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Nice read. I was a bit disappointed with Bassey. He still fouls a lot, and he also had a defensive 3seconds violation. Could be due to rust, and a 3rd string center.
Nice read. I was a bit disappointed with Bassey. He still fouls a lot, and he also had a defensive 3seconds violation. Could be due to rust, and a 3rd string center.
He is who he is. I think some folks are so anti-Collins that they want to make Bassey out to be more than he is. But I do love his energy.
Don't know if Jones is still injured or what. But Blake is slowly figuring things out. Still some challenges when he plays so fast as he can make bad decisions, yet he needs to still use his speed as it is elite.
Overall, it's going to be fascinating to see how the point guard rotation shakes out for next year. Will Chris Paul still be on the team? Will they have to make a choice between Jones, Blake, or Branham?
Blake has the edge philosophically, as his defense is consistent with their team iden y, as far as I can tell: prioritize defense, get turnovers, get out on the break.
Shout out to Mamukelashvili for really busting his butt on defense. He knows that's where he needs to improve. He doesn't have the quick reactions to be a great defender, but his movement and effort were high.
Champ is a real role players in this league now. Not just shooting.
Wesley finding ways to disrupt. His decision making on drives has improved dramatically. And he's pulling the trigger from deep. Just need to improve the numbers, but willingness is important.
Castle just doesn't look like a rookie most of the time. Same at UConn. He didn't look like a freshman.
Gave up too many offensive boards and open threes early. I like that we're cranking things up in the second halves lately. That's a lot on CP and Barnes and even once they're gone the skillset and pattern will remain. Knowing how to close out and win.
I think Tre's role isn't entirely clear and he's in part trying to figure that out. The two PG sets are great but it changes what he's doing, where he's supposed to be, decisions and responsibilities. I also don't know if Wesley's really a point.
Tbh, if they plan on keeping Tre, it's better if he has a down year, we don't want to drive his price up.
He’s not really great at anything; when pressured he will turn it over and he can’t shoot/score.
Champagnie being a legit 3&D player gets this team a lot closer to where they want to be in the future tbh.
I don't think Jones is an awful player. But I'm wondering if the front office is trying to figure out something along the lines of, would they rather pay Jones $10 million a year or Blake $3 million a year?
Okay, maybe 10 is not what they would actually consider, but I imagine it's twice as much as Blake would get on the open market.
Steph had some rookie moments but some of those moves on Kessler were elite. He's also just shooting the ball with confidence right now which was the biggest difference from him being a great role player to being a multiple time All Star tbh.
Special rookie.
Thanks for the grades Timvp. Again a very satisfying win, and they got a better control of the game this time instead of having to come back from a deep hole. I guess those wins from down big gave them resilience to win games. But they didn’t have to test it last night. I think it has to do firstly with our two veterans presence. CP3 instructing people were to go and constantly coaching is really making dividends. The team is so much poised, day and night as compared to last season. Secondly, it’s the overall defense especially Castle’s defense on the POA (likewise Wesley’s when it’s his turn). The team’s ability to harass the ball handlers is starting to dictate the pace. It’s just going to get better the more they play together and continue to realize that they’re a very good defensive team, and defense is winning them games especially in the 4th quarter. I don’t know their defensive rating per quarter but it must be high especially on the 4th quarter where they start to make separation by denying the other team to score.
I don’t have a lot of criticism on the game, mostly positives. Mamu is bringing so much energy with every minute he’s given. I think he has the lightest feet seeking for the offensive rebound. Champ’s defense especially on Markkanen was remarkable. He made it harder for him to get to his spots and even had occasional steals. His shooting is a bit streaky but shooters shoot. Bassey was a little off last night on his rolls to the basket but definitely did better than Zollins.
Finally Wemby’s game was so much in control and maturity. They were not hurried and he showed much patience. His back to the basket has gotten better, maybe he’s getting stronger?? I even saw him surveying the floor with his back to the basket waiting what the defense would give him and patiently allows the play to develop. At 4th quarter, they were dictating the game. Kudos to Mitch for his play calling and timely rotation. Good stuff
I can get used to this winning stuff again. I forgot how it felt, I like it!
