Y'all act like I enjoy criticizing our players lmao. I call it like it is. I'm a big Keldon supporter, but he's been lately. It is what it is. Luka's numbers today look big on the surface, but they felt empty and his presence wasn't actually felt until he hit those big shots in the fourth. When these kids make an impact, they get their praise. I don't have any attachment to these guys. When they play well, they play well. When you like a player, you're not forbidden to criticize them.
you can watch it on ESPN+ with VPN. 6$ per month. No livestream, but rewatching on demand.Luka put up 20/17/6?!talk about leaving a mark... And that is with him not having a great game, as seen in these comments.
Was there any way after all to catch the game outside of the US? Some stream of sorts? I'd love to catch some of these games, watching the Austin Spurs was really fun last season, and I'd love to see the youngings' progress.
The kings bench , besides Haliburton, is really bad. He should be getting a serious look as a backup 3/4 now , but Walton doesn't seem to like him. Walton sucks.
It was a good start for Luka. Far away from a perfect game, esp. shooting efficiency, finishing and boxing out, but he looked comfortable on the court with his teammates. Conditioning and effort were no problem after raising questions about it in his nba minutes. After being blown by the Memphis guards at the beginning he showed quick feet in the 4th quarter. Hit some clutch threes at the end. There were definitely a few things he can build on.
Tre struggled heavily at the beginning, but he improved his defense and his passing later on. My biggest concern with him is his shooting and finishing at the rim.
100% agree.
There's potential here for Luka.
I just finished the game. I stand with everything I witnessed in the 1st Q. Here's more things I noticed:
+I agree that he has a lot more stamina
+His burst/ first step has improved. Very impressive how he can drive to the basket from the perimeter as tall as he is.
-Luka has "Rudy Gay moments" where he falls asleep on defense. Caught him off position a couple times. He exerts more energy when his man has the ball as opposed to someone else having the ball on the opposing team. He needs to watch more Vassell. His help defense needs to improve a ton.
-He is NOT moving around enough for his shots. There was one play too many where he would have the ball on the perimeter, dribble 1 or 2 times, and then launch a 3. This is a big NO NO unless you're a superstar in the league.
-Needs to be smarter on when to jump to block a shot. He had a couple stupid fouls this way. There was a guy attacking the basket who was going 50 mph and he foolishly went in front of him for no reason.
On the other hand,
Tre looks like a legit NBA player. Very, very polished. Knows when to speed up and when to slow down. The offense looked a lot different when he was in. When he was in, he was the general, the head of the snake, the leader. When he was out, it was anything goes for the offense... just drive and kick.
Forgot to mention, Luka's post moves actually looked OK. They didn't look weak going up and I didn't see him be overpowered on any of those post up possessions. A far cry from last year. Granted, he only posted up like 3-4 times?
Edit: although the opposing team DID play small so it's no surprise I guess that he wasn't overpowered.
Last edited by Dejounte; 02-10-2021 at 04:31 PM.
Samanic being self-aware can only be a huge plus.
No highlights posted for Luka by the nbagleague account yet.
I see the Petrini tweet also. I hope this continues. When he has came in this year so far he has not looked that great. He has had some moments.
Hmm, the fact that I can't live-watch games is a turn-off for me. I'm not dedicated/have the free time to check them out later, I'd probably end up watching the first or second ones and then nothing elseI'll keep it in mind though, in case Luka really starts breaking out... But I'm good watching the condensed games the day afterwards, tbh. I didn't know they'd get posted here.
I agree. He didn't look that impressive during the moments he was put in the line-up on the main team. I do think it has something to do with the line-up around him. The players he's with on this Austin Spurs team can run and gun with him. With Aldridge, those kinds of opportunities are nil.
We have to make room for this guy in the rotation next year. With DJ's newfound scoring ability, there's definitely enough flexibility to fit him in as a PG during certain times. I imagined Lonnie in this role, but Tre is making a strong case.
