Well, at least they're keeping it exciting. The San Antonio Spurs escaped with a 113-108 overtime victory over the up-and-coming Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Things looked bleak for the Spurs when Dennis Smith Jr. hit a step-back three-pointer with 90 seconds left in regulation to put the Mavs up by three. Thankfully, DeMar DeRozan responded with a layup and two free throws to help force the extra period.
With under a minute left in overtime, DeRozan won the game for the Spurs with a driving layup followed by a step-back clincher to put San Antonio up by five points with ten seconds on the clock.
The Spurs are now 4-2 and are riding their first winning streak of the season.
LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge’s inability to hit shots remains concerning. After a 6-for-17 showing against the Mavs, he’s now shooting an icy 40.4 percent the field on the season. The story of his missed shots against the Mavs was the same as it’s been all season: misfires from midrange, a lack of physicality leading to unnecessarily difficult shots when posting up and an uncharacteristic lack of touch on gimmies in the paint. In addition to his poor shooting, Aldridge was also weak on the boards and sub par defensively. His pick-and-roll defense and switches out on the perimeter left a lot to be desired. It wasn’t all bad for Aldridge, however. I thought his passing, particularly when facing double-teams, was very good and he took care of the ball well, in general. He also got back on track with his free throw shooting; he entered the game shooting only 66.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Grade: C
Summary: Aldridge’s shooting struggles continued but it he did manage to help in some areas.
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DeMar DeRozan
Damn, this guy is pretty good. DeMar DeRozan entered this season as one of the clutchest players in recent NBA history. Six games into his Spurs career and it’s obvious he’s an elite level finisher. He made a number of huge plays against the Mavs while ac ulating 34 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals in a game-high 43 minutes. Perhaps just as important as his numbers is the fact that DeRozan was quite impressive on defense. He was probably the team’s best perimeter defender and also impacted the game on that end by reading passing lanes and crashing the boards. On offense, it’s difficult to come up with any negatives. DeRozan spoonfed his teammates with his playmaking ability, assumed point guard duties for much of the night and was deadly in isolations, pick-and-rolls and on the low block. Okay, sure, he had a few questionable attempts from the field but otherwise he was dominant with the ball in his hands.
Grade: A
Summary: DeRozan is good at basketball.
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Rudy Gay
Whew, that was an action-packed adventure for Rudy Gay. Net-net, it’s difficult to figure out if he hurt or helped the cause. On one hand, he had severe cases of Fumblitis, Can’t Dribble Syndrome and Tunnel Vision that led to seven turnovers and a number of ball hog-ish possessions. His transition defense was also shoddy, as were most of his attempts to stay in front of his man on the perimeter. But on the other hand, he was active enough on defense to swipe six steals and grab a team-high 11 rebounds. When he actually looked to share on offense, he authored a few heady passes. And it should also be noted that he got the team going in overtime by scoring San Antonio’s first three points when it looked like his teammates may have ran out of gas.
Grade: C+
Summary: Gay delivered a pu pu platter of contributions, both good and bad.
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Bryn Forbes
The clock hasn’t struck midnight yet. Bryn Forbes once again passed the eye-test as a starter on the NBA level. I liked that he was aggressive looking for his own shots. The Mavs were respecting Forbes’ jumper so he had to get creative and trigger-happy. By doing that, the Spurs starting point guard provides even more spacing for his teammates because opponents need to account for him at all times. He didn’t make many plays with the ball but he also was able to keep mistakes to a minimum. Defensively, I thought he did a good job. His effort level was high, he fought when matched up against bigger players and he was locked in mentally. And although he wasn’t credited with a rebound, he really battled on the boards among the trees.
Grade: B+
Summary: Forbes has emerged as a dependable contributor and shows no signs of slowing down.
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Dante Cunningham
Dante Cunningham was his typical try-hard self. The results, though, were lacking. Offensively, he’s an awkward fit. He’s the anti-Forbes in that he doesn’t spread the court at all. He doesn’t appear to be comfortable shooting three-pointers and he’s far from a natural when it comes to finding open spaces to occupy on offense. Defensively, he was physical under the rim but he couldn’t stay in front of his man out around three-point line. Cunningham was also sub par at defending pick-and-rolls when his man was the ballhandler.
Grade: C-
Summary: Cunningham is efforting but pluses were few and far between this evening.
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Patty Mills
For the second straight game, I thought Patty Mills showed life on defense. He was energetic enough and communicative enough to avoid being too much of a liability on that end. He still got scored on but he wasn’t the limp traffic cone he was in the first few games of the season. Offensively, it was rarely pretty but he did okay. His ballhandling was poor and he struggled to do anything point guard related but he provided just enough of a scoring punch to help out.
Grade: B-
Summary: Mills did just enough to not be a negative.
