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I’ve heard it said before that a team learns more from a loss than a victory. If that’s true, then we should all have a basketball doctorate after that. I never want to come off as too harsh or critical, but it was. . . not well. There were a few bright spots few and far between, but if this trend continues, this could be a long and frustrating season.
I think the main thing I learned was, “Just shoot more 3s” is probably not the right answer for this team. In their last preseason game, the Spurs shot 7/33 from center by a measly 21.2%. That won’t do the job, to say the least. And it’s not just this game. The whole preseason has been bad. They actually started pretty well in Game 1 against the Thunder, where they shot 15/38 from three for 39.5%. That is passable. But in the next game against the Rockets they only shot 10/31. That’s only 32.3%. Each game has been worse than the last.
What’s really confusing is that last season the Spurs were the 4th best in the league in 3-point percentage. Therefore, the call to shoot more triples seems justified. However, they also shot the third fewest number of 3s in the league, suggesting that when they did they were either wide or very high quality shots. The thing is, shooting more of them means that the quality of the shots decreases.
Aside from the lower quality of the shots, the Spurs roster has no actual snipers. There is not a single person who puts fear in the hearts of the opponents from beyond the arc. Last season, the Spurs had 6 players who shot 3 or more 3s per game. 2 of them, Bryn Forbes and Marco Belinelli, are no longer on the team. Derrick White is recovering from surgery and will be out for who knows when. All three shot above the league average of 35%. The other three are Patty Mills, Rudy Gay, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Patty Mills is great. I like him. Rudy Gay only shot 33.6%. He’s a capable scorer, but not a great three-point shooter. LaMarcus was actually the best of the bunch at 38.9%.
So of their high-volume 3-point shooters, two are no longer on the team, one is still injured, one is below average, one is a bench player (I don’t hate Patty, she’s great), and one it’s her big aged man coming off shoulder surgery. Who is supposed to be making all these extra triples that they are lifting? Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell have shown potential in small sample sizes, but we need to see more.
LaMarcus was supposed to extend his game to the three-point line was the answer to unlocking the offense. Against the Rockets, he only shot 3/12 and it was 0/5 of 3. I think teams will be perfectly happy letting him shoot from the center.
The Spurs trying to play a fast-paced 3-point shooting game reminds me of one of my early cars. When I was in my early 20s, I was gifted my great-grandmother’s 1984 Chevy Caviler when she passed away. This car was as old as me. It got me where I needed to be and progressed very well.
One day, while driving to who knows where, I was stopped at a red light. I looked out my passenger window and saw a super cool guy on a motorcycle pulling up next to me. I’m not sure why, or if it’s necessary, but he was doing the engine revving thing that motorcycles do. I thought it would be funny and started revving my clumsy engine on its last stage, back towards him. He looked and saw my grandmother’s car and laughed and gave me a thumbs up, to which I reciprocated.
And I’m afraid to my friends that that could be the Spurs offense this season. They are a car inherited from your grandmother trying to compete with a street bike. They just don’t have the tools to do what they want to do. I imagine that while they are busy lifting all these three, other teams will be smiling and giving them a big thumbs up.
What else did we learn?
- DeMar DeRozan will continue to do his thing. He had 21 points from just 13 shots thanks to reaching the line 11 times. I don’t care that I don’t shoot triples. Your job should be to penetrate defense and kick capable shooters. You just need to get the job done consistently like you did in the Bubble, where you perfectly timed when to defer and when to take over.
- If the Spurs had another big man who could start, I’d love to see Rudy Gay as their sixth man. He’s a scorer who could spark off the bench. I just don’t think starting out is the right role for him.
- I found out that Lonnie Walker IV actually played in this game after looking at the score on the table. I didn’t really notice it on the court. How many minutes do you think he played? Bet you didn’t guess it was 28. In his 28 minutes he only made 2 shots and missed both. I don’t expect him to be a solid scorer all the time, but he should do something. He didn’t even have a single bounce, steal or block. He had 2 assists, so there he is.
- This is starting to feel really negative so I’ll get to some positives. Devin Vassell. His name just fills my heart with joy. He had another solid game and continues to get better and better. Let’s give Devin a round of applause!
- You know who else had a good game? Eubanks drew. He may not have a lot of playing time during the season, but in this game he did a lot with the time he had. He only played 12 minutes, but he scored 11 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and handed out 2 assists. And he reached the line 9 times hitting 7 of his free throws.
So there you have it. The preseason is over and now the games count. I honestly feel quite pessimistic about this team as it is currently built. I really hope I’m wrong.
The first game is December 23 in Memphis. Come on, Spurs!
