Game Thread: Spurs @ Heat - Oct. 8, 2019 @ 6:30 PM CT - Preseason Game #2

[tim_duncan_fan]

Here's the thing: the team looks exactly the same. I get that this is the second game of PREASEASON. But I don't see anything that looks like these guys practicing a new wrinkle. Nothing that looks like plays that have been designed over the offseason just to give things a fresh look.

Dummies seriously didn't work on shooting 3s in the offseason, which was THE most obviously necessary thing for them to do, particularly the wings.

Derrick White is a mercurial guy and plays with timidity, despite it just being preseason and despite the entire city of San Antonio giving him the green light to do whatever he wants.

I simply don't understand the mindset. I simply can't fathom that guys aren't chomping at the bit to jump down the throat of the opposition, given how last season went.

It just doesn't make sense.

[FkLA]

i'm admittedly trolling at times, but your cult-like impulsive need to defend d-white at all costs is a bit comical tbh, just like your impulsive need to on murray

i mean seriously... why doesnt pop baby derrick white because he needs to be coddled ... smh didnt realize DePression's mental weakness would spread to other players like this

Yeah, no you're trolling some times.

Serious question though, why do y'all act like building up the confidence of a young player is some uncommon thing across sports? What do you think coaches are doing when they stick with a young QB through growing pains? He's not DD. He showed more balls last season, in what was essentially his rookie year, than DD has his entire career. Still, he's not the most confident guy so help him out some. You can help him without coddling him.

[BillMc]

As long as Pop is around, they are one in the same.




Don’t you know me by now?

[spurraider21]

Yeah, no you're trolling some times.

Serious question though, why do y'all act like building up the confidence of a young player is some uncommon thing across sports? What do you think coaches are doing when they stick with a young QB through growing pains? He's not DD. He showed more balls last season, in what was essentially his rookie year, than DD has his entire career. Still, he's not the most confident guy so help him out some. You can help him without coddling him.

i love d-white and want to see him succeed. like it or not, pop has a way about him, and he wants his players to have strong mental for ude. white showed he was capable of taking over against the nuggets but then receded late in the series, including game 7. i know your point about "how come you aren't holding the other players accountable for not showing up" and the reality is you hold leaders (or guys that are supposed to be leaders) more accountable. people will on kobe for the 2004 finals, they're not going to blame devean george for not having stepped up.

white clearly looked like "the guy" early in the series, even ahead of DDR and LMA. and then he went awol. that's mental, not physical. if he's going to panic or fold when there's adversity, then pop is going to pull him.

and its not like pop was yanking him prematurely today. he checked in with 5:38 left in the first quarter, and was subbed out with 9:26 to go in the second. thats a full shift. he checked back in with 4:15 to go and played out the half. it was during the first half when you and i had our little back and forth, so i have no clue what you were complaining about other than your perceived derrick white persecution complex

[FkLA]

i'm admittedly trolling at times, but your cult-like impulsive need to defend d-white at all costs is a bit comical tbh, just like your impulsive need to on murray

i mean seriously... why doesnt pop baby derrick white because he needs to be coddled ... smh didnt realize DePression's mental weakness would spread to other players like this

BTW last time time I was this passionate about something that most people didn't agree with? Rique not handing the reigns over to Nephew sooner. I ended up being dead on.

[FkLA]

i love d-white and want to see him succeed. like it or not, pop has a way about him, and he wants his players to have strong mental for ude. white showed he was capable of taking over against the nuggets but then receded late in the series, including game 7. i know your point about "how come you aren't holding the other players accountable for not showing up" and the reality is you hold leaders (or guys that are supposed to be leaders) more accountable. people will on kobe for the 2004 finals, they're not going to blame devean george for not having stepped up.

No. I'm not denying that White played like the first half of Game 7, or saying that he shouldn't be held accountable for it. My issue is with the fact that most of the guys the bed that first half, and they were all allowed to dig themselves out of it except White. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

white clearly looked like "the guy" early in the series, even ahead of DDR and LMA. and then he went awol. that's mental, not physical. if he's going to panic or fold when there's adversity, then pop is going to pull him.

