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This is harsh. I mean F's for Derozan and Bertans. Seriously?
Welp, that was unfortunate. The Spurs, riding a five-game winning streak, were in Memphis to play a Grizzlies team that had lost six in a row. When the opposites collided, the Grizzlies were the ones left standing with a 96-86 victory.
Throughout the contest, the Spurs were lethargic. They never found a rhythm and any energy that bubbled to the surface was relegated to a possession here and a possession there. Among the gruesome statistics: 33.9% on two-pointers, 65.2% from the free throw line, only nine forced turnovers and only two blocked shots.
What was the cause of the lethargy? Maybe all the emotion expended during Kawhi Leonard's return finally caught up to the team. Maybe it was a trap game, as the Spurs easily dispatched this Grizzlies team a couple days ago with minimal effort and could have been caught looking ahead to OKC tomorrow night. Maybe the Spurs just aren't as good as their recent play indicates and their margin for error was slimmed even further without Rudy Gay (injury) and Davis Bertans (tantrum). Maybe it was just one of those nights where nothing goes right.
Despite the uninspired play and dismal shooting, the Spurs actually kept the game reasonably tight. The Spurs had a myriad of runs as they attempted to cut into the lead. Their last best chance for a comeback occurred with nine minutes remaining when a Marco Belinelli three-pointer minimized Memphis' advantage to four points, 76-72. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies immediately responded with a 12-2 run that ended San Antonio's hopes and dreams.
All in all, I don't think this was a terrible loss. These aren't our father's Spurs who could win games even when they noticeably lacked energy. As the Bulls loss has been a reminder that they can't let their foot off the gas, perhaps this loss will be a reminder that they need to come with the appropriate amount of energy each and every night. We'll see.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
Although LaMarcus Aldridge didn't shoot well, there were a few bright spots. I thought his physicality was really impressive. Considering his game usually rises or falls based on how physical he's playing, I give Aldridge credit for bringing the wood. And while he too was lost in the twilight zone early on, he upped his effort level once he realized the team needed him. I thought Aldridge's defense against Marc Gasol was mostly solid and his rebounding was respectable. Along with poor shooting, he wasn't running as hard as usual and he was oftentimes not quick enough when passing out of the post.
Grade: B-
Summary: Aldridge got outplayed by Pau's brother but he at least came to play.
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DeMar DeRozan
Yikes. I don't know what was wrong with DeMar DeRozan but this was undoubtedly his worst game of the season. Was he sick? Is he hurt? Was he just out of it? Whatever the case, he was about two steps slower than usual and was simply terrible on both ends. Give some credit to Kyle Anderson for frustrating him with his come-from-behind-pokes but, truthfully, DeRozan struggled against a variety of Grizzlies. He was sloppy with his dribble, had no touch in the paint, constantly disrupted the offensive flow and things were even worse on defense. His individual D was lazy, and help-defense was laughably slow and shockingly laissez-faire. Let's just hope we don't see this version of DeRozan ever again.
Grade: F
Summary: Can't think of how he could have played much worse.
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Bryn Forbes
Part of me thought Bryn Forbes was trying too hard and trying to shoulder too much of the slack. Another part of me thought Forbes should be applauded for trying to step up and carry the Spurs to victory. Reality is probably somewhere in the middle. His shot-selection wasn't great but the Spurs would have been even more doomed without him. Defensively, his lack of size was an issue at times but he mostly held his own.
Grade: B-
Summary: Forbes tried to will the Spurs to victory.
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Derrick White
Derrick White has had a lot of success recently on the defensive end. And, before tonight, I don't remember him ever getting into foul trouble despite him tussling with bigger, stronger, more experienced superstars. But, tonight, he found himself in persistent foul trouble in each quarter. Mike Conley taught the young apprentice a few scrolls worth of lessons Wednesday evening. Conley is a smart, crafty player and he caused White to make a number of mistakes on both ends. White's foul trouble likely played a part in San Antonio's overall struggles ... or, at the very least, didn't help matters.
Grade: C-
Summary: White was taken to school.
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Jakob Poeltl
Look, I actually agree with what Pop is trying to do with Jakob Poeltl by putting him in the starting lineup with Rudy Gay out with a wrist injury. Considering Aldridge could have another five years left, if Poeltl is going to ever be anything more than a backup center, he needs to learn how to play next to Aldridge. It's a must. And there's no subs ute other than throwing him into the fire and letting him figure it out. If the Spurs were simply trying to win tonight's game, starting Poeltl would be a mistake. But taking a long-term view of the situation, there's no better time than the present to allow Poeltl a chance to learn and grow on the job. Again tonight, the experiment was ugly. Poeltl essentially plays power forward next to Aldridge and it's a completely different set of responsibilities on both ends. Right now, he hasn't shown the ability to make the adjustments. Defensively, he's a bit too lead-footed out on on the perimeter. Offensively, he looks like a fish out of water trying to operate from the high post. But, still, I think the experimentation is worthwhile. If Pop could unlock Power Forward Poeltl, that'd be a momentous (and valuable) accomplishment.
