San Antonio Spurs 2020-21 Season Thread: Puro Pinche Loteria

[Radical Larry 28,498]

Some front court depth.

[Radical Larry 28,498]

[XYZ 2,154]

On 3/25/2021 at 10:33 PM, BurdineBandit said:

I've kinda been checking in and out of games this year, watching in the background, and haven't gotten a good feel for what's wrong with this team. The defense seems to be off, and our offense seems to have a lot of slashers that otherwise struggle to create for themselves. Unfortunately Derrick White isn't making the impact as a creator I'd hoped he would make since coming back.

This is all fuckface’s fault. Fuck that guy.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,502]

I guess Dieng looked around and said fuck playing for a ring, let me go find some playing time and get me a contract next year. On one hand, they need him. On the other, that's one more body playing in front of Samanic. Eubanks also just got his minutes slashed. But they need bigs in the worst way. That he can stretch the floor is a huge bonus. 

[Kermit 3,126]

1 hour ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I guess Dieng looked around and said fuck playing for a ring, let me go find some playing time and get me a contract next year. On one hand, they need him. On the other, that's one more body playing in front of Samanic. Eubanks also just got his minutes slashed. But they need bigs in the worst way. That he can stretch the floor is a huge bonus. 

Eubanks sucks. This is not a bad thing. I do agree that it’s one more player that Luka has to play through, but until they have a come to Jesus moment with the animated corpse of one Rudy Carlton Gay Jr., Luka will remain a talented afterthought. 

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

1 hour ago, Radical Larry said:

 

 

 

Some front court depth.

 

 

Always like Gorgui has a bench option.  His shooting never got to distance so guys like him are being schemed out of the league but he's a solid bench guy.

1 hour ago, Radical Larry said:

 

So basically, we just helped out the Warriors for cash.  lol.

 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,502]

28 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Always like Gorgui has a bench option.  His shooting never got to distance so guys like him are being schemed out of the league but he's a solid bench guy.

So basically, we just helped out the Warriors for cash.  lol.

 

Seems like he's been trying to extend that range. He's averaging more than two 3pa in 17 minutes per game and shooting 48%. I doubt that percentage holds up over more attempts but he wouldn't be the first big to develop into a three point threat later in his career. Even if he bricks everything outside of 8 feet he's still an upgrade over Eubanks. 

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

32 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Seems like he's been trying to extend that range. He's averaging more than two 3pa in 17 minutes per game and shooting 48%. I doubt that percentage holds up over more attempts but he wouldn't be the first big to develop into a three point threat later in his career. Even if he bricks everything outside of 8 feet he's still an upgrade over Eubanks. 

Yea, I'm not trying to say he can't shoot 3's, he's just not that great at it.  35% with Minny.  This year seems like a SSS just like last year's 25% from 3 seems the same.  Match em up, extend to the end of the season and you probably have a guy right around his career numbers.  It's not terrible, frankly on this team, it's pretty good.  It's on par with Lyles.  What I meant is he actually has a pretty decent mid-range game from a pick and pop. 

From 10-16, he's a career 49.4% shooter.  From 16-3, he's 42.4%.  That's actually darn good, so I was saying he hasn't extended the shooting accuracy to 3 point land to near the degree he does from mid-range.  All of that said, like I said, I've always sort of liked him and thought he could be a good 4th big off the bench, start in pinches, and provide quality minutes.  And absolutely agree, he's better than Eubanks, who is a nice story and has grit, but he's just a limited player.

 

[Radical Larry 28,498]

[BurdineBandit 805]

8 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Always like Gorgui has a bench option.  His shooting never got to distance so guys like him are being schemed out of the league but he's a solid bench guy.

So basically, we just helped out the Warriors for cash.  lol.

 

I read somewhere on Spurs twitter that the sentiment was that we did them a solid. Which is apparently somewhat valuable in a league that is never necessarily lining up to help out the Spurs. So whatever. Build some good will. 

[Kermit 3,126]

Halliburton is the truth. 

[hornfan785 549]

The Kings look really good. Definitely better than their record led me to believe.

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

On 3/28/2021 at 8:58 PM, BurdineBandit said:

I read somewhere on Spurs twitter that the sentiment was that we did them a solid. Which is apparently somewhat valuable in a league that is never necessarily lining up to help out the Spurs. So whatever. Build some good will. 

Curry for derozen trade this summer , confirmed. 

[Radical Larry 28,498]

Well, that was fast.

[ztejas 43,193]

Gorgui Dinged.

[Kermit 3,126]

Poeltl and free throws, like watching a horrorshow.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,502]

Poetl with the consecutive free throw airballs. That's something you don't see every day. 

[BradInATX 9,208]

I'm trying to go to bed and the Spurs keep going into overtimes.

[hornfan785 549]

I think they heard you want to go to bed. Looks like they've run out of gas in the 2nd overtime.

[ztejas 43,193]

DeMar would have been better off missing the tying bucket in regulation so I wouldn't have to watch him piss all over himself in both OTs. 

