- A coach is supposed to create the best opportunities for a player to score or defend. "Dated Pop" does just the opposite. Our players fight agains players 1, 2 to 4 inches taller constantly. Our slashers don't have shooters around to facilitate the drive and kick game.
- The Clippers are a big team. You can't defend them with small players nor bigs that are slow. You must play with a player like Pat or Luka to have some success against them. You must be faster, taller and stronger. You must shoot well from outside to keep them spaced out. They are loooong.
- Our starting 5 can't compete with the best teams. Whe need more size, less colapse on defense and better shooting.
- Keldon Johnson is a good player but he is not a 4. He struggles with long and athletic SF and PF's. To create missmatches, KJ should play the 3 or the 2 from the bench.
- Pop creates the perfect scenario for his players to struggle in every game. DJ Murray is not a PG. KJ is not a 4. Samanic and Walker can't make mistakes while Gay or Liles Can.
- This team is a lot better than it looks. Pop should start Samanic at 4 and let him be there learning on the spot. He can make most of the things the starting line-up can't. He can break the defense, stretch, generate offensive rebounds, he can be a bigger presence on the perimeter and on the interior, he can score 14+ without holding the ball too much.
- The starting 5 is small. We have size on the team. DJM - DW - DDR - LUKA - POELTL is a big starting 5. Dated Pop is the one that cant see it. LW - KJ - MILLS - DREW - GAY is not a small line-up and can be potent too. Old Pop just too old to learn. Pop could go ultra big with DLM - DW(DDR) - LUKA - GAY - PO.
- This is not an undersized or under talented team. Pop is the one trying to look like a genius when in fact he has been a bad coach for this team since two or more years ago.
- We have enough. We just lack the right coach to unleash the talent that we already have.
I don't think the problem is on the size of the team or starting five.
This team has a lot of problems defending the perimeter, the clippers kills us with the 3 pointer first.
Secondly, we need a better big than eubanks, we need to protect the rim better, our paint is easy to go in but that's not about size. Give me Holmes for example who is the same size as Luka and you protect the paint.
Holmes is 6'9/6'10.
Our starting 5 is made of a droping big + 3 6'5/6'4 wings + a non factor (DDR)
It is a problem of size. Wingspan cover space on the perimeter. Size in the interior.
We must use our bigger players more.
DJM, DDR, DW, KJ, Mills - we should have only 3 of them playing at the same time against the top teams.
Samanic, Gay and Vassell should play more. Even Liles.
Teams are killing the drop coverage now.
At no point during the game was it clear that Keldon was being outmatched physically in this game. His man to man defense wasn't the issue last night, it was his rotations and help defense. He was caught way out of position too many times. This wasn't a matter of Kawhi, Morris, or Paul (those were his primary matchups) being too long and shooting over him. That's just false.
I really don't like the White/Murray starting duo. I think they've figured out how to play good defense, but the offense is often really bad since it relies on a bunch of meh shooters getting hot. Poeltl starting instead of Aldridge, while necessary, just compounds that issue. I do think Johnson as an everyday starting four is bad for defense and rebounding, but I also don't think him playing down positions will work all that well. He has very little outside game right now, and he's not a very agile defender. PF is probably the position he should play -- he's just too short to really play it well.
I do think folks should reconsider the idea that the Spurs "have enough". That comes from times when everything is clicking. When White/Murray are scoring well and their defense can make a difference, when Johnson is able to get to the rim consistently and fight for boards, when Poeltl is aggressive on offense and not foul-prone on defense, the Spurs look really good. When things are going well, SA's players can match production with those on very good teams. But when things go poorly, they can't even get close to what those teams can expect as their floor.
They don't have enough, not nearly so, and if DeRozan walks, they'll have even less. I can understand why PATFO could've been interested in Vucevic if those rumors are true. It's not about the fact that Poeltl can out play him when things are going well or even out-impact him on the aggregate. It's about the fact that Vuc raises the floor high enough to where the Spurs don't need one of their inconsistent guards to go off every game for them to win. DeRozan and Vuc would probably be enough. I still think Poeltl is close enough to where you can't justify trading two firsts and prospects and all that. But they basically have to come away with talent in the summer if they want to be a solid playoff team. You can clearly see how Aldridge falling apart and leaving the team has crippled the club. It'd be even worse if they lose their best player for the third time in four years.
