Well, that de-escalated quickly. The Spurs appeared primed to escape Philadelphia with one of their most impressive wins of the season. A few blinks later, San Antonio was shuffling off the court following an agonizing 122-120 defeat.
When the 76ers jumped out to a big early lead, it looked like it was going to be a long night at the office for the good guys. But after falling into 13-3 hole, the Spurs battled back and actually led at the end of the first quarter, 35-34.
From that point, the teams fought tooth and nail the rest of the way. Fast forward to the fourth quarter when a Marco Belinelli three-pointer gave the Spurs a 120-112 advantage with 2:48 left on the clock. Unfortunately, that's when the wheels fell off.
By the one minute mark, a Ben Simmons dunk, a three-pointer by Landry Shamet and a four-point play by JJ Re erased San Antonio's eight-point lead. Add to the total a late free throw by Corey Brewer and the Sixers scored the game's final ten points to steal the victory.
The autopsy shows a myriad of mistakes in money time on both sides of the court by the Spurs. Instead of using their veteran savvy to salt away the game, their miscues opened the door for Philadelphia -- and the Sixers, to their credit, seized the opportunity.
Tough loss. The Spurs, now 27-22, were inches away from winning on the road against a 76ers squad that entered the contest with a 20-5 record at home (and 31-17 overall). The L is disappointing, for sure, but the good news is the offense was sharp for a majority of the game and the overall effort was commendable.
Was this game a step forward despite the loss? It might have been. We'll see if the offense gets back on track going forward and the compe iveness carries over.
-------------
LaMarcus Aldridge
I struggle to be too upset with LaMarcus Aldridge's play. Defensively, I thought he did really well. When Aldridge was on the court, Joel Embiid was only 7-for-20 from the field for 17 points in 29 minutes (Embiid had 16 points in the eight minutes he played with Aldridge on the bench). Aldridge was forcing Embiid into difficult shots for most of the night. Offensively, while he got fewer touches than usual and his shot was less accurate than usual, he wasn't a liability on that end. Aldridge was physical, took good shots, passed the ball extremely well and limited his mistakes. The one aspect where Aldridge legitimately struggled was rebounding. He simply wasn't coming down with the boards the Spurs needed him to grab.
Grade: B
Summary: Aldridge wasn't great but he played well enough for the Spurs to win.
-------------
DeMar DeRozan
Welcome back, DeMar DeRozan's shooting ability. After hitting only 35% of his shots in his previous six outings, DeRozan buried 12 of his first 16 attempts in Philadelphia. He looked quicker, he was getting more elevation on his jumper and he was springier in the lane. That said, DeRozan's offense game wasn't all the way back to normal, as his playmaking was iffy at best and he turned the ball over a game-high six times. On the defensive end, he was pretty darn active. While he made a number of tactical mistakes, his help-defense was aggressive, he pulled down numerous contested rebounds and was mentally-engaged. All in all, it was heartening to see signs of DeRozan awaking from his offensive slumber and to see him show signs of life defensively. It wasn't a clean performance by DeRozan -- and it was further marred by him missing his final three shots from the field in the game's last three minutes -- but let's hope this is the start of a stretch of improved play.
Grade: B
Summary: DeRozan's slump isn't officially over but there were positive signs.
-------------
Rudy Gay
The good: Rudy Gay was efficient when looking for his own shot. He was difficult to defend in the post, off the dribble and in catch-and-shoot situations. He made a couple nice passes. He tried on the defensive end. The bad: Though he tried on D, Gay wasn't good on that side of the ball. He wasn't quick enough to defend Ben Simmons, wasn't helping much on the boards and didn't close out well on shooters. Gay tried to close out harder on shooters in the fourth quarter but instead caused a pair of four-point plays. On the offensive end, I thought a few of his shots were unnecessarily forced.
Grade: B
Summary: Gay helped on offense and hurt on defense.
-------------
Bryn Forbes
In his previous five games, Bryn Forbes hit only 35.3% from the floor and 26.9% from three-point land. Tonight, he got back to shooting it straight. All four of his three-pointers were in the game's first 20 minutes and helped the Spurs stay afloat. In the fourth quarter, Forbes tossed in a difficult runner in the lane. Defensively, he got off to a slow start against JJ Re but eventually Forbes started playing the sharpshooter much tighter. On this night, Forbes might have been the team's best player at navigating around screens. Considering that's usually a weakness, that was good to see.
Grade: A-
Summary: Forbes played his role well.
