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  1. #1
    5. timvp's Avatar
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    https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-san...august-3-2020/

    Painful loss but positive developments

  2. #2
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
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    This team has has some serious issues closing games. It's the team that lost more double digits leads and it's last minutes play seems to be pretty abysmal by the eye test. I wonder if the numbers corroborate this feeling.

  3. #3
    Veteran Killakobe81's Avatar
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    DDR telling Spurstalk haters shhhh
    Ditto Pop and Rudy Gay lol

  4. #4
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
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    DDR telling Spurstalk haters shhhh
    How? What has DeRozan been doing differently? Ever since he got to the Spurs he has been the ultimate professional and has played some of the best ball of his career. The problem is that, even with all that, we Spurs fans know what championship basketball looks like and sadly his game isn't it.

    Ditto Pop and Rudy Gay lol
    Gay was always liked but most of ST. It's funny you say this because he is probably playing the worst ball he has played since he got here, tbh.

    And Pop is shushing us by doing exactly what we have been asking all season long?

  5. #5
    NostraSpurMus phxspurfan's Avatar
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    Murray lost us the game by going away from DeRozan in the last meaningful possession, chucking a flat footed runner, then hitting the ball out of bounds on the same play

    Not to mention that Milton 3 was a play designed to play off of Murray’s low IQ defensive over aggressiveness. Watch it again, and see how the guy simply fakes a pass down low to get Murray to bite, freeing up his man for an open shot. I bet Brett Brown designed that play to take advantage of Murray
    Last edited by phxspurfan; 08-04-2020 at 01:35 AM.

  6. #6
    Believe.
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    How? What has DeRozan been doing differently? Ever since he got to the Spurs he has been the ultimate professional and has played some of the best ball of his career. The problem is that, even with all that, we Spurs fans know what championship basketball looks like and sadly his game isn't it.



    Gay was always liked but most of ST. It's funny you say this because he is probably playing the worst ball he has played since he got here, tbh.

    And Pop is shushing us by doing exactly what we have been asking all season long?
    This is not true you had a contingent of people saying Simmons was a better basketball player than Gay.
    Last edited by Collins21; 08-04-2020 at 01:45 AM.

  7. #7
    Veteran blizz's Avatar
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    You really need to get away from the common “good guys” and “stanza” buzz words. It smacks of poor writing and common sports writer lingo. Be better.

  8. #8
    You Are Not Worthy ZeusWillJudge's Avatar
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    DDR telling Spurstalk haters shhhh
    Ditto Pop and Rudy Gay lol

    Awesome sig picture!


    Pop? He ed up an entire season, and then got better rotations forced on him by a disease.

    Gay is just an older version of the good player he once was. The brain and desire are still there. But if he had to go 40 games instead of 8, he'd be gassed. Love the guy, but he's good for bursts. Nice to have, but not something to build a team on.

    Sadly, if they had Trey Lyles they win this game. They still don't contend for anything, but they win this game.

  9. #9
    Believe.
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    You really need to get away from the common “good guys” and “stanza” buzz words. It smacks of poor writing and common sports writer lingo. Be better.
    What a comment. A fat, unhappy whiny guy right here if I could ever pick one.

  10. #10
    Gif-ted LakerHater's Avatar
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    Murray lost us the game by going away from DeRozan in the last meaningful possession, chucking a flat footed runner, then hitting the ball out of bounds on the same play
    EXACTLY!!! DeMar was in Hot & Murray didnt get the ball in his hands!

  11. #11
    Veteran tbdog's Avatar
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    Murray must get the ball to DD. He kinda tried but DD was denied and then Murray waved it off. This is the basics of a PG. Get the ball over the line quickly. Get the ball to your star.

  12. #12
    Veteran RC_Drunkford's Avatar
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    Murray definitely made 2 key mistakes. And DeRozan should've shot the pull up instead of giving it to Poeltl. Poeltl should shut his ass up demanding a starting role. The guy fouls like a rookie, has 0 offensive game and can't guard big men. He's soft as baby . People here criticize Aldridge all the time, but boy is Jakob a softie. If we had LA we'd win without a problem

  13. #13
    Believe.
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    Murray definitely made 2 key mistakes. And DeRozan should've shot the pull up instead of giving it to Poeltl. Poeltl should shut his ass up demanding a starting role. The guy fouls like a rookie, has 0 offensive game and can't guard big men. He's soft as baby . People here criticize Aldridge all the time, but boy is Jakob a softie. If we had LA we'd win without a problem
    LMA can’t play 2 minutes with the young Spurs pace. And he‘s only on the team because they couldn’t find a trade for him.

  14. #14
    Veteran RC_Drunkford's Avatar
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    LMA can’t play 2 minutes with the young Spurs pace. And he‘s only on the team because they couldn’t find a trade for him.
    Poeltl can't play 2 minutes with them neither cause he only needs 90 seconds to pick up 2 fouls like we saw yesterday

  15. #15
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    Poeltl can't play 2 minutes with them neither cause he only needs 90 seconds to pick up 2 fouls like we saw yesterday
    He had the same problems at the start of the season. He'll get better at avoiding those fouls. LMA won't get faster ;-)
    Poeltl is far from perfect, but Spurs fans should give him the same chances like the other young players.

