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SPURS 108 - WARRIORS 109 | SPURS FALL TO 8-4
Editor's Note: I generally try to get these out around mid-afternoon CT (which is mid-morning for me) because I don't want them to go stale and I figured most people will have their grades in by now. If you want this to change, let me know and I'll consider any ideas. Also let me know if you like what I've been doing with your comments (which is basically just including them all) or if you want me to curate them a little more and just pick out highlights. I can also just post the table image and STFU it would save me a lot of work tbh
Scott's Notes
Up next - an opportunity to bounce back against the Kings Sunday afternoon. GSG!
(Also, in case anyone missed it, I believe the Tuesday game against MEM got flexed to NBC)
Editor's Note: I generally try to get these out around mid-afternoon CT (which is mid-morning for me) because I don't want them to go stale and I figured most people will have their grades in by now. If you want this to change, let me know and I'll consider any ideas. Also let me know if you like what I've been doing with your comments (which is basically just including them all) or if you want me to curate them a little more and just pick out highlights. I can also just post the table image and STFU it would save me a lot of work tbh
Scott's Notes
- We're 8-4, and that's probably well ahead of where anyone thought we'd be at this point. 3 of those 4 losses are games we reasonably could have won. I'm choosing to look at this positively. We're an extremely young team with a lot yet to learn, and with some pretty significant roster construction holes to fill. We have a first year coach who may or may not be "the guy" long-term, but IF he's going to have any chance of being a long-term success, he'll need to go through these growing pains as well. Folks may not remember that Coach Pop (another first time HC) was very close to getting fired before winning the chip in '99. I'm not saying Mitch will end up Coach Pop, but the lack of patience with some people is pretty hilarious.
- I said this after the last game and I'll repeat it, I like that our expectations are a lot higher of this team and losses sting the way they do. The alternative is the indifference that comes with sucking like we have the last few years. I'm so happy to be off team tank and to be rooting for a team with expectations and a bright future. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm ready to become a sniffer... I have plenty of criticisms and ideas of how we can get better and we better not just sit on our laurels... but we can take a moment to zoom out and realize we are ahead of schedule.
- It took two insane games by Steph Curry to beat us. Let's not forget that.
- I'm going to start with the bad. Vassell. WTF man. That was downright awful. I've said this for awhile, and I'll repeat it, he and Champ need to swap places in the starting lineup. Champ's game is just better suited to being the 4th/5th banana on the court, whereas Devin is better suited as a 1a or 1b option with the bench unit. This is so painfully obvious to me that it hurts to watch Mitch avoid this very clear solution. I'm sure salary and politics come into play here.
- Keldon. Yikes. This was a step back from what we've seen to start the season. No bueno.
- Sochan. I gave him a 3, but the first half was atrocious and deserved a 1. He redeemed himself with his play in the 2nd half, which I'm honestly surprised he even got, but that was due to...
- Kornet. Just not a match up that suits him. Why it took Mitch so long to realize this, who knows.
- Fox. He was having a really nice game right up until the last minute. Que mas Enrique. I will say, however, that some of the criticism I'm seeing is unfounded. He was the victim of Draymond's moving screen bear hugs on a few plays, that foul call on Steph at the end was complete horseshit and just a savvy move by Steph to exploit NBA officiating's stupidity, and the last play I am assuming throwing it to him in the backcourt was the failsafe because I'm not sure why you draw that play up with only 6 seconds left. That shot was one that Fox can (and has, and will again) make, and it looked good, just an inch or two short. But... we should have never put him in that position to begin with. With all those excuses out of the way, Fox could and should have played better in the final moments. This was a solid 4 that turned into a 3 with his play in the endgame for me.
- Castle was solid, and I think a 3 is fair. Not his best game, but he had the unenviable task of guarding Curry all game. Great work on the boards. Some bad turnovers in the first half when he was getting cute with his passes.
- Surprised Champ didn't get a higher community rating, though he had a really nice game.
- Mitch... you're a smart guy. Lots to learn from this game. Show us what you got, man.
- I'm looking forward to the Last 2 Minute report on this one...
- @Area 51.247
- Steph Curry responded to an existential threat of the Warriors becoming a non-factor in the West by going nova in two consecutive games. Draymond and Butler accepted their roles and reflected his intensity into a laser focus on details and effort, even when they fell behind, that rewarded them with the joy of winning
- Where the Spurs fell short in blocking out the sun's impact was in taking care of the ball. Too many careless turnovers gave GS life-giving resuscitation from easy points or stopped possessions: looking at you Devin-pull the ball out with seconds to go on a fast break instead of gifting the Warriors with a charge.