-------------
Derrick White
Defensively, I thought Derrick White was uncharacteristically feeble early on. He didn't come out with much fight on that end and was going through the motions. After halftime, his defensive effort was much improved. Eventually, his defensive versatility was on full display: White was able to defend Simmons better than anyone else on the team and came up with a huge block on an Embiid layup with 22 seconds remaining. Going forward, if this team is going to be halfway decent defensively, the Spurs need more of that second half version of White. Offensively, there's no questioning his efficiency against the 76ers. His shot-selection was good and he played with an impressive amount of composure. White's passing was also excellent, particularly in pick-and-roll action. My two complaints regarding his offense: he dribbled the ball too much on a number of possessions and he too often failed to properly push the pace when the Spurs had an advantage.
Grade: B+
Summary: White showed glimpses of his potential.
-------------
Marco Belinelli
Marco Belinelli's hot streak continues. He has now scored at least 12 points and hit at least two three-pointers in seven straight outings. During that stretch, he's averaging 17.3 points in 25.9 minutes per game on 51.4% shooting from the field, 51.1% shooting on three-pointers and 95.5% shooting at the line. It was more of the same against the Sixers. Belinelli moved well without the ball, didn't hesitate to fire whenever he could see the rim and gave the Spurs a shot of adrenaline on offense. Defense, though, was another story. He was a glaring liability throughout. Pop played Belinelli minutes down the stretch and the Sixers wasted no time exploiting him on that end.
Grade: B
Summary: Belinelli is an offensive machine right now. Defense? What's that?
-------------
Patty Mills
Well done. Patty Mills was shot-happy offensively and justified it by shooting well. What was remarkable about his game tonight were the multiple successful physical drives into the paint; finishing contested shots at the rim usually isn't Mills' forte. His passing wasn't notable but he also did a good job of limiting mistakes and an even better job of accelerating the tempo. Defensively, he was enough of a pest to keep the Sixers from keying on him. Mills didn't play especially good defense but was far from the problem on that end tonight.
Grade: B+
Summary: Mills provided a spark like he's supposed to.
-------------
Jakob Poeltl
Defensively, Jakob Poeltl didn't have much success defending Embiid. While the effort was there, he made strategic mistakes and just wasn't as sound as the Spurs need him to be on a nightly basis. Outside of Embiid, Poeltl's D was good enough. He was also sturdy on the boards, boxed out well and was tenacious in loose ball situations. Offensively, Poeltl didn't make much of a mark but he did do a better job of holding his ground against a physical Philly defense.
Grade: B-
Summary: Poeltl was active but didn't move the needle much.
-------------
Dante Cunningham
With Davis Bertans sidelined due to personal reasons, the Spurs turned to Dante Cunningham to fill the spot in the rotation. On paper, Cunningham is able to use his length and strength against Simmons and just dare him to hit a perimeter shot. In reality, that didn't happen. The Sixers would just set a screen on Cunningham and the Spurs reserve would be clueless on how to react. It's stunning that a veteran can have such poor defensive instincts. On offense, Cunningham was actually better than usual. He kept his head up, made smart passes and managed to not get in the way.
Grade: B-
Summary: Cunningham was okay but Bertans was missed.
-------------
Pop
I don't have much to critique rotation-wise. Pop playing Belinelli in crunch time hurt on the defensive end, however that hand was partially forced with Bertans out. I did like Aldridge and DeRozan getting a healthier amount of rest compared to other close games against good teams. I liked the reliance on White -- and Forbes was worthy of his minutes. The last play of the game was a dud. Honestly, I can't agree with sitting out DeRozan when you're down by two points. Sure, he's not a shooter but the Sixers would still have to pay a lot of attention to him. Pop said he was going for a three-pointer but even that doesn't make much sense because Embiid hasn't played more than 40 minutes all season and Simmons was battling an illness, so with that in mind the Spurs should have gunned for an extra session.
Grade: B-
Summary: Coached decently well but the last play was a head-scratcher.
Looking ahead: Ah, too bad. They had it.
Next up, the Spurs get two more days of rest before playing in New Orleans on Saturday night. If Anthony Davis misses the game (he has a finger injury), that's a road game the Spurs need to get.
Either way, it'd be nice if San Antonio's defense shows up. After exhibiting signs of competence defensively, the Spurs have taken a step back over their last nine games by allowing 113.5 points per 100 possessions -- which ranks 23rd in the league over that time frame.
Show up. D up.
Derrick White is playing like a seasoned vet out there . His handles, passing and decision making was so good. Then having him guard Ben Simmonds off all players is amazing.
My grade would be an A. Would prefer to see the ball in his hands over Demar. I understand, Pops has to worry about Demar's confidence staying high. Gotta start prioritizing wins by now.
ing re ed to pull DD down 2 just because you want the 3. One, it tells them you're going for the 3. Two, why not use him as a decoy?
