Game Thread Spurs (31-15) @ Rockets (27-16) (Wed 1/28/26) [8:30PM CDT]

[Dbreiden83080]

I have no idea which Spurs team is showing up here?? Flip the coin..

 

[Ice009]

All teams have their issues tbh.. In the top 10 there are imo 3 teams better> OKC, Denver and Rockets. I'm not sure why 7 teams would have a better chance to turn it around. Spurs have a very young roster growing together including the coach, it comes with a lot of missed opportunities and game management mistakes. Spurs have significant room for improvement and are from being a finished product. Spurs are also losing bunch of games because of mn management of Victor, it is expected once they took the decision they won't compromise with preserving him no matter what... Now Mitch needs to do a better job distributing those mn but also stop the Castle handling the ball experiment and give Harper proper mn. Those 3 key elements should not be the most complicated stuff to resolve. All in all I believe Spurs deserve their standing, they benefit from some opponents fuck up or injuries but we had our share of injuries and fucks up. At the end if they can keep the 2nd seed great, if not it is also ok. What matters is get this team in the POs and build on the experience.

No, I was saying there are about 7 teams that are in better form than the Spurs are right now. The Spurs (based on form and the way they're currently playing, they're in the bottom 3 of those top 10 teams). I wasn't saying that 7 of those teams are better than the Spurs (if the Spurs play to their potential that is).

If the Spurs keep playing like this all the way until the end of the season, that might be the case, but based on how teams are looking, the Spurs are in the bottom three of those top 10 teams right now. Only Minnesota, and the Lakers are playing as bad as the Spurs, but I believe those two can/will most likely get better (Lakers might improve a bit when Austin Reaves is back and Minnesota have made the last two WCF, so I trust they'll turn it around too at some point). Even the 10th place Clippers have been playing much, much better than what the Spurs have been lately. I'd be more expecting teams like Portland, GSW, Phoenix to not play as well the rest of the season, but right now, those three teams are/had been playing well. The Suns could drop quite a bit due to Devin Booker's injury (I don't know how serious it is and how much time he'll miss. Not sure on Jalen Green's status either).

 

[scott]

ohhh drama

Drama... or.....

[SETTING: A PLUSH CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE ROCK, BIG RED AND PAN DULCE ARE PROVIDED]

Devin Vassell: Hey guys, I called this meeting because we've got to talk about handling runs.

Keldon Johnson: ARF ARF

De'Aaron Fox: Yeah, it's crazy... [looks down at a stat sheet]... we're leading the league in most 10-point leads blown. We can't do that and expect to win.

Victor Wembanyama: By three methods we may learn wisdom: First by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Harrison Barnes: ........

Devin Vassell: So what are we going to do guys?!?!?

Stephon Castle: Charges across the room and launches himself into a conference table, splitting in half.

 

[Rafa]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2015618332091683056

Accountability by the players is great and I hope this was a serious meeting with some reflection by everyone. Honestly just stopping jacking up 3s when they aren’t going in is a great start lol

With that said though this is still a team that is too young imo to figure it out themselves. Guidance and reflection also needs to come from our coaching staff. Something something definition of insanity after all. Why not try to switch up our guard responsibility and rotations for a couple games? Why not bench Barnes and run with Dev and Julian when he’s fully back? Why not revamp the way we’re approaching sets on the O end? Why not give the bench guys the opportunity to close out games when they’re the ones that bring us back, or if the starters lose the leads?

Try other stuff man, it’s been almost a month now where we havnt looked good and we keep hammering our heads against the wall doing the same things, when we win it’s because Fox or Wemby carry or Julian goes nuclear. When we lose it’s always the same tired excuses of “physicality” rather than “we just didn’t have a good gameplan”

 

[benefactor]

It would be nice to win this one. Depends on which Spurs team shows up.

I'll say Spurs 105-100.

