It's actually good to see them hold on for the close win. Last year they found ways to lose those games. Also good to see Pop leave the rookie in at the end of the game. Good experience.

West Texan said:

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jteagle said:

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It's actually good to see them hold on for the close win. Last year they found ways to lose those games. Also good to see Pop leave the rookie in at the end of the game. Good experience.

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CP3 and Barnes effect. Paul understood how to milk the clock and still get good looks. The play where he rejected the Wemby ball screen and got to the rim only to dump it off to Sochan for an easy lay up was the kind of play we didn't make last year. Barnes being the inbounder down the stretch when the rockets were going for steals, and we didn't turn it over. How many times last year did we screw up simple sideline out of bounds plays because we couldn't pass the ball in?

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Don’t forget, Chris Paul is still the POINT GOD

pic.twitter.com/0AnPi3hO4E

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 27, 2024

Played well but need to improve the way we close out games

Cappo said:

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Played well but need to improve the way we close out games

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Definitely. But the spurs would have lost that game last year.

I found it interesting that they barely played Sengun in the second half. But I guess the smaller lineups got them back into it.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Cappo said:

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Played well but need to improve the way we close out games

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Definitely. But the spurs would have lost that game last year.

I found it interesting that they barely played Sengun in the second half. But I guess the smaller lineups got them back into it.

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oh don't disagree. We got some players on this team - way more NBA caliber players than we did last year and are only gonna get better

It's a good sign to me that they had a terrible game against Dallas but several players bounced back and contributed to the win. They will have better scoring when Devin comes back.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Cappo said:

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Played well but need to improve the way we close out games

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Definitely. But the spurs would have lost that game last year.

I found it interesting that they barely played Sengun in the second half. But I guess the smaller lineups got them back into it.

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Sengun in the game meant Wemby was in the paint to protect the rim. The small lineups got Wemby on the perimeter and opened up the floor. Throw in that Sengun couldn't do anything down low and he's not a rim protector, it made him unplayable last night.

terrible win- way to fast of a start to get a lottery pick

If Steph gets 25 mins a game and averaged around 10 points, 1 steal and a handful of assists and rebounds a game, I feel like he has a decent chance at winning rookie of the year. I know it's early but no one is really standing out just yet across the league.

Completely lost that the season has started. Let's go Spurs!

Rough first quarter.

FYI: in first two games, players being defended by Stephon Castle shot 27.8% from the field and 20% from three.

They shot just 14.3% farther than 15 feet

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Alp Sengun, Jalen Green are 0-6 against Castle.

Wemby stuck with Tari Eason for over 50 feet to get this chasedown block...

Not many centers can do that, let alone 7'5" centers 👽 pic.twitter.com/AOcJGdShiu

— WembyMuse (@Wemby_Muse) October 29, 2024

Wemby let Eason think he was letting him have it.

Wemby always struggles against the rockets. Still cannot handle physicality.

I wish Pop would have let that group ride instead of checking back Barnes and Sochan back into the game. Killed our momentum.

Impressed we got back into it. Sochan with another great game.

I wish Pop left the castle group in the game. Victor also needs to learn that every offensive possession counts. He can't be jacking up 30 foot threes and 20 foot twos so casually.

And just because I know I'll never get the opportunity to say it again this season, Collins and Branham actually played well.

Really pleased with the grit to fight back in this game. We had opportunities, but couldn't get the big shots to fall when we had the chance to tie. I think when Devin gets back, we'll be a pretty salty team.

The bench unit really got after it, and their defense and energy fueled the come back. Wesley and Castle were everywhere and Branham came in and knocked down some shots.

Sochan continues to just play unbelievably well on the offensive end. He's really found his niche on that end of the floor and he's been killing it.

Enzo The Baker said:

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And just because I know I'll get the opportunity to say it again this season, Collins and Branham actually played play.

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Credit where it's due, those two got after it. Branham was late rotating on that possession at the end where we doubled Green and Van Vleet hit the dagger 3, but outside of that, he was actually passable on the defensive end.

Some good news: Wizards beat the Hawks as Trae Young goes 2-15 with 6 turnovers.

ZacR went 1-8 for 4 points and 5 fouls in 26 minutes.


Also Bulls beat Memphis.

Victor played 35 mins tonight. That's gotta be the most he's played in a 4 quarter game.

Very happy with Sochan to start the year. He looks noticeably stronger and bouncier, and thriving in this sort of Aaron Gordon role. That possession where he snagged like 4 straight offensive boards was class even though we couldn't finish it out. Vic needs to work on that shot selection and really nail down a go-to move or two, that iso in the final minutes was hot garbage. Tim needs to come work with him on sealing position in the post, he might be the best to ever do it in that regard and I think Vic could really benefit from it.

-Branham fighting for his spot in the rotation is nice to see
-Kind of bummed to not see any Bassey or Mamu minutes although Zach did play a solid game
-I hate it when Keldon is passive, I'd rather have him rolling around making mistakes than being invisible
-Blake Wesley hit a 3 in rhythm, hope there's more of that to come
-Castle didn't have a great game but was still disciplined defensively, quiet on offense but I especially liked him coming and finishing through heavy contact one possession after missing an easy one
-Duds from Champagnie and Barnes, it's tough to win when your 2 best spacers are not providing anything; you could tell it affected the spacing
-Houston brought the energy but I didn't think that either team played particularly well and these teams feel like they're on a similar tier, encouraging given the Rockets are considered a play-in team by most and we are missing 2 rotation players
-Even with Dev coming back, we are going to have trouble on offense all year unless Vic becomes at least an average long range shooter on a consistent basis

Ryan Dunn was fired up after chasing LeBron around this screen and forcing a shot clock violation pic.twitter.com/rN0zm6WJIk

— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) October 29, 2024

Still wish we could have gotten Ryan Dunn. He's looked so incredible.

Devin and Sidy are going to Austin to training camp.

Through 3 games, opposing players are shooting these percentages when defended by these players:

Chris Paul: 61.8%
Keldon Johnson: 52.2%
Harrison Barnes: 51.7%
Jeremy Sochan 40%
Zach Collins 40%
Wemby 38.9%
Wesley: 37.5%
Castle 33%
Champagnie: 26.5%
Malaki "DPOY" Branham: 25%

Looks so much better. Some nice passing to cutters, but the biggest thing to me is he is taking it up stronger and more decisively. That's huge for us going forward. Keep that confidence, Jeremy.

Him just facing up Sengun in the paint was beautiful.

I’m 38 years old.

I’ve had an 18 year career in the NBA.

It’s time to hang it up. Thank you for everything — it’s all love. @PlayersTribune https://t.co/GOEjp3rolL

— Rudy Gay (@RudyGay) October 29, 2024

I always liked watching Rudy play.

Bogey out 1 month with Atlanta.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Bogey out 1 month with Atlanta.

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Their full injury report. Don't want players to be legitimately hurt but any loss for the Hawks is good news for us.

No Dyson Daniels (right hip flexor strain), Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring tendinopathy), Vit Krejci (right adductor strain) or Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation) tomorrow against the Wizards.

There is a chance they get De’Andre Hunter (right knee inflammation) back. pic.twitter.com/tcpgDTIOWa

— Lauren L. Williams (@WilliamsLaurenL) October 29, 2024

They've had such a soft schedule too.