Game Thread: Spurs @ Celtics - Wed. 2/12/2025 -- 6:00pm CST (2:00am RIGA; 2:00pm Hawaii)

[scott]

Okay... there we go... now let's just play some D

[baseline bum]

You just described Champagnie too, two major rotation players.

Champagnie is quite a bit better defensively. Hell he's better offensively than Vassell too.

[spurraider21]

Some aspects of the Celtics offense are fun to watch. But some aspects are definitely not. They are going to obliterate the record for three point attempts this season. The beautiful game didn't run plays strictly to get three point shots like the Celtics do. And tbf they're playing a Spurs team that is not only god awful at defense in general but especially bad at giving up wide open threes. When Boston plays a good defense and their shots aren't coming as easily and falling with the same frequency it gets pretty ugly to watch. I'm sorry but running plays to spam three point shots just isn't fun to watch to me
it depends. if its just iso dancing and then pulling up for 3 with a hand in the face, its not fun to watch. they do that from time to time, mainly tatum. but i think the degree to which they do that is overstated. its a lot of ball movement that consistently creates good looks, and when every player on the floor is a willing and capable 3 point shooter, thats going to be a thing

[scott]

Another ill advised 3 by Wemby. Chance to cut the lead to single digits, instead down 13. Sheeeeesh

[baseline bum]

Okay... there we go... now let's just play some D

Bend over, I'll give you some D to play with.

[Larry O]

Ryan Ruocco just busted the Spurs for standing around and not rebounding on national TV. SMH...

[spurraider21]

fuck wemby, you have to make that one when we have momentum

[BatManu20]

Wemby gassed as usual. Dude needs an oxygen tank. His conditioning is shit.

[TheBallsbreakers]

Wemby can only dream he's as good of a shooter as Porzingis is. haha
He's still in DG Icy/Hot territory.

[spurraider21]

Another ill advised 3 by Wemby. Chance to cut the lead to single digits, instead down 13. Sheeeeesh
that was a clean look, thats exactly the shot he should be taking. just bricked it.

[baseline bum]

Another ill advised 3 by Wemby. Chance to cut the lead to single digits, instead down 13. Sheeeeesh

You think his back looks screwed? Wemby's running just looks fucking weird tonight.

[100%duncan]

Unfortunate 6 pt swing there tbh

[spurraider21]

Wemby can only dream he's as good of a shooter as Porzingis is. haha
He's still in DG Icy/Hot territory.
what has made Tingus special for boston isnt even his 3pt shooting. its his ability to punish mismatches down low and in the midrange. he's 6-7 from 2 today with HB as the main defender

[100%duncan]

You think his back looks screwed? Wemby's running just looks fucking weird tonight.

Its like hes hunched down on some Naruto shit

[Jordan Jackson]

A smart organization tell Vassell/Sochan/Johnson “thank you for being a friend” …and send them on their way. Find them new teams - it’s time.

They are basketball losers. They play losing basketball in meaningful moments. Crunch all the numbers you want but it’s the same thing with these guys. Same mistakes- they will not change.

[lefty20]

For a team where the Leadership loves to keep harping on about doing the basic shit right, we sure do a struggle awful lot at the most basic things like boxing out, converting advantageous fast-breaks and jumping in the air with the ball and no plan.

[John B]

Does Wemby smoke? I mean for a professional athlete he’s always gassed up and at 20 yrs old too.

[scott]

that was a clean look, thats exactly the shot he should be taking. just bricked it.

Yeah but he turned it into a bad shot with a rushed approach and some weird leaning left shit. If you can't get up with proper form, it's not a good shot IMO

[Knoxxx]

Ya’ll are making me so glad I turned this off and only invested 15 minutes watching.

[LakerHater]

Jus waive Vassell PLEASE!!!!

[lefty20]

A 40 yr old CP3 taking back-back shots early in the shot-clock without a single pass while Fox watches...

[TheBallsbreakers]

Is Castle in the doghouse? This is beyond stupid playing CP3 over him

[spurraider21]

wtf is paul doing

[scott]

No Castle at all this quarter... what the fuck are we doing here Mitch?

[BackHome]

This is some embarrassing shit I am out

[Mugen]

No rebounds, no wins.

So simple yet so hard to grasp for these losers :lol

[spurraider21]

would be nice to have 1 center on the floor. sochan on tingus, champagnie on kornet. i mean wtf are we doing here

not to mention Castle glued to the bench in favor of main character chris paul

[onechance87]

did castle die

[100%duncan]

Would be nice to be within single digits at the end of 3rd. Instead, everyone here knows we about to be down even more

[LakerHater]

Dalton Knecht dnt wanna be in LA, mayb a Vassell trade

[Kawhi Duncan]

Its hard when that's what the kid wants to do :lol

And that's why coaching matters...he is 21...hasn't had a good coach his entire life...he has been getting by on talent and height, but he doesn't know how to play the game...if you just let him do whatever he wants then what's the point of having a coach?

[z0sa]

Mitch plays ultra small ball and we immediately start getting dunked on with ease. Dude's seriously dumb.

There's literally no reason, none, to play small like this game after game. It's utterly ridiculous. Just giving boards and dunks away for nothing, game in, game out.

Spurs aren't going anywhere with these coaches.

[NASpurs]

Good thing that four game sample showed us that Vassell turned the corner.

[ffadicted]

No Castle at all this quarter... what the fuck are we doing here Mitch?

I could understand if he was playing poorly but he’s literally already better on the offensive and defensive end than Vassell and Paul and he’s just been completely in the fucking doghouse.

This is some fireable offense but we have no balls as an org anymore

[Pauleta14]

10' only for Castle smh

[Blizzardwizard]

Castle in the doghouse for refusing to do a pregame TikTok dance with the Friendship Crew, per sources.

[BatManu20]

Mitch still hoping 6’7 Sochan and 6’8 Barnes are going to stop 7’3 Porzingis and 7’0 Kornet on the boards :lol

[Death In June]

It would be nice to play a lineup with a center

[Death In June]

Keldon is so trash

[100%duncan]

Predictable :lol

[Kawhi Duncan]

That's literally a direct result of being forced to switch every screen and roll because of the 3point shot. They don't do anything spectacular or anything. it's just (everyone here can make a 3).

As for Wemby, he's just not assertive at all if his 3's aren't falling. Everything in his offensive game is based around hitting 3's. When they aren't falling, we're dead in the water. He's young, hopefully he figures out some moves in the paint or something.

That's not how it works...players don't just figure it out...they need coaching and he has never had it his entire life...he is 21...he doesn't know shit about the game...

As for the first thing u said, I completely agree...yet when I said it at the beginning of the season I was bashed...he also gets pushed around by players lighter than him...he hasn't even been coached on how to box out

[onechance87]

how did keldon not get that rebound

[Mugen]

zero fucking heart on the boards.

[Knoxxx]

Spurs shooting 56% from two and 23% from three. This is a game to have tried to draw 30 to 40 FTs and ugly it up yet we only have 8 FTs.

[spurraider21]

did castle die
mitch doing him a solid, keeping him fresh for the dunk contest and rising stars game

[scott]

You've just been drafted in the NBA, you report to the team for the first day and you are introduced to GM Nico Harrison and HC Mitch Johnson... what do you do?

[BatManu20]

Wemby literally just subbed back in and he already looks gassed :lol

[baseline bum]

Can we trade Keldon for half a Costco pizza and some used big old woman bloomers?

[Knoxxx]

CP3 playing exactly like he has been - BAD

[100%duncan]

Wemby? Smh

[skin27]

One problem with wemby is his letting his man box him out everytime.

