Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets -- Sat. (2/27) - 7:00PM CST (3:00AM Riga Time)

[spurs10]

Yeah it looks like SAGirl quotes are mine.

[SAGirl]

Oh weird you are right.

[DrSteffo]

But you agree that Kyle Anderson is slower and less athletic than Simmons?

[sasaint]

He's been terrible on both ends, bad decisions, bad TO, only good aspects were a few transition buckets which are his strength, but to me what really put him in Pop's doghouse is that for all his limitations offensively with ballhandling and such, defensively he's been unreliable. Man to man, falls for fakes too often and he really commits silly, really bad fouls. On team defense he's been up and down but there is more bad than good as he's missed too many rotations and switches and made mistakes. Fouls too many big s on switches too, boxing them out.

I think Pop is still going to give him a chance this season though bc they really like him, but his role is reduced. I don't see him in the playoffs at all unless it's garbage time if you can't trust him defensively as that was supposed to be his strength. That kawhi played 39 minutes this game and Danny 33(?) even with foul trouble tells me all there is to know.

I think Pop is also going to start tightening up the rotation. We have some tough matches coming up. FWIW I do think he's in the doghouse, but it's bc of bad defense.

Several points... First, I think you summed up Simmons' defensive issues very well. But I am not sure that defense really was expected to be one of his strengths (with apologies to Reggie Miller). What makes matters all the worse, though, is the fact that Simmons has shown no progress. To me, he continues to make the same mistakes. THAT is why, imho, Pop has taken the hard stance with Simmons. Dog house? Maybe, but I think it is more like the short leash that Kyle was on earlier in the season. Pop was the indulgent parent with Simmons when he was giving Kyle the tough love. Now Pop has kind of flip flopped. His message to Simmons is clear: learn and play, or do what you're doing and watch Kyle play.

As far as Danny and Kawhi's minutes are concerned, I don't think it had as much to do with Simmons. It served as notice of what Danny and Kawhi can expect against a tough playoff opponent like the Dubs. Good mental and physical preparation for playoffs when the team is pretty much breezing through the regular season. I think that this game isn't the model going forward, but we can expect to see a few more before season's end.

[SAGirl]

Simmons has shown no progress. To me, he continues to make the same mistakes. THAT is why, imho, Pop has taken the hard stance with Simmons. Dog house? Maybe, but I think it is more like the short leash that Kyle was on earlier in the season. Pop was the indulgent parent with Simmons when he was giving Kyle the tough love. Now Pop has kind of flip flopped. His message to Simmons is clear: learn and play, or do what you're doing and watch Kyle play.

As far as Danny and Kawhi's minutes are concerned, I don't think it had as much to do with Simmons. It served as notice of what Danny and Kawhi can expect against a tough playoff opponent like the Dubs. Good mental and physical preparation for playoffs when the team is pretty much breezing through the regular season. I think that this game isn't the model going forward, but we can expect to see a few more before season's end.

I agree very much with your statement on Simmons. He's obviously had a very different path to the NBA than Kyle, and he didn't play well in preseason and it seemed like his confidence was shot initially. The NBA is a whole different level that all rookies struggle to adjust to, with only some supremely talented guys hitting it right away so it isn't unexpected. He showed incredible potential though, so I think at that point he needed encouragement above anything else and you are right, Pop showed him a lot of leniency earlier in the season. In contrast, he was being really strict on Kyle expecting 0 mistakes. Jonathon gained confidence and played well but now with more minutes and without Manu specially which requires everyone to do more and play different, his weaknesses were exposed so he needs to go back to the drawing board and improve on those.

Kyle on the other hand had been working on his weak areas and he had to claw his way back to playing time being more assertive offensively because he had been nowhere to be found early, in full deferential state, and also cleaning up his own defensive lapses. With opportunities opening up by Timmy' s, Kawhi' s and Manu's injuries he's also been pushed to larger roles and this time he's provided and gotten better proving that Pop's strict coaching was the right approach with him initially as he also had a lot to work on and also, what I thought personally: that he had been cajoled into a role that limited him early and that he was reduced to a spot up shooter thus he wasn't being used well. When asked to do more is when he's played his best ironically, meaning there was untapped potential there all along (something I knew having watched him b4, but I can't blame the doubters). That he was able to respond to coaching is also good to see. Hopefully Jonathon does the same.

You might be right on the minutes. I think Manu being on the team could have lessened the load on them, since Kyle was even a small ball 4 for a stretch. There were minutes at the guard spot for sure. Bc Manu is still way out from getting back I am sure Pop will be selective still, but will try to find him minutes.