First off, he wasn't Game 7 bad every single game after Game 3. He wasn't spectacular like he was Game 3, but he was steady Games 4-6. It wasn't a panic/fold thing as much as it was the DEN defense focusing on him more and a better defender (Harris) being switched onto him. Game 7 he came out flat footed, but so did the rest of the team. Why didn't Pop pull anyone else?

and its not like pop was yanking him prematurely today. he checked in with 5:38 left in the first quarter, and was subbed out with 9:26 to go in the second. thats a full shift. he checked back in with 4:15 to go and played out the half. it was during the first half when you and i had our little back and forth, so i have no clue what you were complaining about other than your perceived derrick white persecution complex

-benching him Game 7
-essentially saying IB is better than you
-not at least starting him next to IB

Those are the things I have an issue with. Things that don't help the kid with his confidence, imo. I didn't say anything about his minutes.

[timtonymanu]

Here's the thing: the team looks exactly the same. I get that this is the second game of PREASEASON. But I don't see anything that looks like these guys practicing a new wrinkle. Nothing that looks like plays that have been designed over the offseason just to give things a fresh look.

Dummies seriously didn't work on shooting 3s in the offseason, which was THE most obviously necessary thing for them to do, particularly the wings.

Derrick White is a mercurial guy and plays with timidity, despite it just being preseason and despite the entire city of San Antonio giving him the green light to do whatever he wants.

I simply don't understand the mindset. I simply can't fathom that guys aren't chomping at the bit to jump down the throat of the opposition, given how last season went.

It just doesn't make sense.

I mean it shouldn’t be surprising. Pop even said last year that the new formula isn’t basketball anymore. It’s gonna be more of the same this year. He’s gonna want the best players playing the midrange game and it’s also why he’s starting Poeltl next to Aldridge still. Pop is gonna be too stubborn to make his players all practice their 3s.

[timtonymanu]

That's just poor roster construction, tbh.

I mean, fine, if you want to run your offense through chokers with outdated games then okay.

But to fail to surround them with even a couple of truly competent 3pt shooters - and I'm not talking about old, washed up, one-dimensional scrubs like Fatty or Belli - in this league is just ing inexcusable.

Truth but the team should still get 45+ wins and get knocked out of the 1st round again.

[MannyIsGod]

Look, it's no secret that White isn't the most confident guy in the world. Even during his Spurs story Pop described him as "unconfident". Not that surprising given his journey to the NBA.

So why is noone acknowledging the fact that instead of helping build his confidence, Pop has done things that have negatively affected it? They bend over backwards to protect psyche of career loser in DeRozan but give a big you to a promising young player.

Pop literally took him to China on Team USA and played him to the point that pundtis were asking WTF. You need to just realize that this is not anyone's fault but White at this point. IF he succeeds then great. But acting like the Spurs and Pop have done anything to stop him from succeeding is you not wanting to admit he might not be the 2nd coming that you've been claiming. Its OK.

[acoelho1]

I think we all want White to succeed and feel he has the tools to do so. He did drop 37 pts in a playoff game. Nevertheless, his biggest issue right now is consistency and confidence when things don't go well. It's still only preseason so let's see how it plays out before making any declaration.

[SpurPadre]

I think we all want White to succeed and feel he has the tools to do so. He did drop 37 pts in a playoff game. Nevertheless, his biggest issue right now is consistency and confidence when things don't go well. It's still only preseason so let's see how it plays out before making any declaration.

It's also comforting that Team USA coaching staff acknowledged that he can be quite solid and has some clear skills to benefit a team.

[FkLA]

Pop literally took him to China on Team USA and played him to the point that pundtis were asking WTF. You need to just realize that this is not anyone's fault but White at this point. IF he succeeds then great. But acting like the Spurs and Pop have done anything to stop him from succeeding is you not wanting to admit he might not be the 2nd coming that you've been claiming. Its OK.

Uh, he stood out on the Select Team and was solid in China in limited action. I don't remember any reputable pundits saying anything. Not sure wtf you're on about. You're like the third person that's insinuated that that spot was a gift from Pop. He earned it (aided by injuries/dropouts of course).

They're not doing a good job helping him with his confidence. They can do more for him. That's it. Never claimed they're actively stopping him from succeeding or that White can't do more to help himself.

[daslicer]

I think we all want White to succeed and feel he has the tools to do so. He did drop 37 pts in a playoff game. Nevertheless, his biggest issue right now is consistency and confidence when things don't go well. It's still only preseason so let's see how it plays out before making any declaration.

Consistency I think it's the hardest thing for a young player to overcome and master. That was #2's biggest issue here up until the 2017 playoffs. Hard to say if he will figure it out. It could take him a year to a few years to get over the mental hump or he might not ever be able to do it.