[spurraider21]

cmon steph

[Gibbz]

Boston 46 3PA and still in the bonus, lol

[100%duncan]

Tatum bails us out there.

[Knoxxx]

mitch doing him a solid, keeping him fresh for the dunk contest and rising stars game

Castle already proved himself and his PPG is stuck about 12-13 for the season regardless. The need to lose coincides with less Castle.

[Mugen]

Doesn't bode well for our future knowing that the franchise player is just going to be shit for 3 months during the season (first month, Jan thru Feb).

[Knoxxx]

We may as well play Wemby, CP3, and our bottom 6 roster guys rest of way. Minix with a torn knee may even be an improvement.

[Mugen]

Devin getting absolutely roasted by Pritchard :lol

[100%duncan]

Vassell burnt by “peyton pritchards”

[Mugen]

I'm extremely shocked that Devin only has 4pts tonight considering exstatic assured me that he has turned the corner after 4 games :lol

[scott]

Devin Vassell getting blown by 1v1 by Pritchard :lol

[spurraider21]

Devin getting absolutely roasted by Pritchard :lol
no screen. just a blow by. wild :lol

[Robz4000]

:lol Spurs getting raped by white guys

[spurraider21]

lova ya steph, but a pull up 3 early in the clock probably isnt your shot

when was the last time wemby tried to do anything offensively?

[BatManu20]

Bad 3-point shot attempt by Castle early in the clock leads to a transition 3. Predictable.

[timtonymanu]

Assell can’t even do shit as the 3rd option. Someone said it best that he’s literally just a statpadder on crap teams with no pressure.

[LeBowen]

16 minutes for Castle, all good.

[Knoxxx]

Fox and Castle playing well. With Wemby AWOL that’s the best to hope for.

[z0sa]

More 3's, more blown assignments, how surprising

I'll also be super surprised when Mitch pulls Castle for no reason soon

[100%duncan]

lova ya steph, but a pull up 3 early in the clock probably isnt your shot

when was the last time wemby tried to do anything offensively?
Man who gaf, steph the only one with heart in this team

[SPURt]

Pritchard looks like he’s right out of the YMCA, just eating all the Spurs ass. Wemby is MIA on offense, wtf

[scott]

I'm extremely shocked that Devin only has 4pts tonight considering exstatic (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=20) assured me that he has turned the corner after 4 games :lol

ex had some legit bangers yesterday

"Devin has turned a corner"

"Sochan is 4 for his last 6 threes, his shot looks fixed"

"Branham is a good end of bench player because he knows the plays"

[rascal]

Devin Vassell getting blown by 1v1 by Pritchard :lol

He also blew past Sochan for a layup.

[skin27]

Beside Denver normally wemby only play good against bad teams :lol

[SPURt]

Assell can’t even do shit as the 3rd option. Someone said it best that he’s literally just a statpadder on crap teams with no pressure.
:lol ASSell is Devin’s new name henceforth

[scott]

He also blew past Sochan for a layup.

Yep, I remember that one too. Pritchard is the ISO player Vassell wishes he was :lol

[spurraider21]

16 minutes for Castle, all good.
maybe he'll reach 20!

[onechance87]

vassell and keldon are pathetic

[100%duncan]

Castle benched :lmao fuck you mitch

[BatManu20]

What the fuck is Devin even doing? Dude looks like a lost Rookie out there

[Mugen]

Poor Fox, requesting to be part of this shit :lol

[Death In June]

CP3 has erased all of his goodwill. Fuck that guy.

[100%duncan]

Castle is more of a vet as a player than Mitch is as a head coach. Fuck you faggot

[Knoxxx]

One problem with wemby is his letting his man box him out everytime.

One problem with Wemby is he mentally checked out EARLY in this road trip.

[TheBallsbreakers]

Wemby just too damn nice to ask for the ball. Floating, floating on the edges of the action.
He is obviously not strong enough but he can actually demand for actions to put him in close proximity to the basket.
But, he's got that much faith he just abides by whatever the coaching staff's bullshit is.
Too nice, too young, too passive. A babe in the fucking woods.

But I have no doubt he'll eventually be the league's best.
It's just that he shows flashes of dominance at times that often makes us get ahead of ourselves and forget he's too damn young still.

His talent is a gift and a curse.

I'm not even watching the game now.

Just rambling to distract from the live manslaughter being inflicted by the champs.

[Kawhi Duncan]

There was a 2 game stretch this year where wemby was super aggressive going to the rim and barely took any threes...he had over 30 points in each and we blew out the teams we were playing...him jacking threes isn't the answer and our coaches just can't seem to find him consistent touches around the rim

[spurraider21]

wemby has hit castle on the roll a couple of times today :tu

[Mugen]

:lol Wemby

[spurraider21]

this rebounding is making my blood boil

and wemby's offensive effort (aside from a couple of nice passes to castle) is fucking disgusting

[YoungbuckMurray]

The rebounding is fucking pathetic

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Porzingis has a much better and refined offensive game than Wemby.

[BatManu20]

Wemby with an awful coast-to-coast shot attempt that leads to a fast-break for the C's. This team desperately needs a real HC.

[Mugen]

Sneezey gonna need CP3 after this 4 min stint tbh :lol

[LeBowen]

Devin has entered negative contract territory.

[Uriel]

Was the return we got from Boston in that Derrick White trade fair value?

[timtonymanu]

Mitch is making me dislike Chris Paul again.

[onechance87]

vassell dont deserve to start.

[Frenchfred]

35 to 49 rebounds

[YoungbuckMurray]

We need people that can shoot the ball. And a couple bigs

[Kawhi Duncan]

Wemby just too damn nice to ask for the ball. Floating, floating on the edges of the action.
He is obviously not strong enough but he can actually demand for actions to put him in close proximity to the basket.
But, he's got that much faith he just abides by whatever the coaching staff's bullshit is.
Too nice, too young, too passive. A babe in the fucking woods.

But I have no doubt he'll eventually be the league's best.
It's just that he shows flashes of dominance at times that often makes us get ahead of ourselves and forget he's too damn young still.

His talent is a gift and a curse.

I'm not even watching the game now.

Just rambling to distract from the live manslaughter being inflicted by the champs.

Stop saying he isn't strong enough...he is just soft and needs to be coached out of that shit before it's too late....he is 245...that's Duncan's playing weight....wemby is guarded by wings and forwards....he isn't going up against Shaq...there's times he is up against point guards and he doesn't body them...it's a soft issue, and a coaching issue..
Not a physical ability issue

[slick'81]

Same ol shitty spurs

[spurraider21]

KP with a behind the back pass to Horford, who then finds Hauser in the corner and people be like "grrr celtics 3 pointers are boring"

[SPURt]

What offense are these guys running? Fox pointing people around with Wemby in the corner, then just goes into the trees, why tf is Wemby in the corner?

[scott]

Vassell has been ass, but he doesn't impact winning anyway... the real story of the game has been the absolute shit performance from Wemby today. If we just got December Wemby, this is probably a competitive game.

Wemby/Fox/Castle is going to be a nice trio once we surround them with a competent roster and Wemby gets stronger and more consistent.

[spurraider21]

vassell was supposed to be 3&D with upside but hes just not a good 3 point shooter and not a good defender

[baseline bum]

Vassell is so fucking worthless. Supposed to be a shooter, bricks two wide open threes.

[spurraider21]

Vassell is so fucking worthless. Supposed to be a shooter, bricks two wide open threes.
under 37% for his career. he's average from 3, which isnt what we need from him

[Mugen]

Somebody tell Wemby the game is over so he can start hitting his shots now tbh.

