The Spurs completed a three-game sweep of their homestand by defeating the Nuggets on Monday night. After the disastrous Rodeo Road Trip, San Antonio has to be thrilled with their recovery and their much improved defensive play they displayed while at home.
Tonight's win was almost snatched away. The Spurs were up by 14 points with four and a half minutes remaining when Denver caught fire. They hit five three-pointers over the next four minutes, while the Spurs could only manage two points courtesy of a DeMar DeRozan shot in the lane.
In the final 15 seconds, the Nuggets had three shots that could have won the game. Thankfully, all three shots clanged and the good guys were able to escape with a 104-103 victory.
The fourth quarter collapse was unsightly and the offensive execution was abysmal down the stretch, however this still classifies as a very good win. The Nuggets entered the game with a 42-20 record and were as healthy as they've been all season.
Well done.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
It was a successful night at the office for LaMarcus Aldridge. Defensively, he was stout. He guarded the paint well, was strong against post play, boxed out with physicality, rebounded the ball and made a few key plays late in the game on that end. His only weakness defensively was the fact that he was sometimes slow to close out on shooters. Offensively, he had his jumper going and was confidently going about his business. Aldridge's early season struggles on offense are now a distant memory.
Grade: B+
Summary: Aldridge laid the foundation.
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DeMar DeRozan
For the first three and a half quarters, I was very pleased with DeMar DeRozan's play. He was staying within the offense, picking his spots well, taking high percentage shots and creating very good looks for his teammates. Defensively, he was extremely active. His defense, both individually and team-wise, was well above average. This is as locked in as we've witnessed DeRozan on the defensive end. Unfortunately, his play down the stretch erased a lot of the good he did against the Nuggets. He started calling his own number, broke the team's rhythm and wasn't producing much of anything resembling quality shots. The Spurs don't need DeRozan to be a hero to close out games. Let's hope he figures that out.
Grade: B+
Summary: DeRozan was really good for a majority of the contest.
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Derrick White
The good: Derrick White's playmaking was fantastic, as evidenced by his career-high nine assists and his zero turnovers in 36 minutes. His court vision, patience and pinpoint passing were all quite impressive. White's defense was also a plus. His man-to-man D was tight, his help was timely, he crashed the boards well and he was even challenging shots in the lane (White tied his career-high with three blocks). The bad: The Nuggets were sagging off of him and White couldn't make them pay from beyond the three-point arc, finishing 1-for-6 from deep. Denver also caught him cheating on defense a handful of times and White couldn't recover in time. And although it wasn't really his fault, I would have loved to have seen White continue to be aggressive playmaking-wise down the stretch.
Grade: B
Summary: White was a few jumpers away from having a stellar night.
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Bryn Forbes
Offensively, while Bryn Forbes shot well, he exhibited his fair share of discombobulation. He routinely found himself in disadvantageous positions, which resulted in his play on that end being much sloppier than usual. Defensively, he was about average. He didn't get burned too much individually but he also wasn't supplying much useful help and got lost too often in rotations.
Grade: C+
Summary: Forbes wasn't terrible but he also didn't help the cause much.
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Jakob Poeltl
Jakob Poeltl got in early foul trouble and never truly found a rhythm. That said, he was solid while he was out there. Poeltl finished well, made good decisions passing-wise and set quality screens. Defensively, he did well. Poeltl clogged the paint when needed but was also quick to help out on the perimeter. When he was in the game, the Nuggets found it difficult to score ... and that wasn't a coincidence.
Grade: B+
Summary: Poeltl was never able to settle in but he did well.
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Rudy Gay
Up until the final minute, Rudy Gay was having another really good ballgame. While he struggled a little bit from three-point range, the rest of Gay's offense was flowing. He was the focal point of the bench's attack and thrived in the role. When he wasn't exploiting a mismatch, he was distributing great psases. Defensively, I thought he was equally as effective. He was snaring contested rebounds, guarding the rim like a legit bigman and was useful out on the perimeter. In the last minute, Gay failed to grab a pair of defensive rebounds and then missed two free throws that almost came back to haunt him and the team.
Grade: B+
Summary: Gay was really good until the very end.
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Marco Belinelli
Marco Belinelli played his part. He spread the court on offense while moving expertly without the ball. He was a little bit more muted than usual but also avoided mistakes and bad shots. Defensively, Belinelli competed better than normal and wasn't much of a liability at all.
Grade: B
Summary: Belinelli was rock solid.
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Davis Bertans
Davis Bertans wasn't helping much in any area. He didn't get any open three-point looks and that took away his value on that end. Defensively, he did better than usual on the boards but he was also making a lot of mistakes. His transition D was iffy, he was slow to contest shooters and he could have been more physical in the paint.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans won't be sending this tape home to Latvia.
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Patty Mills
Better than last game, at least. Patty Mills' energy level was much, much improved against the Nuggets. I didn't love all of his decisions but any mistakes tonight were out of aggression rather than indifference. His defense wasn't great by any means but he was definitely much better than usual on that end.
Grade: B+
Summary: Mills came to play this evening.
