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SPURS FALL TO THE WARRIORS, 120-125 | SPURS DROP TO 8-3 | REMATCH FRIDAY
Scott's Notes:
Scott's Notes:
- Sometimes I get caught debating between grades, but this is one of the easiest of the season. A stone cold 1 for Fox. Multiple people have said this was one of the worst games they've ever seen from a Max Player, and it's hard to disagree. If someone told me later that it was discovered Fox threw this game because the mob was holding his family hostage, only then would this performance start to make sense. Just completely lost on defense at times, uncharacteristically stupid turnovers (wtf was that missile that went off the backboard?!?), and shots rimming out all night. I'm a chief Fox supporter and advocate but I cannot defend this one. I hope he bounces back Friday with a huge performance, otherwise the grumbling will get louder. @OK Computer has some interest theories about Fox, which I'm not sure I buy, but I do wonder if all of the talk of trading him over the summer (before we've even had a chance to really see him at full strength) reached him and got into his head. He looked good in his debut against NOLA, had nice stretches against CHI, but was completely out of this one. I hope someone catches him for an interview at practice today. Somehow we weren't only a -2 in Fox's 36 minutes.
- With that out of the way... I want to start with Wemby. This is one of those ones where I was between a 3 and a 4 grade, which is kind of crazy considering he put in a triple-double. But he also had 8 turnovers and a stretch in the 2nd quarter that I really want to talk about. Wemby, and the Spurs in general, have done this a few times where they've built a solid lead and then just start fucking around and play the opposition back into the game, and that's exactly what Wemby did tonight. Turnovers, stupid 3s, just letting GSW narrow the gap before the half for no reason. I hope Mitch and staff go over this specific part of the tape with the team ad nauseum. Ultimately, I gave Wemby a 4, but the community grade of 3.47 seems to indicate the rest of you had the same mental struggle.
- Castle was fantastic, and was more between a 4 and a 5. To be honest, I probably would have given a 5 if we'd won. Those petty fouls that put him in foul trouble are problematic, but I don't fully blame Steph(on) as he was as much a victim of Steph(en)'s bullshit whistle last night. Castle is on a heater right now, hopefully we can ride this wave even further on Friday. When he had Curry on him, it was almost an automatic bucket, we should keep abusing that mismatch.
- I was lower on Korndog than consensus. He had some contributions on the offensive end, but zero rebounds is a bad look, and the two big lineup isn't the move against a team like GSW. That is more on Mitch, but it didn't put Luke in a position to succeed.
- Sochan is clearly in the doghouse. Mitch was asked postgame by noted Sochan-enthusiast Matthew Tynan about Jeremy's health and if that had anything to do with his playing time and Mitch coldly responded that Jeremy was fully healthy. The Sochan stans are foaming at the mouth about it as a result, but it seems like Mitch realizes who Jeremy is and is just transitioning to the future. With that said, I thought Sochan looked okay in his minutes tonight and probably should have been utilized more. Mitch has got to find that balance of where Sochan makes sense and where he doesn't.
- Quick hit on all the wings: Vassell is playing at a solid 3-4 level on a regular basis. He had those two bad games against PHX and LAL, but other than that he's been solid in his role. He was again tonight, but he need to do better to stay engaged on defense. A lot of those open 3s are on him. Barnes is on a generational shooting heater right now. Champ I thought was fine, he was just who he was, an average performance from him in his role. He did have that crucial mistake where he stepped out of bounds before draining a game-tying 3. I wonder how that might have swung the game.
- Mitch is looking like a rookie coach, and I don't mean that in a bad way. In my opinion, he'll be fine. The players seem to respond to him, and that's what matters the most at this point. But by the ASB we better start seeing some growth from Mitch.
- @Snake Eyes
- 14 turnovers by Fox & Wemby is just unacceptable.
- I hate blaming the refs, but it was blatant BS. I knew it was as soon as they called Castle for that third fall in a row, it was going to be impossible to slow Curry.
- Mitch gets a 1 from me. He should’ve put Sohan on Curry in the 2nd half when Castle went the bench. And the French Vanilla experiment went sideways.
- @Area 51.247:
- In a graduate Operations Management class exam once, a professor who'd just been hired from MIT had a test problem that came from the next chapters, that only a few forward reading students could answer. When my classmates protested bitterly about the uncovered material being included, he replied (my paraphrase): "Oh, you knew that material we covered in class. Where I come from, we thrive on figuring out new problems, not rehashing old stuff."
- So, this is where the young Spurs find themselves. The things they need to learn: consistent intensity and focus, making the game simple, and being resilient in the face of adversity will only come through meeting the challenge of beating crafty, successful teams with long playoff experience.
- Like the Warriors of the Mark Jackson era playing the Spurs, they have to meet those challenges and embrace them and learn how to win. They show strong signs of getting there, we can only watch and enjoy the process.
- @spurraider21
- Vic got a 3. He was obviously very good as evidenced by a triple double. But a lot of his production came when the game was basically out of hand. He was solid defensively and had some great efforts on curry but he wasn’t warping the game on that end. And the turnovers were absolutely brutal.
- Fox gets a 1. He was actively hurting the team out there. Non factor defensively and a terrorist offensively.
- Castle gets a 4. He was remarkable in the first half and was outplaying the other Steph. His defensive impact in the second half vanished. And the lack of shooting held him back offensively. This guy is going to be a star if he gets that going.
- Kornet got a 3. Excellent as a finisher/scorer. Defensively not much. And 0 rebounds.
- Vassell got a 2. Somewhat subpar on both ends but not really killing the team.
- Champagnie got a 2. Was horrendous defensively. He just can’t make any impact with his man to man defense and has to be more active off ball to compensate.
- @mazerrackham: Ugly game, Castle was the best player on the court (for the Spurs) while Fox was the worst (at least compared to expectations). I think everyone is hoping that Fox can be our clutch time closer, but with how bad he was today, it felt like others on the team had to force things in the clutch, and the results were mixed. Need closer Fox back soon if we want to beat good teams.
- @Em-City:
- Wemby - very good game, but to put teams like this on the ropes, he needs to get to the ft line and get some of the opposing stars in foul trouble.
- Castle was great, but if he stays on the court without fouling, we win this one
- Fox was trash, he needs to be more of a threat, on and off the ball
- Barnes and keldone were ok but champ was too passive - again spurs need to generate more 3s overall
- Vassell hit some big shots, but also missed some big ones- less blown rotations on would be better
- Mitch Johnson was a disappointment - again minimal improvement in 3 point defence- how do you give horford, moody and Jimmy that many 3s? Also not enough 3s for the spurs off penetration.
- Yeah the refs got us but the team needs to avoid those cheap leaning- into the opponent fouls
- @LeBowen: The less said, the better
- @CrustyCoastBendFan: This appears to be the first significant setback in Mitch’s official rookie season as head coach of the Spurs. Despite having two of his top young franchise players each record a triple-double, no strategic adjustments were made, ultimately resulting in a loss. One must question whether it occurred to Mitch to insert Jeremy Sochan in the second half, particularly as it became evident that his players were struggling to contain the opponent on the perimeter. The team was repeatedly outmaneuvered by Jimmy Butler’s and Steph Currys crafty offensive moves, exposing a defensive vulnerability that went unaddressed.
- @Correct Crusader: Can I give Fox a zero?
- @jeebus: Looks like Sochan has played himself out of the rotation. Not getting a contract extension turned him into a bum. Wemby is completely stoppable if you're 6'4.