It appears this is always what it depends on these days. Maybe those running the show need to figure out how to run a consistent ship

 

[spurs10]

Accountability by the players is great and I hope this was a serious meeting with some reflection by everyone. Honestly just stopping jacking up 3s when they aren’t going in is a great start lol

With that said though this is still a team that is too young imo to figure it out themselves. Guidance and reflection also needs to come from our coaching staff. Something something definition of insanity after all. Why not try to switch up our guard responsibility and rotations for a couple games? Why not bench Barnes and run with Dev and Julian when he’s fully back? Why not revamp the way we’re approaching sets on the O end? Why not give the bench guys the opportunity to close out games when they’re the ones that bring us back, or if the starters lose the leads?

Try other stuff man, it’s been almost a month now where we havnt looked good and we keep hammering our heads against the wall doing the same things, when we win it’s because Fox or Wemby carry or Julian goes nuclear. When we lose it’s always the same tired excuses of “physicality” rather than “we just didn’t have a good gameplan”

Yep, "stop jacking up 3s when they aren't going in" is indeed a good starting point. It seems to be a consistent theme in our close loses, along with TOs. Another long 3 days and back at it against one of our main contenders. After their team meeting I hope they all practiced their free throws for a few hours.

 

[spursistan]

Alarm bells should ring loud if we don't get a reaction from this team in this game after the last performance vs Pelicans and the same Rockets a mere week ago.

 

[BatManu20]

Dylan will definitely be there.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2015867840042021091

 

[RC_Drunkford]

Dylan will definitely be there.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2015867840042021091

Steph should be there too

 

[Robz4000]

Alarm bells should ring loud if we don't get a reaction from this team in this game after the last performance vs Pelicans the same Rockets a mere week ago.

Alarm bells have been ringing loud for a month tbh.

 

[BatManu20]

Steph should be there too

Yea he likely will be despite his recent struggles.

 

[BatManu20]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2015855506620035576

 

[Mugen]

Win would be nice but a blowout loss would be objectively hilarious on this site tbh

 

[spursistan]

Alarm bells have been ringing loud for a month tbh.

Yeah, but this feels like one of those rare regular season gut ckeck games. And it starts with Wemby who has been made to look so mediocre or ordinary every time he played the Udoka, Sengun-led Rockets for three years now.

 

[Robz4000]

Yeah, but this feels like of those rare regular season gut ckeck games. And it starts with Wemby who has been made to look so mediocre or ordinary every time he played the Udoka, Sengun-led Rockets for three years now.

Unfortunately that isn't changing in this game tbh.

 

[LeBowen]

Win would be nice but a blowout loss would be objectively hilarious on this site tbh

Winning in Houston and losing against the Hornets would be the worst case scenario.
Nothing I hate more that mentally weak teams that can't be assed to put effort into every game.

 

[SupremeGuy]

We've lost a bunch of games that we should have won; true.

But shit we're still in the mix and haven't tapped our ceiling.

Nothing Mitch can do when the team is missing open 3s tbh.

 

[LeBowen]

Nothing Mitch can do when the team is missing open 3s tbh.

How many of those 3s are actually open, though?
OKC won the championship by barely shooting above 30% from 3pt as a team, we can't fall into the most idiotic modern NBA trap.

 

[spursistan]

Winning in Houston and losing against the Hornets would be the worst case scenario.
Nothing I hate more that mentally weak teams that can't be assed to put effort into every game.

It is literally what this team is made of; they get too high after signature/milestone wins (remember the 5-0 start festivities followed up by the Suns stinker ). That's why beating Houston and losing to the Hornets is the most likely scenario here.

 

[Exstatic]

We've lost a bunch of games that we should have won; true.

But shit we're still in the mix and haven't tapped our ceiling.

Nothing Mitch can do when the team is missing open 3s tbh.

Most of the bitch and moan society would have been doing cartwheels if they were put in a Time Machine in July, and allowed to see today’s standings. Fuck! Second in the West at the end of January!

