Criminal how he fast went away from Castle the moment the rest of roster got healthy..i don't think Tre/Vassell/Barnes and even Sochan should be automatically above him especially when he is performing like tonight.
I think he must read Spurstalk and agree with those saying that the team really can’t have Sochan AND Castle playing at the same time. He opted to go with Jeremy in the end, which I can’t really fault.
I am increasingly concerned about Dev though. I really like him, but I feel he’s still makes Year 2 level reads at lot of times.
After a good start he's been wild & questionable with rotations ever since the team got healthy..
i'm glad Mitch got the opportunity to audition for the job, but i would look for more established names (Dan Hurley, Will Hardy (if he becomes available ...), even James Borrego) for for the post-Pop era.
8 mins for castle?
Dnt think he really is doin a good job coaching
Eh, I hate to be that guy but ...
He's coaching in the shadow of perhaps the GOAT. Don't expect those shoes to be filled anytime soon, if ever.
I like Mitch's rotations for the most part. Pop never would have benched Collins or Branham so kudos for that.
Tactically he seems a bit behind, which a young coach should improve on. He really needs to use his challenges more, you can't be buried with them coach.
That was enough to generate 4 turnovers and zero points.
Here is my endorsement of the job Mitch is doing:
It is VERY difficult to be the guy who replaces an all-timer. Whomever replaced Pop was going to have a hard time. Mitch is stepping in those shoes so that the next person doesn't have to.
Come home to SA, Becky.
Not a Xs and Os or decisions issue.
Mitch is just too green/inexperienced and needs to go through all the learning stage as the rookie he is.
Why should Wemby pay that price?
I'm on the Becky train too (surrounded by exp assistants)
He played like ass.
He did play like ass. But even when he played great he doesn't even get 15 minutes.
Champagnie played great as of late and he pretty much got a DNP for the rest of the game as soon as he missed a couple shots early on.
Wrong players have short leash.
If Champ got pulled, it wasn’t for misses. The Spurs/Pop philosophy is to keep shooting, and if you stop because you’ve missed a few, he will pull you for that. Champ frequently struggles to get going early, missing his first 3-4, and I’ve never seen him get pulled before turning it on.
Champ was likely slow on some defensive rotations or something like that.
He went from 30mpg as a starter to 22mpg since Devin came back. Coaching is also about psychology and while Champagnie is obviously not a regular starter, giving him almost 30% less playtime even though he was the biggest positive surprise of the season so far sends the wrong message.
Keldon has also been getting 22mpg in that same interval, his minutes went down from 25 to 22mpg.
Champagnie since Devin returned to the starting lineup: 9.5/3.3/1 on 44/44/100, 6 3pta.
Keldon since Devin returned to the starting lineup: 9.3/3.8/1.5 on 45/17/70, 2.8 3pta.
Can someone please explain why is Mitch reducing minutes of our only textbook shooter and not minutes of a defensive turnstile who's shooting 17% from 3pt in that period? Especially since we already have enough bad shooters in the rotation?
Mitch started off well, made some logical moves, but now he's starting to show he's out of his depth.
The last inbound play against the wolves was a brain fart. The game ends with the ball in Sochan’s hands outside the arc. The wolves were laughing all the way to the locker room.
Sochan shouldn't have been on the floor there, pretty inexcusable mistake.
He's single handedly destroying Castle.
And WTF are you doing with Sochan even on the floor last night for the last shot?
Will Popomitch learn anything from tonight's game with the Clips?
All the league's best scorers are at the 2/3, where Sochan can't play or defend. Castle can. When's the last time Sochan forced someone into an eight second violation like Castle did tonight to Harden?
Start Castle. Bring Sochan off the bench. Profit.
While it's only correlation, Castle coming in and basically scoring 15 quick points once Sochan was out kinda confirms that there is a dichotomy here of choosing one of our 2 non-shooting "stars" to have on the floor at any one time. Castle is more impactful creating while Sochan's the better rebounder and finisher (off assists). If only Sochan had worked harder (or more successfully, at least) on his long ball..
We still need Sochan to defend the likes of Duant, PG13, KL. Stephon can not guard them.
I know this game was a blowout, but why would you play a Castle, Tre Jones, Vassell, Keldon, Zollins line up?
Agree that the rotations are bad. Champagnie should be the first player off the bench, not Keldon. Castle has to play at least 20 min per game. I also don’t like that he brought Collins back.
One would think it's common sense but forget Mitch, 90% of Spurs fans, including on ST will call you a hater and try to explain you with stats (smh) that Sochan is amazing and his future is a mix of Draymond and A. Gordon
Spurs played their best basketball when Sochan and Vassell came off the bench
Whoever plays in a lineup with Wemby and or CP will look better. Coming off the bench without either of those players seems to reveal the chaos and dysfunction. Basically, we don't have a logical pecking order, rather one based on seniority/salary.
I think Devin has made some effort in playing less like a moron. My issue is not enough Castle and Champ. Less Keldon and Tre would be my preference. Zollins coming back makes me think there was an in team suspension for his meltdown. I think some of the blame on Mitch gets to roster construction. Mitch has whittled Mamu, Blake, and Branham off the rotation. But everyone is healthy now. Some roster shake up needs to happen before next season.
