Grades: Spurs vs. Mavericks - Oct. 25, 2023

[Chinook]

Exactly...Spurs are still running plays like they're a team full of similar talent guys taking turns getting their numbers called where they should be looking for Wemby on every possession. They need to realize that have an alpha now and get him the ing ball. was infuriating to watch in real time. Wemby definitely looked visibly frustrated a couple times after getting good position only to be ignored for a low percentage shot from someone else.

But the thing is that's not an offense either. Guys have to be able to know what conditions are going to lead to a player being open. If some action springs Wemby, then the players should already have it in their training to look for that option opening up. But if dude is just going to run down the court, struggle to hold his position and just start spamming A to call for pass, then he's going to end up frustrated a lot. The team needs to learn to play with some actual structure. It can't just depend on him screaming for the ball, because he also doesn't know what to do yet. He doesn't know how to attack different kinds of defenders. He doesn't know how to time his pressure to create release valves or how still have his man locked away by the time an angle forms up. He also has responsibilities in the offense that will allow him and others to get higher-quality shots with less effort and risk of fouls. Just like leaking out, running down and trying to seal your man when your teammates are 30 feet away is going to work out much of the time. Everyone on the court is trying to learn how to play their new role, and they need their star to play his in the offense. Otherwise, everyone's going to keep breaking the offense off trying to get theirs.

[JeffDuncan]

But the thing is that's not an offense either. …

For the tldr crowd: the team is poorly coached.

[rjv]

Yep.

Need to add a grade for team performance. For this game it’s an F.

Remember the Spurs players saying they had Wemby’s back? They lied to him. Too often - much too often - they acted like they didn’t even know he was there.

Much more can be said, but there’s one thought that all the Spurs, the players, the coaches, and everybody else, need to keep constantly in mind. Which is:

Wemby can leave.

Did this Mavs game put Wemby one game closer to becoming a superstar for the Spurs, or did it put him one game closer to becoming a superstar for some other team?

damn dude, you got all that out of 48 minutes?

[TekXX]

With Pops years of experience you'd think he'd know that Sochan would be a downgrade over what Jones was giving us yet he subbed anyway. His late game tanking is becoming more obvious.

[exstatic]

Gotta say, I was very impressed by Dereck Lively. The Mavs might've found their new Tyson Chandler.

He's an energy guy, but I wouldn't want to need a basket with him more than 3 feet from the hoop. He has a high motor and good athleticism, but not much beyond that.

[emanueldavidginobili]

Good stuff from Devin.

[rjv]

He's an energy guy, but I wouldn't want to need a basket with him more than 3 feet from the hoop. He has a high motor and good athleticism, but not much beyond that.

what i got from him was that he's an elite garbageman player. still, he will fill a need for the mavs.

[Vince Carter's ankle]

Yep.

Need to add a grade for team performance. For this game it’s an F.

Remember the Spurs players saying they had Wemby’s back? They lied to him. Too often - much too often - they acted like they didn’t even know he was there.

Much more can be said, but there’s one thought that all the Spurs, the players, the coaches, and everybody else, need to keep constantly in mind. Which is:

Wemby can leave.

Did this Mavs game put Wemby one game closer to becoming a superstar for the Spurs, or did it put him one game closer to becoming a superstar for some other team?

maybe they should kneel before him and start praying?

[spurs10]

The fouls on Wemby didn't all look legit, but when he came back in the game we saw into the future. Too bad Keldon decided to play hero ball. Sochan was not strong in crunch time either. Felt like Pop benched Jone, our best player, at the absolute wrong time. That and ignoring the other best player on our team gave us the loss.

[TD 21]

- In hindsight, the ignoring of Wembanyama was probably inevitable with a bunch of young veterans who have received virtually no national publicity and now see this as their opportunity to shine in front of a national audience. Hopefully they got it out of their system. If not, Pop needs to make sure of it.

- Collins needs to be more of a floor spacer with the starters so that Wembanyama can be more involved in the action by setting the majority of on ball screens.