  16. #16
    TRU 'cross mah stomach LaMarcus Bryant's Avatar
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    Murray lost us the game by going away from DeRozan in the last meaningful possession, chucking a flat footed runner, then hitting the ball out of bounds on the same play
    This infuriated me. Especially in light of how hot DeMar has been in every 4Q in the bubble

  17. #17
    Veteran KobesAchilles's Avatar
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    Murray plays like he has no idea how to play basketball at the end of games. He calls off others and puts up horrible shots, he pushes the pace instead of slowing down and dribbling out some clock, he makes stupid decisions on defense. Like what went through his head? "Embiid could tie the game. I'm going to double off of the 76ers best shooter and give up a potential game winner so Embiid doesn't tie the game."

  18. #18
    BLACK LIVES MATTER Play Boban's Avatar
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    Pop should kneel deeper tbh

  19. #19
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
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    I really hope Murray got his ass chewed out

  20. #20
    First Rule weeks's Avatar
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    What a comment. A fat, unhappy whiny guy right here if I could ever pick one.
    Nah he's right. Amateur writing is fine as long as it's not formulaic

  21. #21
    Veteran John B's Avatar
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    It’s a disappointing loss especially that we could’ve closed the gap to one game, with Memphis losing to Pelicans last night. But the last two wins were pretty awesome also. We win some, we lose some. I would’ve attack the basket if I were Demar. Poeltl wasn’t playing well, and it just didn’t look right passing to him. Demar should’ve bait a foul. Poeltl needs to play out of foul trouble. What’s wrong with him lately? He doesn’t seem to be in sync yet. I love Keldon, Quinndarry. Dang they’re bullish. We have defensive minded players es! And who can hit from outside. They’re just gonna get better. Let’s get the next one. Go Spurs Go!

  22. #22
    Veteran Sugus's Avatar
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    One thing that hasn't been said about Dejounte, and the thing that actually worries me about him besides some bonehead mistakes, is that he hasn't really found a balance between calling his own number to score, and distributing the ball or getting it to his teammates in places effective for them to immediately score. The best PGs in the league can draw defenders in with their gravity on the drive, or stretch out defenses with long-range shooting threats, and thread the needle to make it easier for their teammates to make their plays. Far too often, Murray gets too excited after a midrange swish or two, and starts getting into his own head - tunnel-visioning and forcing shots until he inevitably stops making them, with little regard as to what the rest of the team is doing or who's open, etc. I think it was the game against the Grizzlies, he attempted - and made - three consecutive midrange shots all by himself, before missing a fourth one - that's not the way a PG should be playing, unless the team around you is gassed or trash, or the game calls for you to take over like Lillard does. The most DJ makes in terms of setting up teammates, is making an entry pass or a simple pass to someone at the 3pt line like Lonnie or Rudy, who then have to handle the playmaking whilst Murray slips to the corner. Ain't gonna cut it.

    There's definitely a part of this that is learnt with time and experience, and good coaching, but I fear there's also a part that requires court vision and awareness, especially to pass out to open shooters, which DJ hasn't displayed much of so far. Hopefully, since last off-season he made shooting a focus (and got noticeably better at it on every single area) he can work on being a "true PG" this off-season. Or not, take the other route and morph into more of a 2-guard or SG, which isn't so far from what he's doing right now when playing with White, and it'd actually compliment his eagerness to shoot. But he needs to be automatic, at least in the willingness to shoot, from 3 for that to be a possibility. And I fear Pop and the FO aren't even considering this possibility, and might be trying too hard to fit a square peg into a round hole. Time will tell.

    Beyond that, the one player I was unimpressed with was Lonnie. I usually love his effort and things he does, but he had a really quiet game, besides a dunk and another one that didn't count and the occasional corner 3. Again, I think Lonnie in particular would be much better off besides a PG that can actually find him and feed off him - DJ hasn't been that player so far. And it's also on Pop to an extent, at this point you have to wonder why the is he so -bent on not drawing plays for Lonnie...? At least an out-of-bounds hammer play, or something that requires Walker to ball-handle and playmake his way to the hoop. Right now, the most involvement Lonnie has on offense is getting a weak pass from Murray and having to charge at the rim, where -unlike Keldon- he doesn't have that natural instinct to go and draw the foul or make the layup through contact. He isn't that kind of player, and the coaches need to figure out what kind of player he is, and feed into his strengths. I think in a vacuum, he's the second best outside shooter on the young core besides White, and I actually like Walker's shooting form over White's, it's just that the former hasn't gotten the same amount of opportunities as the latter to display it. Time will tell how he grows his game to fit into the team, especially as the vets start leaving/are traded/have their roles reduced in favor of the youngings.