Grade: D-
Summary: Poeltl started. It was unsightly.
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Patty Mills
I didn't have much of an issue with how Patty Mills played. He had something resembling pep in his step. The Spurs needed him to be aggressive offensively and he was up to the task -- although his shot-selection was dialed up a notch too hot. Defensively, he was actually better than White at defending Conley (surprising, I know). Unlike White, Mills wasn't allowing Conley to sneak his way to middle penetration to collapse the defense and wasn't falling victim to his veteran foul-drawing hijinx.
Grade: B+
Summary: Mills remembered it was game day, balas.
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Marco Belinelli
Marco Belinelli hit some big shots to try to carry San Antonio over the finish line. He scored eight points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to four points. When the Spurs were most desperate for points, Belinelli did what he could to provide a spark. Defensively, I thought he was paying more attention that usual. While his efforts proved to be too little, I liked Belinelli's compe iveness.
Grade: B+
Summary: Belinelli wasn't going down without a fight.
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Pau Gasol
Seven points and 12 rebounds in 20 minutes? That's a lot of production from Pau Gasol. Truth be told, though, he wasn't as good as those numbers indicate. He's still a work in progress in terms of meshing into the offensive attack. While he had a couple good passes, he also disrupted the flow at times. Defensively, his timing is askew. His reactions were slow when playing man-to-man and his help-defense was even slower. Gasol's running of the court is where he looks the worst right now. To say he's lumbering would be an understatement.
Grade: C+
Summary: Gasol is back to putting up numbers but he's not in game shape yet.
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Davis Bertans
So dumb. With Gay out and Poeltl sputtering in the starting lineup, the Spurs really needed to lean on Davis Bertans tonight. And what did he do? He picked up a pair of cheap technicals and got himself ejected. Frustratingly stupid. What makes it worse is he was playing pretty damn well. His rebounding was as good as it gets and he was putting in a ton of effort defensively. But Bertans was whining all night and then got thrown out when a call went against him. I appreciate the fire but he has to have more self-awareness. The Spurs desperately needed him tonight but he couldn't keep his composure.
Grade: F
Summary: Bertans was showering when the Spurs needed him most.
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Dante Cunningham
His shooting was arrhythmic -- understandable given his recent lack of playing time. He was getting in the way on offense, per usual. Defensively, he didn't do much outside of rebound ... and most of those were needlessly emphatic uncontested boards.
Grade: C+
Summary: Cunningham was his try-hard self.
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Quincy Pondexter
After Bertans' first technical, Quincy Pondexter was put into the game. He didn't really do anything other than foul a Grizzly under the basket. We'll see if Pop holds Bertans' ejection against him. If so, Pondexter could be in line for more minutes. (For those not keeping track, Pondexter's contract became guaranteed for the rest of the season recently. I'm a bit surprised that the Spurs kept him because he's not a very good basketball player. He does seem to be a fine teammate and he does play a position [small forward] of need, so I guess it makes sense in that context.)
Grade: Inc.
Summary: Congrats, Q-Pon, for getting that contract guaranteed.
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Pop
I agree with starting Poeltl with an eye to the future, so I can't ding Pop for that. I also thought he did a great job of keeping minutes to reasonable level considering the back-to-back. There really wasn't any way to play White more than he played. Gasol probably played too much but Bertans' ejection played a part in that. Against Detroit, Pop was able to awaken his sleepwalking squad with a pair of angry timeouts. He couldn't do it two games in a row, unfortunately.
Grade: B-
Summary: Pop didn't overplay his players on the first night of a back-to-back but also couldn't coax much out of them.
Looking ahead: The second night of this back-to-back is in San Antonio against the Thunder. Afterwards, the Spurs travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder again on Saturday night.
If the Spurs can turnaround and beat OKC, this loss against the Grizzlies will be forgotten. We'll see if the good guys can bounce-back with a much better effort. Here's to hoping.
This is harsh. I mean F's for Derozan and Bertans. Seriously?
Thanks timvp
But I can't disagree with you more on starting Poeltl. In the modern NBA LA-Poeltl combo will never work, it has arguably costed us this game and will cost us more if we continue with that experiment.
Even theoretically I wonder how are you seeing this work? LA is too heavy to play outside, he's a strictly inside guy at this stage of his career. Poeltl can't space the floor. Playing both of them is just a gift for opponent's defense and in meaningful games they would be killed by small ball on the other end. It takes away the lane for DeMar penetration and makes life difficult for Forbes and White.