But I agree with John B, wembys game looks to be much more in control and less chaotic looking. We're seeing a lot more mixture of inside out game. I think its all about patience and not being in a hurry.
They mentioned something that Chris Paul said about Stephen Castle, that he plays like a 39 year old, meaning that he shows a lot of patience which young players don't usually do.
Thats awesome to hear, and it seems to be happening to wemby too. But i believe a part of it is too that Chris Paul and Barnes have both been a great influence to all the young players.
As we continue to get better over the years with Wemby and if we are fortunate enough to win a championship again, I think we will look back at the signings of both Paul and Barnes and see how important a role they played in getting Wemby and the other players to mature faster in basketball.
Consider a potential second unit of: Jones, Devin, Jeremy, Collins. That's really not that far from our starting unit not that long ago!
Progress.
I think starting lineup stays the same even when Devin and Jeremy come back, no reason to change it if things are working well...unless we catch a losing streak and start struggling.
Yeah, I'm not advocating for making any changes to the starting lineup, that was my point.
Jones, kelden, Devin, Jeremy, Zach. All I was trying to say is that our starting lineup a few years ago was now our second unit potentially, which is sort of awesome. If that's our 10-man rotation, that's pretty awesome for this year.
Juggling a fully (hopefully) healthy rotation will likely be Mitch's biggest challenge tbh. I still think you need to eventually start Devin + Sochan but I think they can get away with bringing Devin off the bench while they "manage his minutes."
Just can't speak highly enough of Mitch.
The short leash on Zollins and Keldon. The way he's used Mamu...
All things that that the non-Sniff crew have been clamoring for...just simple stuff that translates to wins. And it's taken Mitch to do it in a short amount of games where it's taken other coaches a season's worth. Great stuff.
Mitch has to play those guys that still have ton of potential. Vassell and Sochan have to start.
Malakai and Zollins can go to the end of bench
Call me crazy, but was our 3&D player hiding under our noses the whole time with Champagnie? He’s knocking on the door the way he’s improving this year. Specifically last night - steals, harassing Markannen, and raining clutch 3s in the 4th. $3M/year over the next 2.75 years gives me the warm and fuzzies.
I agree Mitch did well last night, but in my opinion only because he finally figured it out in the 4th. It was the first game I felt like he took too long pulling the starters at the beginning of both halves. Blake was saving our on-point defense in the first half, but then we didn’t see him till the 4th. There was a lineup with 5min left in the 4th that had me throwing shoes at the TV (Tre and Bassey). But props to him for cycling through Collins and Bassey to settle on Mamu. I feel like he managed Vic well. Branham DNP.
Victor with a very natural 32. Good signs he’s letting the game come to him. Hoping he plays tonight.
I don’t think Tre vs Blake is necessarily the battle. It’s Tre vs CP3, later. If CP stays next year, I don’t see room for Tre. If CP is gone by the offseason (FA or Feb trade), there’s a lot more room for Tre. At what # obviously depends on his play this year.
Castle…what else is there to say. Dude plays like he’s been in the league for 7 years.
Some Spurs coaches would take half a season to figure out what Mitch did in a matter of games tbh.
Surprised Victor played 37 minutes, but it looks like Mitch actually cares about winningrefreshing tbh
Hope Victor plays tonight, especially since we dont play again til Sunday. He is not currently listed on the injury report
Danny "LDN" Green - Color Commentory - B+
I felt like he got better as the night went on. He was dry as a bad Thanksgiving turkey early on but his personality started to seep out more and on top of that, he peppered knowledge bombs here and there. Good first impression.
They dont have to start tho....If victor is flourishing along with castle with this starting 5,You dont with that.Vassell seems
to get hurt alot to even see his potential.Vassell and sochan will have to come off the bench for the moment.
Castle probably went at Donovan Clingan a lot at UConn practices, knows how to wall off shotblockers on drives.
Yeah, not bad at all considering that was his first time.
He even dropped a "Wish I retired a Spur" nugget. I know it was probably just to fluff up the org so they'd bring him back as a fill in but still brought a tear to my eye
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