Game Thread Spurs (15-7) @ Pelicans (3-21) (Mon 12/8/25) [7:00PM CDT]

[spursistan]

Some random observations after another unsightly, ugly-ass win vs the Pelicans

- This team inability to blow out/open games against crappy teams in concerning. Even the Nets rolled this godawful Pels team.
- Whatever Mitch Johnson is doing/saying during halftimes is not working. A marker of great coach is his team response out of locker room and other in-game adjustments
- I rate Sweeney and co., but the defense has gone to the dogs without Wemby. It shouldn't be THIS bad.
- Harrison Barnes is a Top 3 "Vet you would want on your young team" in the NBA
- The offense flows better with Fox/Harper as primary ball-handler than with Steph..

 

[twodeep]

With Castle back should Champagnie be starting and Vassell moved to the bench

 

[SanAnSpursFan21]

Some random observations after another unsightly, ugly-ass win vs the Pelicans

- This team inability to blow out/open games against crappy teams in concerning. Even the Nets rolled this godawful Pels team.
- Whatever Mitch Johnson is doing/saying during halftimes is not working. A marker of great coach is his team response out of locker room and other in-game adjustments
- I rate Sweeney and co., but the defense has gone to the dogs without Wemby. It shouldn't be THIS bad.
- Harrison Barnes is a Top 3 "Vet you would want on your young team" in the NBA
- The offense flows better with Fox/Harper as primary ball-handler than with Steph..

Without Barnes, this is a 40 point swing blowout for NOP

 

[twodeep]

Some random observations after another unsightly, ugly-ass win vs the Pelicans

- This team inability to blow out/open games against crappy teams in concerning. Even the Nets rolled this godawful Pels team.
- Whatever Mitch Johnson is doing/saying during halftimes is not working. A marker of great coach is his team response out of locker room and other in-game adjustments
- I rate Sweeney and co., but the defense has gone to the dogs without Wemby. It shouldn't be THIS bad.
- Harrison Barnes is a Top 3 "Vet you would want on your young team" in the NBA
- The offense flows better with Fox/Harper as primary ball-handler than with Steph..

Why are you surprised about bad defense some of us have been calling it out since game 1 when Wemby was playing. Wemby was bailing out bad team defense he cleaned up so many bad defensive series by the rest of team yes he has been that good on defense

 

[Robz4000]

Right, and that was pretty heroic. I feel like I was being careful with my words by acknowledging he has “had his moments”

I quoted that before you added on to it tbh.

 

[SanAnSpursFan21]

I quoted that before you added on to it tbh.

…but I didn’t edit it

 

[thiste]

Why do we need to compare Harper and Castle? We have them both.

Same reason we've had Tony vs Many debates for decades on Spurstalk. People are stupid.

 

[CrustyCoastBendFan]

Why are you surprised about bad defense some of us have been calling it out since game 1 when Wemby was playing. Wemby was bailing out bad team defense he cleaned up so many bad defensive series by the rest of team yes he has been that good on defense

Respect the Randomness of the Random Observation please

When the Random Spirit hits you.. it hits you

 

[Robz4000]

…but I didn’t edit it

Maybe I didn't read the whole post, getting distracted by MNF tbh.

 

[SanAnSpursFan21]

Maybe I didn't read the whole post, getting distracted by MNF tbh.

Haha no sweat, I’m picking on ya

 

[SupremeGuy]

Great fucking win tbh

These are the games we would lose for the last 7 years.

The tides are changing, bitches.

 

[NASpurs]

- The offense flows better with Fox/Harper as primary ball-handler than with Steph..

This is true. Looks like we're back in the 90s when Castle is the primary playmaker.

 

[Strategic]

Not to happy with the game but pretty happy with the W. Come on Spurs!

 

[Arguendo]

Why do we need to compare Harper and Castle? We have them both.

They also don't they the same position. So funny, Castle's a future all-D guy with good secondary playmaking, much much more Jimmy Butler with less insane FTr (although skill crazy good FTr-better than SGA this yr) then PG.
People please fucking stop this too many PG nonsense. Castle claimed to played PG in HS (maybe, more likely he was just the guy that always had the ball bc is should've always had the ball), wasn't drafted as a PG, he wasn't projected as a PG, he didn't play PG in college. He was ONLY viewed as a PG because of our need. Maybe he could've become that someday, luckily he shouldn't ever have to find out. He's our rim attacking #3 with great secondary skills, that's a great thing.

 

[SanAnSpursFan21]

Just read a stat on NBA.com saying that Kornet has the lowest opponent FG percentage at the rim in the league for a minimum of 50 attempts. Thats nuts. Too bad Dairy Queen ruined that.

 

[Arguendo]

This is true. Looks like we're back in the 90s when Castle is the primary playmaker.