[Frenchfred]

Stop saying he isn't strong enough...he is just soft and needs to be coached out of that shit before it's too late....he is 245...that's Duncan's playing weight....wemby is guarded by wings and forwards....he isn't going up against Shaq...there's times he is up against point guards and he doesn't body them...it's a soft issue, and a coaching issue..
Not a physical ability issue

he is defending other bigs and is not afraid of it, this is not a soft issue. Either he doesn't know how to post up and needs to learn or the team needs to use screens to put him in a position

[Mugen]

Vassell is so fucking worthless. Supposed to be a shooter, bricks two wide open threes.

He's turned a corner though.

[slick'81]

Vassell is so fucking worthless. Supposed to be a shooter, bricks two wide open threes.

dammit, hes turned the fucking corner

[scott]

vassell was supposed to be 3&D with upside but hes just not a good 3 point shooter and not a good defender

to be fair, it also doesn't look like he has upside either

[spurraider21]

celtics are making under 35% of their 3's today, and theyve missed a ton of open looks. problem is we're only making 22%

[Extra Stout]

Fox +1 in a blowout loss.

Johnson -16 in thirteen minutes. Worst player in the NBA.

[baseline bum]

He's turned a corner though.

He needs to go sit in it

[z0sa]

TV off. Can't watch this garbage any longer.

Mitch is a fucking idiot and Vassell clearly sucks now. Roster construction is utterly terrible. No shooting, lineups are bullshit, we're still starting CP3, Wemby's go-to move is a derp 3 pointer contested.

We're years from even a deep playoff run, unfortunately.

[Frenchfred]

same as usual, get outrebounded 35 to 52 and cannot shoot a three 21%.

[Death In June]

I can’t remember the last time a Spurs player drew a charge

[Knoxxx]

Well the good news in mere coaching is costing us 10 if not 20 PPG.

[TekXX]

This Celtics crew is smoking if they think we're in the conference finals next year.

[baseline bum]

Doris blown away that Wemby hits one three (after missing his first six)

[Dex]

I miss Derrick White.

But hey, at least we aren't the Mavericks right now :lmao

[Manu-of-steel]

CP3 with 28 minutes and 5 points, Castle 20 minutes with 18 points

[Mugen]

Spurs down by double digits with the game well in hand. I would have bet my life on Wemby making that garbage time 3 :lol

[TheBallsbreakers]

Stop saying he isn't strong enough...he is just soft and needs to be coached out of that shit before it's too late....he is 245...that's Duncan's playing weight....wemby is guarded by wings and forwards....he isn't going up against Shaq...there's times he is up against point guards and he doesn't body them...it's a soft issue, and a coaching issue..
Not a physical ability issue
Good to know you know him better than anybody, including his actual weight. :bobo

[8FOR!3]

This team has clearly started to regress.

This falls on Mitch Johnson and staff period.

[baseline bum]

TV off. Can't watch this garbage any longer.

Mitch is a fucking idiot and Vassell clearly sucks now. Roster construction is utterly terrible. No shooting, lineups are bullshit, we're still starting CP3, Wemby's go-to move is a derp 3 pointer contested.

We're years from even a deep playoff run, unfortunately.

I'm fine with CP3 tbh. I know he's short but fuck all Vassell's height does for the starting lineup. :lol

[Knoxxx]

Playing CP3 heavy is like rolling out Rudy the ND tackling dummy at this stage.

[Trainwreck2100]

Wemby clearly hasn't gotten over whatever the fuck was wrong with him, shoulda taken the games after the ATL game off

[Dex]

Playing CP3 heavy is like rolling out Rudy the ND tackling dummy at this stage.

At this point, CP3 is our tank commander. We ain't making a playoff run, might as well play for draft position

[spurraider21]

i miss december wemby

[Knoxxx]

I miss Derrick White.

But hey, at least we aren't the Mavericks right now :lmao

White was shooting at best 30% from 3 when we traded him. It was painful to watch.

[Kawhi Duncan]

Status has 10 more shots than his next closest teammate...that's how you treat a star....wemby is just another guy...he gets the ball whenever someone else decides he should shoot instead of dominating the ball and forcing his imprint on the game like a star should...coaching issue and if this continues, Wemby will simply be a great defensive center who can hit the occasional 3...basically Porzingis instead of a potential top 5 player of all time

[Trainwreck2100]

At this point, CP3 is our tank commander. We ain't making a playoff run, might as well play for draft position

Cut him so he can go to a contender

[Mugen]

Just a horrible organization, from top to bottom.

Something's rotten at the core and it's infected every facet of the program.

[Kawhi Duncan]

Good to know you know him better than anybody, including his actual weight. :bobo

His weight has been noted since the beginning of the season...it's not like I pulled it out my ass

[Knoxxx]

At this point, CP3 is our tank commander. We ain't making a playoff run, might as well play for draft position

Yes and luckily most every team we play has plenty of tank killing missles in their stockpiles. I’ve been enjoying every problem, small and large, that keeps us at or below 30 wins for the season. Lottery-wise

[Trainwreck2100]

White was shooting at best 30% from 3 when we traded him. It was painful to watch.

All credit to white for putting the work in but shooting he was prob worse than vassel is now when they traded him

[Manu-of-steel]

keldon on KP? WTF. Mitch. We hav mamu

[Kawhi Duncan]

he is defending other bigs and is not afraid of it, this is not a soft issue. Either he doesn't know how to post up and needs to learn or the team needs to use screens to put him in a position

He isn't soft defensively (unless it comes to rebounds)...he ABSOLUTELY is soft offensively...I've seen him scared to body point guards...

[Splits]

Keldumb closing games :lmao

[Frenchfred]

Status has 10 more shots than his next closest teammate...that's how you treat a star....wemby is just another guy...he gets the ball whenever someone else decides he should shoot instead of dominating the ball and forcing his imprint on the game like a star should...coaching issue and if this continues, Wemby will simply be a great defensive center who can hit the occasional 3...basically Porzingis instead of a potential top 5 player of all time

I'm amazed at your ability to blame Wemby EVERY single game.

[Kawhi Duncan]

Vassell has been ass, but he doesn't impact winning anyway... the real story of the game has been the absolute shit performance from Wemby today. If we just got December Wemby, this is probably a competitive game.

Wemby/Fox/Castle is going to be a nice trio once we surround them with a competent roster and Wemby gets stronger and more consistent.

Wemby is strong enough...he just isn't aggressive enough, nor does he know how to roll...he always comes off rolls not looking to open himself up to receiving the ball

[Knoxxx]

His weight has been noted since the beginning of the season...it's not like I pulled it out my ass

It’s a slow night might as well infight. Just don’t inbreed and we should be OK.

And yeah it does sound like you pulled something out of your ass!

[Mugen]

:lol Doris glazing Wemby's competitiveness

I haven't seen it in weeks tbh.

[Strategic]

Bismack gets 25 seconds to make an impression

[Manu-of-steel]

Vassell with the usual no box out stance, allowing Horford to get the rebound

[scott]

JMac/Blake/Bran/Mamu/Bismack will finish the game tied for the second highest +/- on the Team after Fox's +1 :lol

[baseline bum]

If Victor doesn't like losing maybe he should get his ass in the paint when the other team puts a fucking guard on him

[LeBowen]

This is worse than a 40pts blowout.
Felt like Celtics were at 30% and played with bare minimum effort even without two starters.

[onechance87]

CP3 with 28 minutes and 5 points, Castle 20 minutes with 18 points

damn shame

[Gibbz]

FRP Blake Wesley barely draws iron on an uncontested 3 to end it for good measure.

[Knoxxx]

Wemby is strong enough...he just isn't aggressive enough, nor does he know how to roll...he always comes off rolls not looking to open himself up to receiving the ball

He’s been knocked out of games mentally and physically after the first couple love taps from the other team.