[sasaint]

I agree very much with your statement on Simmons. He's obviously had a very different path to the NBA than Kyle, and he didn't play well in preseason and it seemed like his confidence was shot initially. The NBA is a whole different level that all rookies struggle to adjust to, with only some supremely talented guys hitting it right away so it isn't unexpected. He showed incredible potential though, so I think at that point he needed encouragement above anything else and you are right, Pop showed him a lot of leniency earlier in the season. In contrast, he was being really strict on Kyle expecting 0 mistakes. Jonathon gained confidence and played well but now with more minutes and without Manu specially which requires everyone to do more and play different, his weaknesses were exposed so he needs to go back to the drawing board and improve on those.

Kyle on the other hand had been working on his weak areas and he had to claw his way back to playing time being more assertive offensively because he had been nowhere to be found early, in full deferential state, and also cleaning up his own defensive lapses. With opportunities opening up by Timmy' s, Kawhi' s and Manu's injuries he's also been pushed to larger roles and this time he's provided and gotten better proving that Pop's strict coaching was the right approach with him initially as he also had a lot to work on and also, what I thought personally: that he had been cajoled into a role that limited him early and that he was reduced to a spot up shooter thus he wasn't being used well. When asked to do more is when he's played his best ironically, meaning there was untapped potential there all along (something I knew having watched him b4, but I can't blame the doubters). That he was able to respond to coaching is also good to see. Hopefully Jonathon does the same.

You might be right on the minutes. I think Manu being on the team could have lessened the load on them, since Kyle was even a small ball 4 for a stretch. There were minutes at the guard spot for sure. Bc Manu is still way out from getting back I am sure Pop will be selective still, but will try to find him minutes.

So far, Pop's handling of both psyches seems to have achieved a very good result. With all of the accolades and success he had experienced, Kyle might have been a guy who easily could have developed an ego issue, so Pop kept Kyle under his thumb. With his harder road to this level, Jonathon might have been a guy who easily could have begun to doubt himself, so Pop handled him with patience and encouragement to reinforce his ego. Now, having given Simmons that higher level of support, Pop can maybe begin his "true" development without damaging his confidence. There is an old coaching nostrum that you have to break a player down before you can build him up. Sometimes, though, you have to build him up before you can break him down in order to reconstruct him.

[look_at_g_shred]

I agree very much with your statement on Simmons. He's obviously had a very different path to the NBA than Kyle, and he didn't play well in preseason and it seemed like his confidence was shot initially. The NBA is a whole different level that all rookies struggle to adjust to, with only some supremely talented guys hitting it right away so it isn't unexpected. He showed incredible potential though, so I think at that point he needed encouragement above anything else and you are right, Pop showed him a lot of leniency earlier in the season. In contrast, he was being really strict on Kyle expecting 0 mistakes. Jonathon gained confidence and played well but now with more minutes and without Manu specially which requires everyone to do more and play different, his weaknesses were exposed so he needs to go back to the drawing board and improve on those.

Kyle on the other hand had been working on his weak areas and he had to claw his way back to playing time being more assertive offensively because he had been nowhere to be found early, in full deferential state, and also cleaning up his own defensive lapses. With opportunities opening up by Timmy' s, Kawhi' s and Manu's injuries he's also been pushed to larger roles and this time he's provided and gotten better proving that Pop's strict coaching was the right approach with him initially as he also had a lot to work on and also, what I thought personally: that he had been cajoled into a role that limited him early and that he was reduced to a spot up shooter thus he wasn't being used well. When asked to do more is when he's played his best ironically, meaning there was untapped potential there all along (something I knew having watched him b4, but I can't blame the doubters). That he was able to respond to coaching is also good to see. Hopefully Jonathon does the same.

You might be right on the minutes. I think Manu being on the team could have lessened the load on them, since Kyle was even a small ball 4 for a stretch. There were minutes at the guard spot for sure. Bc Manu is still way out from getting back I am sure Pop will be selective still, but will try to find him minutes.

It's as simple as knowing the difference between both players and their demeanor. Pop doesn't have to be so strict with J-Simms because he knows that with him, he's worked so hard to where he's at today, and he's not going to take this opportunity for granted. Pop doesn't have to be on him on the time because that's just who Simmons is..he knows what's at stake. He doesn't have to be constantly reminded. Kyle OTOH, who I'm not saying isn't a hardworker himself or is not always trying to improve his game, is more of the "I deserve to be here" mind frame. And if you don't have someone like pop pushing you, can get complacent and lazy.

[lilbthebasedgod]

Simmons hasn't improved. Just basically that's where I'm at. He's very one dimensional He can be good. He's shown a great outside shot and is very athletic. He seems reasonably smart too.

Kyle just keeps improving. His shot has improved and he's very dynamic and has turned into a great defender. His problem is he's slow and he's not very confident. The former seems to be becoming less of an issue and the former is improving.

[BatManu20]