Game Thread Spurs (11-4) @ Suns (10-6) (Sun 11/23/25) [7:00PM CDT]

spurraider21 said:
people can hate on dillon brooks but he's proved himself three times over. was a core part of a good grizzlies team. went to houston and was considered overpaid initially but outplayed his deal and his attitude stuck there and houston thrived on defense/physicality with his presence. and now look at phoenix. looked like a franchise dead in the water. lost KD and added Brooks and suddenly they are one of the better defensive teams in the league.

and its not just his defense, for a couple of years now the guy legitimately generates his own looks in the midrange and looks really good doing it
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I don’t hate Brooks’ on the court game… just everything else about him lol
 
Brooks gives me Jax type of vibes in the sense just like Jax he gives whatever team he's with an edge and the honeymoon phase he has initially with his new team is good but once it's over him and his team ends up flaming out.
 
I knew Phoenix had been on the rise since beating the Spurs, and I predicted that a loss would have the Fox haters and doubters doubling down on their bias against him. Yet he put up 25 points on just 11 shots, went to the line over 10 times, but some people in the thread still claimed he couldn’t get past defenders—completely ignoring that his offseason surgery was on his hand, not his legs, which are perfectly fine. Combine that with Mitch’s ongoing struggles as an NBA head coach—still rolling out unbalanced, head-scratching lineups—and the fact that Phoenix is no pushover, and you’ve got an expected but disappointing loss for the Spurs. Now on to the Grades.

Mitch: D-. Here we are, and our not so seasoned rookie head coach is serving up some of the most baffling lineups of the season. DJG was a revelation last game, a distributor stepping up while our wunderkind point guards, Harper and Castle, nursed their injuries. So naturally, the next move is… PG Sochan and the no-PG Olynyk experiment, leaving Fox marooned as the lone floor general. And wouldn’t you know it, this comes right after Professor Pop is spotted chatting with Mitch at the facilities. Lord above, keep the self-anointed Jeffe far, far away from Mitch and the squad.

Keldon: B- He brought the juice and was basically the only other reliable scorer besides Fox, but somehow Mitch’s “offensive scheme” included long stretches where Keldon might as well have been invisible—no touches, just cardio.

Fox: B Fox is still on probation in my book, but he went ahead and dropped 25 points on only 11 shots, courtesy of what felt like a season pass to the free throw line—16 trips! Yet people in the thread made declarative statements like 'I don think at this stage Foxx can get passed defenders" His defense wobbled a bit, but come on, Devin Booker has been cooking defenders for years, and Phoenix is basically running an all-you-can-eat buffet of talented guards and wings. I’m chalking this one up to the scheme, not the man.

Kornet: C+ In his fourth consecutive start filling in for our missing Alien, Kornet offered a solid enough presence in the paint, and on the rare occasion the guards and wings actually fed him the ball, he managed to put it in the hoop. Let’s be honest—no one with a pulse and a working brain cell was banking on an All-Star showcase from our big guy.

Bryant: INC Carter Bryant had his best stretch so far, but it was so limited that I have to give him an incomplete. I still think Mitch not sending him to Austin for much-needed reps is hurting his potential and development. Just another demerit in the coaching acumen of our new HC, not an indictment of Carter’s ability or worthiness as an NBA player.

Olynk and Sochan: D- I group these two together because our HC made the odd choice to run them as our primary ball handlers in the second half—the half where the Spurs collapsed, blew the lead, and ultimately lost the game. Sochan is Sochan; some call him part of the Friendship Crew with Keldon and Devin. I call them the cum laude grads of Professor Pop’s Pfizer College distance learning program in Citizenship and Government Social Justice. Each has flaws as players, though some have managed to correct them better than others. Olynyk has somehow ended up sharing the duties, but this feels more like a Mitch move for Olynyk. He wasnt brought in for this role or to take this course.

Devin: C- Devin Vesseled it up as good but not as bad as he has Vesseled it up before. Devin still can’t be the go-to guy on a fast break after five or six years, preferring to bulldoze a shorter, smaller defender instead of just turning and shooting over him or passing the ball to open teammates filling the lane. That said, he did block some shots, knock down a few threes, and put some points on the board.

Barnes: B He wasn’t hitting from three but didn’t take too many attempts, and still had a solid game nonetheless. If anyone was expecting a SUPER BARNES finish two games in a row, well, he’s still only flesh and blood. I love this guy.

Julian: C+ Julian hit some threes, though not at an elite level, but he contributed strong rebounding, finishing with a surprising 12 boards. He brought energy and wasn’t terrible on defense. Not to say he was good, just not awfull. Overall, good job, Champagnie.
 