[Kawhi Duncan]

I'm amazed at your ability to blame Wemby EVERY single game.

I come from an era where you blame the best players on the team because they have the most impact in winning and losing...LeBron have yall blaming roleplayers for wins and losses...it's called holding ur best player accountable...coddling him and treating him like a princess that can do no wrong IS part of the issue

[Frenchfred]

His weight has been noted since the beginning of the season...it's not like I pulled it out my ass

And on ESPN, they say that he is 235. For a 7'4 guy, that's pretty light. Duncan was 250 for 6'11 at the same age. I'm pretty sure that Wemby would have less issues at 250-260 but he clearly needs to learn how to post up

[TheBallsbreakers]

Status has 10 more shots than his next closest teammate...that's how you treat a star....wemby is just another guy...he gets the ball whenever someone else decides he should shoot instead of dominating the ball and forcing his imprint on the game like a star should...coaching issue and if this continues, Wemby will simply be a great defensive center who can hit the occasional 3...basically Porzingis instead of a potential top 5 player of all time
Acting like this is the final product is asinine. Growing pains, keed.

[Kawhi Duncan]

He’s been knocked out of games mentally and physically after the first couple love taps from the other team.

I agree...that's not a strength issue...it's a soft issue...u can be strong enough and soft...he is bigger and stronger than Gred Van Vleet and I've seen Fred punk him out of the post

[TheBallsbreakers]

I come from an era where you blame the best players on the team because they have the most impact in winning and losing...LeBron have yall blaming roleplayers for wins and losses...it's called holding ur best player accountable...coddling him and treating him like a princess that can do no wrong IS part of the issue
You're surely making him accountable now. Way to show him, hoss!

[baseline bum]

I miss Derrick White.

But hey, at least we aren't the Mavericks right now :lmao

Shit I'm starting to miss Brynn Forbes. Vassell is like Forbes minus the ability to hit the open three.

[Knoxxx]

This is worse than a 40pts blowout.
Felt like Celtics were at 30% and played with bare minimum effort even without two starters.

Most boring game I didnt see! Everyone in the country but BOS fans experienced a huge let down tonight. Waste of a national TV spot.

Edit: even most BOS fans probably thought this was a stinker.

[Kawhi Duncan]

Acting like this is the final product is asinine. Growing pains, keed.

Acting like you can't ruin a players career with poor coaching is insane...I'm watching wemby in real time go backwards...he is making mistakes that someone who is coached shouldn't make...he STILL doesn't know how to box out...that has nothing to do with being a finished product

[Frenchfred]

I come from an era where you blame the best players on the team because they have the most impact in winning and losing...LeBron have yall blaming roleplayers for wins and losses...it's called holding ur best player accountable...coddling him and treating him like a princess that can do no wrong IS part of the issue

but look at your comments in this feed, they are ALL about Wemby when 58 millions (Vassel, Johnson and CP3) don't contribute sh!t. Wemby is a star but he is in his second year and is still learning. He is not perfect but has improved compared to last year. The team is clearly missing pieces and is badly coached.

[Blizzardwizard]

"'We're a family here. We're gonna keep pounding the rock,' said GM Brian Wright on San Antonio finishing the season with fewer wins than a franchise whose best player is Anfernee Simons."

[Mugen]

If Victor doesn't like losing maybe he should get his ass in the paint when the other team puts a fucking guard on him

Nah....(chucks 35 footer with Pritchard guarding him)

[Kawhi Duncan]

And on ESPN, they say that he is 235. For a 7'4 guy, that's pretty light. Duncan was 250 for 6'11 at the same age. I'm pretty sure that Wemby would have less issues at 250-260 but he clearly needs to learn how to post up

Whether he is 235 or 245 (which multiple places stated at the beginning of the season) isn't the issue...he is constantly guarded by wings he can EASILY overpower but he doesn't...he has the strength to do it, just not the mentality...and if he isn't coached right, he never will...when you coddle and coach a player to accept being soft, u end up with Embiid...definitely talented, but soft mentally

[Kawhi Duncan]

If Victor doesn't like losing maybe he should get his ass in the paint when the other team puts a fucking guard on him

I keep telling ppl this and they keep talking to me as if he is guarded by prime shaq

[Dod01]

Mitch Johnson had us fooled there for a bit. Coaching staff needs a complete overhaul. Great coaches are not exactly easy to find.

[TheBallsbreakers]

Acting like you can't ruin a players career with poor coaching is insane...I'm watching wemby in real time go backwards...he is making mistakes that someone who is coached shouldn't make...he STILL doesn't know how to box out...that has nothing to do with being a finished product
You seem to get too worked up over a kid having a less-than ideal stretch at 21.
You've been raving all over worried about Wemby like a desert dweller wearing sackcloth.
Perhaps find a girl, or a boy, to fixate on.

[Knoxxx]

Wow I half watched the 3rd quarter and we were down 10 most the time and it felt like 40. Probably due to Wemby being lame, but as mentioned multiple other players also shat the bed and Mitch as usual doesn’t help alleviate
more likely exacerbates.

[LeBowen]

You seem to get too worked up over a kid having a less-than ideal stretch at 21.
You've been raving all over worried about Wemby like a desert dweller wearing sackcloth.
Perhaps find a girl, or a boy, to fixate on.

Just ignore him.
Shitting on Wemby during games is literally the only thing he does, he never posts about anything else.

[Frenchfred]

Whether he is 235 or 245 (which multiple places stated at the beginning of the season) isn't the issue...he is constantly guarded by wings he can EASILY overpower but he doesn't...he has the strength to do it, just not the mentality...and if he isn't coached right, he never will...when you coddle and coach a player to accept being soft, u end up with Embiid...definitely talented, but soft mentally

We agree that he is badly coached. You want him to play a game, which is not his. He is not a post up player, he can learn it and should but he clearly has not shown that he knows how to do it. So, you can complain every game and on every comment, he is not going to magically know how to play like real center.

[baseline bum]

I keep telling ppl this and they keep talking to me as if he is guarded by prime shaq

I hate that Victor is playing Eurobasket this summer when he needs to go to Houston for a week and train with Hakeem.

[spurraider21]

Fox being +1 in his 39 minutes is a wild stat :lol

[Knoxxx]

You seem to get too worked up over a kid having a less-than ideal stretch at 21.
You've been raving all over worried about Wemby like a desert dweller wearing sackcloth.
Perhaps find a girl, or a boy, to fixate on.

Its hard to accept watching all world Wemby, now road trip Wemby. Jekyl and Hyde. Regardless of losing, when Wemby was doing Wemby stuff the Spurs are light years funner to watch.

[tim_duncan_fan]

I agree...that's not a strength issue...it's a soft issue...u can be strong enough and soft...he is bigger and stronger than Gred Van Vleet and I've seen Fred punk him out of the post

What makes you think he is stronger than Van Vleet? And bigger is pretty relative. If Vic is like 200 pounds, that means a lot less than 200 pounds in practice at a height of 7'3

[spurraider21]

I hate that Victor is playing Eurobasket this summer when he needs to go to Houston for a week and train with Hakeem.
honestly with the euro game being as physical as it is, might not be the worst thing for him

[baseline bum]

We agree that he is badly coached. You want him to play a game, which is not his. He is not a post up player, he can learn it and should but he clearly has not shown that he knows how to do it. So, you can complain every game and on every comment, he is not going to magically know how to play like real center.

He HAS to be a post player when teams put guards on him. It was the same story last season and why he started off so poorly, because teams were getting away with putting SF and SG on him. Otherwise if you can put guards on him to take away his dribble then he's not an offensive weapon at all.