The problem is 3 point shooting on the defense. Every team is lighting up the Spurs on three point shooting.
On offense, the problem is Spurs can’t shoot 3s consistently. DJM has been struggling lately. White is inconsistent. Keldon is afraid to shoot 3s. Teams are collapsing in the paint and daring the Spurs to shoot and no one can outside of Patty.
The Mills-DJ-White-Keldon-Poeltl is our best most used lineup lately at 62 net rating. A more diverse shooting in that starting lineup no matter the size is the winning formula. That means separating Derozan and Keldon.
It's been said plenty of times already, but this starting lineup simply doesn't work.
I don't see a single other team in the league with worse starting lineup spacing.
They're all good enough to start, but they just don't work together. Never will.
DJ and Keldon are really poor shooters if we talk perimeter players in today's league, Demar doesn't want to shoot and Derrick is streaky. If he wasn't the best shooter in the starting lineup, he surely wouldn't be taking many 3s.
Then you add Jakob who's not a threat outside of restricted area and you get an offense straight out of 80s.
If no trades are made, it's going to be tough to watch the rest of the season. Even if we get to the playoffs, it's an easy series for top teams. Maybe we take one game, that's it.
Lonnie or Devin have to start. Even though Derrick and DJ are better players, they can't start together. Not until we get a shooting wing to replace Demar.
Or a shooting big to start in Jakob's place.
Another big is a must. Eubanks plays hards, hustles every possession, but isn't good enough. Every game Jakob gets into foul trouble, and that happens pretty often, we're looking at an L.
But as per usual, nothing will happen. Then we'll get a pick in 11-15th range, draft another good, but undersized prospect for our needs.
If you want to win, you have to be ruthless. Spurs used to be ruthless. Trading Hill for 15th pick wasn't easy. I guarantee you that current version of Pop wouldn't do it.
And because of that, Rudy will walk in the summer, Patty will get overpaid again and we'll have to witness at least 3 more years of his chucking. LMA will be bought out and Demar will also leave in the summer. Hopefully via S&T.
Derozan and johnson are 6'6 but that's not the point. Marcus Morris who was playing the four is 6'8, they also played some lineups with at the 5 !
It's not the size who kills us in this game, you talk about clippers game right ?
It's not just about having longer guys, you can put trey Lyles it will be the same or worse, it's about defense imo and more on the perimeter D. The clipps made 17 threes on 33 attemps, that's too much.
Other than that overall, i think we have some bad lineups. Sometimes with Patty playing with dejounte and white, Gay at the 5 for some stretches and i agree with the major part of what Chinook said about the lineups : Johnson at the four, White/Murray pair.
Imo we need someone inside or at least we need to play more samanic who looks ready and Vassell, on that i agree with you.
+1
that's my point, we have a really poor defense on the 3, plus we are not that good protecting the paint... and then you have some really bad losses when the team is not playing well.
I love KJ, but he had 3 rebounds. So isn’t that at least a little evidence that something is going on? And he had 3 against the hornets too.
Offenses make our defense collapse. We are doing what we did to cover for Bryn Forbes last year. The ball moves, they attack our drop coverage after pick n rolls, they shoot over our smaller wings.
When you know you can't be blocked, every shot is a practice shot.
We are a top 10 rim protecting team. We struggled guarding the 3 earlier in the year ( when LA is still playing ) but we are closer to middle of the pack the last 15 games.
source : https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defe...&LastNGames=15
That's why my first point is the perimeter D and the defense on 3's. That's something i notice almost every game.
I don't talk only about the rim, it's also rebounding. Imo we need a better overall player in the paint.
Our system involves running back on offense (or defense) after a missed shot. Even if we had the best rebounder in the NBA, they wouldn't average many rebounds on this team.
Exactly. They have some solid young and developing pieces and it takes time to start turning the corner. They also need to move a few players and mold the team exclusively around the young guys. I have seen some spur's fans on social media with the opinion that this team is not far from contention; and I do wonder what the they are smokingThis is not 2005. Give it time, though.
