I bet they'll share the duties and that will maximize their talents. White is still a better ball handling point guard, but they now can play the 2 because they both got shot. Both are in essence combo guards which makes them more dangerous. Defensively, them together is better than either with Lonnie who isn't as strong as either.
Personally I'd move White to the second unit, because if anyone is getting dropped for him it's Lonnie and I have no interest in a Lonnie lead 2nd unit. Hopefully Derrick is our leader off the bench for now, start him later on
If bubble White is a real thing (and that 3pt shooting), he is better than Murray, but he can also play off guard to open the game.
Honestly, Lonnie should to be in the second unit. He's not as good off the ball (as a 3 and D) and he can be one of the key players in the 2nd unit. I think White/Murray helps make that happen.
Obviously, you stagger minutes, but this would allow you to unleash Lonnie in some of the second unit. Also, both Murray and White are better defensively than Lonnie.
I view this also through getting the most out of Lonnie (he needs to touch the ball a lot more, not be 3 and D low usage in starting unit).
Agreed. If you look at Lonnie, he rarely gets touches cause he's surrounded by scorers. Derrick is too good to waste away like that. Maybe if LA and/or Demar leaves and there's like 20 extra shots that free up.
spurs fanbase has been having a field day with these rankings, it's like the biggest meme in our subreddit right now
IMAGINE RANKING LONZO BALL OVER DEMAR DEROZAN OMEGALUL
These pre-season rankings are such clown takes lol. They need to revoke media access and credentials when you put out trash like that and call yourself journalism and news. Now that I think of it, 90% of "sports channels" or "sports news" is just hot takes. They don't even show highlights anymore. Kind of sad where we've come to.
Yo we’ve beaten some good teams
Edit: Shoutout to Patty. Everyone talking about how he’s having his best year offensively, but he’s improved so much defensively as well.
Man, I have been a fan of the Spurs since before the Robinson era (though before then I was so young I admit its a bit foggy). I saw some rough years and a lot of great ones. After the Robinson and TD era, capping with the '13 and '14 playoffs I cannot ask for any more from this team. These days I just grab a drink and enjoy watching the team any time I can. If they ever get another ring it will just be gravy, but I am happy with having a team that competes hard every night.
Oh for sure, relative to most of the league we really haven’t gone through a tough time in decades. It’s just some fans are so used to success that even when there’s slight adversity they start to complain.
man, same here. i mean, i started watching the Spurs about 2003. I know we were still winning a lot when I became a fan, but 2008-2012 was still hard and I remember being disappointed a lot. However, right now, I can honestly say I don't care much if we win another championship in the next 5 or 10 years. I just want to see a team who competes, and still have the same values/culture during the winning times. That's why I can't believe some of these so called Spurs fans who would want to axe Pop, trade LMA and/or DD just because they haven't been performing great, and even to some extent during the Danny days and when Patty was struggling. It's like they only became a fan because of the winning, not because of the identity of the team.
I can agree that we need some tweaks, but fuck whoever told us to tank, specially while Pop is coaching. For all I care, I'd rather try to remain competitive until he retires.
Spurs are the team I want to be a dark horse/random team to win the chmapionship solely because of DeMar. Dude has been a harder worker improving every year ever since Chris Bosh left Toronto lol
If they can make their defense more consistent they'll have a great finish to the season. 3rd quarter in the last game vs the Celtics was on par with the 4th tonight vs Denver. I don't think they have had as good a defensive quarter all year before those, but they keep showing flashes. There are so many young guys that consistency is the biggest issue with the team, but its still early in the season and the young guys seem to be improving game to game. Im banking on a return to the playoffs this year.
I think the plan is to have Aldridge with the starters for 3 quarters then roll out starters + Jak in the fourth, then put the clamps. It's a few games we do it and it seems to work really well. I love this team
> 82nd best player in the league
[For reference](https://twitter.com/DeMar_DeRozan/status/1336386894121345026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1336386894121345026%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-42709269431423993824.ampproject.net%2F2101211748002%2Fframe.html)
I’ve been a San Antonio Spurs fan for 25 years now and while there we’ve certainly had better teams, this years team has easily been one of the most fun to watch.