Some people are just never happy in the moment. Everything comes up short. If you hand them $5, no strings,they’ll say that the coffee they want is $7.50. If you hand them $1,000, they’ll say that newest unpaid bill is $1,500.

 

[Exstatic]

How many of those 3s are actually open, though?
OKC won the championship by barely shooting above 30% from 3pt as a team, we can't fall into the most idiotic modern NBA trap.

OKC has a very specific way they attack the lead ball handler on teams to turn them over, and generate easy points, coupled with one of the great foul merchants of all time.

 

[LeBowen]

It is literally what this team is made of; they get too high after signature/milestone wins (remember the 5-0 start festivities followed up by the Suns stinker ). That's why beating Houston and losing to the Hornets is the most likely scenario here.

A stinker here and there happens to everyone, we have a systematic problem.

Most of the bitch and moan society would have been doing cartwheels if they were put in a Time Machine in July, and allowed to see today’s standings. Fuck! Second in the West at the end of January!

That's why context matters.
We're trending downwards in every possible metric and if not for Wemby's amazing month, we'd be on our way towards the play-in.

I expected a rough start and for the team to find their chemistry around Christmas, instead it's the other way around.
And I'm not talking about wins, but the horrible product we've been watching over the past month.

OKC has a very specific way they attack the lead ball handler on teams to turn them over, and generate easy points, coupled with one of the great foul merchants of all time.

All I'm trying to say is that we can't be a team that lives and dies by the 3 with this personnel.
We have just Keldon shooting 38% or more from 3pt and he's doing it on low volume.

The Nuggets have 4 starters shooting 42% (!!!) or better.
Then 5 more players shooting 39% or better.
Their worst shooter is better than our best.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

the Spurs problems are pretty easy to fix. Go to any Spurs podcast or space and everybody will tell you the same thing. Which makes it that much more frustrating that Mitch doesn't seem to understand it.

If you can't score, bench Castle and play Fox/Wemby with 3 shooters. Vassell, Champ and one of Barnes/Keldon. Then they can pick & roll teams to death with enough space to operate.

If you play Fox/Castle let Fox be the main ballhandler and use Castle as a screener and roll man. Castle is the best screener in the starting line up. If he rolls he's already in the paint coming downhill. So he either gets to the basket or can playmake out of the short roll, which is a key to create ball movement.

If teams switch the pick and roll, Fox got a big wing on him and can get into the lane.

And post Wemby up in different areas of the floor, instead of doing the same shit all the time. Get him some touches on the left block instead of those top of the key post ups. That stuff is too predictable, you gotta mix it up.

 

[brazil]

No, I was saying there are about 7 teams that are in better form than the Spurs are right now. The Spurs (based on form and the way they're currently playing, they're in the bottom 3 of those top 10 teams). I wasn't saying that 7 of those teams are better than the Spurs (if the Spurs play to their potential that is).

If the Spurs keep playing like this all the way until the end of the season, that might be the case, but based on how teams are looking, the Spurs are in the bottom three of those top 10 teams right now. Only Minnesota, and the Lakers are playing as bad as the Spurs, but I believe those two can/will most likely get better (Lakers might improve a bit when Austin Reaves is back and Minnesota have made the last two WCF, so I trust they'll turn it around too at some point). Even the 10th place Clippers have been playing much, much better than what the Spurs have been lately. I'd be more expecting teams like Portland, GSW, Phoenix to not play as well the rest of the season, but right now, those three teams are/had been playing well. The Suns could drop quite a bit due to Devin Booker's injury (I don't know how serious it is and how much time he'll miss. Not sure on Jalen Green's status either).

oh ok I get your point

 

[Mugen]

Winning in Houston and losing against the Hornets would be the worst case scenario.
Nothing I hate more that mentally weak teams that can't be assed to put effort into every game.

Worst case scenario would still be losing to the fucking Rockets tbh