Grades: Spurs @ Lakers - Dec. 5, 2018

[timvp]

Well, at least it was a close game. A night after suffering their third blowout loss by more than 30 points in four games, the Spurs actually had a good chance to win Wednesday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers. That good chance evaporated when LeBron James exploded in the fourth quarter.

San Antonio was up by eight points with ten minutes remaining in the game when James reentered. Over the next ten minutes, the best player in Lakers history scored 20 of his game-high 42 points to propel Los Angeles to a 121-113 victory.

The autopsy of this latest loss starts on the defensive end. The Spurs were doing a relatively decent job on that end until the greatest Lakers player ever spearheaded a 43-point fourth quarter. At the final buzzer, the Spurs had allowed 115.2 points per 100 possessions -- a worse than usual rate (113.4 points) for the second worst defensive team in the NBA.

The offense, despite a combined 84 points by DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and LaMarcus Aldridge, just didn't have enough firepower to hang on. Unfortunately, the team's offensive upside was neutered by Pop's decision to put Dante Cunningham back into the starting lineup in place of Davis Bertans and play him 34 minutes. It also didn't help that it took Pop until the second half to realize Derrick White needed a more prominent role.

Big picture-wise, it's possible to say this game was a step in the right direction. Not a moral victory by any stretch of the imagination ... but a notable improvement compared to their last two road games in which the Spurs lost by a total of 73 points. San Antonio competed well and put themselves in a position to possibly win the game. That alone, right now, is progress.

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LaMarcus Aldridge

I wasn't impressed by the overall energy level LaMarcus Aldridge displayed. He did a lot of loafing, which manifested most negatively on the defensive end. He was slow to offer help, particularly at the rim and in pick-and-roll sets. Aldridge's individual defense was fine, though, as was his work on the boards. Offensively, he missed four of his five shots from outside of the paint and authored a handful of halfhearted forays into the paint. To his credit, Aldridge's efficiency was good for the night on offense and he scored some key points in the fourth quarter to give the good guys a chance. All in all, I don't have much issue with Aldridge's boxscore production but it would have helped if he had given better and more consistent effort throughout the evening.
Grade: C+
Summary: Aldridge put up stats.

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DeMar DeRozan

Defensively, DeMar DeRozan didn't do much right. He read the passing lanes correctly a couple times but that was the extent of his contributions on that end. Offensively, DeRozan simply wasn't efficient enough -- 32 points on 27 shots is not good enough, particularly when the team's two other main scorers had it going. On this night, more passing, more precision, less ball-stopping and less sloppiness would have helped. DeRozan had stretches where he was really good offensively but consistency was lacking and he wasn't up for the challenge to fight back when LeBron was LeSurging in the fourth, as he went scoreless during a five-minute stretch that saw the Lakers go from down eight to up one.
Grade: C
Summary: DeRozan was busy during his 41 minutes but didn't do enough right.

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Rudy Gay

A night after going scoreless in 19 minutes in Utah, Rudy Gay bounced back with a very good performance. He posted a season-high 31 points and was virtually unstoppable in a third quarter that saw him score 16 points. Truthfully, Gay still wasn't moving well and wasn't getting much elevation when jumping. But he battled through his physical limitations and gave the Spurs all he had. Defensively, he didn't have much success on James (no one did, really) and was slow to rotate at times but he was fighting for rebounds and was stubborn under the basket. The fourth quarter had to be infuriating for Gay. Despite his 16 points in the third, he didn't get many touches in the final stanza. To make matters worse, the Lakers had a small (usually Josh Hart) on him, yet the Spurs rarely tried to take advantage of the mismatch.
Grade: A
Summary: Gay poured in a season-high in points and his toughness throughout was excellent.

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Bryn Forbes

Bryn Forbes is slumping right now. Over his last five games, he's shooting 35 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from beyond the three-point line. Against the Lakers, he couldn't make the defense pay for routinely doubling off of him. It got to the point that Forbes was so out of sorts that he was unplayable. Defensively, I thought Forbes' tenacity-level was improved from recent outings but he's not to be confused for an asset on that end. The bottom line for Forbes is he has to hit shots to have value and he was shooting crooked tonight.
Grade: D+
Summary: Forbes couldn't hit a shot and the Lakers were well aware of that fact.