[Knoxxx]

Fox being +1 in his 39 minutes is a wild stat :lol

Fox was a good add, he’s a baller. What little I saw he gave White fits with his quickness.

[baseline bum]

honestly with the euro game being as physical as it is, might not be the worst thing for him

Maybe he'll get coaching there? Sure as hell isn't here.

[scott]

Fox being +1 in his 39 minutes is a wild stat :lol

:lol Spurs -14 in the other 9 minutes. Absolutely unhinged stat

[slick'81]

All star break cant come soon enough

[Frenchfred]

He HAS to be a post player when teams put guards on him. It was the same story last season and why he started off so poorly, because teams were getting away with putting SF and SG on him. Otherwise if you can put guards on him to take away his dribble then he's not an offensive weapon at all.

Yes he needs to add that to his game but he won't during the season and somebody in the coaching staff has to make it a priority for him this summer.

But clearly, the bigger issues are getting a PF who can rebound and a SF/SG who can shoot the three plus an heavier backup center.

[spurraider21]

He HAS to be a post player when teams put guards on him. It was the same story last season and why he started off so poorly, because teams were getting away with putting SF and SG on him. Otherwise if you can put guards on him to take away his dribble then he's not an offensive weapon at all.
this has been KP's recipe for success with boston. people think of KP for the flashy shooting, but his biggest benefit to boston has been his punishing of mismatches down low. he did that against us today even though barnes' effort was admirable

[twodeep]

WTF is Chris Paul playing 28 minutes for they need a new coaching staff

[spurraider21]

managing to get this game into single digits in both the 3rd and 4th quarters makes the rebounding/shooting even more infuriating.

[Knoxxx]

:lol Spurs -14 in the other 9 minutes. Absolutely unhinged stat

Being outscored by 14 over 9 minutes is hardly earth shattering.

[Knoxxx]

WTF is Chris Paul playing 28 minutes for they need a new coaching staff

Did you miss the memo that we need better draft position? CP3 for 35-40 minutes a game would be even better.

[Dex]

managing to get this game into single digits in both the 3rd and 4th quarters makes the rebounding/shooting even more infuriating.

As much as I hate "morale wins"...this team was thoroughly out matched talent-wise and still made a few runs in the second half to make things interesting. Boston is the defending champs and has been rounding back into that form...and there were a few moments where the Spurs were putting up a challenge despite shooting like dogshit.

As people, this was a scheduled loss...but I do appreciate the fight the team showed.

[Knoxxx]

Being outscored by 14 over 9 minutes is hardly earth shattering.

Edit: the team I watched in the first half was easily twice that bad.

[Knoxxx]

As much as I hate "morale wins"...this team was thoroughly out matched talent-wise and still made a few runs in the second half to make things interesting. Boston is the defending champs and has been rounding back into that form...and there were a few moments where the Spurs were putting up a challenge despite shooting like dogshit.

As people, this was a scheduled loss...but I do appreciate the fight the team showed.

I ageee completely had they not been missing half their players. Did you watch even less of this game than me?

[tbdog]

Without sounding coy, that game was just boring. Celtics 5 out scheme is unblemished by the league but addressing the 3 point shooting issue. Half of the Celtics shots are 3 point shots.

[Knoxxx]

We haven’t bagged on the coaching for a good 2-3 minutes so I doing that again now.

[ginobilized]

Vassell on Tatum and we lost!?!?

Fox/Castle/SF who can shoot and is 6'7"+/Strong rebounding PF 6'9"+/Wemby
That's the way.

Feels like CP3 and Wemby have both hit a wall. Hope they can recover over the break.
Also wondering is Paul is wearing the team out with his constant coaching while he is playing like shit.

Lastly, Castle has done everything to get more minutes. Is this the way they tank, by limiting his mins? Are they purposely putting a barrier between him and ROY?

[Extra Stout]

I ageee completely had they not been missing half their players. Did you watch even less of this game than me?
In the game I watched Boston ran out to a huge lead and then sleepwalked the rest of the way because they could.

[Dex]

I ageee completely had they not been missing half their players. Did you watch even less of this game than me?

Even without "half their players", Boston is still way better than the Spurs. Imagine how the game would have gone if Brown and Holiday had played.

People need to accept the reality of where this team stands. Adding Wemby isn't just some miracle cure than makes us instant contenders.

[Knoxxx]

Without sounding coy, that game was just boring. Celtics 5 out scheme is unblemished by the league but addressing the 3 point shooting issue. Half of the Celtics shots are 3 point shots.

I know it was unwatchable once our needle stuck at 15 points and we tailspinned from there. I feel genuinely bad for the good fans (aka fools) who stuck with it and false hope when we got stuck at ten down for a lot of the 3rd quarter. Don’t worry, had it got closer I would have bothered to resume watching but instead I was spared the pain.

[LeBowen]

Even without half their players, Boston is still way better than the Spurs.

People need to accept the reality of where this team stands. Adding Wemby isn't just some miracle cure than makes us instant contenders.

The reality is that the entire roster outside of Wemby/Fox/Castle isn't worth an unprotected FRP.

[rascal]

As much as I hate "morale wins"...this team was thoroughly out matched talent-wise and still made a few runs in the second half to make things interesting. Boston is the defending champs and has been rounding back into that form...and there were a few moments where the Spurs were putting up a challenge despite shooting like dogshit.

As people, this was a scheduled loss...but I do appreciate the fight the team showed.

Boston was also down two starters.

[Frenchfred]

The reality is that the entire roster outside of Wemby/Fox/Castle isn't worth an unprotected FRP.

truth.

that means that there is a lot to be done this summer

[Dex]

Boston was also down two starters.

And we are obviously nowhere near Boston when it comes to talent or team.

Does anybody have any further questions, or are we just gonna keep pointing out obvious things?

[Frenchfred]

And we are obviously nowhere near Boston when it comes to talent or team.

Does anybody have any further questions, or are we just gonna keep pointing out obvious things?

yep outside of Wemby, Fow who just arrived and Castle who just started to play better, the rest of the team is bad and coaching is not that great

[Knoxxx]

Even without "half their players", Boston is still way better than the Spurs. Imagine how the game would have gone if Brown and Holiday had played.

People need to accept the reality of where this team stands. Adding Wemby isn't just some miracle cure than makes us instant contenders.

Did you not see any games last season?

[Extra Stout]

truth.

that means that there is a lot to be done this summer
Sochan and Barnes are useful as reserves. Champagnie is a decent end-of-bench player.

That still leaves them six players short.

Moving Vassell and Johnson would be addition by subtraction.

[Knoxxx]

yep outside of Wemby, Fow who just arrived and Castle who just started to play better, the rest of the team is bad and coaching is not that great

We have 3 keepers and I don’t mind Barnes as an 4th and as much roster churn beyond that as possible is fine with me. I don’t think we drop then entire other 11 guys but changing out 5-6 would be a good start.

[tbdog]

Sochan and Barnes are useful as reserves. Champagnie is a decent end-of-bench player.

That still leaves them six players short.

Moving Vassell and Johnson would be addition by subtraction.

Sochan should be starting at not CP. Spurs desperately need someone working hard down low. But the spurs have no reliable big man, so Sochan has been asked to be backup.

[skin27]

Welp another L. Bye play in

[scott]

Sochan and Barnes are useful as reserves. Champagnie is a decent end-of-bench player.

That still leaves them six players short.

Moving Vassell and Johnson would be addition by subtraction.

Seems like the majority of this board has come around to what I've been saying for months. Main Character Dev is just an empty stats tank commander. Should have shipped him off to a team like Utah or Brooklyn to help them sell some seats because they've got their "up and coming star" who actually isn't even that. BKN actually kind of already has that guy in Cam Thomas, but another one couldn't hurt.