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Marco Belinelli
Marco Belinelli is another player for the good guys who rode a roller coaster. He started off incredibly shaky with a mul ude of poor decisions -- shot-wise, passing-wise and defense-wise. But to his credit, Belinelli shook off the miscues and led a personal 8-0 run late in the third quarter that brought the Spurs back from a six-point deficit. His determination seemed to spark the team and helped lift San Antonio out of a rut. He continued making good plays until a couple poor defensive possessions in the fourth quarter got him benched by Pop.
Grade: B
Summary: Belinelli experienced ups and downs but his ups were momentum-changing.
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Pau Gasol
In his 15 minutes, Pau Gasol packed in the production with five rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocked shots. His defense in the paint was really good and he seemed more spry on that end overall. Offensively, he picked apart the Mavs, mostly from the high post. He tried to do too much at times on offense and he didn’t really use his size to his advantage on that end . . . but all in all Gasol was a positive contributor on Monday night.
Grade: B+
Summary: Gasol was busy and undoubtedly helped the Spurs win the game.
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Quincy Pondexter
Welcome to the rotation, Quincy Pondexter. Kind of. Pop went to Pondexter for five first half minutes and then he didn’t play in the second half. During his first five minutes of meaningful playing time for the Spurs, I thought Pondexter was fine. He was relatively quick to the ball and his defense was relatively solid. While I still question whether Pondexter has regained enough athleticism following his many injuries and ailments, I’m intrigued by his ability to handle the ball a bit. An extra ballhandler would be helpful with this current group.
Grade: B
Summary: Pondexter wasn’t overly impressive but he didn’t do anything to hurt his case going forward.
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Davis Bertans
Davis Bertans seemed to get the message loud and clear after he was kept on the bench in the first half in favor of Pondexter. When Bertans returned to the rotation in the second half, he played with more toughness than we witnessed in recent outings. Unfortunately, that toughness didn’t translate to much of anything tangible. Bertans didn’t grab a rebound and, more damning, missed a few rotations that left Pop on the verge of blowing a gasket. He still has a ways to go to win over the coaching staff, it’s safe to say.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans’ grasp on a spot in the rotation is tenuous.
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Pop
I didn’t disagree with starting Cunningham but it wasn’t much of a success in retrospect. Giving Pondexter some playing time turned out to be a pretty good idea. It seemed like Pop was hesitant to go back to Mills to close out the game but resorted to the two point guard lineup after other players (namely Belinelli and Bertans) made boneheaded defensive mistakes. And it actually worked out in an unlikely manner: the Mavs became so consumed with exploiting the mismatches that they lost their rhythm. Whatever works, I guess. Pop does deserve a round of applause for allowing DeRozan to fully spread his wings and dominate to the full extent of his capabilities. Good coaching.
Grade: B
Summary: Pop mixed and matched but knew who to go to when the game was on the line.
Looking ahead: Good win. Luka Doncic looks like a superstar in the making and the Mavs have plenty of talent, though they’re likely a year or two from playoff contention. Once they make Doncic they're full-time primary playmaker, watch out.
More important than just the win is that San Antonio’s defense appears to be on the mend. The Mavs scored 108 points in 112 possessions. A defensive rating of 96.4 is a huge, huge improvement for the Spurs, who entered the game with a defensive rating north of 118 -- the second worst mark in the league.
Now the Spurs try to extend their winning streak (and their defensive resurgence) to three games on Halloween night in Phoenix.
I was curious to see the Spurs defensive rating for this game.
It is encouraging. Spurs are top 10 in offense with it's second best player struggling and changing the SL multiple times already. Once LMA gets it going and Pop settles on a rotation, Spurs should be as good if not better on that end. Defensively, if they can be around 15th, that is a really good sign.
Timvp, do you think Poetl has played his way out of the rotation permanently?
I'm hope it is just early season jitters/adjustments and the kid starts playing like he did in Toronto.
Also, I hate to say it but could Aldridge's poor shooting and "tired legs" be injury related? It would be the absolute last thing the team needs, right now.
I still don't think Pondexter is a NBA anymore and the team should be looking for a better replacement. They probably want to give Quincy a chance to stick (past December/January) and the G League season to start.
Anyway, great write up as usual and even better win. Hopefully, they can bring a concentrated effort on defense against Phoenix.
Nice work and thank you. Defense is getting better but still have room to improve
Great job, as always, Timvp!
The defensive improvement is the biggest plus so far.
And oh, glad you attest to DeMar's "clutchness", too! Most people basically view him through those losses against James and Co. the past few years.
Thanks OP. As always a superb job.
Great write up.
I expect to see Pon cut soon. As crazy as it sounds, Quincy gets a $8546 every day he's on the roster. With his $150k guarantee, that means he only needs to be on the roster 18 days in order to use up all his guaranteed money. That 18th day will be Friday. If the team has any desire to add salary in a trade or signing this season, PATFO is probably not keen to spend money on a guy they don't intend to keep, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him cut after Wednesday's game. Him showing a little life obviously helps his chances. There is a legit need for a wing who can stay in front of someone, and a bit of ball-handling would obviously be a godsend. But if I were PATFO, I'd rather cycle through as many players as possible to see if I could find a gem. They don't HAVE to play Pondexter, so there's no pressure to have a vet int that role. But the upside of finding an actual NBA player in the d-league and giving that player a chance to work their way into the rotation would be really helpful going forward.