White's relative slow speed getting sets started is why I like Murray paired with him. Murray to really push it, then if the early offense doesn't hit, White to run the halfcourt
spurs play good... believe Davis dont play with New Orleans and dont know what happend with injure mirotic if play or no... tha if you can check injure report for mirotic
Yeah, I agree with this. In too many play sets, when White is running the point, he gets the ball down too slowly. I think that if he pushes the ball down the court quicker, it will help with boosting the team's energy and as for the opposing team, it would keep them from getting into their defensive sets. GSG!!!
No way Forbes gets the highest grade on the team.
I thought White was much better. LA was solid.
But what a disappointing choke (( those 2 4-point plays of Philly were daggers. We recovered from the first one but the second one killed us. Unfortunately we don't have perimeter lock-down defenders besides White at least of Corey Brewer 10-day contract's level
I don't get the Pop's grade. When you don't score the last 2 and half minutes, it is totally on the coaching staff. Giving the ball to DDR for last shot was appalling, the guy was playing like crap and of course he got blocked.
Also B grade to DDR? Sorry Timvp but I think you saw a different game. Just because he made a few shots when basically Philly was not guarding him, doesn't mean he played even close to OK.
A pity, refs somehow gifted us with White block (was a foul). Anyway, up 8 with 2.5 minutes to go, you can't lose without scoring, and not even go to the line. I'm totally pissed off.
Thanks again for the grades.
Derozan leaving his feet to pass annoys me bad. So does Patty Mills' pull-up threes with like 18 seconds left on the shot clock.
Frustrating loss. Needed this to stay safe in the standings and get a shot of confidence back. The only way they’ll really make this one up is if they blow the doors off the Pelicans Saturday. I mean nothing short of a 120-88 sort of affair. I think the fans here deserve that after that last minute meltdown last night.
LMA I would give an A he battled all night and was even running the floor in the fourth he played great D and did not force his offense. Sad we lost but at least it was to a good team not a scrub team we know are not as good as we are.
How do we give away leads so easily?!
It feels like every time we are up 6 or up 8, it's a guarantee we'll be down 1 in 1 minute. It's frustrating.
Since we've lost 2 in a row and 4 of our last 6, is it fair to say the rest of the league has figured our defense out?
Thanks for the grades Timvp. Too bad they collapsed the last 2 minutes. Offensively they’re good, but this team still can’t hang on their defense which is the Spurs longtime mantra. We need that stopper and mental toughness. I don’t know why Belli was still in the last 2 minutes with the Spurs up by 8. Pop should’ put our best defensive squad to maintain the lead.
13/27 from 3 and shot nearly 60% from the field and still lost.
What ever happened to those trending arrows from a couple of years ago? Big red arrow pointing down.
this team is two wings away from being an elite team, this is really clear imo
The team played very well against a feisty opponent.
Couldn't get the win, but it still a good sign.
Cunningham continues to be completely useless. Don't know why he has a B-
I don't understand why White has so high percentages but he's got the worse +/- in the team. Not just this game but other previous games!
I feel that this game it's the offense rather than defense that lost the game, in that last few possession spurs got a couple of stops but they just can't score
Freedom of movement took a backwards seat for Beli at the end. Red getting a weak call to take the lead. Gay getting held on the post up the following possession. Pretty rough end.
We have had some tough losses this year that would usually break our backs. Must be hard for the coaches to pick up the pieces. Grizz, bulls, this game off the top of my head.
No one should get higher than B, the effort was terrible
I still think the 2 4-point plays were BS. Shooters were kicking out thier legs which is suppossed to be an offensive foul.
Yep
Pop's late game planning has left much to be desired this season. For a guy who used to be a mastermind of misdirection on out of bounds plays, he seems all too content to just put the ball in DeRozan's hands and let him go one on one for the win.
When the Spurs needed two to tie, Pop decided to skip the timeout and opted for hero ball once again. The result: DeMar getting blocked at the rim (and what should have been a shooting foul, but I digress).
After a defensive stop and with the Spurs clinging to life with 1 second on the clock, Pop was forced to timeout to advanced the ball...and the best he could draw up was a play that resulted in throwing the ball to a guarded Belinelli running away from the basket at halfcourt. The Spurs didn't even get a shot up...which is inexcusable, because they still had 1 more timeout remaining and should have used it as soon as they realized that their set was blown.
Also, I know Pop and Brown are old friends...but don't just sit there and laugh with your buddy when your team has just itself on the court.
Rudy gets a C at best for those two fouls
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