- Playing him as the solo big makes it easier and the Mavericks present ample opportunity to do so, but the genius didn't take it.

- I don't mind doing it for now, but the sooner Sochan as the nominal PG ends, the better. The offense is destined for bottom of the barrel status.

- In general, he's an overrated prospect. I don't see a single clear strength, but I do see a lot of weaknesses.

[Atl Spur]

- In hindsight, the ignoring of Wembanyama was probably inevitable with a bunch of young veterans who have received virtually no national publicity and now see this as their opportunity to shine in front of a national audience. Hopefully they got it out of their system. If not, Pop needs to make sure of it.

- Collins needs to be more of a floor spacer with the starters so that Wembanyama can be more involved in the action by setting the majority of on ball screens.

- Playing him as the solo big makes it easier and the Mavericks present ample opportunity to do so, but the genius didn't take it.

- I don't mind doing it for now, but the sooner Sochan as the nominal PG ends, the better. The offense is destined for bottom of the barrel status.

- In general, he's an overrated prospect. I don't see a single clear strength, but I do see a lot of weaknesses.

Whoa! Overrated? This is gonna not end well…. Vic is the truth and EVERYONE knows it! Let’s revisit this in 30 games or so to be fair to you.

[hater]

With Pops years of experience you'd think he'd know that Sochan would be a downgrade over what Jones was giving us yet he subbed anyway. His late game tanking is becoming more obvious.

Pop has done this before

I know a ty player when I see one and Sochans highest possible ceiling is Ime Udoka

[Leetonidas]

But the thing is that's not an offense either. Guys have to be able to know what conditions are going to lead to a player being open. If some action springs Wemby, then the players should already have it in their training to look for that option opening up. But if dude is just going to run down the court, struggle to hold his position and just start spamming A to call for pass, then he's going to end up frustrated a lot. The team needs to learn to play with some actual structure. It can't just depend on him screaming for the ball, because he also doesn't know what to do yet. He doesn't know how to attack different kinds of defenders. He doesn't know how to time his pressure to create release valves or how still have his man locked away by the time an angle forms up. He also has responsibilities in the offense that will allow him and others to get higher-quality shots with less effort and risk of fouls. Just like leaking out, running down and trying to seal your man when your teammates are 30 feet away is going to work out much of the time. Everyone on the court is trying to learn how to play their new role, and they need their star to play his in the offense. Otherwise, everyone's going to keep breaking the offense off trying to get theirs.

We wouldn't know if it's offense or what Wemby can do if they spam A because they didn't even ing bother to get him the ball. I'm not saying run every single play thru him. But the guys on the court need to recognize when he is in a position to score rather than looking around to run some stupid play when Wemby has position. He can literally just shoot over anybody. So I think him running down the court calling for the ball warrants passing him the goddamn ball to see what he can do. Again I'm not saying run every play thru him but it's pretty obvious that they were not running the offense thru him at all

Like I said, instead of looking for Vic they were running offense like it was last season, like they didn't have the most sought after prospect in two decades on the court. Even with foul trouble, 9 shot attempts in 23 minutes is inexcusable

[TD 21]

Whoa! Overrated? This is gonna not end well…. Vic is the truth and EVERYONE knows it! Let’s revisit this in 30 games or so to be fair to you.

I meant Sochan.

[onechance87]

- In hindsight, the ignoring of Wembanyama was probably inevitable with a bunch of young veterans who have received virtually no national publicity and now see this as their opportunity to shine in front of a national audience. Hopefully they got it out of their system. If not, Pop needs to make sure of it.

- Collins needs to be more of a floor spacer with the starters so that Wembanyama can be more involved in the action by setting the majority of on ball screens.

- Playing him as the solo big makes it easier and the Mavericks present ample opportunity to do so, but the genius didn't take it.

- I don't mind doing it for now, but the sooner Sochan as the nominal PG ends, the better. The offense is destined for bottom of the barrel status.

