One gripe....would like for Castle to learn fouling at mid court and further is not smart basketball.

jsc8116 said:

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One gripe....would like for Castle to learn fouling at mid court and further is not smart basketball.

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That just goes with aggressive defense. He picks up the ball 94' away from the basket most of the time, and is an absolute pest. If you walk the line then sometimes you step too far over.

I would have an issue if the rest of the team couldn't pick up the slack.

Talk me off the ledge guys….
OKC I'm least worried about because Vic ****ing hates them, but who else is an issue before the finals likely Det/Boston?

I hope we don't have to face Denver. Any series with the Joker is gonna be tough.

AggieArcher17 said:

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Talk me off the ledge guys….
OKC I'm least worried about because Vic ****ing hates them, but who else is an issue before the finals likely Det/Boston?

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Minnesota and Denver if healthy. Both have improved their depth and have some physicality that we can struggle with.

We are 1-2 vs Minn, but one was without Vic and the other without Devin. We also beat them without Devin. Ant is a competitor. Randle knows how to use his size and can create for others off it. Plus they can shoot.

Steph Castle: “I went over there and talked to (Johnson) about what I needed to talk about. It doesn’t really matter if the other team knows what we’re about to do or they know our play. I don’t think they were going to stop it, so it didn’t really matter.” https://t.co/j1SVupuhzl

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) March 9, 2026

Guitarsoup said:

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Nice half.

Spurs up 12, 69-57.

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That 2nd quarter was awesome.

That is quite the stat!

Wonder what Harrison is thinking tonight.

AggieArcher17 said:

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Talk me off the ledge guys….
OKC I'm least worried about because Vic ****ing hates them, but who else is an issue before the finals likely Det/Boston?

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The biggest opponent for this team is that no one outside of Barnes has ever been part of a deep playoff run. So they all are going to have a learning curve adjusting to playoff intensity, physicality and game planning. Also there is a decent chance that some guys are asked to or forced to play different roles during the playoffs.

Wemby gets knocked down at least 5 times a game right now, in the playoffs teams are going to flatten him unless the refs bring a tight whistle. How does he respond to this? Can he keep his cool and play his game?

It's almost a pure certainty that teams will try some form of a "dare Castle to shoot 3s" defense. We deployed it against Lebron in the 2007 finals and basically mentally broke him during the series. (He shot 35% from the field and 20% from 3 and looked like a scrub) We don't yet know how Castle will react when this happens.

We don't really know who the playoff alpha is going to be. Last year Hali single handedly dragged an average Pacers team to the finals because he could hit big shots and keep the rest of his guys locked in. We all remember how important it was to have Horry on the team back in the early dynasty years. We don't know if we've got that guy on this team. I think it can be Fox, because he's done it in the regular season before, but we'll have to see if that works in the playoffs.

Denver and OKC have won championships, and Minnesota has made deep playoff runs, so I think despite extreme optimism on my part, it's going to be a tough road to the finals this year because those teams have all learned some of these lessons already and understand how to play winning playoff basketball. Part of why we were able to mind **** LeBron in 07 was because it was his first finals. Later versions of LeBron figured out how to counter that approach.

Lendeborg is the pick for me at the moment. I don't care how old he is. He plays excellent defense, makes great passes, is a good rebounder and has a high basketball IQ. He's an 81% FT shooter.
Unless there is a sure thing in free agency, he fills lots of needs on a rookie contract.

Barnes might not ever come back now (not really). I really don't see how we can justify his minutes before Bryant. Maybe that will change when the playoffs come around and we need that vet instead of 2 rookies in the rotation but Carter is ahead of schedule. And Mitch has a hard decision to make.

Another thing to consider with Yaxel is that he didn't play competitive basketball until his senior year in high school and only played 11 games. He started in Juco and there is a good chance he can improve his shot.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Barnes might not ever come back now (not really). I really don't see how we can justify his minutes before Bryant. Maybe that will change when the playoffs come around and we need that vet instead of 2 rookies in the rotation but Carter is ahead of schedule. And Mitch has a hard decision to make.

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Yes, Carter is ahead of schedule but in the playoffs they will probably need Harrison's experience coming off the bench. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they limit his time so he is rested for the playoff run.
I think it's going to be situational with Carter and anything they get from him in the playoffs will be gravy.

Since February 1...

NBA BEST RECORD
1. San Antonio
2. Boston

NBA NET RATING
1. San Antonio
2. Boston

NBA DEFENSE
1. Boston
2. San Antonio

See you Tuesday night... https://t.co/fTh2j6lJu9

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 9, 2026

Should be a good test tomorrow night.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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Steph Castle: “I went over there and talked to (Johnson) about what I needed to talk about. It doesn’t really matter if the other team knows what we’re about to do or they know our play. I don’t think they were going to stop it, so it didn’t really matter.” https://t.co/j1SVupuhzl

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) March 9, 2026

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Victor said something similar after the game, that teams can't stop us or figure us out. This team is supremely confident right now. And these are our two best players at 21 and 22 years old. lol

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That's why I am not really worried about teams just daring Castle to shoot in the playoffs. He's at .406 over his last 13 games from three. Go back to last 25 games and he is at 37%.

He's confident, mature, and smart. If you give him too much room, that also gives him room to start a drive.

I just think the only thing that teams can really do to exploit us is the physicality that NYK/Minn and maybe Denver has.

I know I am being obnoxious but this happened yesterday.
Lendeborg vs Mich. St.