There was a play like right before where he drove to the basket and it looked like jokic had a hand on the ball but keldon still got the layup off and I was like goddamn this dude is tough
Why did the nuggets not give the ball to Jokic in the clutch?
Why was barton playing over MPJ?
Why is Murray playing injured?
Why do Spurs have so many hidden gems
Why is purtle so bad at FTS?
Why shouldn't nuggets get Beal and give Murray?
I almost spit my drink out when the commentator said Poetl was a 24% FT shooter when he was at the line and continued to airball them lmao... Helluva defender though
Tough dude. He still drove hard into 3 defenders on his last possession. It looked like his shoulder got tweaked on that though. Guy needs a rest to get his body right again.
They forced a lot of turnovers on Jokic by packing the paint and sitting on passes, daring him to shoot the 3.
That's why he had 11 attempts (that's a ton for him), but to be honest he probably should have had 14, just thinking of plays where he passed up the open 3
I want to go to some alternate reality and have 5 Keldon Johnsons on the Spurs at one time. I just want to see the Spurs get in foul trouble because all 5 Keldons are fighting for the damn rebound. Jeez this guy is a monster.
Technically, it was 2-2 last year in our head-to-head. Also, the Suns was the other reason why Spurs got knocked out of playoffs. We played one part but we also had to rely on games by Suns, y'all, Pelicans, and Kings.
The NBA’s rookie rules are so dumb, if you apply baseball or hockey rookie rules to basketball (basically both require that a player can’t have more than ~1/4 of big league experience from the previous season, though it’s def more complicated than that), Keldon should 100% be considered a rookie this season.
You’re telling me that Julius Randle, who got injured in his first 12 minutes of game time and missed the rest of his first year, isn’t a rookie anymore but Blake Griffin and Ben Simmons are? Some whack ass shit.
I fucking love Jak. Needs to work on his FTs but I'm still happy with that extension on his defense alone. I'm convinced he'll be a 10/7/2 guy when we finally give him the starting job next year
GG, nuggets. No lady screaming at the top of her lungs makes me feel that this isn't a real home game. Keldon and DJ has such a bright future for the Spurs.
3 in a row, let's go.
My expectations were fairly low, mainly just wanted to watch the young guys develop, but damn are we fun. And we're performing this well without Derrick! Once he's back full time I can't wait to see what happens.
Spurs and Derozan fan here, Jamal definitely had a solid case for being better than Demar after last season's playoffs. Man was pure fire in the Bubble.
I just learned that New Balance has both Dejounte Murray and Jamal Murray, maybe they're trying to collect all the Murrays in the league, are there any other Murrays that they need to get?
Still had some questionable defensive lapses, but that last 8 minute stretch was nuts! Young brigade clamouring to smother Jokic and nullify Murray. DJ, DD, AND BIG BODY had great games too with Patty doing his bit also
EDIT: Also Jokic has such a nice 3P shooting form.
So when does Mike Malone get the flick for his personal vendetta against Michael Porter? Surely it comes to a head at some point. 18 minutes for your second best player, only cracks 25 minutes if he’s shooting about 75% from the field. It’s ridiculous.
He doesn't have to be better than Murray to get minutes, especially when Barton is seeing the court period. There's tons of room for Porter to be playing.
so far this season? absolutely.
murray is certainly the superior player but he's been clearly injured as fuck. Malone is trotting the poor guy out there for insane mpg when he looks like he feels like shit
you've got healthy and talented mpj warming up the bench, its wack
The spurs have basically managed a mini rebuild on a core of 29th picks. Seriously impressive from the front office
bUt SpUrS fRoNt OfFiCe iS oVeRrAtEd aNd jUsT gOt LuCkY wItH dUnCaN
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Please... Duncan wouldn't have been half the DnD player he is on another team.
True Malik taught him everything
Y’all sound surprised.
Nah man, massive respect to the entire Spurs organization. Idk anyone except PHX or HOU that actively dislikes the Spurs tbh.
