Ouch. The Spurs have suffered some tough losses this season, including a handful of embarrassing blowouts. However, tonight's loss at home against the Bulls takes the cake. This was a painful, disheartening loss.
San Antonio entered this game with a four-game win streak and looked all but assured to extend it five. But, despite a 21-point second half lead, the Spurs fumbled away their momentum as Chicago pounced on the opportunity and earned a 98-93 victory.
This is the type of loss that could stick with the Spurs for a while. Instead of going two games above .500, San Antonio is 15-15 and their schedule is about to get a lot more difficult. I wouldn't say all the momentum the Spurs gained by winning the first four games of their six-game homestand is lost -- but, at the very least, all the feel-good vibes evaporated after this performance.
What happened? How did the Spurs lose? Their offense simply dried up in the second half. Following a 62-point first half, San Antonio managed only 31 points in the second half. The Bulls turned on their intensity and supercharged their effort and the Spurs never regained their footing.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
The bright spot for the Spurs was another solid performance out of LaMarcus Aldridge. If anything, San Antonio just didn't feed their star bigman enough. He was doing everything right offensively: fighting for deep post position, being physical with the ball, dealing with double-teams in timely fashion and going to his jumper only after he had established himself down low. Defensively, he was stout on an individual basis but left room for improvement when it came rotations and help-defense. His rebounding was also a plus.
Grade: A-
Summary: Aldridge definitely played well enough for the Spurs to win.
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DeMar DeRozan
This was just an all-around dreadful performance by DeMar DeRozan. His playmaking was missing in action. His shot-selection was iffy throughout. He let physical play throw him off rhythm. Defensively, he wasn't good. DeRozan mostly stayed in the background on that end but also failed a few times in one-on-one matchups. The worst part of his game was his mental approach. Once again, he let a few questionable whistles get him frazzled. DeRozan got whiny and pouty and when it was winning time, he was far from the steely-eyed assassin the Spurs need him to be.
Grade: D-
Summary: DeRozan was sub par across the board.
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Rudy Gay
Unfortunately, Rudy Gay's streak of three-straight games looking healthy ended on Saturday night. Against Chicago, Gay was back to moving around like there was a rock in his shoe. His physical limitations manifested mostly on the defensive end, where he had trouble staying front of anyone and had to resort to a lot of reaching and grabbing. On offense, he was sloppy but it wasn't a total disaster. He still shot well, got to the line and had a team-high four assists.
Grade: C
Summary: Gay's offense was okay. His defense wasn't.
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Bryn Forbes
The good: Um, he rebounded well? The bad: Bryn Forbes didn't even attempt a shot in the first half. He had a three-pointer that could have tied it with under five seconds remaining ... but missed. Forbes had a couple ugly turnovers on one end and a couple blown defensive coverages on the other. The bottom line with Forbes this game is that if he's not aggressive offensively, there's really no reason for him to be on the court.
Grade: D-
Summary: Forbes did not do his job tonight.
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Derrick White
This was another invisible outing for Derrick White. Pop had a short hook with him, which probably didn't help matters. That said, White needs to actually do things when given minutes. He can't be even a token starter in the NBA if he's going to be a lackadaisical ghost on both ends. Usually, even when White is mostly invisible, we can point to a few nice passes or a few nice defensive plays. Tonight? Not so much.
Grade: D
Summary: White was invisible.
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Marco Belinelli
Marco Belinelli's resurgence shooting-wise continues. Over the last five games, he's averaging 12.6 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the floor and 46.2 percent shooting from the three-point line. He scored in double-digits in each of the five games. Tonight, his true impact wasn't as meaningful as his stats suggest, however. He hit four three-pointers over a two-minute stretch that began at the end of the first quarter. During his other 28 minutes on the court, he scored only five points, struggled to make plays and was only slightly above average (for him) defensively.
Grade: B+
Summary: Belinelli was hot early.
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Patty Mills
I thought this was Patty Mills' worst game in quite a while. He lacked the pizzazz and pep that had been a staple of his game for the last month or so. Instead, he was careless on the offensive end and played way too softly on defense, which led to a number of easy shots for the Bulls. Mills without fire is a borderline NBA talent, as we witnessed tonight. Outside of a couple good passes, he didn't do much right.
Grade: D-
Summary: Mills was going through the motions and the Spurs paid dearly.
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Davis Bertans
There just wasn't enough substance out of Davis Bertans tonight. Offensively, he wasn't aggressive enough; he passed up shots and wasn't running the court as hard as usual. Defensively, he had moments where his mobility was an asset but he gave a lot of that away by being so wimpy in the paint and on the defensive glass.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans didn't play with enough purpose on either end.
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Jakob Poeltl
Jakob Poeltl is yet another Spurs player who underperformed. Defensively, he was having trouble stopping Robin Lopez, of all people. Lopez bullied Poeltl in the paint and the Austrian didn't offer much resistance. Poeltl's protection of the rim was also lacking. His offense was okay but he had no idea how to fit in when Pop went with lineups featuring two bigs.
Grade: C-
Summary: Poeltl wants to forget this game ever happened.
