We needed this win. We’ve struggled on the road and against good teams all year, and this was a chance to reverse both trends.
And we had it. Our defense suffocated them in the third quarter. We got the pace where we wanted, we were executing our offense with precision, limiting turnovers, and we were slowly taking control of the game. It felt like a game from a few years ago. Slow it down, grind it out, and eventually our execution, confidence, and trust would prevail. Well, at least 2 of those things are gone, and I’m pretty sure the 3rd one’s not far behind.
We wilted down the stretch and gave the game away. Portland did their part to win it, but make no mistake: we should have won this game. We were firmly in control of the game in almost every aspect. Then, without notice, we started turning the ball over; we started taking horrible shots (Manu’s 3 from 5 feet behind the line comes to mind) and stopped working to get the best available shot; our defensive rotations broke down and we gave up some back-breaking wide open 3s. I can’t even remember a good offensive possession we had in the last 5 minutes of the game, save for Pop’s awesome out of bounds play down 3 with under 20 seconds left.
Jefferson is clearly struggling. He’s just not getting the system, he’s doubting himself, he’s hesitant, and he’s passive. He rebounds like crap. And I don’t think he’s all of a sudden going to magically “get it”. He’ll go through stretches where he plays decently, but then it’s like he forgets and regresses. We’re past the point where people need to be reminded to play hard and compete. This is professional basketball.
Doug Collins said it on the telecast. These are the types of games the Spurs used to always win. Tight games that come down to execution and defensive stops down the stretch. I think we can safely say that this is no longer that Spurs team. We’ve rarely been blown out this year, but we’ve lost a ton of close games. That is not a coincidence. We are lacking something critical that allows us to win close (important) games, and I’m not sure exactly what it is. I don’t think anybody else does, either.
What are the answers? A trade? For whom? And who do we give up? Will anybody take Jefferson? Will it even matter?
Looking Backwards:
I was only able to watch the last 4 minutes of the Kings game. I saw enough to see us pull away, then watch Tyreke almost magically bring them all the way back. Man, that kid is frightening. It’s hard to find any fault in anything the Spurs did, other than the 2 careless TOs. We had the score and the clock on our side, and we did what we needed to do. I can’t comment on anything up until that point, but I’m grateful for the win.
Looking Forward:
Next up is the Clippers on Saturday. I fully expect that we’ll win this game and win it convincingly. Yawn. I’ve seen this movie before. We need the win, and we’ll take it. But the next game of importance is Monday night against the Lakers. I said we needed at least 2 of the 3 big games on the road trip, and we already lost the first. I’ll let you do the math.