  23. #23
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
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    One thing that hasn't been said about Dejounte, and the thing that actually worries me about him besides some bonehead mistakes, is that he hasn't really found a balance between calling his own number to score, and distributing the ball or getting it to his teammates in places effective for them to immediately score. The best PGs in the league can draw defenders in with their gravity on the drive, or stretch out defenses with long-range shooting threats, and thread the needle to make it easier for their teammates to make their plays. Far too often, Murray gets too excited after a midrange swish or two, and starts getting into his own head - tunnel-visioning and forcing shots until he inevitably stops making them, with little regard as to what the rest of the team is doing or who's open, etc. I think it was the game against the Grizzlies, he attempted - and made - three consecutive midrange shots all by himself, before missing a fourth one - that's not the way a PG should be playing, unless the team around you is gassed or trash, or the game calls for you to take over like Lillard does. The most DJ makes in terms of setting up teammates, is making an entry pass or a simple pass to someone at the 3pt line like Lonnie or Rudy, who then have to handle the playmaking whilst Murray slips to the corner. Ain't gonna cut it.

    There's definitely a part of this that is learnt with time and experience, and good coaching, but I fear there's also a part that requires court vision and awareness, especially to pass out to open shooters, which DJ hasn't displayed much of so far. Hopefully, since last off-season he made shooting a focus (and got noticeably better at it on every single area) he can work on being a "true PG" this off-season. Or not, take the other route and morph into more of a 2-guard or SG, which isn't so far from what he's doing right now when playing with White, and it'd actually compliment his eagerness to shoot. But he needs to be automatic, at least in the willingness to shoot, from 3 for that to be a possibility. And I fear Pop and the FO aren't even considering this possibility, and might be trying too hard to fit a square peg into a round hole. Time will tell.

    Beyond that, the one player I was unimpressed with was Lonnie. I usually love his effort and things he does, but he had a really quiet game, besides a dunk and another one that didn't count and the occasional corner 3. Again, I think Lonnie in particular would be much better off besides a PG that can actually find him and feed off him - DJ hasn't been that player so far. And it's also on Pop to an extent, at this point you have to wonder why the is he so -bent on not drawing plays for Lonnie...? At least an out-of-bounds hammer play, or something that requires Walker to ball-handle and playmake his way to the hoop. Right now, the most involvement Lonnie has on offense is getting a weak pass from Murray and having to charge at the rim, where -unlike Keldon- he doesn't have that natural instinct to go and draw the foul or make the layup through contact. He isn't that kind of player, and the coaches need to figure out what kind of player he is, and feed into his strengths. I think in a vacuum, he's the second best outside shooter on the young core besides White, and I actually like Walker's shooting form over White's, it's just that the former hasn't gotten the same amount of opportunities as the latter to display it. Time will tell how he grows his game to fit into the team, especially as the vets start leaving/are traded/have their roles reduced in favor of the youngings.
    Lonnie Walker can try to be a more athletic version of Rip Hamilton since he was a player who didnt like contact either.

  24. #24
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
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    There was much more "beautiful game" in the first two games. Too much ISO, not enough ball movement in this game. I hated it.

  25. #25
    Veteran Sugus's Avatar
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    There was much more "beautiful game" in the first two games. Too much ISO, not enough ball movement in this game. I hated it.
    Agreed. For as much as DeRozan helps the team by scoring at a very efficient clip, and bails them out, I didn't like him being so present on offense early on. His best role, IMO, is as a distributor, as we saw in the Grizzlies game, with the ability to take over in the 4th, where the rest of the young guys aren't just yet ready to handle the scoring by themselves. Win or lose, we mustn't forget these games are primarily aimed at developing the young players, and with DeMar being so ball dominant when he's scoring, it just takes away opportunities from them - Lonnie in particular I feel suffered from the lack of touches and passes in general. I think the two early wins kind of shifted the team's mentality away from develompent and into a kind of "hey, we might actually make the POs", which is good to have but not if it'll come at the expense of having the same old vets taking over the games. We've saw that all season long, and it's failed all season long.

    Also, I like the Rip Hamilton comp, but tbh I don't think it's set in stone yet that Lonnie will always be a player that avoids contact, like for example Lonzo Ball is right now. The way I see it, it's more a combination of his own developing, but lacking, playmaking skills, opportunities, and the fact that the roster construction necessitates someone constantly standing in the corner, to provide a modi of spacing, since both DJ and DeMar (and LMA when he's on the team) operate in the midrange exclusively. If you had for example Curry on the 1, or Lillard or whomever, someone who could stretch the defense and actually be a threat from deep, I think Lonnie would have a lot more room to cut to the basket, be ready for passes, penetrate, and just look for contact in general. Walker seems to be a fan of the pullup midrange jumpshot as well, which is something the current Spurs don't need but might be much more well received on other, more modern offenses that rely on the 3-ball and could mix it up with midrange shooting. This is the reason I'm not too quick to judge how the young players perform these 8+ games; the roster is just badly constructed on multiple fronts. I hope the FO picks it up in the offseason, because there HAS to be some moves made. Even if next season is a tanking job, you can at least help compliment your young players so they can develop properly whilst losing.

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