So fucking embarassing. We are never doing anything with him as our "go to" guy down the stretch. 

[ztejas 43,193]

Patty and Rudy shot 7/26 though - so it wasn't all bad. 

[Kermit 3,126]

Watching Rudy get this much playing time is infuriating.

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

Clinging to the 8 spot in the conference.  We've lost 6 of our last 8 and 8-11 since we had COV issues in February.  The schedule gets tougher from here but Memphis and GSW don't seem to have much appetite for the 8th spot either.  Strange race for the playoffs.  Anybody think we can make any noise if we were to make the playoffs?

 

[Kermit 3,126]

30 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Clinging to the 8 spot in the conference.  We've lost 6 of our last 8 and 8-11 since we had COV issues in February.  The schedule gets tougher from here but Memphis and GSW don't seem to have much appetite for the 8th spot either.  Strange race for the playoffs.  Anybody think we can make any noise if we were to make the playoffs?

 

Fuck no.

[ztejas 43,193]

44 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Clinging to the 8 spot in the conference.  We've lost 6 of our last 8 and 8-11 since we had COV issues in February.  The schedule gets tougher from here but Memphis and GSW don't seem to have much appetite for the 8th spot either.  Strange race for the playoffs.  Anybody think we can make any noise if we were to make the playoffs?

 

If you had asked me 4-5 weeks ago I might have said yes. But with the way Pop is managing this team and some guys are playing we are looking like a first round exit.

[Kermit 3,126]

Can we tank yet? Is it too late? 

[hornfan785 549]

We let so many guys have career highs against us, it seems like.

[Amos Moses 795]

The old fashioned “we’re trying to win but we’re just not good’” tank job.

Puro pinche loteria otra vez, vatos.

[BurdineBandit 805]

Season's going down the shitter. 

[angelfacedmongoloid 80]

Just hope for some lottery luck at this point. Houston and OKC tanking hard as hell, Wolves and Pelicans just suck, and every team in the east that doesn't make the playoffs will have a worse record than us. After Cleveland tomorrow, upcoming games 2x against Denver and then one against Dallas, this could go to shit pretty fast.

It does warm my heart to see fucking punkass bitch Fred Vanvleet and Toronto near the bottom of the east and likely not even able to make the shitty play in games.

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

On 4/2/2021 at 1:48 PM, ztejas said:

If you had asked me 4-5 weeks ago I might have said yes. But with the way Pop is managing this team and some guys are playing we are looking like a first round exit.

Or maybe we just had an easy schedule?

1 hour ago, angelfacedmongoloid said:

Just hope for some lottery luck at this point. Houston and OKC tanking hard as hell, Wolves and Pelicans just suck, and every team in the east that doesn't make the playoffs will have a worse record than us. After Cleveland tomorrow, upcoming games 2x against Denver and then one against Dallas, this could go to shit pretty fast.

It does warm my heart to see fucking punkass bitch Fred Vanvleet and Toronto near the bottom of the east and likely not even able to make the shitty play in games.

It's going to take some tankish behavior I don't think we have in us to get to 11 in the conference.  We're almost surely destined for one of the play in games.  Warriors doing everything they can to get out of 10.  4-11 in last 15.  Draymond saying out loud what success will do to you...... Do we want to win the play in game or lose it?

 

[angelfacedmongoloid 80]

11 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

It's going to take some tankish behavior I don't think we have in us to get to 11 in the conference.  We're almost surely destined for one of the play in games.  Warriors doing everything they can to get out of 10.  4-11 in last 15.  Draymond saying out loud what success will do to you...... Do we want to win the play in game or lose it?

 

I don't think we have it in us either but I also don't think we win the play in. If the Lakers fall into the 7-10 range and LBJ and Davis come back there's no way we win. Memphis and Dallas would probably beat us. We would likely beat the Warriors and Sacramento if they're in that play in spot. This is assuming we're in the lottery after losing the play in, at least that's how I think it works.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,502]

They're 5 up in the loss column on Sac for 11th place. They can still do it but they are going to need some help from the kings. This 2-6 home stand is giving me some hope though. That was an atrocious loss with Sabonis and Brogdan out. For sure one of the worst of the season. 

Moving below Nola or OKC would take a monumental effort it seems. They may just be willing to do it. By all means, let's keep playing Patty and Rudy during crunch time. I haven't looked too closely at the new lottery odds, but iirc if you aren't in the bottom eight teams in the league it's a pretty big long shot that you move up.

[ztejas 43,193]

I'm not really concerned about where we wind up draft-wise. We can cross that bridge when we get to it. My growing concern is that Pop is venturing into coach-a-little-too-long territory. One more season and he will lock up the all-time regular season wins top spot. Maybe he calls it quits after that?

[Amos Moses 795]

Yep.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/4/5/22367524/nba-power-rankings-jazz-nets-bucks

Quote

23. San Antonio Spurs | PR: 13 ↓

The Spurs should have blown it up.