- Maestro and the Mariachis's poker game with Steve Kerr was pretty well played. Both teams effectively slowed the role players from last game who had played above their levels. Although it's hard to match Steve's MJ and the Bulls era motivational gravitus ahead of a rebound match when you're a first year head coach, Mitch had the team playing hard.
- @ginobilized: That felt like a rite of passage game against some crafty chaos merchants. When Steph was a young player we used to do this to his team routinely. That might explain the god mode flame-throwing display that he put on both nights. There were some really great things to see on the Spurs. Wemby showing up in clutch time and winning his battles with Draymond seemed like a huge maturity test and he passed with flying colors. Castle was hanging tough with 5 fouls and was having a so-so night, yet, was in the mix and making some winning plays. Speaking of winning plays, Vassell was not making good decisions in the final minute. Some MCS (main character syndrome) symptoms stifled our chances and Mitch's out of timeout plays were head-scratchers. None was more perplexing than the final play. Our execution on both sides of the ball needs some sharpening and the Dubs exploited our weaknesses. Hopefully we get some time to practice and improve. On the other hand, some of these guys are who they are will likely be stepping out of bounds and forcing things against higher IQ players.
- @Davidicus
- What a game. You gotta give the Warriors and Curry a ton of credit. They’ve built a solid squad around Curry’s gravity and executed down the stretch. Can’t blame officiating this go-around. Yes Pod 3 call was terrible, but we should’ve challenged.
- The Warriors are one of the toughest if not THE toughest matchups for us. We are a terrible 3pt defense team. We were last year. Adding Fox Kornet Okynyk Waters isn’t going to change 3pt D this year. Adding Harper will, but he’s in a boot. Bryant would’ve been taken to school, as in like kindergarten.
- Blanket statement - we are going through a ton of good growing pains. Too many to list across Mitch and the players, but feels like we’ve covered them on this thread.
- HOWEVER, there are some callouts I want to make that I feel are unacceptable.
- Mitch - how does it take 3 HALVES to figure out we shouldn’t be forcing French Vanilla? We all get the concept of those two. But if there ever was a team and player to NOT play them together it’s the Warriors and Curry. I’m not a Sochan Stan, but he is a mobile defensive wing to be used in certain situations. These last two games were them.
- Sochan - I thought he played well. Yes he had a bad turnover and botched dunk, but he also played above average D on Butler when we needed him, hit a 3, and made a couple smart plays + easy dunk. He’s played 87 min TOTAL this season, including last night. Y’all remember last year when he was crushing on D and making cuts, passes, and back-downs on O? He can be a valuable tool on this team if we give him sufficient minutes to get back into his groove. Again, not a Sochan Stan, but I do think he needs more minutes so he’s ready when called upon.
- Fox - back to the callouts. His D on Curry was absolutely unacceptable. Meandering, no energy, no effort. My brain was short circuiting. No he wasn’t tired. I’m chalking up his offensive struggles including lack of penetration to rust. If it’s not rust, we’re in big trouble, because without the penetration he’s just another scorer. Not a max player who alters the geometry.
- Victor - encouraging stuff in the 2nd half. He finishes with 26/12/4/3 with 3 TO and 1 PF on pure talent. He could do so much more if the coaching staff (and HE) give him better starting position. It was excruciating watching the Warriors deny him the ball, even beyond the 3pt line. What are we doing?? Lots of words have been typed on this topic - but at the end of the day, Victor needs to learn to establish + demand the ball in the paint.
- Champ / Vassell - it’s funny, these two players are so alike. Streaky shooters who can save us when we’re down, but can also kill us (is someone working with Champ on his OOB issues?? For the love of god). What’s not funny? One makes $27M, the other makes $3M.
- Rapid fire - KJ was due for a bad game, but our coaching staff didn’t help him much either. Castle doing the lords work but he needed help - this was a game we really could’ve used Harper’s perimeter D and on-ball penetration on O. Kornet looked better defending and rebounding down low, but again, coaching staff.
- All in all, a team and player designed to murder us. And they did. Not expecting similar results against good teams in the future (HOU game as example). Lots to grow from, but also a few red flags to keep a watchful eye on.
- @Em-City
- I'm giving Mitch a 1 for blowing that lead, not adjusting enough from last game and lacking creativity on offense.
- Wemby 3 was a bit better than last game and the jumpers look good but he needs to be +60%fg consistently with the height advantage he has. he's also not facilitating enough out of the high post when the post scoring isn't there.