38 minutes
27 points
8-12 FGs
5-6 3 pt
6-6 FT
3 Reb
3 Asst
1 Stl
1 Blk

Two good shooting games in a row brings his 3pt up to 34 this year. He's definitely one to watch in the tourney. His biggest question is that shot.

Hopefully they can get Plumlee a few regular season games. Would like to see him get a few minutes with Wemby at the PF for potential playoff games against Minn/Den to match their size and physicality

jsc8116 said:

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Hopefully they can get Plumlee a few regular season games. Would like to see him get a few minutes with Wemby at the PF for potential playoff games against Minn/Den to match their size and physicality

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Plumdog is only going to go in when people are cheapshotting us. He's not a PF at all and takes basically 100% of his shots at the rim/in the paint and no where else. He's here to be the enforcer and so we never have to play Bismack again.

He body slammed Steven Adams last year.



He's got a pretty long history of not being afraid of playing dirty in retaliation.



He'll stand up to anyone:

jsc8116 said:

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One gripe....would like for Castle to learn fouling at mid court and further is not smart basketball.

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You literally complained Wemby is either physically or mentally limited, inexplicably. Your hot takes are hot garbage.

It's amazing how awful Wemby's whistle is.

😐pic.twitter.com/lkWh4ZhfSq https://t.co/W4dLcjBRoy

— Wemby Central 👽 (@WembyCentral) March 9, 2026

But in the first clip, I just love how dejected Sengoon looks. He knows he got cooked so bad, even fouling didn't stop the bucket.

just out there freestylin' 😏 pic.twitter.com/dgOnsUvZHD

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 9, 2026

You know, just casually out there freestyling, having fun, beating the #3 team in the conference by 25 by cooking their best defender.

"That's where we are now with this team."@BillSimmons on the Spurs being legit title contenders and why they remind him of the early '90s Bulls. pic.twitter.com/WdsERv9Ofu

— The Ringer (@ringer) March 9, 2026

Joe Johnson says what was glaring about the Spurs beating the Rockets was that Houston looked two or three steps slower than San Antonio:

“It’s like the pace that the Spurs was playing at. It’s like the Rockets couldn’t keep up. They can’t, Look, midway through the third… pic.twitter.com/YgDCl2ZL1k

— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 9, 2026

Blake Wesley with the NASTY HANDLES.
Yang Hansen with the BIG SLAM.@trailblazers win at home! pic.twitter.com/CqEf1BsLSI

— NBA (@NBA) March 9, 2026

Our guy Blake Wesley with the handles.

Portland giving minutes to Wesley and Sidy Cissoko.

Guitarsoup said:

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"That's where we are now with this team."@BillSimmons on the Spurs being legit title contenders and why they remind him of the early '90s Bulls. pic.twitter.com/WdsERv9Ofu

— The Ringer (@ringer) March 9, 2026

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Good comments from Simmons. I'm going to assume the rest of the quote after the video cut off when he said "the Spurs are probably my number 2 pick to win it all this year" was "behind the Celtics."

DTP02 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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"That's where we are now with this team."@BillSimmons on the Spurs being legit title contenders and why they remind him of the early '90s Bulls. pic.twitter.com/WdsERv9Ofu

— The Ringer (@ringer) March 9, 2026

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Good comments from Simmons. I'm going to assume the rest of the quote after the video cut off when he said "the Spurs are probably my number 2 pick to win it all this year" was "behind the Celtics."

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Haha, probably so. I actually think the Spurs matchup well against the Celtics. Would rather Celtics or Pistons come out of the East. Toughest thing about the Celtics is they have so many smart veterans and are coached well. That would be a rough matchup since we are so young, but I think we are way deeper and the Queta/Vooch/Luke Garza trio is going to get smoked by Wemby.

DTP02 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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"That's where we are now with this team."@BillSimmons on the Spurs being legit title contenders and why they remind him of the early '90s Bulls. pic.twitter.com/WdsERv9Ofu

— The Ringer (@ringer) March 9, 2026

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Good comments from Simmons. I'm going to assume the rest of the quote after the video cut off when he said "the Spurs are probably my number 2 pick to win it all this year" was "behind the Celtics."

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I listened to the pod earlier. It was OKC still. Everyone typically favors Denver as well but acknowledge they seem to be snake bit this season.

West Texan said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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The NBA has cancelled the Atlanta Hawks' Magic City game promotion on March 16.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 9, 2026

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The fact that anyone ever thought that was a good idea, much less the powers that be green lighting it, absolutely blows my mind.

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The owner of the Hawks' wife is a producer on a documentary coming out on Magic City. They aren't doing it to support the culture of Atlanta. And the fact that the NBA had to step in to publicly cancel it when there were obviously a lot of behind the scenes talks says a lot.

The Plan: have your backup center use his recently popularized blog to diminish the home court advantage for the team you have a pick swap with https://t.co/qaROC5yAtk pic.twitter.com/4yLFnK82CX

— Bennett Herbert (@bendog28) March 9, 2026

Castle on embracing physicality:

"Teams can't really beat us going up and down just with skill so they try and punk us..I feel like we have a lot of guys that can step up to that challenge so once we've answered that call, teams don't really have an answer"#GoSpursGo #PorVida pic.twitter.com/6MsB9djjDO

— Wemby Alien Era (@WembyAlienEra) March 9, 2026

The confidence and backing it up on these kids is unreal. Steph should be a junior right now. Only 4 players on the A&M team are younger than him by class year.

The Spurs need to invest hard in scouting to keep the unknowns like Julian Champangie, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, etc to keep coming in, because Wemby, Castle, Harper, Bryant is gonna get expensive quick.