I kind of felt this game coming, and it intersected perfectly with the same feeling coming from the Clippers.
It’s a long 82-game season; some nights a team will just play poorly. After starting 4-0 and playing very well (particularly for the beginning of the season), the Spurs were due for a letdown game.
After losing 2 in a row at home to teams they should normally beat and having their work and preparation challenged by their head coach, the Clippers were due for a high-energy “statement” game.
Put those two things together, and you get a pretty non-competitive game. The Clippers looked really good; the Spurs did not. I don’t think there’s much we can take away from this game in the longview. My one slowly rising concern over this young season is the slow start of the offense. Maybe we just got spoiled watching one of the most efficient offenses ever last season, but things just don’t seem to be clicking as smoothly this year. Passes are a second early or a second late or a foot to the left; cuts aren’t as precise; decisions aren’t as automatic. It’s still early in the season, granted, but given that there is zero turnover from last season’s team, I would expect it to be a bit better right now.
For now, no panic. Just something to keep in the rolodex to worry about in a few weeks when we all need something to worry about.
