Game Thread Spurs (5-2) vs Rockets (6-2) (Fri 11/07/25) [6:30PM CDT] on Prime Video

[NotoriousHOP]

Watched on delay cuz I was out watching John Jay murder Southside. I'm sure it's been said ad nauseum but what possessed Barnes to play good defense today? Did Durant take his mom out for a steak dinner and never call her again? I want to see that effort all the time now that I know it's there with the proper motivation.

 

[NotoriousHOP]

I was mad when Sengun backed Wemby down slowly in the post and Wemby looked like he was just getting dominated. Then saw the replay of all the elbows Sengun threw during it and understood.

Elbows, hooks, and clear outs. It's one thing to bang but come on.

 

[spursparker9]

 

[spursparker9]

 

[spursparker9]

 

[spursparker9]

 

[spursparker9]

 

[Fireball]

first quality win of the season … anything is possible if the team shoots 40+% from three … home court advantage helps in this regard i guess
one thing is you guys should stop dreaming what this team can accomplish when fully healthy because thats not gonna happen
but i am happy with what we got right now and what we did tonight .. fuck the Rockets and that pussy runner Sengun

 

[Fireball]

We are nothing without Castle right now. Hes not perfect but hes our new heart and soul!

cant be both … keldon takes one of those …

 

[BankShot21]

Well a win is a win! Especially an NBA Cup game against division rivals, will take it.

This is not something I'm going to make a habit of keeping track of...

But several hours after this game ended (11:22p CST)

BB Game Thread: 1,108 posts
ST Game Thread: 3 posts (2 of which were by the same person)

Keep tracking it mate, it's funny stuff I just hope when it fully dies that not all the same people crash BB. It's so much more civil here, more mature, less immature shit talking and trolling. You've done well with this site and the app kudos

 

[spursparker9]

Another good analysis from youtuber. Non AI bullshit content

 

[The Truth #6]

Fox's arrival is definitely needed. It seems like the playbook on the Spurs right now is pressure our ball handlers and put a physical small forward on Wemby, and in general make the game physical and ugly and make our shooters make shots. Luckily our shooters stepped up.

 

[spursparker9]

Tbh in hindsight, this was a great great win.

Houston was coming in as the #1 offense, #1 3 pt%, #1 in rebounding % etc.

I honestly thought Spurs will lose in a blown out. Especially with the slump that Wemby has been experiencing since the Phoenix game

The 2nd half of the 2nd quarter woke Wemby up and the 3rd Quarter double team on KD seems like giving Houston a taste of their medicine for their 'strategy/treatment' on Wemby.

KJ, Castle and Champ shown a lot of heart crashing the Offensive Boards. Champ and Vassell had 4 steals each and KJ gave very good background efforts battling the strongest man in the league (Steven Adams)

Also kudos to Barnes and Champ for hitting the 3s. I can't recall when was the last time that 2 Spurs had hit six 3s each....

Getting this win is definitely a great boost to this young team's confidence!

 

[OK Computer]

Another good analysis from youtuber. Non AI bullshit content

Come on man, dont be like paramore (who I blocked) and spam the thread like that. Please keep it in one post

 

[Shmurs]

Can’t really make big sweeping statements about this team. They aren’t “good” or “bad”. They have one of the highest defensive floors in the league and will often suffocate but are undisciplined on the perimeter and let up too many open 3’s.

Their offense in the half court is extremely disorganized and sloppy. But they can also go on huge runs.

They have depth issues but Keldon can also win them games.

…it’s good that they don’t flat out suck. But we’re stuck in this “young team” mode and we should be getting more consistent. But whatever. Give me Fox, kornet and Harper and this team probably looks totally different.

 

[Sec24Row7]

Can’t really make big sweeping statements about this team. They aren’t “good” or “bad”. They have one of the highest defensive floors in the league and will often suffocate but are undisciplined on the perimeter and let up too many open 3’s.

Their offense in the half court is extremely disorganized and sloppy. But they can also go on huge runs.

They have depth issues but Keldon can also win them games.

…it’s good that they don’t flat out suck. But we’re stuck in this “young team” mode and we should be getting more consistent. But whatever. Give me Fox, kornet and Harper and this team probably looks totally different.

This is how the 02-03 team was. Super exciting but very susceptible to lose large leads and play sloppy through big stretches. We hustle and once we get defensive consistency, the sky is the limit. Young growing teams can’t figure out how to execute in the clutch any other way than trial and error. We’re closer than most people think, but we aren’t world beaters yet. Very positive signs going on though.

 

[John B]

This was a great win after that Lakers lost. Wemby didn’t fold despite getting backed-down by Sengun. It’s obvious Wemby needs to get even stronger. But I like that Wemby kept fighting. Of course great game from Castle, Keldon, Champ and Vassell. Great win..

 

[Area 51.247]

Tbh in hindsight, this was a great great win.

Houston was coming in as the #1 offense, #1 3 pt%, #1 in rebounding % etc.

I honestly thought Spurs will lose in a blown out. Especially with the slump that Wemby has been experiencing since the Phoenix game

The 2nd half of the 2nd quarter woke Wemby up and the 3rd Quarter double team on KD seems like giving Houston a taste of their medicine for their 'strategy/treatment' on Wemby.