Murray/ Tre Jones*
Vassell/ White/ Q
Keldon/ Lonnie/ Wagner/ KBD
Collins/ Gay/ Samanic
Poetl/ Eubanks/ Dinos Mitoglou
*Of course, just because I placed Tre as the sole back-up to Murray doesn't mean he's the only one who can have PG duties. A lot of shuffling can be done in the rotation with this type of roster.
Last edited by Dejounte; 02-10-2021 at 05:05 PM.
spot on with your assessment!! I agree with everything you posted
Luka has really good quickness but his technique when guarding on the perimeter is poor. He has to bend his knees and get a little lower, don’t stand so upright and he will do ten times better guarding the point guards and wings. His conditioning is also better than last year by a lot. He definitely looked a little winded at times but not totally gassed and he damn near always gave his all on both ends of the court which is a serious improvement from last season
Trey got better as the game progressed and did a great job setting teammates up and sharing the ball. He has to get better shooting and finishing at the rim though. Dude is very good at setting up teammates though.
Tre has alot of ability but, the thing that will make or break him will be his ability to knock it down from 3. If that part of his game develops he'll be a solid pro.
Thanks guys for the write ups.
An underrated development in Luka's progression may very well be Austin HC Matt Nielsen.
I used to watch a lot of Matt when he played in the NBL and for the Boomers. He was very much an old school '4' whose skills developed enough to allow him to have some stretch the floor viability.
He was never the most athletic guy. But he was tough, smart, skilled and was never outworked in a contest. You would always feel pretty confident with him out on the floor, that you were not going to lose due to a lack of compe iveness/determination.
Playing the same position (albeit different styles), may help Luka fill in some of the holes in his game that Matt made a successful career out of.
Last edited by PhantomDashCam; 02-10-2021 at 08:23 PM.
Rebounding is desire. Dennis Rodman, probably the best rebounder of the 40 years I’ve followed the NBA, rarely boxed out, and no one would teach a youngster to tip the ball up four or five times until you get it as good rebounding technique. It’s about getting the ball, kind of like the old gem about the best play in basketball: put the ball in the hole.
https://news4sanantonio.com/sports/s...n-over-memphis
Luka starting to get it. Understands what will get him on the floor at the big club - Defense, Rebounding, Hustle. You can still play even if your shot isn't falling.“My role was just to be active and as a big guy, rebounding is my responsibility,” said Samanic. “And then when your shot is not falling, there’s other ways to contribute.”
“It’s always a matchup nightmare for whoever is guarding him,” said Jones of his teammate Samanic. “He’s 6’10-6’11, has guard skills, he can post up back to the basket, he can shoot it and he can put it on the ground. He can really do everything... Just trying to get him in those positions where it’s easy for him to be successful.”
All true. I was simply thinking of position of need for team.
Any body going to post Luka highlights?
Man, if he can bring that sort of effort (and skillset) while improving his efficiency then we might have something.
I just want the kid to be a more athletic, poor man's Gallinari and I'd be happy as a pig in .
In projecting the '18 draft, I didn't think Walker would be available at 18 and viewed Thomas as a potential candidate. He battled injuries over 2 seasons with the Pistons, but I'm still intrigued and ironically think he has a chance to be something of a Walker replacement in the future.
Jones can't be a Mills replacement because this team can't afford to sacrifice any more 3-point shooting.
Highlight reel. Never fall in love with them. He had some non-effort, too.
More athletic? He’s ing 6’10” and has a 38” vert. To put that into perspective, Kawhi’s Max vert was 28”, and no one complained about HIS athleticism. Lonnie is like6’4”, and his max vert is 40”. People think he’s crazy athletic.
As long as he is working on his craft and buying into Spurs culture and making improvements I am all in for him staying a Spur. But I do agree there were times he was not running the floor like he should maybe do to conditioning since he hasn’t played hopefully as he plays mod games we will see him improve.
Thanks For The Vids Ace - Much Appreciated
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