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Always appreciated. I missed more of the game than Pop did.
The Spurs traveled to Denver to take on the Nuggets and got clobbered, 113-85. Really, what we witnessed tonight wasn't an unexpected result. At this point, no one could have honestly expected San Antonio to get a win on the second night of a back-to-back after they had to go all out to beat the lowly Hawks. On top of that, the Nuggets boast the second best home record in the NBA, while the Spurs are saddled with far and away the worst road record of any Western Conference playoff team.
The Spurs, 45-34, have three games left in the season: road games in Washington and Cleveland and season finale at home versus Dallas. As it stands, they're the eighth seed in the West. To move up to the seventh seed and avoid another postseason defeat at the hands of the Warriors, San Antonio needs to win all three contests. That's what it comes down to; beat three lottery teams or pay the price.
It's possible that San Antonio could remain eighth even if they win out but I think chances are in their favor that either the Thunder lose one of their final four games (DET, @MIN, HOU, @MIL) or the Clippers lose two of their final three games (LAL, @GS, UTA).
-Tonight's game against the Nuggets basically ended 63 seconds in when Pop got ejected. Any hopes of a miracle win went out the window when he shuffled to the locker room. No offense to Ettore Messina but I have zero confidence in his ability to coach this current team to a victory, especially out on the road against a quality team. Pop has had to use a fluid rotation to coax wins out the roster and I don't see Messina having that touch.
-I'm also not a fan of Messina's playcalling. His plays are just ... odd. (I find it truly weird that the plays Messina calls are plays Pop never calls.) For example, when the Spurs need a basket, Pop will call a post-up for Aldridge or DeRozan, an isolation for DeRozan or Gay, or a pick-and-roll with White. When Messina calls a play, it's almost always some sort of misdirection, usually for a shooter. To make matters even more strange, Messina likes adding convoluted aspects to his playcalls. For example, tonight he tried to deceive the Nuggets by passing the ball to Bertans and Forbes in the low block. Both times, Denver sniffed out the obvious forthcoming misdirection and smothered the shooters. Maybe such plays work in a lower level of basketball but it's simply not going to work in the NBA.
-As far as the players were concerned, it was difficult to get a read on the starters tonight. That said, DeMar DeRozan set a terrible tone when he didn't attempt a shot and only had one assist in the first quarter. The Spurs aren't going to win many road games if DeRozan comes out of the gates sleepwalking. LaMarcus Aldridge came out with more energy than DeRozan did but he wasn't especially productive either.
-Bryn Forbes continued his confident play. Derrick White didn't build upon his strong outing against the Hawks. Instead, his defense was sub par and he didn't look interested in doing much on offense other than miss shots. Jakob Poeltl was back in the starting lineup and helped out with his offensive rebounding and his activity on defense ... but he was inexplicably clumsy on both ends.
-Off the bench, Rudy Gay grew frustrated by missing open shot after open shot. Marco Belinelli couldn't have played much worse. Patty Mills tried harder than he we've seen in recent games but he didn't play well. Davis Bertans' three-point marksmanship is AWOL. After hitting just 34.7% of his three-pointers in March, he's 0-for-6 in April.
-Tonight's bright spot? The play of Lonnie Walker IV. Following a tepid outing against the Hawks, the rookie was much more aggressive against the Nuggets. What we saw was pretty exciting.
Whether it was slick ball-handling and elegant body control off the dribble:
Or his improved, compact stroke, both off the catch and off the dribble:
And then there was this play when Walker got fouled while showing off his athleticism:
-It's been obvious since preseason that Walker has a high ceiling. If he can stay healthy, learn to harness his physical tools and continue putting in work to learn the mental part of the game, the kid has a chance be good. In a sea of disappointment tonight, it was fun to see a glimpse of his potential.
-Going forward, what's the number one key to the Spurs getting back on track? After some reflection, I believe it's White's play. Yes, DeRozan and Aldridge have been uneven as of late and the Spurs need those two to rediscover their rhythm. Gay, too, needs to get rolling. But, as crazy as it sounds, how White plays matters most. If he can regain form, San Antonio should win out and then have a legit chance to move past the first round of the playoffs. White at his best gives the Spurs their one game-changing perimeter defender, their best playmaker, their best passer and someone who can make smart plays down the stretch of close games. If White plays like he has as of late outside of the contest versus Atlanta (the Rookie Wall version, if you will), it'll be really difficult to even avoid the eighth seed and the postseason run would essentially be over before it even begins.
Always appreciated. I missed more of the game than Pop did.
Thanks for the Lonnie clips. Haven't really been paying attention even when the Spurs games are on these days bc they're playing like , but good thing to see the kid having fun post injury and showing out.
Thanks Timvp.
I just hope we can win out and avoid GSW. I don’t think the Spurs get past the first round unless they’re sand-bagging right now, but what I really don’t want is another 1st round series against GSW.
This, including the thanks, are how I'm feeling. The idea of playing GSW again in the first round is not a good feeling.