Cuz he's simply not a primary creator. Why people keep referring to him as a PG is head scratching. He had the role when Fox has hurt because he had to and he avg'd 5 TOs a game in that role. He's not a PG and unless we trade him or things go horribly wrong with Fox and Harper, we'll never find out if he could even become one.
CASTLE IS NOT A POINT GUARD and he's more a 3/2 then 2/3.

 

[NASpurs]

They also don't they the same position. So funny, Castle's a future all-D guy with good secondary playmaking, much much more Jimmy Butler with less insane FTr (although skill crazy good FTr-better than SGA this yr) then PG.
People please fucking stop this too many PG nonsense. Castle player PG in HS (maybe), is wasn't drafted as a PG, he wasn't projected as a PG, he didn't play PG in college. He was ONLY viewed as a PG because of need. Maybe he could've become that, luckily he shouldn't ever have to find out. He's our rim attacking #3 with great secondary skills, that's a great thing.

I don't know about that last paragraph. Didn't he hold out or told teams he didn't want to play for them if he couldn't play PG?

 

[NASpurs]

Cuz he's simply not a primary creator. Why people keep referring to him as a PG is head scratching. He had the role when Fox has hurt because he had to and he avg'd 5 TOs a game in that role. He's not a PG and unless we trade him or things go horribly wrong with Fox and Harper, we'll never find out if he could even become one.
CASTLE IS NOT A POINT GUARD and he's more a 3/2 then 2/3.

Read my previous post.

 

[wemvp]

Really saw why the pelicans are so bad in that last possession. The play to get the pg running downhill with the ball was good, but why would you scheme Queen to be the pick and pop guy? That's stupid. If you want to pick and pop on that have Murphy set the pick up top. If you want Queen setting the pick then have him dive to the rim and rotate Murphy over the top for the kick out shot.

These fools schemed a last possession, game on the line, down by 1 kick out 3 for a big that shoots 11% from 3.

 

[ffadicted]

I don't know about that last paragraph. Didn't he hold out or told teams he didn't want to play for them if he couldn't play PG?

What Castle wants to be and what he should be might not be the same thing.

With that said I’m also just a fan of thinking more positionless, having two creators in the backcourt is fine, so I’m good with developing him as one to some extent. I think these two might be the perfect backcourt duo once they’re developed. And in the meantime we got Fox to hopefully fill the hole.

 

[Area 51.247]

I will say that the Pels actually have a pretty solid starting five, even without Zion and Dijon. Their bench is made up of YMCA stars but they’ve got a starting five of a .500 team. I really think I’d be less annoyed about this game if it were close the whole time

And it's a pretty solid starting five that is a difficult matchup for the Spurs without VW. Queen, Murphy and Jones are too quick and multidimensional for Kornet, Vassell and Barnes when they get rolling. Although he kept the team in the game in the third quarter, HB has started to run low in the fourth quarter in the last few games.

 

[Arguendo]

Most thought we’d barely have a winning record so let’s spare the melodrama. Wemby patrolling the middle makes this an entirely different game. They’d have been passing it out of the paint and bricking more 3s and long 2s with Wemby in there.

The thing that sticks out to me is Barnes and Vassell in the starting lineup. If that’s our fifth and sixth best players we need some more players. All due respect.

Can't do that, can't stop the crazy & constant overreactions. I've seen people here saying so could have the same record as the Thunder if we didn't blow double digit leads, like a double digit lead means anything in todays NBA, its like a 6 pt lead in the 90's.
We are crazy over performing considering the injuries, this would be a great start if we were totally healthy.
People are reactionary and don't have any set expectations...ugh. And can't be happy, happier being miserable.
We are on a 57 win pace and have been missing our #1 or #2 option nearly every game, nothing is good enough here because people can't have set expectations. Insane.

 

[NASpurs]

What Castle wants to be and what he should be might not be the same thing.

With that said I’m also just a fan of thinking more positionless, having two creators in the backcourt is fine, so I’m good with developing him as one to some extent. I think these two might be the perfect backcourt duo once they’re developed. And in the meantime we got Fox to hopefully fill the hole.

Yeah I'm not disagreeing with that but once again, the guy wanted to play PG for the team that drafted him when he fits more in the mold of Jimmy Butler. I love Castle though but he should really be working on that 3.

 

[SanAnSpursFan21]

And it's a pretty solid starting five that is a difficult matchup for the Spurs without VW. Queen, Murphy and Jones are too quick and multidimensional for Kornet, Vassell and Barnes when they get rolling. Although he kept the team in the game in the third quarter, HB has started to run low in the fourth quarter in the last few games.

Yeah Mr 100 is too old and doesn’t quite have that pedigree to be doing things like that every other night. I’d like to see Fox a little more consistent on the takeover

 

[Arguendo]

Same reason we've had Tony vs Many debates for decades on Spurstalk. People are stupid.

Truth, but Manu was WAY more a natural PG/playmaker than Steph. Shit I'd bet nearly 1/2 of Steph assists were lobs (and a 1/3 of his TOs). That's not a bad thing, but its no where near the passing/vision Manu had.