KJ, Castle and Champ shown a lot of heart crashing the Offensive Boards. Champ and Vassell had 4 steals each and KJ gave very good background efforts battling the strongest man in the league (Steven Adams)

Also kudos to Barnes and Champ for hitting the 3s. I can't recall when was the last time that 2 Spurs had hit six 3s each....

Getting this win is definitely a great boost to this young team's confidence!

One of the pre-game posts was about the Rockets having an historic Offensive Rebounding rate. Spurs kept pace with them: 15 OR / 40 TR vs. 17 / 41.

 

[thiste]

Houston are a good team but I honestly feel like they were a significantly tougher team last season. I felt the players who were really bothering us were Fred Van Vleet, Dillon Brooks when defending Wemby, and then Jalen Green when he caught fire.
Sure, Amen is athletic, Sengun's a good player (who's never gonna be a great player) and KD is starting to show his age (I mean Harrison Barnes is having success defending you bro).

Honestly, when they traded for KD I didn't really agree with the overly optimistic reaction they got from the media, like they were gonna turn into this unbeatable team to rival OKC or something. I think people have a hard time realizing that in current year, the "idea of KD" really isn't the reality of what you're getting from him anymore. When's the last time he's been a difference maker on a real good team? (it's GSW)
That dude right now is fool's gold, just as much as Sengun is.

 

[O_V]

One of the pre-game posts was about the Rockets having an historic Offensive Rebounding rate. Spurs kept pace with them: 15 OR / 40 TR vs. 17 / 41.

And those offensive rebounds were HUGE. Almost all of them resulted in a three pointer.

 

[DAF86]

1. Victor played like shit the first quarter and a half, Charmin soft setting up at the three point line and in the corner. Rockets were getting away with guarding him with Sheppard FFS. Most frustrating quarter and a half of Spurs basketball I have seen in a long time.
2. Mitch must have gotten in Victor's ass because he spent the rest of the game setting up on the low block or the high post.
3. Once Victor got on the block it opened up a ton of open threes plus easy second chance points off misses. Champ and Unc capitalized from distance and Keldon was a terror on the offensive glass.
4. In the second half Victor would setup on the low block and then run to catch the pass a little past the FT line and started really scoring. They were forced to guard him with bigs since he went on the block and it opened up lots of midrange and driving opportunities for Victor on those high post catches.

Seemed like a very Duncan-esque performance from Victor in the final 2.5 quarters where the statline doesn't jump off the page but where everything was created by him. Very impressive game all in all even after that hideous first quarter and a half where his soft play completely destroyed the offense (Spurs would go on runs when Victor went to the bench).

The game plan should be easy for the Spurs: Wemby is being guarded by a guard or Wing, get his ass inside. Wemby is being guarded by a center, get him on the perimeter. It really should be that simple.

You are taking his matchup advantages away by having him trying to take on Reed fucking Sheppard off the drible.

 

[Shmurs]

The game plan should be easy for the Spurs: Wemby is being guarded by a guard or Wing, get his ass inside. Wemby is being guarded by a center, get him on the perimeter. It really should be that simple.

You are taking his matchup advantages away by having him trying to take Reed fucking Sheppard off the drible.

I don’t know what this offense is. I’m not an expert but winning teams usually have sort of a baseline default offense that they use as home base. This is still way too much DIY improv jazz shit when there should really be some more set actions.

 

[DAF86]

I don’t know what this offense is. I’m not an expert but winning teams usually have sort of a baseline default offense that they use as home base. This is still way too much DIY improv jazz shit when there should really be some more set actions.

Are you talking about my comment or the Spurs' offense in general this season?

If it is the former, I'm obviously not advocating for Wemby to just start freestyling every possession down the court depending on matchups. I'm talking about running a set offense, where the plays called depend on how the other team is defending your #1 option. I think that's a reasonable thing to ask, tbh.

 

[ginobilized]

The Spurs culture has benefitted from more talented players. It's obvious the whole team has bought into the ethos and they really had a strong summer of playing together and learning. Definitely a team with a mission and probably an anomaly in today's NBA. Houston was a great test and you could see that they are a collection of really good players, their communication and teamwork were lacking in the 2nd half. Once we are at full strength and get the rotations locked in, we might make some noise come playoff time if healthy. Harper and Kornet give us a huge boost.

I'm mostly psyched about the resiliency of this team to rebound from such a horrid game in PHX and the foul fest in LA. Last's year's squad didn't have the talent or the wherewithal to bounce back, or, even figure out a zone defense.

 

[Spurs Homer]

Really impressive to me- was wemby playing 37 pretty physical minutes and still looking strong in the closing moments.

First two seasons, I was begging Pop to run wemby in small shifts and also to use strategic timeouts in the 4th qtrs...to be able to keep on the court-without running him into the ground or worse- having to bench him when he was needed the most.

Ime called a few timeouts there that i was cheering for because it meant wemby could get the timeout break and not have to be subbed out.

I hope mitch does not sit wemby out tonite...but i would not be pissed if wemby played a max 30 mins- depending on the situation tonite.