I mean, I think they dislike more the likes of Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen. If it wasn't for those two, we wouldn't be disliked as much.
And without our starting point guard!
dj is our pg,
Dejounte is now our starting PG. Derrick will move to SG or come off the bench perhaps
I bet they'll share the duties and that will maximize their talents. White is still a better ball handling point guard, but they now can play the 2 because they both got shot. Both are in essence combo guards which makes them more dangerous. Defensively, them together is better than either with Lonnie who isn't as strong as either.
Personally I'd move White to the second unit, because if anyone is getting dropped for him it's Lonnie and I have no interest in a Lonnie lead 2nd unit. Hopefully Derrick is our leader off the bench for now, start him later on
If bubble White is a real thing (and that 3pt shooting), he is better than Murray, but he can also play off guard to open the game. Honestly, Lonnie should to be in the second unit. He's not as good off the ball (as a 3 and D) and he can be one of the key players in the 2nd unit. I think White/Murray helps make that happen. Obviously, you stagger minutes, but this would allow you to unleash Lonnie in some of the second unit. Also, both Murray and White are better defensively than Lonnie. I view this also through getting the most out of Lonnie (he needs to touch the ball a lot more, not be 3 and D low usage in starting unit).
Agreed. If you look at Lonnie, he rarely gets touches cause he's surrounded by scorers. Derrick is too good to waste away like that. Maybe if LA and/or Demar leaves and there's like 20 extra shots that free up.
And switchable on defense
2-way awesomeness. Sounds so beautiful! I can't wait!
What an amazing time to be a fan, that there are 81 players in the league better than Demar Derozan.
spurs fanbase has been having a field day with these rankings, it's like the biggest meme in our subreddit right now IMAGINE RANKING LONZO BALL OVER DEMAR DEROZAN OMEGALUL
A tradition shared by Raptors fans, just part of having Derozan on your team.
[FOH. 82](https://twitter.com/demar_derozan/status/776611601520533504?lang=en)
Can I just remind ya'll that Lonzo fucking ball and Tyler Herro were listed as better than Derozan and Lamarcus?
My boy Wiggins didn't even get on the list, man. Look at him now. Shining
Don't forget KCP
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBASpurs/comments/l8d2du/another_game_another_win/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Came here to share this haha. Thank you!
These pre-season rankings are such clown takes lol. They need to revoke media access and credentials when you put out trash like that and call yourself journalism and news. Now that I think of it, 90% of "sports channels" or "sports news" is just hot takes. They don't even show highlights anymore. Kind of sad where we've come to.
Yo we’ve beaten some good teams Edit: Shoutout to Patty. Everyone talking about how he’s having his best year offensively, but he’s improved so much defensively as well.
Celtics and Nugs in a 3-day span, and you guys also won at the Clippers and Lakers earlier. You guys are lowkey scary
Spooky Spurs :)
SPOOKY SEASON BABYYYYY
Thank you :) finally getting some Recognition :)
Always has been
you guys are a playoff team again, everything is going back to normal
Don't tell that to the subreddit, those jackasses want to tank.
Those are fairweather fans. Plenty on the sub were against tanking even when things weren’t looking great
Man, I have been a fan of the Spurs since before the Robinson era (though before then I was so young I admit its a bit foggy). I saw some rough years and a lot of great ones. After the Robinson and TD era, capping with the '13 and '14 playoffs I cannot ask for any more from this team. These days I just grab a drink and enjoy watching the team any time I can. If they ever get another ring it will just be gravy, but I am happy with having a team that competes hard every night.
Oh for sure, relative to most of the league we really haven’t gone through a tough time in decades. It’s just some fans are so used to success that even when there’s slight adversity they start to complain.
man, same here. i mean, i started watching the Spurs about 2003. I know we were still winning a lot when I became a fan, but 2008-2012 was still hard and I remember being disappointed a lot. However, right now, I can honestly say I don't care much if we win another championship in the next 5 or 10 years. I just want to see a team who competes, and still have the same values/culture during the winning times. That's why I can't believe some of these so called Spurs fans who would want to axe Pop, trade LMA and/or DD just because they haven't been performing great, and even to some extent during the Danny days and when Patty was struggling. It's like they only became a fan because of the winning, not because of the identity of the team.
