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In the pouch
In the pouch
Heavily disagree on Pop's grade, tbh (was expecting it, though). Of course no on-court coaching can make up for the deficiencies... Pop should be making it up in other facets of coaching - film room (seemingly non-existent for this team, as they consistently make the same mistakes), training sessions, all play a part in how the team performs. The team being outmatched from the jump is not a coincidence, and the fact that it happened against a far-from-elite team is even more a sign that something's fundamentally off in SA's gameplans. Were the Jazz unnaturally hot from 3? Or were the Spurs allowing unnaturally big space and opportunities for them to shoot? It's been a constant for the team, at this point, and we're probably far from the end of it.
I wonder what Pop's grade will be once every team has got their outlier high-shooting night from deep against us, tbh.
What excuses or explanations did Pop have for the disgusting display tonight? We're going on 3 seasons of piss poor defense now.
the players didn't execute and played soft
He pulled the "soft" card six games into the season. Usually holds that baby for after the All Star break.
Pop needs to look at his team, GM, coaches and the mirror. This organization is soft. It starts with him. If he doesn't think they listen to him, then retire or get rid of those players' asses. You can't just decide to shoot more 3's knowing you can't make them. WTF does that do? If you can't shoot 3's you sure as better make sure your team can play solid perimeter defense.
Rudy and Patty are so bad on the perimeter defensively even when I try to watch the game for pure analytical purposes I cannot tell what our defensive scheme is...
Rudy had a play where Ingles caught an open 3 and Rudy TURNED AROUND AND RAN AWAY FROM HIM
TBH LMA took Pops balls years ago when he told the old man trade me or let me play the way i want and he caved. That was the beginning of the end of "tough pop". LMA probably got his balls on a mantel somewhere in his shoe house
Well thankfully we have a couple of easy games next and should be able to right the ship............wait....never mind. What's the longest losing streak we've gone on in the last 20 years? "Ouch" is right!
I agree. Was that ultimatum before nephew made him blink in a staring contest? I thought that was the beginning but you may be right.
Thanks for the grades. This was really the 1st bad game with being flat and not much energy. It was a let down after the best basketball performance the previous games. It didn’t help that Spurs are missing 2 starters. But it was over and I hope they learned to tweak some and get back to winning at ude. Keldon continously impresses me. He is fearless and willing to carry this team on his broad shoulder. I’m glad Pop let Lyles and Luka play. They’re big bodies who needs to play well with the group. I think they’re going to be okay. Move on.
the defense is just bad ... by everybody ... and like the last two seasons it is still the case that we cannot keep up with other teams three point shooting. if white really reinjured himself this will get ugly over the next weeks. Keldon is the bright spot but at least i can be honest enough to say that I also hate these Russ like antics after a ferocious dunk even if the player doing it belongs to the Spurs. Despite that Keldon looks great ...
I appreciate your optimism as a fan but its really unfounded. Luka has shown less than nothing, he's shown he is not good. Same with Lyles. The Spurs are acting like a woman who thinks they can change a man to who they want them to be. It rarely works. Luka is the tall young dude who had good handles & could shoot against Euros. Classic case of looking like a potential star when playing against subpar compe ion. The Spurs made a ridiculous leap of faith by drafting him in the first round. Higher than Keldon Johnson. SMH. Can you believe that?
Now he has a giant tattoo on his arm, stupid money in his pockets and looks every bit the immature kid he is. He looked terrible against the Jazz. He made a three but the one he missed could've actually injured a teammate. That shot ricocheted so hard off the backboard (without hitting the rim) I thought it was going to knock someone out. The worst part about his court time was his body language. He was sucking wind after going up and down the court a few times. He looked like he was just going though the motions and was being bullied and pushed around on offense and defense. Sean Elliott even gave him some undeserved credit saying "Looked like he going up there with a two handed throw down." The replay clearly showed him going up for a soft layup. That was laughable.
I imagine the kid is looking forward to going back to Europe to be a stud in some junior league & lead his best life. Its not here.
Thanks as always, timvp, for the grades and commentary.
What a great pic of Keldon! That pic's a keeper, like he is. This season would be purely gruesome without him.
Poeltl made a free throw!
We got to see a few minutes from Luka. Maybe if I was traveling around Europe, drinking heavily, watching Croatian league basketball, he'd look like an NBA player, but he did not look like an NBA player yesterday. The only thing developing there is disappointment.
Patty Mills is a moron. He's our 3pt specialist, the team desperately needs points, and what does he do? He drives to attempt a layup against Gobert. And you want your young players to see that? Mills needs to be gone.
Utah was hot from outside, bombing away, and the Spurs' starting lineup had a grand total of 1 three-point attempt. I can only echo some other comments on the board, that there's a coaching problem in Spursland.
Thanks for the grades as always timvp!
Regression to the mean is in play here. Spurs got a couple of early wins but cannot mask the fact that that other than Keldon and White this roster is very poorly constructed and being woefully coached by a HOF coach.
This roster isn't that good, but coaching has been abysmal.