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Dante Cunningham

I don't even know what to type. Dante Cunningham playing 34 minutes in this game was an inexcusable coaching decision. First of all, Cunningham didn't slow down James at all. At all. Secondly, Cunningham only defended James for about 60 percent of the time he was on the court. So why play him so much when he's not always defending James and not slowing him down even when he was defending him? I don't understand. To no one's surprise, the Spurs offense sputtered in the minutes Cunningham was on the court and was humming when he was on the bench.
Grade: D+
Summary: Cunningham didn't do much of anything yet played 34 minutes.

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Patty Mills

The good: Patty Mills was extra vocal tonight. It's obvious he took it upon himself to attempt to be more of a leader. He was doing what he could to keep the spirits up. Commendable. He also had a few good passes on the move. The bad: Mills just wasn't very good at basketball tonight. He missed shots on one end and wasn't his usual frenetic self on the other end. His play in the fourth quarter was well south of par; his shot selection was poor and he telegraphed a key turnover that further swung the momentum away from San Antonio.
Grade: C-
Summary: Mills was mentally engaged but made too many mistakes.

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Derrick White

Derrick White entered the game for the first time at the beginning of the second quarter and instantly changed the game in San Antonio's favor. After the Spurs totaled three assists in a clunky first quarter, White handed out four assists in the second quarter's first two and a half minutes to completely erase an eight-point deficit. That stretch was the finest stretch of basketball we've seen out of White thus far in the NBA. The rest of his game against the Lakers wasn't quite as magical. His defense was relatively strong, he helped out rebounding-wise and he kept his mistakes to a minimum but White also had a multiple misses on wide open looks that could have changed the trajectory of the outcome. That said, White certainly did well to further make it obvious that he'll need to be a key cog if this team is to play consistent, winning basketball.
Grade: B+
Summary: White was amazing at times but missed shots that could have taken his performance to the next level.

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Jakob Poeltl

Jakob Poeltl continued his strong play. He looks really solid on both ends of the court now. Offensively, he's nearly automatic in the paint, he's a threat rolling to the rim and he makes the right passes. Defensively, he grabbed a season high six defensive boards and guarded the rim well at times. Poeltl can still improve in terms of his rotation speed when defending the paint and contesting shots without fouling. However, overall, Poeltl is looking good and his improved confidence has exposed quite a bit of talent.
Grade: A-
Summary: Poeltl was a bright spot in his 15 minutes of play.

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Davis Bertans

Davis Bertans was back to the bench after starting the previous two games. Once in the game, he came out firing and knocked down all three of his three-pointers in his first seven minutes on the floor. The rest of his night, though, was a struggle. Defensively, he moved his feet okay at times but he also made dumb plays on that end, wasn't physical enough and allowed himself to get flustered by calls that didn't go his way. Offensively, after the Lakers stopped leaving him, he didn't have much of an impact besides the spacing his presence created.
Grade: C
Summary: Benched Bertans was a difference-maker early but fizzled out.

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Marco Belinelli

Ugh. Marco Belinelli played terrible defense in the first half. He compounded matters with out of control play on offense. In the second half, Belinelli watched from the sidelines as White absorbed his minutes.
Grade: D
Summary: Belinelli played bad.

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Pop

The good: Pop eventually realized that White should play more and Belinelli should play less. The bad: Playing Cunningham 34 minutes tonight, as I've previously detailed, made no sense. It really hurt San Antonio's chances of winning. Playing White as an afterthought was laughably senseless. DeRozan played too many minutes for a guy who wasn't playing all that well on the second night of a back-to-back. Not calling plays for an on-fire Gay when there were mismatches galore in the fourth quarter was poor coaching.
Grade: F+
Summary: Pop's coaching made it all but impossible for the Spurs to win what was otherwise a winnable game.

Looking ahead: The forthcoming six-game homestand couldn't come at a better time. If the playoffs are going to include San Antonio this season, this is when the Spurs will start making up ground. The good guys need to go at least 4-2 to get their wheels back on the postseason track.

