So Dejounte Murray was pretty good tonight. 16 points 5 rebounds 2 assists and only 2 turnovers. Was a little sloppy and loose with the dribble in the first half but cleaned it up after that. Didn't force anything and attacked the basket. Also played very well on ball defense. Had two steals and his length really bothered Teague. He still has some work to do on rotations, but it would be nice to be able to take Green off the PG duty defensively. Good way to start the season without our best player.
*****2017-2018 San Antonio Spurs*****
323,659 Views |
3490 Replies |
Last: 6 yr ago by OlRock
-25/10 tonight from LMA
-16 from Murray
-14 from Rudy
Good signs from the first game
-16 from Murray
-14 from Rudy
Good signs from the first game
40 years Manu doing more for the team tonight than our $50 million dollars backup point guard.
That's going to go down as the worst deal in franchise history.
That's going to go down as the worst deal in franchise history.
AG 2000' said:
40 years Manu doing more for the team tonight than our $50 million dollars backup point guard.
That's going to go down as the worst deal in franchise history.
You do realize that Mills comes off the bench as a matter of strategy and not because Murray is better. Just like Manu came off the bench his whole career despite being all star caliber for many seasons.
Having Manu, Mills and Gay off the bench is going to win a lot of games.
Having Manu, Mills and Gay off the bench is going to win a lot of games.
SanAntonio said:
-25/10 tonight from LMA
-16 from Murray
-14 from Rudy
Good signs from the first game
Kyle Anderson added 12 pts and 9 rebounds while Danny scored 17 with 2 steals and 2 blocks.
KAT and Butler were both held below 20 pts.
Overall I thought it was a good game. They got a little sloppy in the 2nd qtr not taking care of the ball but everyone was getting involved with assists and they held the Wolves under 100.
All the prognosticators discount defense so much. Once this team gels it has a chance to be the best defensive team we've seen. The length the Spurs can put on the floor is pretty impressive.
Ag Natural said:
You do realize that Mills comes off the bench as a matter of strategy and not because Murray is better. Just like Manu came off the bench his whole career despite being all star caliber for many seasons.
Having Manu, Mills and Gay off the bench is going to win a lot of games.
Yes I am it complaining about Mills coming off the bench. I'm complaining about the fact every time Mills came in we had an 8-10 point lead and every time he left we were tied or even down.
His +/- for the game was +6, according to the boxscore.AG 2000' said:Ag Natural said:
You do realize that Mills comes off the bench as a matter of strategy and not because Murray is better. Just like Manu came off the bench his whole career despite being all star caliber for many seasons.
Having Manu, Mills and Gay off the bench is going to win a lot of games.
Yes I am it complaining about Mills coming off the bench. I'm complaining about the fact every time Mills came in we had an 8-10 point lead and every time he left we were tied or even down.
I'm not suggesting that stat is meaningful, necessarily, and Mills was on the court during the stretch at the start of the 4th when the Spurs lost the 10 point lead. But Mills has a definite role on the team as a three-point shooter off the bench, and can be valuable if used correctly.
One game in and we're alteady *****ing about the backup PG? Good lord.
If Gasol and LMA can find a few spots where they are deadly from 3, this team could be very scary. Both can be very good on the blocks, but other teams generally don't have multiple players that can play together that can play great post defense. For instance, Houston doesn't really play Nene and Capela together. They put one or the other with Ryan Anderson or Ariza at 4.
So if you have Gasol or LMA hitting respectfully from three, you take the player with their post defender and spot him on three and you use the other big to back down the Ryan Andersons of the world.
Golden State has Draymond that they can pair with Zaza or JaVale, but neither Zaza nor JaVale are great post defenders and they tend to play smaller with Dray at C and Durant at PF.
Houston has Nene and Capela, but they don't really play together. That means Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, or maybe even PJ Tucker to guard a post.
Cleveland, unfortunately has the bodies. Jae Crowder, LeBron, Love and Tristan, but Love blows.
TheHornets Pelicans do have the two bigs, but I'm not too worried about them because they have an overall talent deficit.
Clippers have Blake Griffin and DeAndre - so you move out DeAndre to guard the corner and let Gasol/LMA have their way with Blake's glass body.
Spurs can have four deadly 3pt shooters around whichever big is posting up. It's the Rudy T blueprint from 95 when he surrounded Hakeem with Horry, Drexler, Elie and Cassell, only we will have the option of switching which big is posting up and which big is spotting up so the other team can never have their elite defender/rebounder in the paint.
