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Thanks for the writeup. It was an ugly game. Take the W and move on. Certainly better than playing well against the Bucks and getting the L.
The Spurs really, really needed a win Monday night against the hapless Bulls. And they got it. Just barely.
Trailing by three points with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, San Antonio scored ten straight points over the proceeding four minutes, punctuated by a ferocious dunk by LaMarcus Aldridge. But the Bulls battled back as former Austin Spurs point guard Ryan Arcidiacono hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull Chicago within a point with 48 second remaining.
Thankfully, Zach LaVine missed a three-pointer on the subsequent possession and then, after a Spurs turnover while inbouding the ball, Arcidiacono missed a desperation jumper with under a second to go.
I wouldn't classify this as a good win; the Bulls aren't a good team, didn't play particularly well and yet the Spurs still almost lost. But, hey, at this point a win is a win -- especially on the road -- and the good guys are once again at .500, 10-10.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
While LaMarcus Aldridge's energy waned at times, he played well enough. His passing out of the post was very good and he physically battled for points in the paint when he set his mind to it. Aldridge was too passive on offense for much of the game but came up big when it counted most by scoring 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Defensively, he was lazy at times but he also had a handful of highlight-reel worthy help-defense plays and he was also consistently sturdy when defending the post. Overall, Aldridge didn't settle for bad shots, scored efficiently and looked alive at times on defense -- those three traits alone make this a better than average performance for Aldridge.
Grade: B
Summary: Aldridge's play in the final stanza helped the Spurs avoid a loss.
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DeMar DeRozan
The good: Defensively, Pop put DeMar DeRozan on LaVine for a lot of the fourth quarter and DeRozan was up for the challenge. His defense wasn't great but the effort was there and LaVine was held in check. DeRozan also rebounded well throughout the game. Offensively, his passing and playmaking were good. For the third straight game, DeRozan hit at least half of his field goal attempts. The bad: Before Pop switched DeRozan onto LaVine, his performance on that end was poor. He wasn't mentally engaged at all and was sub par both individually and help-wise. Offensively, DeRozan was sloppier than usual and his decision-making on the dribble wasn't what we've come to expect. All in all, DeRozan was average but he really needs to focus more on defense or else his overall value is going to plummet.
Grade: B-
Summary: DeRozan didn't play defense until the fourth quarter. His offense was fine.
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Rudy Gay
I'm not exactly sure why Rudy Gay's minutes were limited. Maybe Pop wanted to rest Gay to keep him as fresh as possible for when the Spurs play more talented teams. Perhaps Pop was simply matching down size-wise since Chicago almost always had three guards on the court. In his 17 minutes, Gay didn't look as spry as usual -- a lot of standing around on offense and struggling to stay in front of his man on defense. But, yet again, his per-minute production was solid and he continues to knock down three-pointers at a career-best clip.
Grade: C+
Summary: Gay didn't play much, wasn't moving very well but still produced.
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Bryn Forbes
On offense, Bryn Forbes was passing well; his vision when running pick-and-rolls was way better than usual. He knocked down three first half three-pointers -- he's shooting 52.8 percent from downtown over his last ten games. Defensively, his lack of size hurt him. Forbes gave effort on that end but the Bulls got a lot of clean shots right over the top of him. He was also benched for a pair of defensive mistakes in the third quarter. And in the fourth, he had two costly turnovers, including on the inbounds pass that led to Arcidiacono having a shot to beat the Spurs at the buzzer.
Grade: C+
Summary: Forbes shot well, passed well but almost cost San Antonio the win.
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Dante Cunningham
I just don't understand how Dante Cunningham looks so bad at defense so often. He's in the lineup due to his D yet he's usually not even average on that end. On this night, he was well below average. Cunningham allowed his man to drive middle -- a cardinal sin in San Antonio's defensive scheme -- multiple times, provided little to no help and was slow to react to loose balls. On the offensive end, the Bulls didn't guard him. Cunningham rebounded well . . . and that was about all he did well.
Grade: D
Summary: It's difficult to justify starting Cunningham, especially on nights like tonight.
