There are only 3 positives to take away from this game:
1. We won. Always a good thing.
2. Manu Ginobili. It’s such a pleasure to watch him play. I experience actual joy when he is on the court. Our offense almost literally could not score without him on the floor. If he’s not a Spur next year…well, I don’t know what I’ll do. But I’ll be very unhappy.
3. Malik Hairston. Pop put him in either late in the 3rd or early in the 4th, and he never came out. One thing that I love about Pop is that he’s not afraid to defy conventional wisdom, or to sacrifice a loss to chase a particular whim, cultivate something more long-term, or just prove a point. Most coaches would have taken Hairston out in the last few minutes of the game, satisfied that they had proven their point or gotten the most out of the reserve. But Pop rewarded his good play, stayed with him, and allowed him to finish out the game with the big boys.
And he should have. Outside of Ginobili, Duncan, and possibly Hill and McDyess, nobody was playing better than Hairston (and those were your closing 5). What I liked best about Hairston’s game wasn’t the putback dunk (though it was sweet), nor the block on Harrington (though it was timely and awesome), but rather the 20 foot jump shot he calmly stepped into and nailed at the most critical of junctures, prompting a timeout from D’Antonio and giving the Spurs the cushion they needed to finish off the game. If Hairston can develop his jump shot and continue to learn the Spurs defensive system, he’ll be a solid rotation guy before you know it.
And that’s all.
Looking Forward:
Off to Minnesota Friday night. This is another game that we must win.
