Game Thread Spurs (25-9) vs Trailblazers (15-20) (Sat 01/03/26) [7:00 PM CDT]

scott said:
Could we possible win a title this year? Maybe. But our team has zero playoff experience to carry us to that kind of run. Do you want to go all in with future assets and cap inflexibility to take a chance that we buck history and make a championship run with this inexperienced squad? That's not a bet I'd personally make at this juncture.

I think you're just too impatient. We're on the right path, let's let it play out. This FO has demonstrated they have a plan, and right now the plan is ahead of schedule. No need to make rash moves like HOU and ORL did. I'd rather stay patient and follow Spurs-protege Sam Presti's approach. They figured out what they needed after they got bounced by DAL, and went out and got iHart and Caruso. We have our core, we just need those fringe moves. It one appears now, I'm sure the team will jump on it... but if it doesn't, the only way to force it is by overpaying. I'll pass on that.
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Sorry, but did my posts lead you to believe I'm suggesting we go all in?
I don't think I ever said that.
I'd draw the line at trading one of those Hawks picks if there's a deal for a high end starter to be made, nothing more.
I wouldn't touch any of the 2028 and onward stuff because all those picks have swaps attached and we have no clue how good/bad will those teams be at that point.

Also, considering how effective Wemby/Kornet lineups have been, I wonder if Wright is considering bringing in a PF/C hybrid that has legit size and a solid 3pt shot.
Aldama would be ideal.

I think the biggest issue for us in the playoff will be lack of size on the wings. Who's going to contain Gordon/Randle/Lebron/KD? It's unfair to expect much from Castle in those matchups.
That's why we could potentially flip the script on those teams and play double big lineups, let those wings that are used to bullying opponents worry about matching up with Wemby.
 
LeBowen said:
Sorry, but did my posts lead you to believe I'm suggesting we go all in?
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Because the context of the convo is HOU and ORL, and that is what they did (and have gotten worse for it). Sorry if I misunderstood your point, but that was the starting place: I mentioned HOU and ORL and you said we're different because of Wemby. We probably were just going in different directions with the conversation though, so I'll apologize for that.
 
scott said:
Because the context of the convo is HOU and ORL, and that is what they did (and have gotten worse for it). Sorry if I misunderstood your point, but that was the starting place: I mentioned HOU and ORL and you said we're different because of Wemby. We probably were just going in different directions with the conversation though, so I'll apologize for that.
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No need to apologize, I made the comparison because the other day someone had a good point that even though we're in a similar situation to the Rockets, our firepower should be considerably better in the playoffs.
Despite the inexperience, I'd expect Wemby/Fox to be way better than FVV/Sengun were last year against the Warriors.
And they would've still won that series if Green wasn't at 13ppg on 37% FG.

We have our fair share of 3pt shooting issues, but Magic spacing last season was straight from the 90s.

While we'll surely struggle because our role players don't provide enough spacing, I'll trust Wemby and Fox to deliver 50ppg on good efficency in the playoffs.

We're just too traumatized by all the years of awfulness to accept that this team is good despite it's current issues.
How good? We'll have to wait and see.
 
LeBowen said:
No need to apologize, I made the comparison because the other day someone had a good point that even though we're in a similar situation to the Rockets, our firepower should be considerably better in the playoffs.
Despite the inexperience, I'd expect Wemby/Fox to be way better than FVV/Sengun were last year against the Warriors.
And they would've still won that series if Green wasn't at 13ppg on 37% FG.

We have our fair share of 3pt shooting issues, but Magic spacing last season was straight from the 90s.

While we'll surely struggle because our role players don't provide enough spacing, I'll trust Wemby and Fox to deliver 50ppg on good efficency in the playoffs.

We're just too traumatized by all the years of awfulness to accept that this team is good despite it's current issues.
How good? We'll have to wait and see.
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I'm just hoping for a second round appearance where we learn about the non Wemby/Fox/Castle/Harper guys on our roster.

IMO, we'll need to do some reconfiguring of the other pieces, notably Vassell/Champ/Keldon/Barnes/Bryant/Sochan. The problem is right now we don't know who are going to be the playoff gamers and who are not (well, we know it is very much unlikely to be Sochan, and Barnes has shown in the past it's not likely to be him... but he's still a key vet piece for us right now).

That's part of my hesitation with wanting to do something too major right now. Some of those guys will need to be upgraded... but what if we send Vassell out and it turns out he's the playoff gamer (for someone else) and Keldon turns out to be a playoff dud? [Note: this is a hypothetical, not a prediction, I'm not trying to argue over whether or not Keldon will be good in the playoffs]. So... I hate to use the phrase, but that's kind of why I want to "see what we have". Because we need some playoff experience for our Big 4 anyway, I'm willing to be patient this season. If we were now in the 3rd consecutive season of capping out in the WC Semis, I'd have a different opinion.
 
scott said:
I'm just hoping for a second round appearance where we learn about the non Wemby/Fox/Castle/Harper guys on our roster.