I love Keldon, but unless his 3pts are reliable, Luka at PF makes more sense. Again for better spacing, better rim protection. Somebody mentioned, the Bubble experiment had Keldon coming off the bench creating havoc against the 2nd stringers. True. I think he would average more and keep the momentum going coming from the bench as Manu role, where he is the main guy, instead of watching Demar and DJ. I know he’s been successful, but when his shots are not going in, the spacing is just ugly with Demar/Poeltl already in.
More so, the team can switch on everybody especially with Luka in, and hide Demar’s defense.
I don’t have a problem with Derrick starting with DJ, because Derrick can really get Poeltl offensively going, besides Patty, and nope definitely not starting Patty. Poeltl is our best rim protection so he needs to start, and Spurs need him to score some. And so that’s that.
I think when healthy, Mills/Lonnie/Keldon brings havoc to the 2nd stringer on transition offense. Freaking havoc with Lonnie/Keldon running and dishing to Patty. Oh and Vassell/Rudy are not bad shooters too.
My preferred lineup with the current roster:
DJ, Lonnie, Tre, Q
Derrick, Mills
Demar, Vassell, Diop
Luka, Keldon, Lyles
Jakob, Rudy, Drew
Not a bad idea, i'm not against White shifting to the bench also for Vassell for example. It's not about minutes but as a lot of us said for the spacing and the balance of the team.
Good post.
That’s an even more defensive juggernaut: DJ, Devin, Demar, Luka, Poeltl. But Demar/DJ need to setup Poeltl more, because it’s been Derrick/Patty that’s been effective getting Poeltl going. That’s also the problem with a starting C that needs to be spoon fed and has ZERO post up move and outside shooting. That’s why Spurs need to address that.
When Lonnie's healthy, just once, I'd like to see Luka and Lonnie in the SL, just for an "all potential" lineup. Those 2 have the highest ceilings on the team, yet both have a lot to prove.
It's a deeper problem than that, sadly. It's not that DJ "need to setup Poeltl better" - he needs to set everyone up better. He's still not good at it; he's been great at scoring this season, his midrange pullup and crossover are pretty unstoppable when he's on, but he still really struggles getting the team into any sort of offensive sets that don't involve him directly attacking the rim and either scoring rainbow shots, or kicking out at the last minute for an outside shot. , he struggles with basic entry passes to DDR/LMA, which are often picked... White is miles better setting Jak up, because he's a miles better and more natural playmaker, for everyone in the court. But he has his own problems... And I agree with most that it's starting to look untenable to have them both starting games, at least with our current roster configuration.
So many of the problems would be made easier by taking DDR out of the picture... We could play everyone at their natural positions, for one. But of course, there's a talent and scoring vacuum left there, in a team already struggling for both. In any case, the Spurs have far more pressing needs to address than a "spoon-fed" center, which is weirdly what everyone on this board has chosen to fixate on this year. At least last season, the Forbes critique was understandable and justified... This season it's looking mighty obvious what a scapegoating attempt it is. There's just bigger issues: DJ-DW looking offensively impaired when together, Keldon not being a PF yet being slotted as one (and being figured out by other teams, which hopefully is him just hitting the sop re wall), all three of these players being unreliable outside shooters, and all made worse due to DeRozan's lack of defense and outside shooting whilst being the "pillar of the team". Jakob is, at most, a fourth problem in terms of importance, IMO.
Depressing to write, really, and I really think Pop is making the team look worse than it is. But right now, I don't think there's much rebuttal to anything I've written there.
The game moved to a perimeter oriented game two years ago, and Pop is still clinging to midrange guys and developmental guys. Go draft some shooters you idiot.
I agree. I think when things settle, we'll see a more coherent line-up from Pop. He cannot continue to ignore that Luka brings tremendous skill sets, shooting, guarding the perimeter, protecting the rim, that, imo, can be used with the starting line-up. I was hoping it's just showcasing Rudy/Lyles, and we should see more of Luka in the 2nd half.
Lessons from the game? Time to pull an Orlando and sell everything!
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
