Grades: Spurs @ Heat - Apr. 28, 2021

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-san...-heat-game-61/

[John B]

Thanks for the grades. I think a grade of B for Poeltl is too high. Bam Adebayo had too many offensive rebounds plus and1's, that probably caused the Spurs the game. Another one was the 17-0 Miami run with Patty being a defensive liability, and not scoring a single basket. That means a grade of B for Pop was also too high, for letting a 17-0 Miami run and keeping Patty in there for too long, until finally subs uting him with Vassell, by then the Spurs was already down by 12 pts. The Spurs got close, but again Poeltl not controlling the rebound and letting Adebayo score an and1, and a silly foul on Butler to give Miami opportunity to extend the lead to 5 pts. I think that was a very winnable game that the Spurs let go due to 1. Pop not making the correct call during that 17-0 run, and 2. Poeltl not controlling the rebound with only 7 rebounds for the game for Spurs starting Center. I'm sorry, but with Poeltl's height and length, I expect him to rebound in double figures every night, and especially not allowing the opponent with too many offensive rebounds.

[ace3g]

Key stretch here....

4:13 - 3rd
Devin Vassell makes 23-foot three point jumper (DeMar DeRozan assists)

74 - 67

grrrrr

1:08 - 3rd

	1	2	3	4	T
SA	20	34	20		74
MIA	31	24	21		76

4:13 drought for Spurs...

End of 3rd

	1	2	3	4	T
SA	20	34	20		74
MIA	31	24	27		82

[slick'81]

Free DV

[BillMc]

Thanks OP.

I thought the grades were a bit generous to Jakob and Lonnie, but as usual an interesting read. DJ is really our best young guy now. He's proven me wrong

[Truth4sale$]

Thanks for the writeup. I saw Lonnie get burned in the 4th quite frequently by Dragic , so I dont think his defense was that good, but I was happy he finally got more minutes than Patty. Speaking of Patty, he has been in such a slump it might be time to give him 2 games off, and role with Tre Jones for defense.
Loved that Devin Vaseel got the start but wondering if it is better to go with Luka Samanic and see what the guy can do with consistent minutes to learn and make mistakes.

[Down Under]

Impressed with Dejounte's handles this game, which have gradually gotten better. Had some really quick crossovers tonight which surprised me.

[Down Under]

Lonnie's onball defense is ok, switching is not great

[Dirks_Finale]

Thanks for the grades. I think a grade of B for Poeltl is too high. Bam Adebayo had too many offensive rebounds plus and1's, that probably caused the Spurs the game. Another one was the 17-0 Miami run with Patty being a defensive liability, and not scoring a single basket. That means a grade of B for Pop was also too high, for letting a 17-0 Miami run and keeping Patty in there for too long, until finally subs uting him with Vassell, by then the Spurs was already down by 12 pts. The Spurs got close, but again Poeltl not controlling the rebound and letting Adebayo score an and1, and a silly foul on Butler to give Miami opportunity to extend the lead to 5 pts. I think that was a very winnable game that the Spurs let go due to 1. Pop not making the correct call during that 17-0 run, and 2. Poeltl not controlling the rebound with only 7 rebounds for the game for Spurs starting Center. I'm sorry, but with Poeltl's height and length, I expect him to rebound in double figures every night, and especially not allowing the opponent with too many offensive rebounds.

Meh, different era. Bunch of 3's, mean too many long rebounds. Even Bam (shorter but more talented) does not average double digit boards.

[paperboy77]

For a second there I thought SA won. Thought our centers got owned and Pop again was outcoached.

[GAustex]

Walker was terrible on defense and cost the Spurs the win. His grade is way too high.
Walker has not sense-no a en for the game
Such a disappointment Walker is

[Slippy]

Walker was terrible on defense and cost the Spurs the win. His grade is way too high.
Walker has not sense-no a en for the game
Such a disappointment Walker is

Ok so timvp gave a A - and you think he cost us the game.

Such contrasting takes. Lol

My view A is generous but agree with his summary.

Reckon walker got the spurs back into with a hot 2nd quarter and spurs got out of it in the 3rd . Patty lead the way.

[GAustex]

Ok so timvp gave a A - and you think he cost us the game.

Such contrasting takes. Lol

My view A is generous but agree with his summary.

Reckon walker got the spurs back into with a hot 2nd quarter and spurs got out of it in the 3rd . Patty lead the way.

Yep that is what I think
Do not know why OP thinks so high if Walker. Maybe OP is protecting Walkers fragile psyche.
Walker is clueless. I think he is mentally slow.

[Dejounte]

What's crazy is we have more ty players this year than last yet we are a better team than last year.

Last year's crappy players (rotational players only):
Bryn Forbes
Trey Lyles

This year's crappy players (rotational players only):
LMA before he was gone
Rudy Gay (he was bad last year but this year it's on a way more frequent basis)
Patty Mills (the last 20 games at least)
Derrick White (when he came back from injury)
Lonnie Walker (75% of the time)
Jakob (early on in the season)
DeMar (50% of the time)

Some players have really stepped it up. That and maybe LMA's style of play really drags the team down.

