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

[Atl Spur]

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

True.

[onechance87]

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

anytime we lose to the mavericks theres gonna be disapointment....they are one of our hated rivals...Just felt we should
of won this game but we let it slip

[poopbox]

the average distance on shot attempts with Wemby in was at 17 ft. and with him out it was at 14 ft. The Mavs also shot a mere 35% inside the paint when Wemby was in but that jumped to 50% with Wemby out.

Will be the story of the season. When Wemby in defense good when Wemby out defense bad.

[spurraider21]

[spurraider21]

so they missed a shooting foul on lively, in addition to a foul on doncic (in the same possession after offensive rebound), but that all came on the same possession where they should have called traveling on zollins to begin with, so doesnt change anything

[poopbox]

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

Yeah Pops coaching has left a lot to be desired for quite awhile. Even worst it's looking like we turning it over to Brent ing Brown when Pop hangs it up

Pop coaches like someone who has no fear of losing his job because he won't and like he doesn't care about winning because he has the most wins ever. He just doing whatever he wants. Lucky for him he just stumbled onto a guy in Victor who is so good it can be pretty difficult to lose with him playing lots of minutes. For all the cliff jumping about this game the Spurs were getting whatever they wanted against the mavs and if they don't get Luka reffed in this game they win it pretty easily.

[Brazil]

anytime we lose to the mavericks theres gonna be disapointment....they are one of our hated rivals...Just felt we should
of won this game but we let it slip

Thats half full half empty story... we should be thrilled to lose to the mavs because we let it slip.

Tim started at 21 y/o with 15 10 2 2 and 4 TOs in 35 mn and was playing with bunch of vets and David. I'd say that Victor did just fine at 19 y/o with a young team trying to figure out to play alongside a totally new kind of player.
This team is not expeted to make the POs.

This was a great first game with plenty of stuff to learn and adjust. In the long run the result of this game does not matter, winning 30 or 50 games all season does not matter, what matters is preparing those young guys for the next 10 years.

[wildbill2u]

Pop benching Jones for Sochan late in the game really took the wind out of the Spurs' sails tbh.

Put Sochan on the bench instead of starting and we win this game.

[BackHome]

Love the - The Sky is Falling - It sucks to loose to Dallas but Luka is the man and we played pretty good add that we still a very young team so things like this are going to happen. As far as games people need just to enjoy it we are no where near sniffing a ring so people need a little reality check. The Spurs will have there ups and downs some days will look like G League and sometimes will look like were ready to compete for le. In the end it's somewhere in the middle more so probably high lottery pick and not a bad thing - look at Dallas they went on that tanking at the end because they wanted there draft pick and look they came away with a heck of a player in Lively.

[TD 21]

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.

Just because he's in the paint and sometimes near the rim, finishing at it is a skill.

He lacks the jumper to create blow byes, the handle to create separation, the strength to barrel through bodies and touch on top of that, so what he ends up with is a lot of out of control heaves.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

the problem is that he’s 7’5” and all of his jumpers are technically clean looks. I mean, if that’s the case he should shoot 10 3’s a game if he’s going to average >=60%

He won’t average 60% though, it’s always going to be far more higher percentage shots for him at the rim like in his second summer league game. Even defensively he strays too far from the rim

[Amuseddaysleeper]

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.

True, but in crunch time it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to throw the ball to wemby or Vassell. But wemby also needs to do a better job of getting near the rim which as you noted is something he will need to learn

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Just because he's in the paint and sometimes near the rim, finishing at it is a skill.

He lacks the jumper to create blow byes, the handle to create separation, the strength to barrel through bodies and touch on top of that, so what he ends up with is a lot of out of control heaves.

He may need to bulk up more like giannis or something

[rjv]

True, but in crunch time it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to throw the ball to wemby or Vassell. But wemby also needs to do a better job of getting near the rim which as you noted is something he will need to learn

i'll always remember my basketball coach emphasizing how one of the best ways to defend the blocks was to get to the spot that your are trying to keep the opposing player from getting to first. grant williams was clearly doing this last night. he'd go down to the post before Wemby could get there and then Grant would make Wemby to try and push him off the block, which Wemby had a hard time doing.

[Mugen]

Yeah Pops coaching has left a lot to be desired for quite awhile. Even worst it's looking like we turning it over to Brent ing Brown when Pop hangs it up

Pop coaches like someone who has no fear of losing his job because he won't and like he doesn't care about winning because he has the most wins ever. He just doing whatever he wants. Lucky for him he just stumbled onto a guy in Victor who is so good it can be pretty difficult to lose with him playing lots of minutes. For all the cliff jumping about this game the Spurs were getting whatever they wanted against the mavs and if they don't get Luka reffed in this game they win it pretty easily.

If they're smart and everything goes according to plan, I don't think Brett will inherit the mantle unless Wemby signs off on it tbh. Wemby should absolutely have a say in who succeeds the old man if he's everything we're hoping him to be.