IMO, we'll need to do some reconfiguring of the other pieces, notably Vassell/Champ/Keldon/Barnes/Bryant/Sochan. The problem is right now we don't know who are going to be the playoff gamers and who are not (well, we know it is very much unlikely to be Sochan, and Barnes has shown in the past it's not likely to be him... but he's still a key vet piece for us right now).

That's part of my hesitation with wanting to do something too major right now. Some of those guys will need to be upgraded... but what if we send Vassell out and it turns out he's the playoff gamer (for someone else) and Keldon turns out to be a playoff dud? [Note: this is a hypothetical, not a prediction, I'm not trying to argue over whether or not Keldon will be good in the playoffs]. So... I hate to use the phrase, but that's kind of why I want to "see what we have". Because we need some playoff experience for our Big 4 anyway, I'm willing to be patient this season. If we were now in the 3rd consecutive season of capping out in the WC Semis, I'd have a different opinion.
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Great thoughts, and you are not alone. I am loving the run so far this year, but it's also why I'm not going to freak out over these bump in the road games like last night against Portland. Even the bonafide best teams have hiccups along the way.

We are still well ahead of schedule...hell, we have the third-best record in the NBA in early January. But that doesn't mean people should start planning time off or booking trips for a long playoff run. The wheels could come off and that's fine.

I've seen people comparing us to Houston of last year and, if that's the case, it's still not the end of the world. Make the playoffs, hopefully win a round or maybe two, and get some experience. Anything else is probably expecting too much for a team this young and inexperienced.
 
Dex said:
Great thoughts, and you are not alone. I am loving the run so far this year, but it's also why I'm not going to freak out over these bump in the road games like last night against Portland. Even the bonafide best teams have hiccups along the way.

We are still well ahead of schedule...hell, we have the third-best record in the NBA in early January. But that doesn't mean people should start planning time off or booking trips for a long playoff run. The wheels could come off and that's fine.

I've seen people comparing us to Houston of last year and, if that's the case, it's still not the end of the world. Make the playoffs, hopefully win a round or maybe two, and get some experience. Anything else is probably expecting too much for a team this young and inexperienced.
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I think being Houston of last year is a great place to be. I think Houston kind of screwed it up by going hard at KD instead of sticking with their plan.

@LeBowen rightfully pointed out that we're a little different from them in that we have a Top-5 player on our roster, and they did not... but IMO they were trending in the right direction and I personally wouldn't have pushed the chips in on KD like they did, though the really didn't give up too much. I think Brooks was the biggest loss of the whole deal, as he was a huge part of their defensive identity. Personally I would have kept Brooks and selected Coward at #10 and kept growing! Maybe they could have tried something else where they attached a pick to Jalen Green and tried to get a proven PG?

In the end, who knows about HOU and they're only a game behind us in the loss column... but f them... lol... but, I don't mind being compared to where they were a year ago! We just have to make the right decisions in the offseason.
 
scott said:
I think being Houston of last year is a great place to be. I think Houston kind of screwed it up by going hard at KD instead of sticking with their plan.

@LeBowen rightfully pointed out that we're a little different from them in that we have a Top-5 player on our roster, and they did not... but IMO they were trending in the right direction and I personally wouldn't have pushed the chips in on KD like they did, though the really didn't give up too much. I think Brooks was the biggest loss of the whole deal, as he was a huge part of their defensive identity. Personally I would have kept Brooks and selected Coward at #10 and kept growing! Maybe they could have tried something else where they attached a pick to Jalen Green and tried to get a proven PG?

In the end, who knows about HOU and they're only a game behind us in the loss column... but f them... lol... but, I don't mind being compared to where they were a year ago! We just have to make the right decisions in the offseason.
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FVV's pre-season injury made a major difference in how HOU's bet on KD has played out.
 
heyheymymy said:
What a great night, got both windfalls for our team.
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Wow. I did not expect OKC to lose, or even Denver. Like SR21 said, though, OKC loss doesn't really matter. I would have rather of had Phoenix lose.

I also just watched the Portland game for the first time earlier today and am surprised we lost. I can't believe how bad the shooting is right now. Spurs need to try and get another shooter. I'd even be alright with Doug McDermott at this stage. The lack of shooting is really killing the team. Players are passing up some good shots too. Then, the defense also sucks on stopping the other team from hitting threes (nothing no one already knows).