We've found our offense playing of DeMar and LA double-teams. Poeltl in the starting line-up just makes it impossible.
I like Poeltl and think he's a perfect back-up 5 for our bench unit. I think we've found our game but now partly because of Gay's injury and partly because of the necessity to play Gasol we are voluntarily going away from it.
Also...
What's up with the Grizzlies and the refs? Why are the refs killing us specifically against Memphis second time this season?!
Bertans ejection was so cheap. You can eject everyone on every team this way. But it's not even that. So many one-sided calls.
Are you kidding me? F's are compliments. I would have given them Z's. Has Kawhi played this poorly just once for Toronto? Also, last time Bertans had a temper tantrum on the court, he was in Pop's doghouse for over a months.
Kawhi is a superstar, Bertans is a bench player. There is no way you can compare them.
Everybody deserved D's and F's last night. A good middle school 'B' team would have given our guys a run for the money the way we played. Pitiful, sadly!
if sitting out games counts then yes
Actually, sitting out games gives you a +/- of 0. You neither help or hurt your team. DeFrauden shot 4-15 from the floor, along with 4 Turnovers, a team leading +/- of -17 and woefully pathetic defense. If that's the kind of effort a star player is going to putforth for his team, he should sit out too.
DeMar looked like he soaked his hands in butter last night. What was that? He simply couldn’t dribble, at any point in the night.
In hindsight, Pop should have just sat the starters in preparation for tomorrow’s OKC game. Playing without them might have inspired the bench to play harder and we might have even won the game.
The only positive I saw to White getting in foul trouble was the hope that Patty would help jumpstart a dead offense. He did his part, but the others just let him go ahead instead of joining last night. Patty invited them, they just declined
It’s weird the whole team played terrible I new it was going to be bad cause no one looked happy before game. I was thinking how come no one is laughing and joking around they all looked like someone passed away or they all got yelled out by Pop. A curious thing is that the Toros played the same way the day before which is kinda weird.
1. Demar's decision making was awful. I remember what must have been a 1-on-3 break with all three in the paint and DeMar just barreling in getting easily blocked.
2. I mentioned this in the DW thread, but White is really getting some bull rookie calls that are altering games. Seems like he gets a legit charge called a block or no-called (big turning point against Houston) or getting these other cheap calls against him that I don't think he picks up if the Refs know him better.
If he had played last year maybe the Refs would think he's over himself and not think they can rook him.
3. Not having Gay is a big deal, but White is the engine that makes the Spurs any good. Without him they're just mediocre, and there's too many games where either one or both of the big two don't show up. The team is a bad White injury away from missing the playoffs. It's a little surprising maybe that one second-year end of first round player who didn't play as a rookie is so important to their success, but that's the roster.
I took a gulp of coffee as I started reading your post. I was barely able to contain it.
Have to agree. dismal game. Spurs are a pathetic road team and there were like 20 people in the stands.
Here is the bright spot:
Spurs will be extra motivated at home? against OKC!
Spurs might have been EXPOSED! A lengthy team shutting down the passing lanes and DeRozan.
I remember this play, i'm like c'mon really. You're going to go on a fast break by yourself against 3 defenders. That is dumb basketball. Little plays like that are what matter in games like these where nothing is falling. You have to be extra smart, extra aware of the situation.
thank goodness fortoday's nba
So bertans gets F for 2 undeserved techs while White gets a C+ for 4 dumb fouls in his first minutes???
Very biased poster there
If TD/Splitter worked I would think Aldridge/Poetl be able to work.
Also you've got to give DDR some slack. He has depresssion.
It was a different league back then. Very different.
Also none of LA-Poeltl is a passer of both TD and Splitter caliber.
It should be noted that the refs were allowing the Grizzlies to be exceptionally physical last night. It definitely seemed like they were getting away with a lot of bumping, grabbing, and slapping...but the same tactics drew whistles for the Spurs nearly every time (as evidenced by White's foul trouble, Bertans' frustration and ejection, etc.)
You look at the stat sheet and say, "Well, the Spurs shot more free throws"...but that doesn't tell the whole tale, particularly for things that weren't called. It's comparable to a football team who is willing to give up some penalty yardage to hold on every play; they know that a ref isn't going to throw a flag on every down. By the fourth quarter, it seemed like the Spurs (and LaMarcus in particular) were more focused on just drawing a damn whistle from the refs than they were playing smart, solid basketball.
I know Memphis is the place of grit & grind and I don't like to blame the refs, but it's frustrating when the teams aren't allowed to compete on an even playing field (or court, as it would be in this case).
DeRozan absolutely deserved an F, that was a pathetic showing last night. Majority of the Spurs sucked last blight but DD was REALLY bad.
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