[FkLA]

But you're right, he won't have the breakout year that a lot of us here on ST, as well as a lot of pundits were expecting if he's treated like a role player. Part of the evolution is being empowered by your head coach. Forget the Big 3, be the Big 1. Or jumping up and down yelling at Parker to give Nephew the ball. Haven't seen anything like that for White.

[daslicer]

But you're right, he won't have the breakout year that a lot of us here on ST, as well as a lot of pundits were expecting if he's treated like a role player. Part of the evolution is being empowered by your head coach. Forget the Big 3, be the Big 1. Or jumping up and down yelling at Parker to give Nephew the ball. Haven't seen anything like that for White.

What is your expectations for him in year 2 if Pop does coddle him and does everything to pamper him? Do you think he can be playing at an all-star level?

[DPG21920]

One of my biggest concerns is leadership. We’ve seen that while guys like Mills are amazing people, if you aren’t a good player you can’t be a leader. Especially if you get worked over on defense

This team seems a bit listless. There’s going to be a ton on Murray’s shoulders to be the Alpha and leader and not sure that’s fair.

Hopefully there is a spark this year and Murray is up to the task because it looks like it’s all on him in that regard.

[DPG21920]

And, if pop sticks to the same things with Mills/Beli getting minutes other than rare spot minutes this team will see no improvement on defense; just asking Dejounte to cover up everything is not enough. Plus watching those two get destroyed on defense will kill the team. They are loved as teammates but everyone knows their flaws and it’s deflating.

[KobesAchilles]

Takeaways from this meaningless game: absolutely nothing

3 things overall that need to happen for the Spurs to get good again.

Patty and Marco cannot play together, ever.
KJ needs some burn at the 3 with Rudy at the 4 to help Rudy with defense.
DeRozan better take and make ing 3 pointers (especially during preseason which is a practice game anyways)

[J_Paco]

But you're right, he won't have the breakout year that a lot of us here on ST, as well as a lot of pundits were expecting if he's treated like a role player. Part of the evolution is being empowered by your head coach. Forget the Big 3, be the Big 1. Or jumping up and down yelling at Parker to give Nephew the ball. Haven't seen anything like that for White.

Wow, you really are delusional if you think White has a Nephew (or even Parker/Ginobili) like ceiling.

He isn't going to be a superstar in the NBA. He could make an all - star appearance or two but he'll really need to pick up his play for that to happen.

[UZER]

Takeaways from this meaningless game: absolutely nothing

3 things overall that need to happen for the Spurs to get good again.

Patty and Marco cannot play together, ever.
KJ needs some burn at the 3 with Rudy at the 4 to help Rudy with defense.
DeRozan better take and make ing 3 pointers (especially during preseason which is a practice game anyways)

Pffft.

[timtonymanu]

Takeaways from this meaningless game: absolutely nothing

3 things overall that need to happen for the Spurs to get good again.

Patty and Marco cannot play together, ever.
KJ needs some burn at the 3 with Rudy at the 4 to help Rudy with defense.
DeRozan better take and make ing 3 pointers (especially during preseason which is a practice game anyways)

The Patty/Marco pairing has always been a no-no but yet here we are still wondering why Pop even plays them together

[J_Paco]

And, if pop sticks to the same things with Mills/Beli getting minutes other than rare spot minutes this team will see no improvement on defense; just asking Dejounte to cover up everything is not enough. Plus watching those two get destroyed on defense will kill the team. They are loved as teammates but everyone knows their flaws and it’s deflating.

Agreed, which is why I was hoping beyond hope they could salary dump one or both. Pop is just too willing to go back to the same, old well even when it has run dry.

Takeaways from this meaningless game: absolutely nothing

3 things overall that need to happen for the Spurs to get good again.

Patty and Marco cannot play together, ever.
KJ needs some burn at the 3 with Rudy at the 4 to help Rudy with defense.
DeRozan better take and make ing 3 pointers (especially during preseason which is a practice game anyways)

Agreed, on all points. Not sure I understand Pop limiting minutes of Walker IV and DNP'ing Samanic in favor of Hommes & Lawson.

Those two, plus Keldon, should have seen at least 20 minutes each. We need to see if any of them are ready to seriously contribute earlier than expected. Especially, Walker IV who should be being groomed to take Belinelli's spot this season.

[Jsmythe]

Nine minute highlight video for those who missed it:

[phxspurfan]

Nassir Little tin on es while our first rounder is out somewhere eating a SAMAMICH

[gambit1990]

That's just poor roster construction, tbh.