[baseline bum]

Boston was also down two starters.

Spurs could have won if they were down two starters (Paul+Vassell)

[scott]

Spurs could have won if they were down two starters (Paul+Vassell)

I hear ya, but honestly... Vassell doesn't really impact winning either way if he has a good game or a bad game, which is actually the worst thing you can be as a player: completely inconsequential. Having December Wemby would have been the difference. I hope post ASB we get the same post ASB Wemby we got last year. I want to see our Big 3 operating together on all cylinders even if the season is lost.

[Dex]

Did you not see any games last season?

I've watched every game Wemby has played with the Spurs, so I don't understand your question.

[Knoxxx]

I've watched every game Wemby has played with the Spurs, so I don't understand your question.

You closed out a reasonable sounding post with a thud saying Wemby isn’t going to turn the team around single handedly which was beyond obvious from the get go and entirety of last season. Like it was some amazing new revelation.

[Mugen]

Spurs could have won if they were down two starters (Paul+Vassell)

:lol

[sananspursfan21]

I don’t have access to any of the major networks, so I’m typically scrambling for a free trial when LP blacks me out. I didn’t really give a rip about this one and I’m glad I didn’t waste my efforts.

[Knoxxx]

So the recap was:

Changing of the guard from CP3 watch: Castle at least first man off the bench.

Vassell/Johnson: rotation players on their way out at first opportunity?

Sochan: why not more PT with the two above laying eggs?

[Knoxxx]

I don’t have access to any of the major networks, so I’m typically scrambling for a free trial when LP blacks me out. I didn’t really give a rip about this one and I’m glad I didn’t waste my efforts.

Amen, I had the channel and hardly bothered.

[Dex]

You closed out a reasonable sounding post with a thud saying Wemby isn’t going to turn the team around single handedly which was beyond obvious from the get go and entirety of last season. Like it was some amazing new revelation.

And you are trying to cherry-pick and ignoring the rest of the content of said post (and my previous comments and general posting history) to make a baseless statement to make yourself seem smart.

[tim_duncan_fan]

This is exemplary of a key part of the problem. Teams that don't take care of business during games should not be in this kind of mood:

https://x.com/Texas_4L/status/1889847772272271803

They should look ready to commit murder since they are a losing team.

Not downtrodden. Not low-attidude. Not hopeless. But damned sure not silly either. It's annoying and stupid.


They should be moving as if they have a mission to execute. Kome would flame this entire roster, and he'd be right.


https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExaHlnazVyN255a2x1dDJqcG9vMzI3d3k 2NGp6ZTA2aHNjaWZtMXl2NiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfY nlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xT1XGESDlxj0GwoDRe/giphy.gif


It's time to cut this kind of shit out. One can be outwardly, ostensibly determined and businesslike during work-hours and still be family.

[Donald Sterling.]

Generational talent, best prospect since Lebron and future goat got locked down by old man Horford :lol

Back to reality after playing the 9 win Wizards :lol

[Knoxxx]

And you are trying to cherry-pick and ignoring the rest of the content of said post (and my previous comments and general posting history) to make a baseless statement to make yourself seem smart.

Not really but you also said “half their players” as if that supported your point when emphasizing that was contradictory. If you really want me to nitpick. I was trying to be nice/diplomatic and merely question the worst part of your post.

[SpursBills]

Best places for Vassell (or at least places most likely to be willing to give up something useful for Vassell):
1. Milwaukee - terrible front office, desperate, want to keep Giannis, can potential sell them on having an "up-and-coming young star just having a down year" to pair with Dame in the backcourt and give more spacing for Giannis; can potentially ask for Portis if he picks up his player option +/- picks
2. Detroit - have lots of young guys who can't shoot (Ron Holland, Ausar Thompson), can pair with Cade in the backcourt and run a Cade-Vassell-Holland-Thompson-C lineup with equal parts shooting and rim pressure; would ask for Tobias Harris (expires in 2026) + picks

Best places to move Keldon Johnson:
...
...
Phoenix for Micic and Cody Martin and some second rounders? Don't know if I want to make Phoenix that much worse since Houston owns their picks.
Bulls? See if they're willing to do Vuc for a couple seconds. Otherwise Huerter is completely terrible but gets you off that salary a year earlier.

[daslicer]

This is exemplary of a key part of the problem. Teams that don't take care of business during games should not be in this kind of mood:

https://x.com/Texas_4L/status/1889847772272271803

They should look ready to commit murder since they are a losing team.

Not downtrodden. Not low-attidude. Not hopeless. But damned sure not silly either. It's annoying and stupid.


They should be moving as if they have a mission to execute. Kome would flame this entire roster, and he'd be right.


https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExaHlnazVyN255a2x1dDJqcG9vMzI3d3k 2NGp6ZTA2aHNjaWZtMXl2NiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfY nlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xT1XGESDlxj0GwoDRe/giphy.gif


It's time to cut this kind of shit out. One can be outwardly, ostensibly determined and businesslike during work-hours and still be family.

I hate it when people use the example of Kobe as having a serious business-like attitude. Kobe was by far the most selfish self-centered player I have seen in my life. He was a player who was concerned with his stats first and then winning second. He is the same guy who sabotaged Shaq in the '04 Finals simply because he wanted to get Finals MVP.

[Raven]

i'd say it was a predictable loss given the coaching.

[mystargtr34]

This is exemplary of a key part of the problem. Teams that don't take care of business during games should not be in this kind of mood:

https://x.com/Texas_4L/status/1889847772272271803

They should look ready to commit murder since they are a losing team.

Not downtrodden. Not low-attidude. Not hopeless. But damned sure not silly either. It's annoying and stupid.


They should be moving as if they have a mission to execute. Kome would flame this entire roster, and he'd be right.


https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExaHlnazVyN255a2x1dDJqcG9vMzI3d3k 2NGp6ZTA2aHNjaWZtMXl2NiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfY nlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xT1XGESDlxj0GwoDRe/giphy.gif


It's time to cut this kind of shit out. One can be outwardly, ostensibly determined and businesslike during work-hours and still be family.

That’s embarrassing. If I was B Wright I would cut both of those fools for the cringe alone.

[tim_duncan_fan]

I hate it when people use the example of Kobe as having a serious business-like attitude. Kobe was by far the most selfish self-centered player I have seen in my life. He was a player who was concerned with his stats first and then winning second. He is the same guy who sabotaged Shaq in the '04 Finals simply because he wanted to get Finals MVP.

You're not wrong. But at least he sent the message, one way or another, whether gracious or not, that things were not ok when they were not ok.

Our guys act like they would love having a Swaggy P around.


Edit: They are young, but still. Somebody get mad. And dead-serious.

[scott]

This is exemplary of a key part of the problem. Teams that don't take care of business during games should not be in this kind of mood:

https://x.com/Texas_4L/status/1889847772272271803

They should look ready to commit murder since they are a losing team.

Not downtrodden. Not low-attidude. Not hopeless. But damned sure not silly either. It's annoying and stupid.


They should be moving as if they have a mission to execute. Kome would flame this entire roster, and he'd be right.


https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExaHlnazVyN255a2x1dDJqcG9vMzI3d3k 2NGp6ZTA2aHNjaWZtMXl2NiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfY nlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xT1XGESDlxj0GwoDRe/giphy.gif


It's time to cut this kind of shit out. One can be outwardly, ostensibly determined and businesslike during work-hours and still be family.