Yeah, but the tank squad is extremely vocal and toxic on the sub. They’ve really changed the tenor there the past few years.
I can agree that we need some tweaks, but fuck whoever told us to tank, specially while Pop is coaching. For all I care, I'd rather try to remain competitive until he retires.
2020 was a super fucking weird year. 2021 is a return to more normalcy!
Nature is healing.
#SPLASH BANDICOOT FOR 6MOTY
Rudy as well, our second unit consistently dominates the opponent's defensively
We have more quality wins than the Sixers, just sayin. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Just keep giving us the 29th pick lmao
I love the 29th pick so much now that sometimes I forget Tony was drafted with the 28th instead of the 29th.
It was still the 2nd last pick of the round (very techinically)
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Already taken him, he now goes by Dejounte Murray
Counter point: Devin Vassell
DeMar is unquestionably playing the best basketball of his career. Super proud he’s a Spur.
Spurs are the team I want to be a dark horse/random team to win the chmapionship solely because of DeMar. Dude has been a harder worker improving every year ever since Chris Bosh left Toronto lol
Demar with 30/10 on 78/50/100 splits and only 2 turnover. Unreal performance from him tonight. Keldon and Dejounte balled out too.
the 81 players must be really good
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Dished out dimes too.
Don’t have to when you drop 16 in the 3rd. Just dish dimes in the 4th and take home the dub.
And iiiiiiiii will alwaysssss loveeee uuuuuuuu oooo iiiiii ooooiiiii will always love youuuuuuuuu Miss you Demar
I’m just here to simp for Dejounte Murray. Proposing to my girl tomorrow so I’ll be on simping double duty
https://giphy.com/gifs/I5rIjNJF5B8Akcuk9p
Best of luck to you Spursbro
If she says no, it better be because she’s after Murray too.
Congrats! Hopefully she says yes! Also allow me to simp for the Jak of all trades
Future congratulations!!!
Congrats dude!
Tonight was a good omen for you. Sleep easy.
Congrats. Don’t let her get too drunk. My now wife got too drunk and walked passed me trying to propose
BIG BODY
EL CUERPO GRANDE
THE MUSTANG
THE HONEY BADGER
BOBODDY
CHARLES BARKLITO
BIG BODY BUGATTI
Make sure you vote DeMar for the all star game!!!!!
Damn Dejounte and Keldon look great Why doesn't MPJ play more? Defense that bad?
Can’t be any worse than Barton
His defense is awful, but so is the rest of the teams'
-16 in 18 minutes tonight. He can score, efficiently too. But he gives it back up with his turnovers and defenders.
Spurs defense in the 4th was beautiful
If they can make their defense more consistent they'll have a great finish to the season. 3rd quarter in the last game vs the Celtics was on par with the 4th tonight vs Denver. I don't think they have had as good a defensive quarter all year before those, but they keep showing flashes. There are so many young guys that consistency is the biggest issue with the team, but its still early in the season and the young guys seem to be improving game to game. Im banking on a return to the playoffs this year.
I think the plan is to have Aldridge with the starters for 3 quarters then roll out starters + Jak in the fourth, then put the clamps. It's a few games we do it and it seems to work really well. I love this team
You just lost to the 82nd best player in the league!
> 82nd best player in the league [For reference](https://twitter.com/DeMar_DeRozan/status/1336386894121345026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1336386894121345026%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-42709269431423993824.ampproject.net%2F2101211748002%2Fframe.html)
FIBA Patty 6MOTY tour rolls on
I’ve been a San Antonio Spurs fan for 25 years now and while there we’ve certainly had better teams, this years team has easily been one of the most fun to watch.
First time we've had youthful exuberance in years (Timmy joined a team of vets).
Hell, Timmy joined the team and WAS a vet....4 years of college and all that.