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Dante Cunningham
In the game's first 16 minutes, the Spurs scored 46 points -- a scorching pace that projected to a 138-point outing over the course of 48 minutes. Then Dante Cunningham checked in, the offensive rhythm died, the turnovers mounted and it just looked like the Spurs were stuck in mud. In the final 32 minutes, the Spurs scored 47 points -- a 71-point pace. Now, it'd be admittedly unfair for me to blame the offensive struggles on Cunningham, as he only played eight of those final 32 minutes. But, man, I do not understand why he was inserted into the game in the first place. I just don't see the logic. When the offense is flowing like a well-oiled machine, you don't put in the guy who forces you to play 5-on-4.
Grade: C-
Summary: Cunningham Cunninghamed.
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Pop
Pop just can't rid himself of the Cunningham habit. Watching White do nothing has to be frustrating but I don't know if yanking him is helping him improve. Aldridge should have gotten more touches. DeRozan could have been helped by getting earlier, better touches. In hindsight, Belinelli played too much because his shooting magic only lasted two minutes. I did like Pop attempting to play Poeltl and Aldridge at the same time. And for as many coaching critiques as I can point to, it's difficult to coach a team to victory when almost the entire roster plays poorly.
Grade: D
Summary: Pop didn't do his job and didn't get much help.
Looking ahead: This is just a very hard loss to swallow. Extremely difficult. But the Spurs must find a way to stomach it and not let the disappointment fester.
Besides, San Antonio can get some redemption if they can end their six-game homestand in style with a win against the 76ers. Big picture-wise, a 5-1 homestand would be a success. Tonight's loss stings, no doubt, but let's hope the Spurs can get right back on the horse Monday night against Philadelphia.
Nah I’m rooting for them to continue the losses. They’re taking too many steps back and I’m tired of Pops coaching getting rewarded with wins. Dante Cunningham is not an NBA player but Pop is too egotistical to realize that. Call me a bad fan but this team is so damn unlikeable to root for on a nightly basis.
What a dumb loss this was. We would need to win the next 3 at a minimum for me to get passed this one. Otherwise, the dr Jekyll and mr. Hyde season continues
This will prolly be the loss that sends the Spurs on the path to the 7-10 range in the lottery imo. Moral victory.
A borderline NBA talent as team leader, and making 50 mil.
What a joke.
Teetering between mediocrity and delusion is how this season will play out which is really ing bad.
38 win season here we come
Thanks for the grades, Timvp. Agree with all of them.
This was a pathetic game, awful performance of our guards, lack of effort and weird Pop's decisions.
What's your take on the LA-Poeltl line-up Pop played in the fourth?
Thanks tmvp for the Grades!!
Pop took Poeltl out of the game with a lead of +6!!!!!! YOU See whats happend!! Pop don't trust Jakob !!
Great call giving the ball to Forbes on the last shot, he was very hot and has a history of clutch shots...
That's valid but I wouldn't overemphasized our clutch performance. This was the game we had to win by 40.
Sure. What I mean is, it is the coaching staff responsability to have the team play 48 minutes. They come back after the break with zero focus, and on the top of that you call the dumbest of the dumb plays to tie the game? This loss is as much-if not more- a Pop's fault than a players' fault
Mills, forbes and White killed us yesterday. We need To stop playing bryn that much.
Game winner; First place: Coach Pop!!! Second place; DemarD.Frozen,37min. 8 of 23 FG.....34,8% and,...WOW 5BA????????,....3place,Forbes 23min. Starter....Zero points??? And White, Starter 18min.,Zero points too?? Congrats!
Last edited by Andreas68; 12-16-2018 at 09:22 AM.
Yep. 50% coaching staff; 50% guards
Thanks Timvp. A disheartening lost that should get them back to the drawing board to figure what went very wrong. A good team can learn from this, while a bad team will just soak and accept that they’re just not good enough. I really hope it’s the former and continue their growth. It’s very optimistic on my part. Hey I’ve followed the Spurs for 30 years since DRob’s rookie year. I trust the organization can shake this off. But boy that was vicious. Again the Spurs I know hung on to Defense firstmost before anything else. That’s Spurs’ mantra. If Spurs can manage only 31 points in the 2nd half, so be it. The other team should’ve only scored 10 points, bottom line. Have a blessed Sunday everyone.
For starters' I think Pop should go back to starting Bertans over White. He's the best shooter on the teams and White has already almost passed him in total minutes despite him playing poorly.
Forbes, DDR, Bertans, Gay, LMA
Mills, White, Beli, Cunningham, Poeltl
I’m still kind of in shock. I was annoyed but still wasn’t worried when the Bulls cut it to 4. Silly me.
I don't think it's a matter of starting line-up. Our starters were killing them to start the game.
It's just we decided not to come out and play after the halftime break.
They coasted after the half and got schooled that any NBA team can beat you down when you half step.
I wish people would stop putting it on DC. He's only doing what Pop tells him to do. He's most teams best player and not much should be expected. He's good on a good team in that role. Pop is really the guy to blame. That or our ty underachieving lineup forces Pop to look elsewhere.
I’m still upset he had DDR inbounding on the final possession against the Grizz after he had just hit an incredible shot to take the lead the play before.
I’m just so tired of these constant Pop cute “I’m smarter than you” inbound plays.
I’m just tired of Pop all the way around for the last few years. He just needs to let it go and retire.
If you choose to be a front runner, Spur's fan, it's your right.
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