Gasol hit 68% of his threes from the corner last year. That isn't a misprint. He was 56/104 from three overall. We know LMA is an elite mid-range shooter, but he also hit 41% of his threes last year and 44% of his corner threes.
It is something big to build on, especially if Kyle Anderson (38% last year, 41% corner), Murray (39% last year, 60% corner), Gay (38% last year, 38% corner) and Bertrans (39% last year, 49% corner) develop their shots to go along with Green, Patty, Kawhi, and Manu.
So if you have Gasol or LMA hitting respectfully from three, you take the player with their post defender and spot him on three and you use the other big to back down the Ryan Andersons of the world.
Golden State has Draymond that they can pair with Zaza or JaVale, but neither Zaza nor JaVale are great post defenders and they tend to play smaller with Dray at C and Durant at PF.
Houston has Nene and Capela, but they don't really play together. That means Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, or maybe even PJ Tucker to guard a post.
Cleveland, unfortunately has the bodies. Jae Crowder, LeBron, Love and Tristan, but Love blows.
The
Clippers have Blake Griffin and DeAndre - so you move out DeAndre to guard the corner and let Gasol/LMA have their way with Blake's glass body.
Spurs can have four deadly 3pt shooters around whichever big is posting up. It's the Rudy T blueprint from 95 when he surrounded Hakeem with Horry, Drexler, Elie and Cassell, only we will have the option of switching which big is posting up and which big is spotting up so the other team can never have their elite defender/rebounder in the paint.
Gasol hit 68% of his threes from the corner last year. That isn't a misprint. He was 56/104 from three overall. We know LMA is an elite mid-range shooter, but he also hit 41% of his threes last year and 44% of his corner threes.
It is something big to build on, especially if Kyle Anderson (38% last year, 41% corner), Murray (39% last year, 60% corner), Gay (38% last year, 38% corner) and Bertrans (39% last year, 49% corner) develop their shots to go along with Green, Patty, Kawhi, and Manu.
The hyperbole is strong with this one!AG 2000' said:
40 years Manu doing more for the team tonight than our $50 million dollars backup point guard.
That's going to go down as the worst deal in franchise history.
West Texan said:
One game in and we're alteady *****ing about the backup PG? Good lord.
No, *****ing about the contract he got. I like Patty, know what he is and his limitations.
Nothing is going to change the fact that the Spurs front office overpaid on day one of free agency for a guy with a limited tool set.
Manu! Still fun watching him play.
Aldridge scored well, but he gave up a number of offensive rebounds because he was waiting on the ball while Minnesota went and got it
Laburge (or whatever) was surprisingly aggressive. Remains to be seen whether he's any good.
Murray had a nice game. A couple of mistakes on defense, but he held his own against a decent 1-2 punch at pg. Love how aggressive he is on the boards, it helps make up for how passive Gasol and Aldridge tend to be. Nice touch around the rim, too.
Green looks like he's been working on his midrange game.
Very impressed at how good Rudy Gay looked. If he plays like this all year, I will have to eat my words about it being a mistake to sign an inefficient volume shooter coming off a catastrophic injury.
Anderson looked a lot quicker than in past years. Not fast, but also not completely out of place on an NBA court. If he can physically keep up on defense, he becomes a valuable piece.
The offense was actually quite smooth for the opening night with two starters out and two new free agents in the rotation. It looks like a lot of the second team offense is going to be initiated by Gasol hitting cutters out of the high post.
Defense was mostly good, a few too many rhythm threes and uncontested floaters, but again, not bad for opening night. So much length.
Aldridge scored well, but he gave up a number of offensive rebounds because he was waiting on the ball while Minnesota went and got it
Laburge (or whatever) was surprisingly aggressive. Remains to be seen whether he's any good.
Murray had a nice game. A couple of mistakes on defense, but he held his own against a decent 1-2 punch at pg. Love how aggressive he is on the boards, it helps make up for how passive Gasol and Aldridge tend to be. Nice touch around the rim, too.
Green looks like he's been working on his midrange game.
Very impressed at how good Rudy Gay looked. If he plays like this all year, I will have to eat my words about it being a mistake to sign an inefficient volume shooter coming off a catastrophic injury.
Anderson looked a lot quicker than in past years. Not fast, but also not completely out of place on an NBA court. If he can physically keep up on defense, he becomes a valuable piece.
