Game Thread Spurs vs Loong Lions (Mon 10/6/25) [7:00PM CDT]

[heyheymymy]

Wemby on good to great: "I probably turned down a shot I can make with my eyes closed, but that was to get one of my teammates a shot he can make in his sleep."

 

[spursparker9]

Kornet and Wemby might rival the Joker-Aaron Gordon 1-2 combo

 

[John B]

Kornet and Wemby might rival the Joker-Aaron Gordon 1-2 combo

Yup but how about that Lively, AD, Flagg SL the Mavs put out last night??

 

[Rocalcio]

TBQH feels like the kind of game that we should take it easy but Victor will be back from injury with a vengeance and drop 40/12/5 with 6 blocks in 18 minutes then go meditate in the locker room

Not that far

 

[ginobilized]

That was a sweet exhibition and glimpse of what lies ahead for this Spurs team. Completely different vibe compared to last season. Some takeaways from this statistical sampling of 1:

- Our big rotation with Wemby, Kornet, Lunch Lady, Biyombo and Sochan should be very competitive. We now have rim protection for 48 mins if needed
- Playing without KO, DV, JS, DF, & DH (5 NBA caliber players) shows the depth on this squad and the embarrassment of lineup riches we contain
- If Carter Bryant can step successfully into the role he played last night, I believe there are some minutes for him. Very promising.
- The coaching vibe between MJ & Sweeney looks cohesive and collaborative already. It's nice to have modernized the coaching staff.
- DJG needs to find his footing within the Spurs new system. He looks like a street-baller at times
- Champagnie/Waters/Barnes are capable shooters. Champagnie makes so much sense in the SL to me.
- KJ may be useful as a gutsy bench wing/banger. He's accepted his role changes well and wouldn't be the worst 8th-10th man in the league.
- My slight conspiratorial & idealistic inclinations make me wonder if DV & Sochan are part of an upcoming trade

 

[Shmurs]

Keldon accepted his role 2 years ago. Why is he being treated like he’s in flux somehow. Hes been the exact same guy for a while and he’s now middle aged, career-wise. Terrible 8-10 on a contender. Great on the wizards.

 

[Ariel]

That was a sweet exhibition and glimpse of what lies ahead for this Spurs team. Completely different vibe compared to last season. Some takeaways from this statistical sampling of 1:

- Our big rotation with Wemby, Kornet, Lunch Lady, Biyombo and Sochan should be very competitive. We now have rim protection for 48 mins if needed
- Playing without KO, DV, JS, DF, & DH (5 NBA caliber players) shows the depth on this squad and the embarrassment of lineup riches we contain
- If Carter Bryant can step successfully into the role he played last night, I believe there are some minutes for him. Very promising.
- The coaching vibe between MJ & Sweeney looks cohesive and collaborative already. It's nice to have modernized the coaching staff.
- DJG needs to find his footing within the Spurs new system. He looks like a street-baller at times
- Champagnie/Waters/Barnes are capable shooters. Champagnie makes so much sense in the SL to me.
- KJ may be useful as a gutsy bench wing/banger. He's accepted his role changes well and wouldn't be the worst 8th-10th man in the league.
- My slight conspiratorial & idealistic inclinations make me wonder if DV & Sochan are part of an upcoming trade

I tend to agree. Time is ticking for both DV and Sochan, if Spurs can recoup any value they should move them. If not maybe give Sochan this season to prove himself, but trade scenarios involving Vassell should be explored starting now.

 

[LeBowen]

I was fully against twin tower lineups unless it was matchup specific and I don't think Kornet starts, but at this point it's about playing the best players.
And Kornet should get way more than just 15mpg he can get as Wemby's backup.
Might be an overreaction, but until Castle and Harper grow into their roles he might just be the third best player on the team after Wemby and Fox.
He's exactly the type of player we need if we're to be over .500.

Even if we don't want to use twin tower lineups, we'll have to simply because we don't have any legit PFs other than Jeremy and even he's too small in a lot of matchups.
Chet, Smith Jr, Lebron, Gordon, Randle, JJJ, AD, Zion, Markkanen are all too big for any of our wings to handle.

I guess we'll see around 15mpg of Wemby-Kornet.
Unless he fixes his shot, I don't think Castle will be playing in those lineups.

As for Champ, for about a year now I've been saying he's the perfect starting SF.
He's not a high end starter and he doesn't have to play 30mpg, but he's the textbook example of what we need.
Has enough size, isn't a negative on defense, doesn't need the ball, is fine if he doesn't get shots, but is always ready and is a very good shooter, knows how to move off the ball.