- In general, he's an overrated prospect. I don't see a single clear strength, but I do see a lot of weaknesses.

our offence wasint that bad.....We couldint stop luka....he carved us up by himself...Wemby took himself out with his dumb fouls..
probably would had 10 more points if he wasint in foul trouble

[Mugen]

The guys will figure it out eventually but it's not going to be because of some great coaching adjustments or gameplans. Your 2023 season experience will go much better when you realize this team isn't being coached by 1997-2014 Pop tbh

[TD 21]

our offence wasint that bad.....We couldint stop luka....he carved us up by himself...Wemby took himself out with his dumb fouls..
probably would had 10 more points if he wasint in foul trouble

Granted, 11 minute sample size, but starters had a 95.8 offensive rating (against a projected below average - bad defense). For context, Hornets were last with 109.2 last season.

[onechance87]

Granted, 11 minute sample size, but starters had a 95.8 offensive rating (against a projected below average - bad defense). For context, Hornets were last with 109.2 last season.

We should of attacked more...soshan missed like 5 layups by himself....

[rjv]

- In hindsight, the ignoring of Wembanyama was probably inevitable with a bunch of young veterans who have received virtually no national publicity and now see this as their opportunity to shine in front of a national audience. Hopefully they got it out of their system. If not, Pop needs to make sure of it.

- Collins needs to be more of a floor spacer with the starters so that Wembanyama can be more involved in the action by setting the majority of on ball screens.

- Playing him as the solo big makes it easier and the Mavericks present ample opportunity to do so, but the genius didn't take it.

- I don't mind doing it for now, but the sooner Sochan as the nominal PG ends, the better. The offense is destined for bottom of the barrel status.

- In general, he's an overrated prospect. I don't see a single clear strength, but I do see a lot of weaknesses.

the other point to remember here is just how important antecedents can be.

[KobesAchilles]

We had 5 people outshoot Wemby. 4 of them are scrubs. This was a game tbh. And it can’t happen again. Learn from it and move on. But the people saying it’s no big deal are completely wrong. Bc if they keep playing this way, it is the worst thing for his development. We have an alpha now. Everything goes through him. This is a Tim Duncan situation but like if he didn’t have DRob.

Imagine Collins outshooting Wemby bc we couldn’t get him the ing ball. KJ turning the ball over instead of passing to our generational talent. He is THAT good. But we are treating him on here like he’s rookie Dejounte or Kawhi. He’s not. He’s Lebron or Shaq or DRob at worst. He’s an all timer.

Next game, run some ing plays for him. Give him a ing post entry pass. Don’t cut out of bounds like a ing moron (Branham). Recognize when he is being guarded by a midget. And when he has 9 points in 3 minutes, keep feeding the monster.

[onechance87]

Not impressed with branham either....Dude is inconsitent....looks like we may have another lonnie walker

[Brazil]

You have to release the Lion other teammates played selfish AF and forgot to play defense at the end...stop blaming the Refs.....that was horrible coaching on Wemby in prepping him for his 1st game ....dude has played with men you dont make stupid fouls .... Also There is no leader in this team

...if Wemby is not a all-star in Feb....he will be a bust....and nothing but has been hype....that rookie from Dallas Lively had a a game

yes ITS THE 1ST EN GAME I KNOW but....if we continue to play like this... and play smart Basketball its gonna be a loooooooonnnnnng ass season

[Brazil]

This board is hilarious... reading dat you would imagine Spurs were favorites to win it all and this game is a huge disappointment smh...

Wemby is 19 y/o first real NBA game and "ref" we should be thrilled by his performance in 20 mn. TOs are to be expected as fools also are to be expected. This game is great to learn this what matters.

The Spurs are taking this first year as a learning journey. Losing in a close first game against all stars vet like Luka and Irving is nothing to be upset about.

Bunch of ing lunatics

[Atl Spur]

I meant Sochan.

Gotcha! Sochan missed a lot of easy shots ( can be corrected )but his ball handling has to be tightened up. Jeremy has heart and compe ive; I’ll keep my wagon hitched to the kid.

[widowmaker]

Pop gets an F

Yeah I think he kept wemby out way too long.