it through the morning after.... That was a really encouraging loss. I can't wait to see the team after an off-season to gel, and jettison the anchor weights on the team. We now have at least 3 surefire building blocks to lean on. Last season we only had the 1.

Look at the bigger picture, fellas. Killakobe is right -- we have a bright future ahead, and it's not too late to take your head off your ass and enjoy the bumpy ride towards the mountaintop.

I’m obviously not a Spurs fan so I can stay objective. I get that loss sucked but the two biggest takeaways we see that Castle got a chance to show he might have the talent to be a #2 for Wemby long term which is huge.?The other is Fox is legit clutch still (clutch metrics can be fickle) what a fleecing the FO pulled off.
Yes it would be great if they make the playoffs this year because the experience would be great for the young players that are cornerstone pieces. But if they don’t even if they miss the play in or lose in it … being in a late season playoff run is still valuable.

[daslicer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8dPjzezZYo

I'm watching the highlights again and keep thinking the exact same thing. How are people so down and about after that ending???

The Spurs have been notorious for clutch-time collapses for the entire season, and despite everyone's disbelief in their trading chops, have just gone and brought in a major star player, Mr Clutch Player award-winner, and the guy has clearly demonstrated his value in only his first 2 games here. Came a literal second short of winning us a game we had no business being in.

I get the heartbreak of a tough loss in the moment, but look it through the morning after.... That was a really encouraging loss. I can't wait to see the team after an off-season to gel, and jettison the anchor weights on the team. We now have at least 3 surefire building blocks to lean on. Last season we only had the 1.

Look at the bigger picture, fellas. Killakobe is right -- we have a bright future ahead, and it's not too late to take your head off your ass and enjoy the bumpy ride towards the mountaintop.

I agree with you that is my mentality. 20 years ago, this loss would have pissed me off but now as a middle-aged person it doesn't bother me due to all the success the Spurs have had in the past when it came to winning those 5 titles. I feel now I'm just playing with house money when it comes to the Spurs winning. I just enjoy the games and look for the positives such as Castle showing improvement and having a great game despite making that mistake at the end. I didn't think this team was capable of making the playoffs to begin the season and was just realistically hoping this team could win somewhere between 30-40 games. They look like they will most likely hit that mark and anything beyond that would be a bonus. The most important thing when it comes to a young team is that they show improvement which the Spurs have shown this year. They are much better organized on the offensive end than they were last year.

[Sugus]

you know literally any NBA team can get hot from 3 if you leave them wide open everytime right?

Newsflash: we have the worst defense in the NBA in January. Not even the Wizards or the Hornets are that bad. And they don't have Wemby.

Yes, and I'm sure you've noticed the incredible uptick in game variance and outcome in the last 5 or so years as a result. I don't think we left them wide open every time, but again, goes in the "Spurs played like shit" basket.

Yes I saw the stat, but that's much different than "worst defense of all time, over an entire NBA season", don't you think? Especially once you factor the much-needed context of Wemby's illness and player injuries.

Again, I'm taking a step back here and looking at the bigger process. Spurs have plenty of holes, sure. But you can't tell me they're not filling them up adequately and that the team is significantly improved as a result.

Do you care to look up and tell me what the Spurs' record was at this time, last season? And do you expect it to be worse than it is today, next season? Then we're doing good, all things considered...

[Sugus]

I’m obviously not a Spurs fan so I can stay objective. I get that loss sucked but the two biggest takeaways we see that Castle got a chance to show he might have the talent to be a #2 for Wemby long term which is huge.?The other is Fox is legit clutch still (clutch metrics can be fickle) what a fleecing the FO pulled off.
Yes it would be great if they make the playoffs this year because the experience would be great for the young players that are cornerstone pieces. But if they don’t even if they miss the play in or lose in it … being in a late season playoff run is still valuable.

Yeah, exactly. I get the sting and was mad at the game last night. But this morning I had a lot of good takeaways from it, Fox's game is incredible to watch.

Once again I think people will be surprised what the core of the team can look like once the dead weight is shipped off, like Collins was in the trade.

[Sugus]

I agree with you that is my mentality. 20 years ago, this loss would have pissed me off but now as a middle-aged person it doesn't bother me due to all the success the Spurs have had in the past when it came to winning those 5 titles. I feel now I'm just playing with house money when it comes to the Spurs winning. I just enjoy the games and look for the positives such as Castle showing improvement and having a great game despite making that mistake at the end. I didn't think this team was capable of making the playoffs to begin the season and was just realistically hoping this team could win somewhere between 30-40 games. They look like they will most likely hit that mark and anything beyond that would be a bonus. The most important thing when it comes to a young team is that they show improvement which the Spurs have shown this year. They are much better organized on the offensive end than they were last year.

Damn, so it's just that we're getting older then? :lol

Yeah, I'm right there with you in this mentality. I see all the dumb Timmy/Wemby comparisons and they sound so tired, needlessly antagonistic, and devoid of any joy in the journey that is growing into a champion...

I've said it plenty, the Spurs fanbase is extremely spoiled, and they don't remember the tribulations that come with growing a championship level core and roster. Timmy had 4 years of college before coming into a team with the Admiral on it, and that's the bar we're judging Wemby on? Insane... And the same follows for many of the current talking points.

The team is objectively improving and the FO has made plenty of confidence-inducing moves recently. That's my current measure bar, and it's in the positive.

[RC_Drunkford]

Yes, and I'm sure you've noticed the incredible uptick in game variance and outcome in the last 5 or so years as a result. I don't think we left them wide open every time, but again, goes in the "Spurs played like shit" basket.

Yes I saw the stat, but that's much different than "worst defense of all time, over an entire NBA season", don't you think? Especially once you factor the much-needed context of Wemby's illness and player injuries.

Again, I'm taking a step back here and looking at the bigger process. Spurs have plenty of holes, sure. But you can't tell me they're not filling them up adequately and that the team is significantly improved as a result.

Do you care to look up and tell me what the Spurs' record was at this time, last season? And do you expect it to be worse than it is today, next season? Then we're doing good, all things considered...

they had that number of wins by the end of last season, so of course they got better. I just wish we had some better coaching, because our players aren't nearly as bad as they look sometimes. They just not being put in proper position to succeed.

[Mugen]

My man Sugus comparing this year's Spurs to the 2013-2014 squad, jesus f'n christ tbh :lol

[scott]

2 games in and its clear to me Paul needs to come off the bench. I don't know if Mitch has the balls to do it, but frankly there's no reason to start him. It's redundant and just confuses the offense. I would start Castle in his place, and I would make sure that Devin was told the ball is not to stick when it comes to him. Paul is valuable to this team and has been really helpful but it makes zero sense to start him next to Fox. I don't get what the benefits to that are and it has been clear what the downsides are.

To me, it's less about who is start than how Mitch is rotating them. Even if they both start, there is really no reason to have periods (long periods at that) without one of them on the floor. Bring Castle in for CP3 around the 6min mark, run Fox the entire 1Q, then bring in Paul to rotate with Fox the rest of the way. You can bring them both back in together in the 4th if the situation dictates (which it did NOT last night, and CP3 immediately got hunted once we put him back in).

I get that maybe there is some politics behind starting CP3, and that's fine... but I don't know what that has to force us into stupid ass rotations after that. I never want to see Mitch's "Oops All Wings" lineup of Castle/Vassell/Champ/Keldon/Sochan again.