yup and FIBA Patty to close was horrific. I think he's trusting Lonnie or even Vassell more for defensive stops
DJ is a legit top 15 PG in this league.
Coming into the season, I wasn’t even sure that was his natural position. Great stuff.
yup and FIBA Patty to close was horrific. I think he's trusting Lonnie or even Vassell more for defensive stops
Blair and NOT TP? WTF?!
Poeltl defensive stand and rebounding was the difference I think. He set the tone.
Poeltl out from the house
wrong thread, that spurs video was for the youtube thread.
[QUOTE=SpurPadre;10408809]Blair and NOT TP? WTF?![/QUOTE]
Those teardrops by BLAIR?? not Tony??
It can't be stated enough what a great game Jakob had, this was truly the first game of the season I watched where he was an interior force to be reckoned with, and also was active on the boards. Quite the turnaround from his last few games, hope he can keep it up.
But the unsung hero of this game was LMA: the team started off the game relying almost exclusively on him to deliver points, and he was mostly making his jumper. It really goes to show how good these Spurs could be with a starting 5 that isn't 35 years old (lmao) and can space the floor. I love the duality of an offensive-minded starting group mixed with a defensive-minded bench that could rely on Poeltl-Vassell-Lonnie to be active and get stops, whilst providing offense on the other side. A lot of potential with our current group, we're a couple moves away from making some noise tbh.
With the Spurs pushing the pace much more than in the past, I expect them to set a lot of counting-stats team records. The defense will also look much worse than in the past by comparison, not just because it objectively isn't very good, but also because the fast pace inflates opponents' per-game totals as well.
I concur, though it is still one game at a time for now. Definitely trending in a good direction.
We are a couple of moves away from making some noise and I can't wait to makes those 2 moves over the next 3 years which is the Spurs way.
Solid win. Good trajectory for the team.
Also can't forget we're still missing White. I know the way we played today isn't always what we're going to get (see: both Rockets games), but adding White will just add to the ceiling of the team.
I wonder how much different the game would have been if the Blazers had McCollum and Nurkic.
My observations:
- LMA, Kanter and the “comfort zone”.
Out of the gate, Spurs attacked Kanter relentlessly in the P’nP with Aldridge taking 7 shots in 5 minutes. All of these were within LMA’s career defining 18 - 20 ft range. Aldridge went 4-7 on these shots. It was no coincidence that he was more involved defensively as a result.
To start the 2nd half, it was almost a case of déjà vu.
- Poeltl’s effectiveness against Small ball lineups.
For the second straight game, Poeltl was the MVP of the night. Great D, solid on the boards and more involved Offensively - love what I saw.
‘Getting Poeltl to initiate DHO from the high post, involved more in P’nRs - actually having a role on O; are having a positive effect getting his season back on track. Credit goes to Poeltl but also to Pop too for making the adjustment on Offense.
- 4th Q Lockdown.
An 8-0 run to start the quarter allowed the Spurs to take a commanding 13 point lead and were never seriously threatened thereafter.
- Rudy G hitting 5 3s.
A simplified role on O would benefit the Spurs long term. His shot came around in the second half mainly because he simplified his attack to catch and shoots, short dribble drives.
^
LMA looked more involved defensively because Kanter can't shoot. If they had a shooting big, he'd still get torched.
Poeltl finally playing up to the expectations.
Am I the only one who just keeps hoping that a contender will bite whenever LMA/Rudy/Patty/DDR have games like this?
Because this is not sustainable for LMA and Rudy.
Don't forget that Blazers were missing their best player this season and their only two decent bigs.
Great win, but I don't want to get my hopes up just yet.
26mins for DV tonight, love to see that even if 2-3 of those were garbage time. He needs to stay in the rotation when Derrick is eventually back.
Spurs prolly lose by 20 instead. It has to be said a lot of the positives from today were because of the fact Kanter couldn't guard a trash can.
I'll go against Rob and say, not thaaat different. Definitely would've been closer, but Nurkic was playing like trash before his new injury, so the biggest factor there (our weakness in the frontline) wouldn't've been as exploited as it is when we match up against teams with actual solid bigs. CJ would've given us trouble if he were hot from deep, but he's Danny Green-like in that aspect, so there's like a 50% chance that he shoots Portland out of the game as well, tbh. At least that's what happens most times I'm catching the Blazers play
Whole lot of Spurs fans nutting over Thybulle too, But Luka gives Spurs FO nothing to brag about.
I missed this game. Looks like a Vets night. How did the young ones look? Devin got some burn I see.
Did Spurs play as well as the score indicates?
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