The offense was actually quite smooth for the opening night with two starters out and two new free agents in the rotation. It looks like a lot of the second team offense is going to be initiated by Gasol hitting cutters out of the high post.
Defense was mostly good, a few too many rhythm threes and uncontested floaters, but again, not bad for opening night. So much length.
AG 2000' said:West Texan said:
One game in and we're alteady *****ing about the backup PG? Good lord.
No, *****ing about the contract he got. I like Patty, know what he is and his limitations.
Nothing is going to change the fact that the Spurs front office overpaid on day one of free agency for a guy with a limited tool set.
Then go to the off-season thread about 4 months back and rehash it there. We're past it now.
AG 2000' said:West Texan said:
One game in and we're alteady *****ing about the backup PG? Good lord.
No, *****ing about the contract he got. I like Patty, know what he is and his limitations.
Nothing is going to change the fact that the Spurs front office overpaid on day one of free agency for a guy with a limited tool set.
Maybe based on your criteria. But if you ever listen to Pop in his clinics he values character, passion, effort and selflessness more than the average team. In fact, he's willing to overpay for it because he believes that wins games over the long haul. It's also pretty obvious they felt they needed the vet Mills around to help mentor the young gaurds with Parker out.
Truth be told, the Spurs have "overpaid" a lot of their guys over the years.
When is kawhi coming back ?
some men you just cant reach ...
Spurs upcoming schedule is @Bulls, vs Raptors, @Heat, @Magic, @ Pacers. All of those should be easy wins with the exception of the Toronto game. Keep Kawhi out as long as he needs.
Hopefully let Rudy Gay show his skill set while Kawhi restsMoney Ag said:
Spurs upcoming schedule is @Bulls, vs Raptors, @Heat, @Magic, @ Pacers. All of those should be easy wins with the exception of the Toronto game. Keep Kawhi out as long as he needs.
Didn't watch because I've been watching the Stros, but Murray's state line from tonight; 4-10 for 8 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and was +15 for the night. The team didn't light up the score board, but he's had two really good games to start the season. After his very underwhelming summer league, this has been a fantastic surprise.
Strange things happening in the NBA tonight so it's nice to get the ugly win on the road. Cleveland lost to Orlando and the Warriors lost to Memphis. At the moment Utah is leading the Thunder by 16 and the Thunder have only scored 57 in 3 qtrs!
It's a small sample size but the Spurs have done a great job on the glass the last two games grabbing 50 or more each game. It's a welcome sight after averaging only 44 last year.
Also holding a team (albeit the Bulls) to the 70s without Kawhi is a welcome sight.
Also holding a team (albeit the Bulls) to the 70s without Kawhi is a welcome sight.
Looks like LMA is playing for his new contract. Nobody tell him that his agent already signed it.
jteagle said:
Strange things happening in the NBA tonight so it's nice to get the ugly win on the road. Cleveland lost to Orlando and the Warriors lost to Memphis.
Simmons had a nice game with 19 points off of the bench. Looks like he's their top 6th man.
[url=http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3005/rudy-gay][/url]
Not the worst news I guess.
Quote:
Rudy Gay added 12 points for the Spurs, who have not provided a timetable for Leonard's return from a right quadriceps injury, though Popovich said it will be "weeks rather than months."
Not the worst news I guess.
I like how Aldridge played against Chicago. A lot more aggressive rebounding and establishing low post position.
It looks like the Spurs focused on defense in camp. The rotations of even the new guys is pretty tight. The size and rebounding has been dominant in two games.
On Parker
To be honest I want him to take as long as possible. I really want Murray to continue to develop and build confidence because this team's ceiling is higher with him IMO, at least defensively. I understand that Murray still has a lot to improve on, most notably consistent ball handling and outside shooting, but ultimately, I think he makes us a better team as our starting point guard.
It'll be interesting to see what Pop does with Parker when he comes back. I'd like to see him come off of the bench and have Patty slide to the 2. But I'm not sure if that would actually happen.
How do y'all think it will shake out?
Quote:
"His rehab is going really well," Popovich said. "He's going 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 pretty much full speed. I think he gets to go 5-on-5 in about a week and we'll see how he looks."
Popovich said the team is targeting a December return.