The homestand begins with a Lakers rematch on Friday night. If nothing else, it'll be fascinating to see if Pop realizes his coaching was nonoptimal tonight or if he'll double down on his strategies.

[Chinook]

Gay can't guard Lebron, not even to the extent Cun can. I don't think it's justifiable to act like it didn't make sense to play him. LAL might be the only team in the league where it made sense. That's even more true at the end of the game, when Gay had five fouls and could not spend much time on Lebron at all. The team obviously lacks an SF that would make it unnecessary to start Dante in the first place. That's been beaten to death, though.

Game really comes down to the Spurs missing a ton of shots they should have made and need to make with their D as bad as it is. The Utah game fell apart the way it did because every time the Spurs had a chance to gain momentum, the Jazz would nail an open three. It just felt like if they could miss one of those, the Spurs could go on a run, but it didn't happen until the very end of the game. In this game against LAL, the Spurs had numerous chances to hit such shots and clanked them. Lebron went into full video-game mode at the end, but it shouldn't have even been an open if the Spurs had been more clutch.

As far as I can see, the Spurs have nine more days to get above .500. I don't see this being a playoff team right now. Gasol may never come back and be impactful, and even if he could, he and Poeltl can't play together or with Aldridge. LMA is just too old to be his 2017 self every game. Gay and DeRozan both establish a not-abysmal floor, but they don't lift the ceiling. Bertans and Beli haven't done enough to want to keep them to give it the old college try next year. The idea of turning off the burners for this year just makes too much sense.

[monty4329]

No matter the offense, it is impossible to win any game if you give up 43 points in the fourth quarter. If only for that, grades should be F for everybody.

Also it doesn't help that only three players go to the line. But still the issue is the absence of any defense. At this point, just trade for crazy shooters, run and gun and hope to make 35 threes a game, at least it will be fun to watch.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

It sure looks like Pop has mailed it in. He seems as disinterested as the players, and his head-scratching in-game decision making leaves a lot to be desired. He’s not coaching this year. He seems done. Where is the fire? His players certainly have to feel that.

Beyond Rudy, Demar, and Poetl, this team sucks ass, and Demar is so weak defensively I’m not sure he’s a net positive. LMA is talented but a head case...it’s like we’re stuck with our own version of Dwight Howard. I wish we could get the LMA that gives his all every night. Maybe Pop could tell Aldridge that they’re playing the Blazers every game.

The rest of the squad could be replaced tomorrow with G leaguers and I’m not sure we’d see a dip in the Spurs play. Add DeRizan, Gay and LMA to some g-league rosters and they’re probably better than this group. Cunningham has to go, Belinelli too. Forbes is showing he’s not an NBA level talent. Bertans is no more than a spot role player...11th man. Mills can lead and mentor from the bench and with spot minutes...he’s the best towel waver I’ve ever seen.

I hope we make a roster move or two. It’s sad how bad this group is.

Thanks, as always, Timvp. At least the game write-ups give me something to look forward to every game.

[sananspursfan21]

timvp I couldn’t tell from the write-up if you felt like Lebron was the greatest Laker or not

[sananspursfan21]

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s time for a coaching change. Gone is the fire in Pop’s belly

[Strategic]

Gay might have been auditioning in this one.

[acoelho1]

LeBron the greatest Laker player ever??? You must be thinking of Cleveland because Kareem, Magic & Kobe played on the Lakers. Also, you can’t be the greatest of anything with a losing record in the finals, period.

[dbestpro]

Pop's infatuation with Cunningham is the first thing that needs to be fixed. It is just stupid, or senile, or both.

[TDomination]

The homestand begins with a Lakers rematch on Friday night. If nothing else, it'll be fascinating to see if Pop realizes his coaching was nonoptimal tonight or if he'll double down on his strategies.

I'm worried that will not be the case since we were compe ive in this game. He will probably just think that it was a case of lebron getting insanely hot, otherwise we would've won. Which is kind of true but at the same time, every team seems to be getting crazy hot against us. Perhaps it's our D? Nah it's just unluckiness

[UZER]

at people still thinking Pop will “realize” something and make change.

[therealtruth]

I would expect Pop to double down on his strategies. And he's still giving the ridiculous media interviews. You would think he would humbled.

[Spurs fever]

Nice write up.