Pop encouraging the bench unit to play YMCA ball with Rudy and Patty chucking while everyone else is a spectator.
Patty+DDR+Rudy lineups are disgusting. Especially in the 4th quarters of close games.
I'm losing hope that Lonnie will ever put it together, but he should either get a proper chance or they should just trade him right now while he still has some value.
He'll never impose himself like DJ or Keldon. Especially when DDR is also on the floor. He should be in charge of the bench unit. Give him the ball, tell him he'll get a DNP next game if he's not aggressive and see what he can do. If he's still awful after 5 to 10 games in that role, then there's nothing left to hope for. Lonnie+Devin would be so much better than Patty+Devin. But we all know that when Derrick comes back, Devin will be the one losing minutes.
Lonnie just running around watching everyone chuck shots is extremely frustrating to watch. I dread the free agency because Patty will surely get another deal and is already a negative asset for us. Will only get worse.
I'd give Rudy away for free.
Poeltl is an embarrassment. I've never seen a player like him. Unique combination of being extremely soft and lacking any basketball skill. Soft bigs can usually at least shoot. He just looks scared out there. Sure, his defense is good, but you can't have a starter who's absolutely useless in every aspect of offense except for decent screens. I can't even watch his FTs. I switch the channel when he's on the line. What would the kids these days call it? Cringe?
Eubanks on the other hand looks way more lively, always gives 100%, but he's just not an NBA player.
Lyles is another contract year player who'll just try to chuck this season hoping he earns his next deal. I think KBD should get a chance instead of him.
Luka...idk, looks like the worst pick current front office has made. No injury excuses or anything. He just looks like he wants to go home.
Demar is a good player, but not a winner. Sure, he'll win you some games here and there, but for every game where he looks like a legit star, there's a game where his body language just kills everyone's momentum.
He'll never be a part of legit playoff roster here, he's already 31, might aswell trade him. Same goes for LMA, idk if anyone would trade a decent piece for him anymore. But PATFO is settling for false hope of being a playoff team. If we make the playoffs, it will be because youngsters develop, not because of DDR and LMA. But how can they develop with current hierarchy? Demar at least accepted a reduced role, but as I already said Patty is quickly becoming my most hated player. Him and Rudy are the next Forbes/Marco.
But Pop is the biggest problem. Maybe we're all wrong and this is actually the limit of this team, but it's so frustrating to watch games for more than 2 straight years now. So many games lost because of inexplainable decisions. If any other coach in the league had Pop's rotations and defensive scheme, he'd be long gone.
So frustrating that I had to make my first post here.
At least we have Keldon.
Forgot to mention DJ, but he's just random. No other word for it. One game he looks like a potential all-star, the next game he's beyond awful. Not a point guard, not a shooting guard. Most random skillset I've seen in a while.
Tre looks like he'll be a good backup PG for Derrick.
Thanks Timvp for the grades.
I think the lack of a strong big man is really hurting this team. Poertl is showing he was not worth 9 million a year. He needs to dunk instead of tossing in floaters around the basket. He is no offensive threat anyway but when he has the ball in his hands, he has to go up strong with it and he needs to start making free throws.
I think the 2nd unit needs a primary playmaker and/or a point guard. Patty and Gay come out chucking shots and the ball movement just ends. Really hope Tre Jones can quickly develop enough to get some solid playtime.
I’m not the biggest fan of Luka and Lyles. But the Spurs needed help in rebounding against Lakers and Pop didn’t play them. I was glad that Pop reinserted them in the lineup instead keeping them in the doghouse. Pop has that stubborness that kept playing Bryn/Beli/Mills heavy minutes the last couple of years, or putting Carroll in the doghouse after paying him handsomely. Lyles has some value despite what others would say. He is a stretch big body who can grab rebounds. And Luka deserves burns specially during garbage time to prove himself. Like a lot of fans, I wasn’t happy with Luka’s selection. I prefered an athletic big or a 3 and D to replace the void that nephew left. But Luka was drafted and he deserves to prove himself. I can see he is very skilled but still physically weak, and obviously lacks conditioning. He should be honing his skills in the G-League, but the Covid situation is depriving him that valuable time. As a Spurs fan, I’m just hoping that he would prove a lot of people wrong.
I don't know what happen to Lonnie, he just suddenly stop shooting 3s even when relatively open to drive to the rim. If everyone only drives to the rim it makes the job of the opponent so much easier especially with Rudy in there. Our bigs really needs to be more assertive and tough, the whole team needs to collapse to help on defence leaving the Jazz with lots of open shooters.
Pop
The Spurs got destroyed from the opening tip — and Pop deserves some blame for that. The Spurs came out flat, unquestionably. However, I don’t think the rotations were an issue. There just weren’t enough players playing well and the Jazz were on fire from three-point territory. No amount of coaching would have been enough to make up the difference.
Grade: C
Wat
Pop waited too long to insert Luca, when you start the 4th quarter down by 20. What do u have to loose other than a game already lost. Luca needs minutes for development. He should been in earlier and Pop should have pulled Rudy. The Spurs were not winning this one.
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