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Drew Eubanks
With Pau Gasol now playing for the Bucks, Drew Eubanks has apparently been given the chance to be the team's third center behind Aldridge and Poeltl. In his first outing in that role, I was pleased. Eubanks is a big, agile, coordinated body. He moves and jumps well, which is honestly a breath of fresh air when compared to post-injury Gasol. Eubanks obviously has a lot to learn but he seems to have a decent enough feel and I didn't see anything tonight that suggests he can't successfully play the role of third center.
Grade: B
Summary: Eubanks looks like he'll be a part of the big boy team from now on.
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Pop
For three and a half quarters, I thought Pop coached a good game. I didn't love his coaching down the stretch, though. Allowing DeRozan to take the playmaking duties away from White was the wrong move. Especially with how well White was making plays tonight, Pop shouldn't have let that happened. And Mills in the game for defensive purposes late? Yikes. The rest of the rotation was good enough but I would have appreciated more minutes for Poeltl, especially when the Nuggets were featuring lineups with two legit bigs on the court.
Grade: B-
Summary: Well coached game for 42 minutes or so.
Looking ahead: Great job on the homestand. Momentum is back in their favor now.
To keep things rolling in the right direction, a win Wednesday night in Atlanta would be nice. The Hawks have been playing decently as of late but the Spurs need to show that their improved play can travel.
Thanks for the grades Timvp. B for White for not making his shots? What a guy got to do?I thought he’s the difference in losing and winning, both distributing and playing defense. What’s up with Bertans? Staying late with the baby? His shots been inconsistent. Just keep shooting. I agree with your assessment on Mills defense or no defense at the end. Pop should stick with Bertans at 3 and Demar on 2. It was a tough W but I’d take it. I hope it continues. GSG!
I have told this before: White isn't that good of a shooter. He's good enough, but he's not a spot up shooter. The Spurs would be way better off trading away DeRozan and making White the premier ball handler. I know that won't happen, but I'm just telling you what it needs to happen for the Spurs to become a better team.Derrick White
The good: Derrick White's playmaking was fantastic, as evidenced by his career-high nine assists and his zero turnovers in 36 minutes. His court vision, patience and pinpoint passing were all quite impressive. White's defense was also a plus. His man-to-man D was tight, his help was timely, he crashed the boards well and he was even challenging shots in the lane (White tied his career-high with three blocks). The bad: The Nuggets were sagging off of him and White couldn't make them pay from beyond the three-point arc, finishing 1-for-6 from deep. Denver also caught him cheating on defense a handful of times and White couldn't recover in time. And although it wasn't really his fault, I would have loved to have seen White continue to be aggressive playmaking-wise down the stretch.
Grade: B
Summary: White was a few jumpers away from having a stellar night.
I especially like Eubanks fitting well in there. I hope he can be an energy guy coming off the bench, and also helps Pop manage Aldridge’s minutes. I’m liken him to be Lee with his quick feet and craftiness around the basket. He needs to continue to roll with pick and get opportunities to dunk the ball. I think he will have a long career with his skills.
There used to be a description of Jonas Valanciunas on Hoopshype that said he'd found his niche as a 20+ mpg player who plays well against opposing teams' second stringers-- I always thought that was an accurate scouting report on him, and I'm beginning to feel the same way about Davis Bertans. It seems his advanced stats are good mostly because he is used in the right situations, and not because he is an above average player. White and Bertans were the two players at the beginning of the season whose progress I was most interested in seeing. White has lived up to his potential, but Bertans has been a bit of a disappointment. I think he has value, but I'm pretty doubtful he'll ever be a quality starter for the Spurs.
Last edited by R. DeMurre; 03-05-2019 at 04:11 AM.
Mills grades are usually way to generous
Sorry Timvp, but B for Derozan (and Pop) is way too much. The crybaby almost costed us the game.
Last 4 minutes only ing iso dribbling, for God's sake.
He got a decent game until he or Pop decided he had to have the ball instead of passing it. I honestly can't take him anymore.
Denver gifted us the game, they missed an incredible number of shots in the first half, and their execution in the last three possessions wasn't good. And Jokic was fouled too.
Good defense for the most part, we must be happy about that.
I hope somebody from the coaching staff will have the balls to tell the truth to Pop: DDR cannot handle the ball closing the games. He simply cannot, he is a total liability.
Yet I’d rather see Bertans closeout on 3’s instead of shorter Mills/Forbes. White, Demar, Bertans, Gay or Poeltl, and Aldridge, specially tonight.
...how bad is IT?
^^^^^This^^^^
Derozen with Pop's blessing tried his best to lose that game last night in the 4th period with his iso hero ball. If he gets a B for 1st-3rd periods, he gets a D for the 4th and a C for the game.
You’re sure a tough grader.
White has blown the doors off what people thought his potential was. The team is 6 points per 100 better with him out there stabilizing things in his first year getting real minutes. Pairing him with Murray will be a scary defensive backcourt, and if either or both develop a jumper watch out.
Bertans was leading the league in 3pt% until a game or two ago. And the team as a whole shoots a lot better with him out there, with an eFG% four points higher than when he’s off the floor, and an ORtg 10 points higher that is better than the Warriors. Defense is about the same.