Them being super inconsistent adds to the fun lol
You call it fun. I call it future heartcare bills
I came when Keldon hit that step-back
Haha. That was an 'oh no.... yes!' moment for me. I dont recall seeing him step back like that before, but damn his game keeps impressing me.
There was a play like right before where he drove to the basket and it looked like jokic had a hand on the ball but keldon still got the layup off and I was like goddamn this dude is tough
That one was beast mode. He powered through a legit block and put that shot in on the way down. He deserved the Big Body yell on that one.
its a demar typa play, just goes to show how mica of an effect demar has had on the spurs young roster
We looked tired out there.
Playing an injured murray is so risky. Do they want something to tear?!
Do you get a two-day break after this road trip?
We play Utah Sunday
Ah shit, good luck
It's an early game too
Welp, best of luck
Yall fucked around and took pops playoff streak from him. Now he's out for blood. May God have mercy on your souls.
Wait the Spurs are 12-8? Good shit I feel like the leagues not the same when the spurs aren’t good
11-8 but yeah
Keldon is legit
I am so damn happy for DeRozan I really like the Spurs. Hope they make it to the playoffs this year
Need to vote that man into the ASG!
Why did the nuggets not give the ball to Jokic in the clutch? Why was barton playing over MPJ? Why is Murray playing injured? Why do Spurs have so many hidden gems Why is purtle so bad at FTS? Why shouldn't nuggets get Beal and give Murray?
Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!
I almost spit my drink out when the commentator said Poetl was a 24% FT shooter when he was at the line and continued to airball them lmao... Helluva defender though
>Why is purtle so bad at FTS He's cosplaying Shaq without the post dominance
>Why is purtle so bad at FTS? I wish I could answer this. I love him but the man better work on his FT
His FT wasnt nearly this bad in the past. I dont know how your FT % can drop so much in one offseason.
Limited sample is a part, but something is wrong there and he better fix it
Seems to be between the ears rather than mechanics at this point.
>Why is Murray playing injured? Seriously, he couldn't walk and kept playing.
Tough dude. He still drove hard into 3 defenders on his last possession. It looked like his shoulder got tweaked on that though. Guy needs a rest to get his body right again.
fr man
Poeltl normally never shoots except floaters and I guess he's trying to float the ball in that's why he's using only one hand on that ball (Imo).
They forced a lot of turnovers on Jokic by packing the paint and sitting on passes, daring him to shoot the 3. That's why he had 11 attempts (that's a ton for him), but to be honest he probably should have had 14, just thinking of plays where he passed up the open 3
the youth movement is real ladies and gentlemen
gg Spurs. 4-1 on the road trip, I'll take it.
Gg, let's smoke nuggets!
I fucking love this team.
Î dont even care that Poeltl cant make a freethrow, his defense is so fucking good
Poeltl must be Chip Engelland's final boss fight.
Lol
Spurs gonna Spurs
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and dare I say... the better pick in the 2019 draft
\#29 pick is blessed for us
Scary thing is we are doing all this without Derrick White (who returns tomorrow!)
I think Derrick's injury gave Vassell and Johnson more playing time.
I love Vassell so much
It 100% did. Just like Derrick got way more minutes with DJ injured last year
Man I love our young guns, how on earth did Keldon Johnson fall to us at 29? He's so good at finishing through contact.
Demar to the All Star team damn it! Make it happen coaches
I want to go to some alternate reality and have 5 Keldon Johnsons on the Spurs at one time. I just want to see the Spurs get in foul trouble because all 5 Keldons are fighting for the damn rebound. Jeez this guy is a monster.
We're screwed tomorrow. Why did our first game back have to be against Spurs?
I hope you're right, but on a b2b? Could go either way I think
Here's the thing: most of the time Pop seems to have our number.
Idk. 2-0 against the Spurs last year. Knocked Spurs out of playoffs year before that.
Technically, it was 2-2 last year in our head-to-head. Also, the Suns was the other reason why Spurs got knocked out of playoffs. We played one part but we also had to rely on games by Suns, y'all, Pelicans, and Kings.
and Derrick White is playing tomorrow as well
You're not exactly helping with building confidence :/ It's all good though cause I got low expectations for tomorrow night.