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Patty Mills
Patty Mills was pretty damn good. He uncharacteristically had a lot of success taking the ball to the basket and finishing difficult shots in the lane or kicking it to open shooters. He shot well from midrange and beyond the arc. Mills' help defense was timely and aggressive. He did struggle man-to-man and had a front row seat for a handful of Bulls three-pointers. But, honestly, the Spurs don't win this game without Mills' leadership of the bench unit and his tenacious play overall.
Grade: A-
Summary: Mills was arguably the team's most important player.
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Derrick White
Getting there. Derrick White didn't quite have the breakthrough performance we've been waiting for but there were a lot of positives. At first, White earned extra minutes by playing very good defense on LaVine. No one on the team even came close to his level of defensive play out on the perimeter. White also helped out on that end rebounding-wise. On offense, it's obvious he's still struggling with his confidence level and his knowing-he-belongs level (he's second guessing his shots, sometimes forgets how to dribble, doesn't look comfortable bringing the ball up the court anymore, etc.) but he had a couple slick passes and knocked down a pair of three-pointers, including a huge one with four minutes to go in the fourth that ended up giving the Spurs the lead for good.
Grade: B+
Summary: White played his best game since his famous Rockets outing.
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Marco Belinelli
The bad: Marco Belinelli's shot selection wasn't good. He compounded the issue by missing most of his open shots. That's not a good combination, to state the obvious. The good: Belinelli's playmaking was vital for the bench unit. His passing while on the move was particularly impressive. Belinelli making things happen on offense was a main reason why the bench outplayed the starters for a majority of the night. Defensively, I'd say he was average but he did avoid glaring errors.
Grade: C
Summary: Belinelli's can't shoot for some reason but he did some things well.
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Davis Bertans
Davis Bertans couldn't make a shot but he did a lot of things well. He never hesitated and continued hunting for open space, which caused the Bulls to play close attention to him. That led to a lot of spacing when he was on the court. Bertans also defended relatively well (the Bulls infrequently scored when he was on the court), and he rebounded and boxed out a lot better than usual. All that said, Bertans is on the court for his shooting -- so it's not a good game for him when he hits only one of seven attempts.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans helped in a lot of areas outside of his most important area.
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Jakob Poeltl
In what was his best game of the season, Jakob Poeltl played extremely well. He hit all five of his field goal attempts, mostly on quick shots in the lane with a deft touch. (In his last six games, Poeltl has hit 16-of-21 shots from the field for a sizzling 76.2 percent.) His passing was excellent -- well-timed and he saw openings before they materialized. On D, he moved his feet well, ran the court well, guarded the rim intently and might have pulled down his first contested defensive rebounds of the season.
Grade: A
Summary: After a shaky start to his Spurs career, Poeltl has found his footing.
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Pop
I thought Cunningham played too much and I was confused as to why Gay didn't play more (although there may have been valid reasons). I did like Pop using White as a perimeter defensive stopper, which allowed White to work through his offensive issues and eventually hit that key three. Giving Poeltl extended minutes was smart and giving Bertans extra minutes in the fourth paid off.
Grade: B
Summary: Pop trusted his bench more tonight.
Looking ahead: This was a win where you burn the tape and move on. It's good that Poeltl and White played well but that's about the extent of the positives -- outside of the W, of course.
To finish off the four-game road trip, the Spurs head to Minnesota to play the T'Wolves on Wednesday. That won't be easy but a win up there would keep the momentum moving in the right direction.
Thanks for the writeup. It was an ugly game. Take the W and move on. Certainly better than playing well against the Bucks and getting the L.
Forbes playing better than Marco? I'm willing to eat crow on that although I didn't want to sign Marco at all either.
Rudy definitely becoming a good secondary playmaker.
Poeltl's best game of the season? I'd say so.
no love for forbes ? who is better defender than marco & mills
forbes definately better than marco,soRRy
Watching Belli shoot, he’s slinging the ball with his arms, not shooting with his legs. I see that in older amateur players who no longer have the leg strength to get under their shots. Marco is famous for off-balance shots, and putting a lot of English on his attempts, which is probably why he’s not even aware of the subtle shift, but when I watch him, his base isn’t there right now. There’s a lot of flat missles being fired from the shoulders and arms. Some of those attempts are ugly. Looks like someone firing up shots at the YMCA.