Then again once upon a time Pau led the league in 3pt%...
White deserved at least a B+. Just bc his shot wasn't falling didn't really mean anything since he was still aggressively finding open people and basically shut down Denver's guards (until they started making everything at the end).
Pop almost deserved an F for letting DDR do nothing but iso when he should know by now that it doesn't work. Also him putting Mills in defensively on the last possession was a really stupid move that almost cost us the game. Dude gave up a wide open 3 at the end.
Gay deserves a C for missing those 2 free throws alone. The last sentence you typed about DeRozan holds true about Gay. He basically ruined anything good he did in the first 3 and a half quarters by missing 3 free throws late 4th quarter.
After this game I really want Denver in the playoffs. They are very very beatable. Actually I think they start having "too many guys problem". They became worse with Thomas back meaning the likes of Murray, Beasley, Harris and Morris play less.
As for the Spurs:
1. It becomes more and more obvious that White is already our second best player
2. Forbes playing less is good for the team
3. Nothing new with DeMar down the stretch
4. Don't agree with Timvp's complaints on Mills for the defense purposes. Mills is better than Forbes and Marco. And we have nobody else.
Pop also put in Bryn for a defensive possesion right at the end. Subbing out Bertans, no less. We all know Forbes is Pops pet project, but this is openly sabotaging your own team, game after game.
Denver will cut IT before playoffs.
Spurs:
1. White is the MVP -not "better" but certainly "most valuable".
2. It depends on the game. Lately opposing teams are more aggressive on defending the 3point line, he has a good penetration but without shooting threes he has no business on the floor. it really is situational with him.
3. Cancer
4. I like Mills closing this kind of games, the guy has balls.
Even if they cut IT I want Denver. Would be such a fun series. They have no Paul George on their roster and no pocket officiating.
Well it is Denver or Dubs, you are not making a difficult choice
(OKC -to me- risk not making even 3rd, Utah has a strong chance)
You're right. Realistically it's Denver or Dubs.Well it is Denver or Dubs, you are not making a difficult choice
(OKC -to me- risk not making even 3rd, Utah has a strong chance)
But I'd take Denver even over OKC, Utah and Houston
Really didn’t like Derozan taking the ball out of whites hands down the stretch. Would really like to see pop out an end to that, unfortunately he will not because derozan is to sensitive. White should run the offense down the stretch though, it is much smoother when he is running the offense
DDR is such a ed up cancer that defense don't even put pressure on him, they just watch him gifting them the ball
With DeRozan playing this defense Spurs can compete against elite teams. I haven't seen him so active in so many different situations. I give him credit for that and his very good offensive game despite missing a couple of shots in the clutch. Everybody in the court made mistakes in the final minutes, what about Rudy's missed FTs? DeRozan at least scored the last field goal, grabbed an off rebound, gave chances to White and Pop to make different calls... (they didn't, no timeouts either). He took the shots and they were makeable shots for him so I have nothing to say about it. I can't understand the criticism.
White played a great game but skipped the play set for Bertans, missed that and another open shot and didn't play the best defense in the final minutes. Anyway, I love his game, he's growing as a player in front of us. No turnovers yesterday, playing increased minutes, including the clutch time.
Poetl is becoming more solid under the rim which helps immensely the team defense. The new starting line-up shows much more bodies and hands to the rival offense. Size matters.
It's also noticeable to me that DeRozan and White are learning to play together, sharing opportunities to generate and finish possessions. The offense looks pretty when one penetrates and finds the other for a cut or another penetration. Also, DeRozan can benefit from White's defensive plays that lead to fastbreaks where Demar is unstoppable.
As I said, Eubanks will be the third big and it seems it could be more serviceable than Gasol. His agility allows him to run the court better, avoiding transition D mismatches, and play better defense than Pau. He moves well in the offense and just has to do Poetl's job of screening, rolling and looking for the off rebound. I believe he will assert his game enough to play as backup C vs bad teams if Pop wants to give some rest to L.A.
I'd like to see Bertans playing more, something between 20-28 minutes. Pop is taking too long on giving rest to DeMar and Aldridge in the first and third quarter and probably Davis could help more with his shooting and improved defense and rebounding at the SF position, playing next to Rudy.
Denver is a very good team, but if that is the second best team in the West, the Western Conference has taken two or three steps back from just a couple of years ago.
The Spurs can score, but they have to play a least a decent level of defense to get wins. That has been the struggle all season.
Can't trade Derozan, no one wants him, scratch that.
Denver has just started to play their completely healthy roster, they are in some kind of adaptation process. Not the best time of the year for that. They didn't look good as a #2 to me. Portland/Rockets might steal their position.
Well, he singlehandedly wasted 15 points advantage with his idiotic iso . Actually, with the complicity of Pop who instead of telling him to piss off the ball and move his ass, just gives him the ball every single game on closing. Costed Toronto game, almost costed us this one, and the list goes on and on. So what if he grabbed a rebound which fell on his lap?
Other than that, yes the critisism is hard to understand....
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