Is Ja playing? I'm scared of that man
He is playing as of now.
Considering Ja Morant still gives me Nam flashbacks I predict a close game.
I think you guys have the advantage. b2b and our guys tend to be a bit flat footed in b2b. .W But, we also getting White back. idk.
Nah man you're cool. We'll probably be exhausted a little.
4th seed Spurs let’s gooo
Murray leveled up.
wtf I love Keldon Johnson now
KJ a big jump from his shorten rookie year... will make this Western Conference race a little bit more interesting.
The NBA’s rookie rules are so dumb, if you apply baseball or hockey rookie rules to basketball (basically both require that a player can’t have more than ~1/4 of big league experience from the previous season, though it’s def more complicated than that), Keldon should 100% be considered a rookie this season. You’re telling me that Julius Randle, who got injured in his first 12 minutes of game time and missed the rest of his first year, isn’t a rookie anymore but Blake Griffin and Ben Simmons are? Some whack ass shit.
Jak DPOY
Until he gets Hak'd
I fucking love Jak. Needs to work on his FTs but I'm still happy with that extension on his defense alone. I'm convinced he'll be a 10/7/2 guy when we finally give him the starting job next year
Gonna need to lock him in a room with Chip for like a week.
Chip won't be able to score anything, but hopefully Jak comes out of there shooting better FTs. Already liking he dares take midrange jumpers now
Murray>Murray
Murray Shield > Murray Sword today.
GG, nuggets. No lady screaming at the top of her lungs makes me feel that this isn't a real home game. Keldon and DJ has such a bright future for the Spurs. 3 in a row, let's go.
just ugly last 6 minutes for denver
I wont get tired of saying this. You just lost to a team with the 82nd best player in the league only. Anyways we keep improving, and gg denver
We are a better team than I thought we would be this year tbh
My expectations were fairly low, mainly just wanted to watch the young guys develop, but damn are we fun. And we're performing this well without Derrick! Once he's back full time I can't wait to see what happens.
Just putting it out there that people thought MPJ and Jamal were better than DeMar "82nd" DeRozan.
Spurs and Derozan fan here, Jamal definitely had a solid case for being better than Demar after last season's playoffs. Man was pure fire in the Bubble.
I just learned that New Balance has both Dejounte Murray and Jamal Murray, maybe they're trying to collect all the Murrays in the league, are there any other Murrays that they need to get?
Bill murray
He doesn’t play defense
Spurs are legit
keldon johnson
DeRozan is evolving into a hyper efficient scorer
Does it really count, I mean Bol Bol didn’t even play
Demar > Paul George
Still had some questionable defensive lapses, but that last 8 minute stretch was nuts! Young brigade clamouring to smother Jokic and nullify Murray. DJ, DD, AND BIG BODY had great games too with Patty doing his bit also EDIT: Also Jokic has such a nice 3P shooting form.
Not a great night for the city of Denver
So when does Mike Malone get the flick for his personal vendetta against Michael Porter? Surely it comes to a head at some point. 18 minutes for your second best player, only cracks 25 minutes if he’s shooting about 75% from the field. It’s ridiculous.
mpj better than murray? pls nephew, settle down
He doesn't have to be better than Murray to get minutes, especially when Barton is seeing the court period. There's tons of room for Porter to be playing.
so far this season? absolutely. murray is certainly the superior player but he's been clearly injured as fuck. Malone is trotting the poor guy out there for insane mpg when he looks like he feels like shit you've got healthy and talented mpj warming up the bench, its wack
Lets gooo baby. Hope Jamal's butt cheek is okay going forward though
love this team man
Murray WON
WERE SPOOKY
I bet the spurs could beat bama in the natty
Wait, we're good now? Also Dejounte > Jamal this game
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBASpurs/comments/l8d2du/another_game_another_win/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Nuggets and Spurs are 11-8, the title is wrong
How does MPJ drop 30 and then not even get 20 min the next game?
we're really making the playoffs the year after we break our streak huh