 

[spurraider21]

It was an exhibition game against a CBA team. I remember Zollins/Wemby lineups with point Sochan having strong numbers in that preseason too

Fan of Kornet here, but other than noting that they are at least giving the 2-big lineup a shot, I’m not going to reach any conclusions about the results yet

 

[Shmurs]

I was fully against twin tower lineups unless it was matchup specific and I don't think Kornet starts, but at this point it's about playing the best players.
And Kornet should get way more than just 15mpg he can get as Wemby's backup.
Might be an overreaction, but until Castle and Harper grow into their roles he might just be the third best player on the team after Wemby and Fox.
He's exactly the type of player we need if we're to be over .500.

Even if we don't want to use twin tower lineups, we'll have to simply because we don't have any legit PFs other than Jeremy and even he's too small in a lot of matchups.
Chet, Smith Jr, Lebron, Gordon, Randle, JJJ, AD, Zion, Markkanen are all too big for any of our wings to handle.

I guess we'll see around 15mpg of Wemby-Kornet.
Unless he fixes his shot, I don't think Castle will be playing in those lineups.

As for Champ, for about a year now I've been saying he's the perfect starting SF.
He's not a high end starter and he doesn't have to play 30mpg, but he's the textbook example of what we need.
Has enough size, isn't a negative on defense, doesn't need the ball, is fine if he doesn't get shots, but is always ready and is a very good shooter, knows how to move off the ball.

Can Champ guard 1-3? Thinking that Fox, Champ, Barnes, Kornett and Wemby may be tbe best offensive unit available but I don’t know how the perimeter D would work.

 

[Thoodee]

Yup but how about that Lively, AD, Flagg SL the Mavs put out last night??

while still almost criminally reckless not getting more for luka, the more time that passes the more I understand trading luka was definitely the right move. Mann how lucky is nico to have flagg fall in his lap.

 

[Sugus]

while still almost criminally reckless not getting more for luka, the more time that passes the more I understand trading luka was definitely the right move. Mann how lucky is nico to have flagg fall in his lap.

AD alone would have never been as competitive as the Luka Mavs were (they had reached the Finals the season before!!!). Without Flagg """falling""" to their lap, the Mavs would be severely fucked, and back to a rebuilding/flux state as opposed to "retool and get back to the Finals" mode like they should've been.

Whatever you think about Luka was already said about Dirk before 2011.

 

[Sugus]

It was an exhibition game against a CBA team. I remember Zollins/Wemby lineups with point Sochan having strong numbers in that preseason too

Fan of Kornet here, but other than noting that they are at least giving the 2-big lineup a shot, I’m not going to reach any conclusions about the results yet

That may just show how valuable Wemby can be on 2-big lineups, regardless of his pair, instead of his pair's value itself.

The clear chemistry between Wemby and Kornet alone was a takeaway! That has nothing to do with the competition level, Wemby was really looking out for passes to him, it's great to see.

A closing lineup of Fox, Harper/Castle, Bryant, Wemby, Kornet.............

 

[LeBowen]

Can Champ guard 1-3? Thinking that Fox, Champ, Barnes, Kornett and Wemby may be tbe best offensive unit available but I don’t know how the perimeter D would work.

I don't think Champ is quick enough for guards.

My preferred one big lineup would be Fox/Castle/Champ/Barnes/Wemby.
If we're talking twin towers, then one of Champ/Barnes sits and I'd even say Castle for Devin because we need spacing.
Perimeter defense would suffer, maybe Harper could play the SG if he's capable enough defensively and from 3pt.

The biggest question mark is perimeter defense from our guards.
We'll see how Fox does when he doesn't have to carry such a heavy offensive load and when he finally has a rim protector behind him.

 

[couchman]

I think it's easy to draw too many conclusions from a game against a wildly inferior opponent.
That being said, here are my overreactions:

- Wemby looks amazing. I loved the emphasis on passing. He is stronger than ever, and it shows. He's also still trying to do too much. I want fewer turnovers and a more controlled game. We're in for a treat this year with him.
- Kornet will be a solid player for us. I've always thought Wemby would play well with another quality big, but the closest he's ever come to that is Rudy 'stone hands" Gobert. Last night gave glimpses of what a good twin tower with Wemby could be.
- Keldon looks washed. I know his stats were good but his game has not progressed at all. Thankfully he only has 2 seasons left on his contract. Maybe we try to showcase him for a trade? I'd rather play Champ and Waters, two guys who actually fit the mold of wing players we need around Wemby.
- Carter Bryant looks really good when given a very simple set of things to do. Hopefully the game slows down for him so that he can use those abilities on the main squad. I still expect a lot of Austin time for him.
- We really missed having PGs last night. Ironic that people are so worried about us having too many and now all of them are injured. Hopefully they all come back and create a PG "problem" for us this season.