Thanks for the grades Timvp. It’s a sloppy game but will take the W. I hope they cleanup for the TWolves.
I really think this team is past the days of a ‘bad win’. The fact they won at all is gonna have to do. I’m trying to remove the spoiled fan at ude haha
Forbes had a great assist for Archie Diacono
#benchcunningham
Thanks Timvp!
I thought unfortunately it was a pathetic effort against a very weak and not smart team from our starting unit. In fact everyone on the starting line-up has negative plus-minus. For most of the game Demar and Forbes did not try on defense at all so LaVine effortlessly got easy and open shots. I'm spoiled with years and years of defensive effort from the Spurs so it's painful to watch how our guards and wings just cruise-control near their opponents.
I agree that we probably shouldn't start Cun against any opponent. He is useful against ball-dominated forwards like LeBron, Yannis, Durant or Nephew for that matter but he's absolutely useless against quicker guards. It's okay if he starts against Lakers or Bucks but I would rather start anyone else against Portland or Chicago.
Also I don't agree with a C for Bertans. Sure, he didn't make his shots today but I kind of liked how the team looked out there with him on the floor. Even defensively I thought he tried more than the others.
You can't burn all the game tapes, ya know.
he's got size and gravity even when he's not shooting well, it ends up creating problems for defense (even if he defensively looks completely dead at various times) I'd like to try a lineup with Aldridge in C and Demar as PG, using Gay Bertans and Marco (not ideal, but it would be my choice between him, Mills and Forbes)
I'd take Q-Pon over Marco at this point. Can switch a lot more and doesn't take trash shots.
you might be right, this would probably be the biggest "modern lineup" we could put on the court
#GetARealSF
d white has to get over his Kyle Anderson virus and start shooting with more confidence. if that takes place, he would be so valuable because of his defensive potential.
Everybody keeps talking about his defensive potential, and sure athletically he's better than others. But I watch the games, and he mostly sucks on defense and is only marginally better than Forbes and DeRozan.
Let's hope anyway
That’s has Pop syndrome written all over it. Young’s guys come in, show promise, then revert back to scared to shoot mode. Seen it over and over and over.
I legit hate this team tbh
The only one I actually like on the roster is DWhite and either a) he actually sucks b) Pop already neutered him or C) little bit of both
I like Lonnie's skillset but he's probably 2-3 years away from even getting meaningful PT and I'm sure if Pop is still around that his play style will be retooled.
I hate the way pretty much every single player plays and the coaching is so, so bad this year. It's depressing how lifeless the guys look even during Ws, even the crowd sounds depressed AF when they scream "Two Shots"....
It's a depressing team to watch and it sucks tbh, I'd be fine with them being ty if they played an entertaining brand of basketball and/or they actually looked like they gave a out there.
I think the only way to reinvigorate life back into the organization is a change in leadership. Silver lining is that it's probably only a year and a half away....hopefully.
AND they got rid of the cheerleaders. Ffs!I legit hate this team tbh
The only one I actually like on the roster is DWhite and either a) he actually sucks b) Pop already neutered him or C) little bit of both
I like Lonnie's skillset but he's probably 2-3 years away from even getting meaningful PT and I'm sure if Pop is still around that his play style will be retooled.
I hate the way pretty much every single player plays and the coaching is so, so bad this year. It's depressing how lifeless the guys look even during Ws, even the crowd sounds depressed AF when they scream "Two Shots"....
It's a depressing team to watch and it sucks tbh, I'd be fine with them being ty if they played an entertaining brand of basketball and/or they actually looked like they gave a out there.
I think the only way to reinvigorate life back into the organization is a change in leadership. Silver lining is that it's probably only a year and a half away....hopefully.
This. He's not very sharp. He also messed up against the Bucks that resulted in a fast break bucket for the Bucks late in the game.
Forbes should be a limited-minutes sharp shooter off the bench. He's really improved for this role. But he is asked to be #3 player in terms of minutes played, almost 29 minutes per game.
Couldn’t catch the game last night, thanks for the write up. Glad to see white and Jakob played well. We will need them to continue to improve and get comfortable for both this season and the future.
So strange that when wide open Beli can hit a shot. But coming off a screen leaning to much and shooting it really flat is when he makes them, I don’t remember that in the ‘14 championship.
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