- Castle 2 couldn't get it going - He needs better spacing around him
- Fox 2 efficiency and turnovers was a problem but good to see a few 3 go down at least. I'm really not seeing the creation from him that he needs to provide on every person for him to be a positive
- Champ 4 got a few to go and needs more of KJ/Devin's minutes when that is the case
- KJ 1 couldn't bully the GSW defense and without that there's not much left for him to contribute. Needed to be ≤10 mins in this kind of matchup
- Sochan 2 I liked the sochan minutes on defense but the other end is just a killer. The 3 was a bonus.
- Kornet 1 was unplayable
- Barnes 2 just not doing enough in 28 mins but Spurs lack other options
- Curry is the true goat of this era and it's a privilege to see the guy shot every shot like it's a layup. Jimmy also hit some tough drives.
- @CrustyCoastBendFan
- Mitch Johnson: Credit where it’s due—he actually put Sohan on Butler and Curry. Now for the negatives: basically the rest of the game. Burning a challenge and a timeout just to bubble-wrap Devin Vassell’s ego? Hard pass. Out-of-bounds plays? Still in witness protection. Simulator coach mode? Fully booted up. Any ex-player coach worth their salt would’ve spotted that Fox was fried and funneled the final shot to Castle or Wemby with five seconds left. But no—Johnson had already blown a timeout on ego triage, leaving just one. So when Kerr sniffed out his lone play, there was zero backup plan. Honestly, given how tragic his post-timeout plays have been, maybe that was a blessing. Grade: F, because for the 2nd or 3rd straight game, he’s making it painfully easy to say he has no business being a head coach.
- Victor: A+. He played his heart out and just keeps getting better. He might be so good that, like Duncan, he could turn a mediocre coach who’s never touched pro ball into a respectable head coach—or even a Hall of Famer. After all, Duncan once transformed a Division II college coach with a losing record into the winningest HC in history. Oh, and also a Hall of Fame inductee. No pressure, Victor.
- Castle. He Gets an A-. What can you even say? Some folks were practically digging his Rookie of the Year grave, dubbing him “the worst since Michael Carter-Williams,” just to prop up Harper. (Even trolls wouldn’t dare go full Ben Simmons on this one.) But Castle’s been out here making them eat their words with stellar play and a brand of perimeter defensive toughness this team hasn’t seen since the reign of He Who Shall Not Be Named—yes, Kawhi Leonard himself. Sure, Curry pulled off some absolutely outrageous shenanigans against him, but Castle’s still standing tall. Maybe Mitch should have ran that last play through him, or darn if only mitch had ONE MORE TIME OUT.
- Kornet gets an A—he’s everything we dreamed of and then some. Now, if only Mitch could figure out how to use him properly. But hey, asking Mitch to do that is like asking a cat to file your taxes: technically possible, but highly unlikely.
- Barnes, I hate to say it, but you get a D. I still love you, Barnes. It was just a hiccup, Mr. One Hundred Percent. You’ll be most valuable in helping the team and Mitch move past these last two games anyway, off the court.
- Julian... I should give you a solid B for doing your job and hitting open threes. But on general principle alone, for stepping out of bounds in almost every game this season on a corner three, I have to downgrade you to a C-.
- Sochan earns a C-, but gets bumped up to a C for draining an open three. Solid, physical defense—not exactly elite, but respectable—and that wide-open three-pointer? Proof that even a broken clock nails it twice a day.
- What can I say? The rest of them earned failing grades. Normally, I’d crown Keldon the king of calamity, but oh no—Vessel took the throne with his boneheaded charge, immediately followed by mowing down a guy on defense the very next play. And let’s not forget his ironic applause at the refs, as if they were the problem and not him. Then there’s Mitch, who just had to feed his ego with a pointless review of his dent-headed charge on a fast break while we were up by, what, 4 or 7? Honestly, get this guy off the team. Both get solid Fs—but Devin’s F? That’s an EXTRA-FAIL with glitter on top.
- @LeBowen
- Mitch gets a 1 because he's got no authority over the team. Can't hold them accountable. No coach with any self-respect would have his team come out with 14 turnovers in the first half after what happened in the previous game.
- He also let's Wemby do whatever the fuck he wants and that's often not good for the team.
- Late game time-outs made all the difference.
- Keldon and Devin regressed back into their negative IQ selves after showing some signs of life early in the season.
- Fox had a solid game, but fucked everything up in the clutch - the thing we're paying him max money to perform in.
- @Correct Crusader: For Keldon... the clock has struck midnight, he's turned back into a pumpkin.
- Lewbowski Brickowski (great alias whoever you are) - Shoulda had this one. Young team needs to lean how to win these, including the coach.
Up next - an opportunity to bounce back against the Kings Sunday afternoon. GSG!
(Also, in case anyone missed it, I believe the Tuesday game against MEM got flexed to NBC)