OK Computer said:
I only saw the second half. I was confused as fuck at why DJG was barely handling the ball. Why the fuck are we not letting him run the group like he did a game ago?
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They had a blanket on him. He couldn't get a good shot off and he couldn't complete a pass.
 
Just watched this game and realized I went through it very quickly ... often using the 10+ seconds button as I never believed the Spurs would win this game.
Typical road game against a good team - at home we would have pulled this off but not in Phoenix.

At first it looked as if Brooks would give us a chance with his chucking but sadly he stabilized and we have chucker Vassell ourselves so no advantage for the Spurs.

And yeah DJG looked horrible. Less minutes for him, more minutes for Carter (overall, not substituting each other of course) would have been better.
 
Champagnie and Barnes arent that good out on the perimeter (although Barnes has had some admirable performances like his defending of Durant). and Vassell has been hit or miss as far as being impactful defensively. certainly wasnt there today.
 
bozhemoi said:
You guys are trying to call out players who are actually trying. They're not great, but the team is missing three of its best players including their two easily best players in Wemby and Castle.

This is all Fox. If he's going to be this terrible we're in trouble with that contract. Terrible on both sides of the court.
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I said it before Fox needs to come off bench. Castle is the primary PG. I would start Harper at 2. Trade Vassel and Sochan for a stretch 4 Troy Murphy who plays great defense. Give the Atlanta pick this year
 
This one's on Mitch. How is he still forcing Jeremy into PG, why can't they guard 3pt line. On top of poor defence a lot of guys had poor % or low attempts but it's no passing first PG on the floor effect. Overall I am glad I have had chosen sleep over this. Those away games with our core players out will be ugly.
 
spurraider21 said:
people can hate on dillon brooks but he's proved himself three times over. was a core part of a good grizzlies team. went to houston and was considered overpaid initially but outplayed his deal and his attitude stuck there and houston thrived on defense/physicality with his presence. and now look at phoenix. looked like a franchise dead in the water. lost KD and added Brooks and suddenly they are one of the better defensive teams in the league.

and its not just his defense, for a couple of years now the guy legitimately generates his own looks in the midrange and looks really good doing it
Click to expand...
Can't believe folks were acting like he was China-bound after that Lakers series in '23. When it comes to team culture with Brooks, there is more good influence than bad one. The evidence is very clear in the wreckage left behind in Memphis..Suns' grittiness on D and general toughness is night and day between last season and this one..
 
I did say the Suns look like a really good team. Seems they're way better than people were giving them credit for after the Spurs lost to them last time. Brooks could be one of the reasons why. I also thought (even though he hasn't played much) Green would maybe thrive and do well there. I think fully healthy, they could be a playoff team. Their coach seems pretty good too. I don't know much about the guy, but he seems legit.
 
It is going to be tough for us to win vs above .500 teams on the road without the big fella. Don't think Harper/Castle being back changes much in that..

Really gonna come down if Fox has a 40 or 50 piece in him to make up for role players underperforming on the road, which is a longstanding league-wide trend..
 
spursistan said:
It is going to be tough for us to win vs above .500 teams on the road without the big fella. Don't think Harper/Castle being back changes much in that..

Really gonna come down if Fox has a 40 or 50 piece in him to make up for role players underperforming on the road, which is a longstanding league-wide trend..
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I don't think we are disappointed because we lost, but because we just came out flat in the second half and Mitch failed to adjust while we were losing the game in the 3rd.
I said I'd be fine with 1 win out of these 4 road games, but it's not looking likely if noone recovers.

As for role players underperforming, I can accept them being worse on offense on the road, but giving up so many rebounds and open 3s we shouldn't have is inexcusable.
We're really slow on the perimeter.
When Fox as a star player is the second best perimeter defender after Castle, then something is really wrong with the roster.
 
Fixing 3PT% defense isn’t going to be fixed overnight

- Castle back
- Harper back
- Wemby back (helps aggression)
- Sochan needs to stay on the floor with shooting / upgrade-trade him
- Bryant needs to stay on the floor with shooting
- Upgrade-trade Vassell
- Champ needs to actually attempt to fight through screens
- Need more effort from Fox
 
or as discussed in other threats our perimeter guys are just too dumb to play good 3 point defense ... i mean the Suns are a completely revamped team this season and they already look like they make a better job defending the 3 point line.
 
The majority of our guys are pretty poor one on one defenders. Outside of Castle and Wemby it kind of drops off from there. Sochan is overrated on defense. He is not getting it done even though with his length and build you would think he could cause more problems for the other Team. Kornet is good around the rim, but gets exposed when he is dragged outside the paint. Harper shows promise and Bryant also has upside but Bryant is still a liability on offense and lacks chemistry with the Team at this point.
 
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