Just copied this from a Facebook post >>>>>>>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Spurs’ brutal January schedule could make or break their season
The Spurs will face the Nuggets, Lakers, Grizzlies and Pacers twice in January and will also play the Heat, Bucks, Bulls and Clippers this month
1)The Spurs are facing a brutal schedule in January, with only two matchups coming against teams with losing records. How many of their 13 games do you think they will win?
Marilyn Dubinski: If they can keep hovering within a game or two of .500 for the month of January, it will be a success, and honestly, the amount of time they’re on the road is more concerning than the strength of schedule to me. As they learned last week, they can’t make late mistakes on the road and expect to win, but they have also shown they can keep up with good teams. I can see them winning the Bulls game and the two against the Pacers in Paris, then they just need to win two more to come out the other end still within a game of .500. At Miami is winnable, and maybe it’s recency bias but home vs. the Clippers is winnable. They also have three other miniseries besides the Pacers: home-away vs. Nuggets (who are vulnerable), away-away vs. Lakers, home-home vs. Memphis. More often than not, teams split those series, so I don’t expect all three to be a full sweep by the opponent (maybe just the Lakers).
Jacob Douglas: I’m expecting a close to .500 record this month for the Spurs. They’ll steal a game against a favorite like Milwaukee or Denver. They previously lost to Chicago but that is a winnable game. They have a good matchup with Miami and playing in France against the Pacers should give them a boost as the hometown kid puts on a show. Six or seven wins is my prediction.
Jesus Gomez: They could lose all 13 and it wouldn’t be shocking, which is crazy. Hopefully they’ll be able to feast on the East teams. The game in Chicago, the two against Indiana, and the one against Miami feel winnable. I looked to see if any of the matchups against the Western teams and the Bucks had a rest advantage, but no opponent will be on the second game of a back-to-back. I’ll say that if they can win six, they will have done a good job.
Bill Huan: All 13, Jesus?? And I thought that I was the Debbie Downer of this crew. In all seriousness, I don’t think the Spurs will have a great record, either; something around 4-5 wins sounds about right. I’d be ecstatic and shocked if they go .500 or better, even with Wemby playing like a borderline top 5 player in the league. A factor that’s being under-discussed is that most of the teams they’ll be playing are more desperate for wins. That’s not to say the Spurs don’t want to rack up Ws, but they’re still more willing to experiment and rest guys if necessary than most teams they’ll be playing during this brutal stretch.
2) The Spurs record after January will determine whether they are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. True or false?
Dubinski: True to an extent. I think they will have open ears regardless, so January is more likely to decide what type of trade they pursue, be it just salary/contract dumps for draft capital or truly pursuing upgrades. Rumor already has it that they aren’t interested in trading Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson “this season”, so it doesn’t sound like they plan to make any changes to the main core, not to mention the marriage with Chris Paul has worked out well. That leaves Harrison Barnes and Zach Collins as their main bargaining chips. If they are looking for a major upgrade, it should be at backup center, and I’ll keep pounding the Jonas Valanciunas drum either until it happens or he’s traded elsewhere.
Douglas: False. Will this stretch prove how ready they are right now? Maybe. But I think there is a longer-term plan here than just this season. If they can get a veteran on an expiring who can help them squeak into the play-in like Valanciunas or Jordan Clarkson on a cheap deal, so be it. If those opportunities aren’t there, I just don’t see them pushing all their chips in at the deadline. Likewise, I can’t see them blowing up the roster to gain draft capital for contributing veterans like Paul and Barnes. I think we’ll see a marginal move at the deadline no matter what happens this month.
Gomez: True, kind of. If they win more games than anticipated and are firmly in the playoff race, it can lead them to be more aggressive looking for upgrades, especially at backup center. But if they lose a lot, I doubt they will be aggressive sellers. Chris Paul seems happy in San Antonio. Keldon Johnson’s contract is too good to just move him unless there’s a better market for him than it seems realistic to anticipate. Maybe they send Harrison Barnes out for a second rounder? It doesn’t feel likely to me. I expect bigger moves in the offseason if the Spurs underwhelm the rest of the way.
(Also, for the record, I don’t think they’ll lose all 13, Bill! I’m just saying that if you look at each matchup in isolation, they could realistically lose to any opponent. Just needed to clarify that. I’m a bit of a doomer, but I’m not that far gone.)
Huan: Realistically? False. The only scenario in which I’d change my mind would be if the Spurs somehow defy all expectations and win most of their games in January, putting them in firm playoff position. At that point, it might be worth adding a depth piece — as long as it doesn’t mortgage a critical part of the future.
However, if things play out as we expect and the Spurs are still on the bubble, or even slightly worse, they shouldn’t make any drastic moves. San Antonio’s too good to tank and the vets seem pretty happy to stay with the team, so I doubt any big moves are in play.
Mitch, what are you doin? Castle just hit a three, then you sub Tre for him? WTF!
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