[ducks]

About time pop grades are F

[Phenomanul]

I think Pop better than anyone understands that the Spurs don't have the tools to contend for a championship this year. His inconsistent coaching strategies suggests to me that he is employing some sort of stealth tanking. His players are competing and so they can't be blamed for an outright tank, but they aren't being placed into the best positions to actually win games. Murray's ACL seemingly changed everything. Can lightning strike a third time? Will the Spurs end up with the No. 1 overall pick again? Extremely early to know or speculate, obviously. The Spurs meanwhile have somehow slid to the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference.

[apalisoc_9]

With the exception lf Bertans, crazy how our grades are practiclly the same.

[boutons_deux]

Pop realizes his coaching was nonoptimal

stop with the weasal-ly euphemisms

how about disinterested, disaffected chair-warming while pocketing $Ms?

[r0drig0lac]

I think Pop better than anyone understands that the Spurs don't have the tools to contend for a championship this year. His inconsistent coaching strategies suggests to me that he is employing some sort of stealth tanking. His players are competing and so they can't be blamed for an outright tank, but they aren't being placed into the best positions to actually win games. Murray's ACL seemingly changed everything. Can lightning strike a third time? Will the Spurs end up with the No. 1 overall pick again? Extremely early to know or speculate, obviously. The Spurs meanwhile have somehow slid to the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference.

Pop was the best coach in history (although the contribution of all coaches is overrated imo), but the conspiracy theories to cover up his glaring flaws over the past few years are absurd (these failures have happened more in his job in the front office than as coaching obviously).

[NASpurs]

29th worst defense in the league. A whole point worse than the ing Suns and not that far off from the Cavs, who are 30th.

[Phenomanul]

Pop was the best coach in history (although the contribution of all coaches is overrated imo), but the conspiracy theories to cover up his glaring flaws over the past few years are absurd (these failures have happened more in his job in the front office than as coaching obviously).

He didn't cause Murray's or Walker's injuries. Pau was lost early on as well. It's disingenuous to suggest that loosing your only defensive-minded guards prior to the season is something that most other coaches would have a solid contingency plan for. The Spurs did not and have employed rather patchy strategies to make due with what they have. Tongue-in-cheek suggestions on my part that perhaps the Spurs are tanking are just that... The team is competing; other than 3-5 pieces though, the team just doesn't have as much talent as the rest of the league.

[K...]

There is no coach who could fix DeRozan and LMA. It's fools gold, like a cursed item you can't remove from your inventory. The only hope is to wait out the LMA pop regime

[TheGreatYacht]

I think Pop better than anyone understands that the Spurs don't have the tools to contend for a championship this year. His inconsistent coaching strategies suggests to me that he is employing some sort of stealth tanking. His players are competing and so they can't be blamed for an outright tank, but they aren't being placed into the best positions to actually win games. Murray's ACL seemingly changed everything. Can lightning strike a third time? Will the Spurs end up with the No. 1 overall pick again? Extremely early to know or speculate, obviously. The Spurs meanwhile have somehow slid to the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference.

Folks think Pop's coaching is so bad he has to be tanking

He's just the fraud that me and many others have known him to be.

[dbestpro]

Pop has always been a decent coach when he does not ask players to do things they cannot do. He has always been a poor coach by asking players to do things they are not good at. Starting Cunningham is one of those moments where is asking someone to do things they are not good at.

[Play Boban]

Play Poeltl.....

[vavvi]

Spurstalk's in full panic mode.

I actually liked the game which is a rare experience with Spurs games lately. I disagree on Cun today: while I think he shouldn't start in 90% of games; today I thought he played decently and actually stopped Lebron here and there a couple of times which could be enough if... And here come the main reasons we lost the game:
1. Lakers made some really tough shots in the end. Like Lebron made 2 ultra-long Curry-like threes.
2. We've got almost zero production from our PGs. Forbes was atrocious. Mills did not have a good game. White could not make a shot. We didn't need much -- 3-4 usual threes from Forbes & Mills would be enough but they couldn't contribute. I don't buy Forbes as a starter in this league, and I think he should be benched for Mills, White or the corpse of Nicolás freaking Laprovíttola