To be honest I want him to take as long as possible. I really want Murray to continue to develop and build confidence because this team's ceiling is higher with him IMO, at least defensively. I understand that Murray still has a lot to improve on, most notably consistent ball handling and outside shooting, but ultimately, I think he makes us a better team as our starting point guard.
It'll be interesting to see what Pop does with Parker when he comes back. I'd like to see him come off of the bench and have Patty slide to the 2. But I'm not sure if that would actually happen.
How do y'all think it will shake out?
If Murray keeps playing like this, TP will come off the bench I think. He's said that he is willing to for several years, and this seems like a natural catalyst for the transition that would save anyone from being embarrassed.
It also slides Mills to his more natural offensive fit at the 2.
It also slides Mills to his more natural offensive fit at the 2.
Can you imagine a 2nd unit that includes Tony, Manu, Patty and Rudy Gay? Assuming Tony is healthy and rested that is a lethal 2nd unit. Throw in Davis, Kyle, Lauvergne or Forbes depending on the situation and not many teams can match that off the bench.Ulrich said:
If Murray keeps playing like this, TP will come off the bench I think. He's said that he is willing to for several years, and this seems like a natural catalyst for the transition that would save anyone from being embarrassed.
It also slides Mills to his more natural offensive fit at the 2.
Ridiculously early to make any sort of prognostication. But for all those bashing the Spurs for losing the offseason. After two games here's what I see:
- LMA is in great shape and has come out of the gates playing like a wild man. He isn't ready to be written off just yet.
- Kyle Anderson looks like he's lost 20 or 30 pounds. We kind of expected him to get bigger and be the next Bobo. But he went the other direction and looks lean and suddenly quite mobile.
- Gay looks rusty and isn't in great shape yet but you can tell he's going to be a huge piece this year. The guy can score, is used to scoring, and is enormous. He should probably cut about 15 pounds but he will always be 6'9" and long.
- Manu looks great as usual.
- Lavergne looks like an upgrade over Dedmon. He's stronger down low and has more skill.
- Murray has clearly taken a step toward being a great player. He gets loose with the ball at times but it's noticeable that he's getting better. His defense, rebounding and passing has been outstanding.
- Overall the defense has been suffocating because this team is extraordinarily large and they can be big without sacrificing mobility.
- When Kawhi comes back you add even more defense and length. Plus you add a viable super star offensive player. I'm pretty excited to see what that looks like. Because this team just won two games with almost no outside shooting and an offense that ran about 50 post ups.
- LMA is in great shape and has come out of the gates playing like a wild man. He isn't ready to be written off just yet.
- Kyle Anderson looks like he's lost 20 or 30 pounds. We kind of expected him to get bigger and be the next Bobo. But he went the other direction and looks lean and suddenly quite mobile.
- Gay looks rusty and isn't in great shape yet but you can tell he's going to be a huge piece this year. The guy can score, is used to scoring, and is enormous. He should probably cut about 15 pounds but he will always be 6'9" and long.
- Manu looks great as usual.
- Lavergne looks like an upgrade over Dedmon. He's stronger down low and has more skill.
- Murray has clearly taken a step toward being a great player. He gets loose with the ball at times but it's noticeable that he's getting better. His defense, rebounding and passing has been outstanding.
- Overall the defense has been suffocating because this team is extraordinarily large and they can be big without sacrificing mobility.
- When Kawhi comes back you add even more defense and length. Plus you add a viable super star offensive player. I'm pretty excited to see what that looks like. Because this team just won two games with almost no outside shooting and an offense that ran about 50 post ups.
Midway through the 3rd and Murray has 12 points 12 rebounds and 4 assists. If this kid ever develops a jumper, he'll be an all star.
Murray has been great. Uncharacteristic turnovers and little mistakes the whole game. Plus the team has missed basically every little gimme shot at the rim tonight.
**** Serge Ibaka. That's all.
Spurs strong on the boards again tonight.
Featured Stories
See All
14:22
7h ago
1.7k
A&M's season ends with microcosmic second-half collapse in Las Vegas
by Olin Buchanan
Learned, Loved, Loathed: USC 35, Texas A&M 31 (2024 Las Vegas Bowl)
by Olin Buchanan
BoxingAg84
Did Miami coach know Ward wasn't going to play in 2nd half?
in Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium
7
Terence Kitchens
Did Miami coach know Ward wasn't going to play in 2nd half?
in Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium
6
satexas
Did Miami coach know Ward wasn't going to play in 2nd half?
in Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium
6