The Spurs' lack of rebounding is frustrating. Obviously, not having Murray hurts them. DeRozan and Gay have led the first unit in boards the last two games, and that speaks pretty negatively to LMA's and Cunningham's ability to secure the ball. Some of the issue is the other teams being far better at gang-rebounding than SA has been. Those teams play small every game, so they're used to sending in guys to dig and prod and tap-out balls. In this game in particular, the guys had a big issue holding onto the boards they reached first. A team that struggles with staying in front of guys and preventing open looks can't also struggle holding onto lose balls like this.
I am happy to see the defense improving, though I'm not surprised. Forbes said in the interview that they are still trying to work out their rotations, and that speaks a lot of what a lot of us were seeing since the pre-season. They won't be a very good defense with the guys they have now, but a well-coached team can do much more than a lot of posters give them credit for. They aren't there yet, though. I overrode my fantasy app when it tried to start Young instead of Doncic, because I knew he'd feast on the Spurs. He didn't disappoint, and Smith did a lot more damage that anyone should feel comfortable with. Dallas is not a good team, but they hung around almost exclusively because the team could not get consistent stops. They reach a ton. The total foul numbers didn't look that bad in this game, but qualitatively, it just looks like they are trying to use their hands to make up for their feet. It's a bad habit, and teams will exploit it as more time goes on. It gives up a number of stupid and-1 opportunities from folks who are no longer able to contest the shot but still swipe or push anyway. Just low-IQ play. What makes it worse is that they get just enough steals from doing it that they probably aren't going to stop any time soon.
Yeah looks like it's garbage time minutes for Poetl
I said in another thread that he'll probably end up with 750 minutes, even if benched. Pop benched Joff last season after a disastrous @ Utah game in December and he still ended up playing 534 minutes in 55 games (he missed a number of games early and then started getting DNPs after getting benched).
There are going to be games where Pop sits Gasol and gives Poeltl ~18 minutes (probably during the most of the 12 b2bs) and others where LMA sits and he can play 20+ minutes.
the way the Spurs like to keep it close this season, he will not see the court much ...
You must be grading Fatty on a curve because I thought he was awful. I'm so sick and tired of him running around like a chicken with his head cut off on defense and dribbling around uselessly, with his back turned to the defender for 10-15 seconds on offense. Also, Pop needs to stop running plays for him like he's Klay Thompson. Everytime he runs off multiple screens for a three he's either too fat to square up his body and/or throws up a brick. He must be shooting like 5% on those looks.
What has he done to deserve more minutes than Forbes too? I can't wait till White comes back, starts at PG, and Forbes goes down to 10 MPG while coach's pet keeps getting 28 MPG
If Forbes continues to play well enough as a starter, does he keep the starting role when white returns and have white lead the 2nd unit with mills? Should be interesting to see how It unfolds once white and Walker return.
Almost certainly stays a starter. Mills, White, Beli, Bertans, and Gasol would be the bench. The only question I have is how long Pop gives the Poeltl SL before permanently ending it, if he hasn't already.
[QUOTE=J_Paco;9580419]Timvp, do you think Poetl has played his way out of the rotation permanently?
I'm hope it is just early season jitters/adjustments and the kid starts playing like he did in Toronto.
Poetl is young. Needs time and if Pops gets Duncan to work w/ him, that would be a plus.
Poetl is a hardworking young big that gives 100, just need patience and some experience. Yes, he played great in regular season for Raps w/ a great bench that he had CHEMISTRY and a young group that supported each other. Give him time to adjust and work his way in. SPURS may not have the patience, but he's a young that will always work hard.
Question, what would it have taken DD to earn an A+ this game?
white hasnt proven to be starting...he needs to earn it
Poetl is so deep in the bench that even Pondexter gets to play ahead of him!
Let's be realistic now.... it will take a miracle to beat the GSW.
So why bother with giving veterans playing time when we need a lot of player development with cheaper contracts?
Poeltl must really be in the doghouse
40/50 pts game, triple double. Something like that. An A+ is the absolute best a player can do. DeRozan can have better performances than the one he had last night.
My only concern for next game - is that Gay played 40 minutes. Yikes!
I think Pop needs to rest him - and I HATE when Pop coddles players but somehow Gay looks like he is not really over that foot injury.
This the first time pop let a player play bigger minutes since peak Duncan..even derozan played alot of minutes..
Fair enough. Next game he should definitely put up 40/5/5. DD vs Booker is an entertaining match up. Booker did miss last night's game though. He might not even play tomorrow. This is the one game I hope we blow them out.
booker has tendency to go off against the mediecore spurs defense..
There's a good chance he might not even play tomorrow. I personally would like to see Booker play so that DeRozan can show the world that Booker does not belong in the same league as DD.
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