Team needs some of this, in every way.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ_kOi-lHFI

[scott]

Best places for Vassell (or at least places most likely to be willing to give up something useful for Vassell):
1. Milwaukee - terrible front office, desperate, want to keep Giannis, can potential sell them on having an "up-and-coming young star just having a down year" to pair with Dame in the backcourt and give more spacing for Giannis; can potentially ask for Portis if he picks up his player option +/- picks
2. Detroit - have lots of young guys who can't shoot (Ron Holland, Ausar Thompson), can pair with Cade in the backcourt and run a Cade-Vassell-Holland-Thompson-C lineup with equal parts shooting and rim pressure; would ask for Tobias Harris (expires in 2026) + picks

Best places to move Keldon Johnson:
...
...
Phoenix for Micic and Cody Martin and some second rounders? Don't know if I want to make Phoenix that much worse since Houston owns their picks.
Bulls? See if they're willing to do Vuc for a couple seconds. Otherwise Huerter is completely terrible but gets you off that salary a year earlier.

I'm glad you brought up Harris. His terrible contract in Philly has kind of put a stink on him, but he fits that rebounding-wing-who-can-defend-and-shoot archetype that we need. He's a little undersized, but still grades out 90+ percentile in Crafted Defensive Rebound Quality, 75+ percentile in Crafted DPM and 75+ percentile in Crafted Shooting Quality (and a career .366 3P shooter).

There aren't a lot of guys who are solid in all three criteria. Some of our forum favorites like Naz and Aldama grade significantly lower in Rebounding Quality and DPM.

[daslicer]

You're not wrong. But at least he sent the message, one way or another, whether gracious or not, that things were not ok when they were not ok.

Our guys act like they would love having a Swaggy P around.


Edit: They are young, but still. Somebody get mad. And dead-serious.

Kobe was fake and was for the cameras. He cried and bitched when he didn't have a stacked team evident when he made that video insulting the Lakers for not trading Bynum for Kidd during the summer of 2007. There was the other time where he intentionally clowned Jeremy Lin and a bunch of Lakers during a staged practice in front of cameras to make himself look good during the '14-'15 season. At the time the Lakers were 6-16 and would be inspired to finish the season with a great record of 21-61 courtesy of Kobe letting them know he wouldn't tolerate their behavior.

I'm not bothered by the way this team acted before the Celtics game. If it was such an issue CP3 would have stepped in but he didn't. This is a young team, and they have their own ritual of warming up. The Warriors during their championship years use to act like this Spurs team did during their pre-game warmups and they won 4 titles lol. My point is there is no clear way to act.

I think the Spurs were serious about winning this game even though you may not feel like that due to their pre-game warmup video. Spurs fought back in this game but the Celtics even though they were shorthanded are a great team. They have that Championship DNA much like the Duncan Spurs had during their title years that they could win games with 1 of the big 3 sitting out against average to below average teams. The Celtics are the same way, and the Spurs are unfortunately right now not an above average team that can compete with them.

Also, they don't act like this all the time I was courtside at the Hornet-Spurs game a few days ago and didn't see this team horse playing during pre-game warmup and shoot around.

If you want to talk about a guy who was serious about wining but wasn't fake well that guy is in your avatar. He also led by example and didn't berate his teammates or embarrass them like Kobe did for personal gain. This type of leadership worked because the rest of the team saw how serious he was about winning and fell in line.

[tbdog]

I'm still high on Vassell. But he is now is playing out of position. The offense philosophy is out of whack since the trade. Vassell isn't a stand in a corner type of player. You gotta run him off curls.

Also why are we not seeing a steady diet of Fox and Wemby pick n rolls?

[lefty]

I hate it when people use the example of Kobe as having a serious business-like attitude. Kobe was by far the most selfish self-centered player I have seen in my life. He was a player who was concerned with his stats first and then winning second. He is the same guy who sabotaged Shaq in the '04 Finals simply because he wanted to get Finals MVP.

This tbh

[SupremeGuy]

Young team gon' young team.

Maybe it's best they all work through this shit together and at least keep a good vibe.

I dunno. Comes down to Wemby. I'd rather him see good vibes at least. lol

We have too many mediocre players and they're all just in each other's way.

[RC_Drunkford]

Jordan McLaughlin and Bismack Biyombo gonna make their Spurs debuts in garbage time.

:wakeup

[Ice009]

Man who gaf, steph the only one with heart in this team


Castle benched :lmao fuck you mitch

I didn't watch the game (glad I didn't), decided to read the game thread instead :(. I can't believe they're doing this to him.

A comment Steph made at the start of the season keep echoing through my head. He said it'll be fun to play with Victor for the next couple of years (at the time, I was thinking, what do you mean a couple of years. I thought it was a slip of the tongue). I think he's out of here if they keep doing this to him.


Poor Fox, requesting to be part of this shit :lol

I feel super bad for De'Aaron.


CP3 has erased all of his goodwill. Fuck that guy.

We should have known he would. He always does this in every stop he's been at. The fans end up hating him. He's done it early in his SA stop. I don't think he's head coaching material either. He'll lose the team. He's no Chauncy Billups. As I said, he's really showed his selfishness putting himself ahead of the team. I don't care how hyper competitive he is, he's selfish.


Was the return we got from Boston in that Derrick White trade fair value?

Looking back at it, probably. I bet Derrick is happy as shit to be out of there, though. At least we did right by him. I also read that Boston is Derrick's dad's favourite team. It's great of the Spurs always helping other teams. Send out Kawhi to win a Championship, send out D White to win a Championship.


vassell dont deserve to start.

None of these guys do except Steph, Victor, and Fox, yet only one of the two is starting.


CP3 with 28 minutes and 5 points, Castle 20 minutes with 18 points

Wow, I can't believe Castle is still now producing in less minutes. Looks like he's still playing his ass off which is the sign of a really good player.
How did Steph play overall? I'm shocked that he only got 20 minutes if he was playing that well. What is going on. Are they trying to tank, but that also doesn't make sense as they're still playing Victor and Fox. Is just sounds like inept coaching.


I hate it when people use the example of Kobe as having a serious business-like attitude. Kobe was by far the most selfish self-centered player I have seen in my life. He was a player who was concerned with his stats first and then winning second. He is the same guy who sabotaged Shaq in the '04 Finals simply because he wanted to get Finals MVP.

I think Kobe was deluded a bit thinking he can get his stats AND win. I don't think he was going for his stats over wins, or was he? To me if felt like he thought he can get his stats and that would lead to the win. I always thought he was a bit irrational/crazy. I also think he thought other players he deemed inferior shouldn't be taking shots over himself, so he took the shots instead. I don't think he was only out there for stats at the expense of wins? I don't know, maybe I am remembering it all wrong as I stopped watching Kobe around 2011, and probably my memory isn't clear enough on the period between Shaq and Pau.

[RC_Drunkford]

Looking back at it, probably. I be Derrick is happy as shit to be out of there, though. At least we did right by him. I also read that Boston is Derrick's dad's favourite team. It's great of the Spurs always helping other teams. Send out Kawhi to win a Championship, send out D White to win a Championship.

Derrick literally said being traded from the Spurs was the best thing that ever happened to him :lol

"Det culture" :lol

[The Truth #6]

CP came here to hoop. Playing time. He likes to teach as well. But he's here because he got playing time not trying to win. At this point the goals no longer overlap. But let's make a big trade to start winning and then not really go with it? Confusing as always what they're doing.

[Manu-of-steel]

Keep CP3 on the bench, that I think he can be effective there. Slowing the game. But we need Fox and Steph in the starting 5, a fast-paced team.

[daslicer]

I think Kobe was deluded a bit thinking he can get his stats AND win. I don't think he was going for his stats over wins, or was he? To me if felt like he thought he can get his stats and that would lead to the win. I always thought he was a bit irrational/crazy. I also think he thought other players he deemed inferior shouldn't be taking shots over himself, so he took the shots instead. I don't think he was only out there for stats at the expense of wins? I don't know, maybe I am remembering it all wrong as I stopped watching Kobe around 2011, and probably my memory isn't clear enough on the period between Shaq and Pau.