 

[Rocalcio]

nice to see them trying the 2-big thing again. it failed pretty badly with Zollins but being able to succeed with 2 bigs could let us be one of those matchup problem teams. with that said, im not reading too much into how it looks against this team. i remember in the olympics france looked good with gobert/wemby lineup against scrub country like Turkey but had to go away from it later

with that said, wemby just looks very sloppy

Turkey was in the finale for the last Eurobasket, it’s not a scrub team

 

[Shmurs]

I think it's easy to draw too many conclusions from a game against a wildly inferior opponent.
That being said, here are my overreactions:

- Wemby looks amazing. I loved the emphasis on passing. He is stronger than ever, and it shows. He's also still trying to do too much. I want fewer turnovers and a more controlled game. We're in for a treat this year with him.
- Kornet will be a solid player for us. I've always thought Wemby would play well with another quality big, but the closest he's ever come to that is Rudy 'stone hands" Gobert. Last night gave glimpses of what a good twin tower with Wemby could be.
- Keldon looks washed. I know his stats were good but his game has not progressed at all. Thankfully he only has 2 seasons left on his contract. Maybe we try to showcase him for a trade? I'd rather play Champ and Waters, two guys who actually fit the mold of wing players we need around Wemby.
- Carter Bryant looks really good when given a very simple set of things to do. Hopefully the game slows down for him so that he can use those abilities on the main squad. I still expect a lot of Austin time for him.
- We really missed having PGs last night. Ironic that people are so worried about us having too many and now all of them are injured. Hopefully they all come back and create a PG "problem" for us this season.

If I had to guess, I’d say Wemby is preparing for high tempo this preseason. Hes taking the ball up court and playing with pace in ways we’ve never seen.

State run media says tempo is a big part of this year with Fox. I think Wemby’s noodling around with that concept.

 

[spurraider21]

Turkey was in the finale for the last Eurobasket, it’s not a scrub team

turkey was absolutely a scrub team. they didnt even qualify for the actual olympic games, and france destroyed them in a friendly using a lineup that was abysmal against real teams

 

[Neuromancer]

Turkey was in the finale for the last Eurobasket, it’s not a scrub team

Fucking Dennis Schroeder was the Eurobasket MVP. That should tell you all you need to know about the competition level

 

[Rocalcio]

Fucking Dennis Schroeder was the Eurobasket MVP. That should tell you all you need to know about the competition level

You american guys still don’t realize the level of foreign (and especially European) players. Just have a look at the NBA MVP list.
Schroeder was the MVP because his team won the competition, but he wasn’t the best player in my opinion. Doncic, Markkanen and Sengun were just monsters.

 

[Neuromancer]

You american guys still don’t realize the level of foreign (and especially European) players. Just have a look at the NBA MVP list.
Schroeder was the MVP because his team won the competition, but he wasn’t the best player in my opinion. Doncic, Markkanen and Sengun were just monsters.

Yes, we understand that all star level players are still all star level players overseas. It's the rest of their teams that are garbage outside of them

 

[Rocalcio]

Yes, we understand that all star level players are still all star level players overseas. It's the rest of their teams that are garbage outside of them

Outside of Sengun, Turkey could count on Larkin (it pisses me off that it’s an American naturalized player…), Osmani and Osman (yes the guy that left the Spurs for free, he had an amazing Eurobasket)

 

[spurraider21]

Outside of Sengun, Turkey could count on Larkin (it pisses me off that it’s an American naturalized player…), Osmani and Osman (yes the guy that left the Spurs for free, he had an amazing Eurobasket)

my guy these were the guys who suited up for turkey in the game im referencing

 

[Neuromancer]

Outside of Sengun, Turkey could count on Larkin (it pisses me off that it’s an American naturalized player…), Osmani and Osman (yes the guy that left the Spurs for free, he had an amazing Eurobasket)

Outside of Sengun those are nobodies. Kind of proving my point man

 

[LeBowen]

Fwiw, Osmani outplayed Giannis in that semi-final game.