[Mugen]

He may need to bulk up more like giannis or something

Jeremy should definitely get stronger tbh. Giannis isn't a good comp but Artest should be in terms of being effective while not being the greatest ball handler.

[spurs10]

Just watched the last two minutes again and Keldon deserves a steak dinner from Cuban. I'm sure Victor would have been called with a 3 pt foul had he made it to Luka in time, but the game was lost by then. Benching Tre who scored our last 4 points was discouraging.

[sfernald]

After this cluster , there are already rumors that Wemby is going to demand a trade to a team with a player like Luka who makes scrub teammates like Lively look like stars on national television. He’s smart enough to talk to Harden, Kyrie, Lillard and Durant and realize he could demand a trade to Dallas even in his rookie season and there’s all the Spurs can do about it. Spurs have ed the pooch and there’s no coming back from this. This was a worst case disaster for a team. Every single player should not take another shot all practice. Just practice ing lob passes and setting good screens for Wemby. No coffee either, cause coffee is for closers dip s. That includes you too Pop!

[onechance87]

After this cluster , there are already rumors that Wemby is going to demand a trade to a team with a player like Luka who makes scrub teammates like Lively look like stars on national television. He’s smart enough to talk to Harden, Kyrie, Lillard and Durant and realize he could demand a trade to Dallas even in his rookie season and there’s all the Spurs can do about it. Spurs have ed the pooch and there’s no coming back from this. This was a worst case disaster for a team. Every single player should not take another shot all practice. Just practice ing lob passes and setting good screens for Wemby. No coffee either, cause coffee is for closers dip s. That includes you too Pop!

kinda extreme lol.....But our number 1 goal should getting a player that makes it easier for wemby...If that means trading keldon so be it

[Rush]

Thanks for the grades. This game went pretty much as expected. Early lead, blown late. Lots of young players that need to learn how to close out.

In toto, I was pleased with the results, sans the play of McD. Sochan had some rough patches, but legit growing pains. NO ONE is going to learn PG position in NBA on the fly without some turmoil. I think, given the timeline, it makes sense to explore the potential. Plus, with a Plethora of draft picks on the horizon, we need honest evaluation. If the 'ship isnt on the horizon, then team building to attain that end is essential. So we endure some growing pains? Small price.

I would rather patiently build a team to contend than be in the play offs yearly to serve as cannon fodder.

[PhantomDashCam]

Thanks for the grades.

I thought Pop was terrible at times last night.
That being said, I also thought that this may actually be by design as it shows the folly of the players when they skip steps, keep their star player uninvolved, take rushed shots, fail to rebound etc.
If you play this way, you're probably going to lose consistently, irrespective of talent advantages.

I'm looking forward to the evolution of this team throughout the season but Pop for me is the key to whether this team is a playoff one come season end.

BTW, I still don't understand all the KJ hate I see in the comments. I thought some of our best stretches of play last night involved him.

[KingKev]

Thanks for the grades.

I thought Pop was terrible at times last night.
That being said, I also thought that this may actually be by design as it shows the folly of the players when they skip steps, keep their star player uninvolved, take rushed shots, fail to rebound etc.
If you play this way, you're probably going to lose consistently, irrespective of talent advantages.

I'm looking forward to the evolution of this team throughout the season but Pop for me is the key to whether this team is a playoff one come season end.

BTW, I still don't understand all the KJ hate I see in the comments. I thought some of our best stretches of play last night involved him.

I agree. KJ showed some polish at times. I don’t exactly know what his role is on this squad but he certainly has one.

[GAustex]

Sochan missed five layups

[Obstructed_View]

After this cluster , there are already rumors that Wemby is going to demand a trade to a team with a player like Luka who makes scrub teammates like Lively look like stars on national television. He’s smart enough to talk to Harden, Kyrie, Lillard and Durant and realize he could demand a trade to Dallas even in his rookie season and there’s all the Spurs can do about it. Spurs have ed the pooch and there’s no coming back from this. This was a worst case disaster for a team. Every single player should not take another shot all practice. Just practice ing lob passes and setting good screens for Wemby. No coffee either, cause coffee is for closers dip s. That includes you too Pop!

This post is so ing stupid, I'm embarrassed for whoever wrote it.

[Obstructed_View]

Thanks for the grades. This game went pretty much as expected. Early lead, blown late. Lots of young players that need to learn how to close out.

In toto, I was pleased with the results, sans the play of McD. Sochan had some rough patches, but legit growing pains. NO ONE is going to learn PG position in NBA on the fly without some turmoil. I think, given the timeline, it makes sense to explore the potential. Plus, with a Plethora of draft picks on the horizon, we need honest evaluation. If the 'ship isnt on the horizon, then team building to attain that end is essential. So we endure some growing pains? Small price.

I would rather patiently build a team to contend than be in the play offs yearly to serve as cannon fodder.

He hasn't had a good stretch. McDermott should not ever be on the floor without Victor, IMO. I'd like to see Victor with the ball and Doug running around behind screens.