Harrison Barnes is especially bad. I really like the idea someone came up with about starting Julian at PF since he is a better defender than Harrison and also much better rebounder. I wonder if that could work even with him being a bit shorter?

I even wonder if the Spurs could somehow get Julian's brother. I think he would help more than Harrison Barnes too (not sure how good his brother's defense is, though). I think he brother is more a PF/SF whereas Julian is a SF/PF position player. Both are a bit undersized, though, but with Victor next to them, maybe it could work? Edit : Might be wrong, seems Justin is a SF or even SG rather than PF. Is he shorter than Julian? It says he is, but I thought they were the same height.
 
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spurraider21 said:
i dont think OKC losing matters much tbh. even with that loss, they are 4 ahead of us in the loss column
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I agree. It's just a thing in the standings to watch but I don't feel like it's an actual race rn. Still crazy how much changes in a month talking about GSW's record and now OKC are 2-5 in last 7 against +.500 and one of those two saw Curry and I think Jimmy sit out. And wasn't the easier part of Thunder's schedule front loaded this season? Who knows what can happen but OKC is still the team to beat imo even if there is reevaluation on untouchable currently. Not like Spurs aren't having issues of their own.
 
heyheymymy said:
I agree. It's just a thing in the standings to watch but I don't feel like it's an actual race rn. Still crazy how much changes in a month talking about GSW's record and now OKC are 2-5 in last 7 against +.500 and one of those two saw Curry and I think Jimmy sit out. And wasn't the easier part of Thunder's schedule front loaded this season? Who knows what can happen but OKC is still the team to beat imo even if there is reevaluation on untouchable currently. Not like Spurs aren't having issues of their own.
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yeah OKC has had a light schedule so far but to be fair, so have the spurs

OKC has the hardest remaining strength of schedule, but the spurs have the 6th hardest remaining
 
spurraider21 said:
yeah OKC has had a light schedule so far but to be fair, so have the spurs

OKC has the hardest remaining strength of schedule, but the spurs have the 6th hardest remaining
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And the recent UTH, CLE and POR losses for SA probably sailed whatever distant possibility there was if ever. Perhaps windfall was the wrong word in terms of immediate standings context. I just like to see OKC lose.
 
heyheymymy said:
And the recent UTH, CLE and POR losses for SA probably sailed whatever distant possibility there was if ever. Perhaps windfall was the wrong word in terms of immediate standings context. I just like to see OKC lose.
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i can stomach a loss to the cavs. theyre a good team and their record this year doesnt reflect how good this team has been in recent seasons or how good they should be.

losing to utah was a f'n joke, and we probably win 2 of those 3 games if our staff didnt treat wemby like a make a wish hemophiliac or something
 
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Spurs are on the cusp of something great but the team is still young and inexperienced to the point we've all tempered expectations this season.That Utah loss and really the general vibe since the OKC/Vegas Cup rush is unacceptable for what our lofty goals are and felt like slipping back to dark ages. I view CLE as a very good test as well but wanted to see the Spurs win since we already lost to them earlier this season, Dec 5. A win would've suggested some progression I think but now it feels like good teams like CLE can just have our number insurmountably. GSW 2x, PHX 2x all 7-8 seeds rn. UTH and POR can be gritty especially POR has had some quality wins (DEN, OKC, BOS, SAS) but those are just games you have to win to be next level imho. Patience with the process.
 
Hopefully SPAM is a thing this year. I know the Spurs of the past were already playoff tested and had the rings to back it up, but they would always have a low point right before March. I hope this isn't the 2011 Spurs where they peaked too early and ran out of gas towards the end of the season.
 
timtonymanu said:
Hopefully SPAM is a thing this year. I know the Spurs of the past were already playoff tested and had the rings to back it up, but they would always have a low point right before March. I hope this isn't the 2011 Spurs where they peaked too early and ran out of gas towards the end of the season.
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that would happen naturally if they allow wemby to play his full minutes.
 
spurraider21 said:
yeah OKC has had a light schedule so far but to be fair, so have the spurs

OKC has the hardest remaining strength of schedule, but the spurs have the 6th hardest remaining
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I'm a fan of CraftedNBA's SOS calculations.

By theirs, we've actually had the 6th toughest SOS to date (OKC has had the easiest). We don't catch any breaks though, with the 4th toughest schedule remaining (OKC has the 2nd). Usually you expect these things to balance out, but we've had the 2nd unluckiest schedule so far (meaning we've caught teams when they've been strongest... those two GSW games come to mind)


The Hawks indeed have an easiest schedule, but their next two weeks is actually a little bit of a tough stretch so we really need them to go on another big tailspin.
 
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