The Spurs are 24-23 and fighting for dear life for the 8-seed after losing seven of their last nine games. They also have the second-hardest remaining schedule in the league. With no hopes of winning a first-round series, it’s time to let go, focus on player development, and hope for lottery luck with a class headlined by multiple potential stars.

Except the Spurs didn’t make any moves to bolster their playoff odds, nor did they trade away veterans. Saying so long to LaMarcus Aldridge was step one for the Spurs. That shouldn’t have been it. With veterans DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills, and Rudy Gay all set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, San Antonio should’ve moved them and fed more minutes to the kids. Instead, Gregg Popovich is still giving minutes to older players, which means young guys like Keldon Johnson often end up riding the bench in critical moments like he did for the final eight minutes in a loss to the Pacers last week.

 

[Kermit 3,126]

53 minutes ago, Amos Moses said:

Yep.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/4/5/22367524/nba-power-rankings-jazz-nets-bucks

 

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

1 hour ago, Amos Moses said:

Yep.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/4/5/22367524/nba-power-rankings-jazz-nets-bucks

 

So...... I'm a little concerned about the future of the Spurs, only in I don't know much about the new Peter Holt and how he wants to run the franchise or is beholden to the rest of the family.  I know the wife said, "I'm out" and old Peter probably has to be reminded where he is at this point, but maybe someone who knows more about them can fill the rest of us in.  This feels like a franchise who's legitimized by the same persona who is probably holding them back from engaging in a real rebuild in Pop.  I get it, he gets to be here in whatever capacity he wants until he dies if he wants, but what's the fucking plan?  Because the current sucks.  Maybe they can convince a max guy to want to come to SA via trade or FA.  I'll take KAT thank you.

 

[hornfan785 549]

This team flat out sucks right now.

[Kermit 3,126]

They need to start paying fans to watch this shit. 

[Kermit 3,126]

It’s probably time to take the car keys from Grandpa.

[ztejas 43,193]

4 minutes ago, Kermit said:

They need to start paying fans to watch this shit. 

I've lost most interest at this point. It's excruciating to watch because they've shown us that they can be so much better than this. And they aren't. They've regressed and the schedule has toughened and at this point I'm not really sure what I'm cheering for. It's like enabling a borderline alcoholic that keeps scraping by. 

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

On 4/4/2021 at 11:34 AM, BurdineBandit said:

Season's going down the shitter. 

 

On 4/2/2021 at 1:01 PM, Patrick Bateman said:

Anybody think we can make any noise if we were to make the playoffs?

Yea, fart noises. 

[Kermit 3,126]

Your daily reminder that Rudy Gay is a rotational player and gets significant minutes on the Spurs. 
 

[Kermit 3,126]

Goddamn, this team fucking sucks.

[Radical Larry 28,498]

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,502]

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

[ztejas 43,193]

Can someone tell me what DeMar does for this team that isn't easily replaceable by 2-3 other guys? Make tough iso baskets that are unnecessary and detract from team offense? At least Patty can hit 3s at a decent clip. 

[Patrick Bateman 3,874]

6 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Can someone tell me what DeMar does for this team that isn't easily replaceable by 2-3 other guys? Make tough iso baskets that are unnecessary and detract from team offense? At least Patty can hit 3s at a decent clip. 

You mean besides being our best overall player, best overall shooter of perimeter players (TS%), best creator and passer and best player at drawing fouls and 2nd best FT shooter.... I guess not much?  DD is a really good player but he's miscast as a #1 option.  He's a 3rd or maybe even 4th option on a really good team.  Imagine him in Denver?  Or for the Lakers?  This isn't on him, but I get it... it's easier to blame the players than the fantastically shit management that has him trying to be something he's not.

 

[ztejas 43,193]

 

21 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

You mean besides being our best overall player, best overall shooter of perimeter players (TS%), best creator and passer and best player at drawing fouls and 2nd best FT shooter.... I guess not much?  DD is a really good player but he's miscast as a #1 option.  He's a 3rd or maybe even 4th option on a really good team.  Imagine him in Denver?  Or for the Lakers?  This isn't on him, but I get it... it's easier to blame the players than the fantastically shit management that has him trying to be something he's not.

 

I kind of am blaming the management. His game is dispensible. On further review he gets to the line and hits FTs at a nice clip (although he has a knack for choking on clutch FTs) and has good assist numbers compared to his turnovers. How valuable or irreplaceable are either of those things? "Best player on the Spurs" is a pretty low bar. He might be a wash when it comes to this team's scoring efficiency as his eFG% actually lowers the team average even though his FT% helps buoy our team number. He can't shoot 3s. By any metric he's a poor defender. He isn't a particularly good rebounder for his size or position. He isn't clutch and doesn't seem to make players better around him. 

I'd take a serviceable PG that can hit from outside and play decent perimeter D over DeMar every day of the week. He isn't worth $27M and he wouldn't be worth that on any team in the league. Even if he was our 3rd best player I wouldn't want him.