Really hope Lonnie’s health and feel for the game especially defensively catch up to his natural gifts within a couple of years. Some of the things he can do - dribbling and getting to his spots, shooting touch, athleticism - show a very high ceiling. There aren’t an awful lot of players able to do all of these things consistently.
Thanks for the thoughts.
I wanted to see more of Walker tonight after his playing time yesterday. I figured he would only get playing time because of a blowout. I didn't want it to be because of the Nuggets blowing out the Spurs. Oh well. He looked good. He looked more relaxed than other times.
Props to Forbes showing up again. Wish the others would follow his example.
Forbes and Mills getting roasted on defense is exhausting to watch
As it's a random thought I'll put it in this thread but after having all season to watch Poeltl I'm not too enthralled with him. Yes he does contest better than Pau was and is a factor on the offensive glass, I just don't think he is a consistent or strong enough roll man at making himself available.
I think Milutinov is better, tougher for sure with better hands. He's a mean hombre compared to Poeltl. I hope he's brought over next season.
And as strange as that may sound to have yet another center, one thing I have not liked at all this season is the minutes Aldridge logs. It's too many. Over 35 after the All-Star break, over 36 in March, and before Denver over 38 in April.
He's going to be 34 next year. Cut his weight down and cut his minutes down, time for some Duncan approach
Sure, this loss was expected.
But what wasn't expected is a complete lack of effort. The whole team looked disinterested. People try more in a pickup game. Sloppy turnovers, lazy passes, leaving open men on D. You can say about Westbrook whatever you want, and I hate his game myself, but he always tries.
That's why I'm sure we are getting GS and sadly -- deservedly so.
Thanks TMVP!
Tend to agree, No White, no Spurs. Scary how a rookie carried an entire team with 2 "All Stars". Even Scarier to think where this team would rank right now had White not emerged this season. Makes one wonder what cons utes and "All Star" in NBA terms. Mental toughness ,ball IQ and team leadership don't seem to be high on the pecking order.
BB IQ/LEADERSHIP > INDIVIDUAL SKILL
Good thoughts. Although I think you are too harsh on Messina playcalling. Unless you want more iso, which clearly is not working lately. So many shots were wide open, what more can you ask to a set?
If you shoot 5-27 from 3 and 18-25 FT, it is all on the players: they sleepwalk into a paycheck, that's it. I believe I know the reason, but whatever it is, the result is nobody plays hard.
(I understand the Becky for HC campaign is in full swing, but let's not exagerate...)
You are right on the subs ution flow from Messina, it can be better. Still, when nobody plays to win, they hardly matter.
The game ended in the second quarter, when White in SA court weakly handed the ball to DDR who even more weakly just touched it and let the defender go at it (defender couldn't believe the gift). To me that was enough to foresee the game outcome. Right there was a Messina mistake, he should have benched both DDR and White on the spot. He did't want to exacerbate a bad mood, obviously, but that would have been the right move.
Besides the usual "memorable" game by DDR, I am very concerned by Bertans contribution, the guy is totally frustrated and can't make a shot. Not good.
I'd rather play the Warriors than Denver, anyway. At least then I can root for the Nuggets to beat first OKC and then the Coquettes.
At this point, I hope PATFO blows it up this summer.
my man Walker needs to play 20 mpg in these final games, the guy is simply a better basketball player than the pet dwarves of Pop, star potential
If the last few games play out as hoped and we finish as 7th, this kind of loss is exactly what we need, since Denver can't take much Information from this game.
Next 3 games will really prove what kind of mettle the Spurs have. Yea we play lottery tanking teams, but I we lose to one of them then our season is over. There's a chance against Denver. Say what you want, but I believe we can still beat them
Also damn injuries man. I know everyone played like and Messina was looking for anyone to actually care and that's why Lonnie played so many minutes BUT the kid is looking more confident in his abilities. His injury really set him back as far as development goes. I'm excited next year though because I think he's going to have the kind of practices that force Pop to play him in the rotation. We may still suck next year but we will be fast paced and athletic bc of the combo o DJ, White, and Lonnie
What information do they need?
But that's a big if.
With this kind of effort we aren't winning against anybody
Walker's scoring looked good, but it was against garbage-time scrubz.
Had it been a hard fought game down to the wire, Denver would have had extra Information how the Spurs Players might (re)act in certain situations. I'm not saying this could be a series deciding factor, but the way this game played out, the Nuggets didn't get that first hand experience. It's not much, but it's not nothin either imo.What information do they need?
True, but I expect them to invest much more, Show a different effort, these last three games. If not they don't deserve better than getting butt ed by GSW in the first round.
In the past, Pop has certainly thrown late-season games against potential playoff opponents. Last night was the perfect storm: back-to-back, on the road in perhaps the toughest place to win a game in the whole league, could play them in round 1, cake schedule the rest of the way. In hindsight, I think we should have seen this coming. If this was 2008 Pop would have rested LMA and DDR, and probably White for good measure.
is it certain the spurms are locked to play the nuggets in the first round?
Concerned about those last 3 games...
Right now? Warriors (1) vs Spurs (8) is the most probable scenario.
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