[PrimeMinister]

Lonnie Walker is 22 years old - he is a basketball child

Had an excellent March. Looked massively improved in all areas of the game. Has not carried that over to April with Derrick growing into the player he was prior to the injury. Now with Derrick out he has the obvious need to increase his scoring production which we saw with 18 last night but obviously he is not the team or individual defender Derrick white is.

It’s gonna be ups and downs with these dudes. Derrick was the glue that kept the line up together and now they have to quickly put it all back together.

[offset formation]

Pop gets an F from me each time he fails to put Luka (and Devin) in the game.

Big F.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Didn’t watch cause I loathe Derozan on our team but I read his grade. Yup that’s him lol how can anybody be a fan of that guy ?

[KobesAchilles]

What's crazy is we have more ty players this year than last yet we are a better team than last year.

Last year's crappy players (rotational players only):
Bryn Forbes
Trey Lyles

This year's crappy players (rotational players only):
LMA before he was gone
Rudy Gay (he was bad last year but this year it's on a way more frequent basis)
Patty Mills (the last 20 games at least)
Derrick White (when he came back from injury)
Lonnie Walker (75% of the time)
Jakob (early on in the season)
DeMar (50% of the time)

Some players have really stepped it up. That and maybe LMA's style of play really drags the team down.

It's amazing the scrubs Demar has had to carry in his tenure here.

[dbestpro]

Time to start holding all of these players more accountable and grade with a more tough curve like we use to see with the big 3. Grade against their capability. Every game Pop loses should not be better than a C. He is suppose to be a hall of fame coach.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Patty Mills
Oof. Mills has fallen off since the All-Star break … and his decline continued on Wednesday night. He was asked to handle the ball more with White out and the results were disastrous. Instead of running offense, he was trying to chuck as much as possible. Once upon a time, Mills was having a very good season — perhaps the best of his career. But these days, he’s a liability just about every game.
Grade: F

Patty "Chucker" Mills!!

I'm really hopefully the Spurs can upgrade the backup shooting/point/wing positions this offseason and move Patty into more of a consulting role.

Nice job on the grades Timvp. Poetl's late foul on Butler had me screaming at the TV. I love the guy's heart. He plays super hard, but he makes a bonehead play or three every game. This one was costly, as that would have changed our end of game strategy a little bit.

[John B]

What's crazy is we have more ty players this year than last yet we are a better team than last year.

Last year's crappy players (rotational players only):
Bryn Forbes
Trey Lyles

This year's crappy players (rotational players only):
LMA before he was gone
Rudy Gay (he was bad last year but this year it's on a way more frequent basis)
Patty Mills (the last 20 games at least)
Derrick White (when he came back from injury)
Lonnie Walker (75% of the time)
Jakob (early on in the season)
DeMar (50% of the time)

Some players have really stepped it up. That and maybe LMA's style of play really drags the team down.

Jakob was bad early and still bad. I don't care about advanced analytics, or top 10 defensive center. The guy cannot rebound when it matters. Random big men abuse him in the paint, and not just Bam Adebayo. Dewayne Dedmon looked like the 2nd coming of Wilt next to him. People will be quick to throw in his blocks percentage, but how many layups or dunks does he let by? There was a block last night on a possession, but the opponent gathered again and laid up for a score. Was that really counted as a block? I'm not hating on Poeltl, but he's an overrated defensive big to me. Sure he gets a good game every now and then, but for the most part, I'm not impressed. 19 years of Timmy makes me put a high standard on interior defense. Sorry Poeltl.

[Dejounte]

Jakob was bad early and still bad. I don't care about advanced analytics, or top 10 defensive center. The guy cannot rebound when it matters. Random big men abuse him in the paint, and not just Bam Adebayo. Dewayne Dedmon looked like the 2nd coming of Wilt next to him. People will be quick to throw in his blocks percentage, but how many layups or dunks does he let by? There was a block last night on a possession, but the opponent gathered again and laid up for a score. Was that really counted as a block? I'm not hating on Poeltl, but he's an overrated defensive big to me. Sure he gets a good game every now and then, but for the most part, I'm not impressed. 19 years of Timmy makes me put a high standard on interior defense. Sorry Poeltl.

This legit reads like some of the posts about Murray and the hate he gets

"Murray's still not a PG to me!!"

[John B]

This legit reads like some of the posts about Murray and the hate he gets

"Murray's still not a PG to me!!"

It wasn't about Murray though. It was about Poeltl getting a B on a night where they lost because the opponent kept getting offensive rebounds and converting, and Dewayne getting a career night on dunks, which to me lost us the game. How many times do we see a random big dunk on our starting center?

[Spurs Homer]

The good news

vassell will get minutes

watch what happens over next 10 games

Luka would benefit greatly if he had consistent minutes

[Dejounte]

It wasn't about Murray though. It was about Poeltl getting a B on a night where they lost because the opponent kept getting offensive rebounds and converting, and Dewayne getting a career night on dunks, which to me lost us the game. How many times do we see a random big dunk on our starting center?

I know it wasn't about Murray. My point is that all of us have specific players who will never "fill our cup" no matter what they do. And that's fine.