Kobe was about stats first and winning second. He had the mindset that for him to be happy he had to get his numbers and be the number 1 guy and only then could he focus on winning. This was the biggest reason he hated playing with Shaq despite winning 3 titles with him which was Shaq got the credit as the number 1 guy and that drove him crazy to the point where he forced him out. They were other issues those two had with each other, but it ultimately came down to Kobe wanting to be the number 1 guy and Shaq being in his way to prevent that from happening.

Kobe thought stupidly when he traded Shaq that if he started averaging 30 or more points a game that he would instantly be labeled as the best player in the league. That obviously didn't happen because the media would point out to Kobe when he wanted to be labeled as the best player in the league that the Lakers had to win and just scoring a lot of points wasn't going to get him that respect. This is when Kobe started to have meltdowns about not having enough help to get wins despite him creating his own situation. He only cared about winning when the media started to disrespect him and not consider him the best player in the league.

[Ice009]

Kobe was about stats first and winning second. He had the mindset that for him to be happy he had to get his numbers and be the number 1 guy and only then could he focus on winning. This was the biggest reason he hated playing with Shaq despite winning 3 titles with him which was Shaq got the credit as the number 1 guy and that drove him crazy to the point where he forced him out. They were other issues those two had with each other, but it ultimately came down to Kobe wanting to be the number 1 guy and Shaq being in his way to prevent that from happening.

Kobe thought stupidly when he traded Shaq that if he started averaging 30 or more points a game that he would instantly be labeled as the best player in the league. That obviously didn't happen because the media would point out to Kobe when he wanted to be labeled as the best player in the league that the Lakers had to win and just scoring a lot of points wasn't going to get him that respect. This is when Kobe started to have meltdowns about not having enough help to get wins despite him creating his own situation. He only cared about winning when the media started to disrespect him and not consider him the best player in the league.

Yeah, wow, I can't say for sure that was his mindset, but you very well may be correct. It takes me back, and the way you've described how it played out, that seems to fit with what his thought process may have been during that time. Maybe that is exactly what he was thinking, that if he averaged 30+ ppg, he's be labeled as the best player in the NBA, but luckily the media called him out for his record. I didn't pay much attention to the Lakers when Shaq was traded, but what you said may very well be what his mindset was then. I only started paying attention to them again when the traded for Pau Gasol.

[daslicer]

Yeah, wow, I can't say for sure that was his mindset, but you very well may be correct. It takes me back, and the way you've described how it played out, that seems to fit with what his thought process may have been during that time. Maybe that is exactly what he was thinking, that if he averaged 30+ ppg, he's be labeled as the best player in the NBA, but luckily the media called him out for his record. I didn't pay much attention to the Lakers when Shaq was traded, but what you said may very well be what his mindset was then. I only started paying attention to them again when the traded for Pau Gasol.

Back then 30 points was what the top perimeter players such as Kobe, AI, Tmac wanted to average because that was what Michael Jordan averaged who they grew up watching. The mentality back then by all 3 of those guys was if they could average 30 then they would be on the same level as Jordan. Obviously, it didn't work out that way for either of those 3 guys.

[ffadicted]

This is exemplary of a key part of the problem. Teams that don't take care of business during games should not be in this kind of mood:

https://x.com/Texas_4L/status/1889847772272271803

They should look ready to commit murder since they are a losing team.

Not downtrodden. Not low-attidude. Not hopeless. But damned sure not silly either. It's annoying and stupid.


They should be moving as if they have a mission to execute. Kome would flame this entire roster, and he'd be right.


It's time to cut this kind of shit out. One can be outwardly, ostensibly determined and businesslike during work-hours and still be family.

It's even worse given that it's two literal scrubs doing it too, one that doesn't play, and one that hurts the team when he does. SMH

[Ice009]

It's even worse given that it's two literal scrubs doing it too, one that doesn't play, and one that hurts the team when he does. SMH

Yeah, that's not good. One guy that is in the rotation that shouldn't be, and the other and end of bench player.

[scott]

CP came here to hoop. Playing time. He likes to teach as well. But he's here because he got playing time not trying to win. At this point the goals no longer overlap. But let's make a big trade to start winning and then not really go with it? Confusing as always what they're doing.

Worth noting, that after last night CP3 is now officially tied with Jason Kidd for 2nd all time in career steals. I think part of the "coming here to hoop" for Chris was to get the playing team required to get these records (2nd in assists and now about to be 2nd in steals).

Now that he's got the steals essentially locked up, sit him down over the ASB and tell him it's time for him to move to the bench, and if he can't do that then we will buy him out and he can find another team.

[gilmor2002]

Kobe was fake and was for the cameras. He cried and bitched when he didn't have a stacked team evident when he made that video insulting the Lakers for not trading Bynum for Kidd during the summer of 2007. There was the other time where he intentionally clowned Jeremy Lin and a bunch of Lakers during a staged practice in front of cameras to make himself look good during the '14-'15 season. At the time the Lakers were 6-16 and would be inspired to finish the season with a great record of 21-61 courtesy of Kobe letting them know he wouldn't tolerate their behavior.

I'm not bothered by the way this team acted before the Celtics game. If it was such an issue CP3 would have stepped in but he didn't. This is a young team, and they have their own ritual of warming up. The Warriors during their championship years use to act like this Spurs team did during their pre-game warmups and they won 4 titles lol. My point is there is no clear way to act.

I think the Spurs were serious about winning this game even though you may not feel like that due to their pre-game warmup video. Spurs fought back in this game but the Celtics even though they were shorthanded are a great team. They have that Championship DNA much like the Duncan Spurs had during their title years that they could win games with 1 of the big 3 sitting out against average to below average teams. The Celtics are the same way, and the Spurs are unfortunately right now not an above average team that can compete with them.

Also, they don't act like this all the time I was courtside at the Hornet-Spurs game a few days ago and didn't see this team horse playing during pre-game warmup and shoot around.

If you want to talk about a guy who was serious about wining but wasn't fake well that guy is in your avatar. He also led by example and didn't berate his teammates or embarrass them like Kobe did for personal gain. This type of leadership worked because the rest of the team saw how serious he was about winning and fell in line.

Celtics has JT which was head and shoulders above anyone Spurs has.. even without JB they can easily dismantle Spurs with role players like Derrick White and Porzingis.

[daslicer]

Celtics has JT which was head and shoulders above anyone Spurs has.. even without JB they can easily dismantle Spurs with role players like Derrick White and Porzingis.

I agree the Celtics are like a perfect operating machine and they have so many weapons to deal with. Right now, I can't think of a team that can beat them in a 7-game series in either conference. I think the Nuggets would be the worst matchup for them simply because of Jokic.

[RC_Drunkford]

I agree the Celtics are like a perfect operating machine and they have so many weapons to deal with. Right now, I can't think of a team that can beat them in a 7-game series in either conference. I think the Nuggets would be the worst matchup for them simply because of Jokic.

that's what the Spurs used to be...

[daslicer]

that's what the Spurs used to be...

I agree.

[Extra Stout]

I don’t see why the Spurs need to bench CP3. He is at worst their fourth-best player. Just start a three-guard lineup of CP3, Fox, and Castle. So what if they’re undersized? It’s not as though Vassell plays any defense anyway. Then arrange the rotations so that at least 2 out of those 3 are on the floor for as much of the game as possible. Vassell can have Keldon’s minutes, since KJ doesn’t belong in the rotation at all.