Well, that was much better.

Coming into the week, I predicted in the Spurs Dynasty podcast that this would be a trap week. Not to sound like Ms. Cleo or anything, but I saw into the future and fully expected this week to play out like it did. Win against the Clippers. Win against Golden State, and a split with one of the bottom tier teams.

Well, I was kinda right.

The problem is, that Sacramento Kings team is pretty darn good. Can we say enough about DeMarcus Cousins? It seems like the kid is finally starting to win his biggest battle: the one between his ears. He genuinely reminds me of Andrew Bynum, a kid with ridiculous potential. Total headcase. Except now, he’s working out those kinks. This is without a doubt a Spurs website, but Boogie Cousins has been fun to watch over the last few years. I really hope he stays on this course and good things come.

Now back to Spurs basketball.

The Spurs pretty much plowed through Golden State and seemed to hardly break a sweat. The offense looked better in that game than it had all year. On top of that, the Warriors looked like they were watching the Spurs play, instead of just playing. Everyone has an off night, but the Oakland kids just can’t seem to get over the hump. Of course, they have gone through a pretty dramatic off season. Steve Kerr has his hands full with that bunch. But these are types of games that the guys from the Alamo City are built for.

Sometimes talent wins games. Sometimes shots. Sometimes athleticism. But a lot of time, it’s chemistry and consistency and this team has it. The “double Cs” is what wins these types of games. It helps when your opponent can’t find anyone to guard your 38-year-old big man. But when you face a team that is younger, more athletic and probably a better shooting team, in one of the loudest arenas in the league, it’s nice to have familiar faces to play with. This type of game is why I think that doing practically nothing in the offseason may have been one of the best moves of all. Chalk this win up to just about that.

The Lakers. Man, I just don’t know what to say about them. Here’s a little fun piece of trivia for you: aside from Kobe Bryant, who is the next longest tenured Laker on that team?

Don’t worry. I’ll wait.

Yep. You guessed it.

Jordan Hill. Ha! Who is this team? It’s almost not even fun anymore.

Ok, that’s a lie. It’s still fun to beat the Lakers. But it certainly isn’t much of a rivalry anymore. I don’t know what was harder to watch: Kobe scoring a whopping 9 points, or the fans chanting “MVP” as he calmly hit his 5th and 6th points from the Free Throw line… in the 3rd Quarter. It’s a mess over there in La La Land.

But you know what was really frustrating? Watching the Spurs pretty much play down to their level. I kept looking at the score and thinking we were up by 29 or 44 or 192, but nope. They were always within 9, or 13. It wasn’t until late that it got out of hand. I am slightly concerned because it makes me worried that we might play to the level of our competition. That’s a dangerous trend and a slippery slope. It’s fine when you aren’t having a great start to the season shooting the ball and you can beat the Clippers and thump a decent Warrior team on back to back nights. It’s not great when you play like doo doo butter against the 1-9 Lakers who have Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin guarding your two best players.

Nothing to panic about, but something to monitor.

And finally, the Kings. If we are going to praise the Spurs for winning back to back against the Clips and Dubs, then we have to kind of expect more from a LAL/SAC back to back. It’s a tough schedule and we all knew it was coming. But the guys just seemed a bit mushy. And not to mention, some pretty raggedy execution down the stretch. When you are older and slower, you have to rely on the same chemistry that wins you that Warriors game to win you the Kings game.

But the Spurs really just seemed to forget about chemistry and instead, we saw a lot more hero ball. Well, maybe not hero ball, but more like trash. Fortunately, these are mistakes that are easily identified and easily chalked up to fatigue, both mentally and physically. This particular California trip is a tough one, and the back to backs don’t help. Some nights, you just don’t have it. Funny enough, the Kings just happen to have the luckiest part of the Spurs schedule (Lakers just can’t catch a break).

Aside from that, here is what else I am seeing…

  • Kudos to the old man, Timothy Theodore Duncan on an incredible accomplishment: 25,000 points. He’s the greatest power forward of all time and easily a top 10 player of all time. If anyone ever argues with you, you have my permission to slap them.
  • Tony Parker is currently not Tony Parker. Instead, he has flashes of Tony Parker and some oddly hot shooting streaks and it’s enough to hide the fact that he isn’t really Tony Parker. But the reality is this: he isn’t Tony Parker. But, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing…
  • …because Cory Joseph is not Cory Joseph. Ten games into the season and Cory gets my vote for most improved player on the team. He’s turned into a pretty freakin’ good PG. I know it. You know it. And Patrick Mills knows it.
  • Danny Green has also changed his game a bit. I’m really enjoying him putting the ball on the floor. He has pretty much been a one dimensional player who is best used spotting up or off a screen. A bit of ball handling with a pull up jumper with a defender and his value sky rockets. I hope this lasts and I hope he doesn’t ruin everything by adding this into his offense. He has one of the prettier shots in basketball and makes it looks effortless. (Note: I make my son watch Danny Green shooting reels on YouTube and try to get him to imitate his stroke, but he just can’t seem to get it. It’s starting to really frustrate me.) (Other Note: my son is 1 year old.)
  • Two years ago when the Spurs re-signed Tiago Splitter, I was angry. I thought the Spurs overpaid for him. His absence has shown me one thing: I completely underestimated the value of a big man in the NBA. I am sorry, Tiago.
  • The less we see of Jeff Ayers, the happier I am.
  • The less we see of Austin Daye, the happier I am.
  • The less we see of Kyle Anderson, the more I confuse him with Austin Daye and Jeff Ayers. But here is how you can tell them apart. Slow-Mo can catch the ball. Ayers, not so much. Slow-Mo tries, works hard, gets to the right spot and stays in his lane. Daye, not so much. Daye is just… well, I am gonna get off his back. You guys know.
  • Finally, I am vicariously growing a beard via Coach Pop. His beard is my beard. I hope we never shave it. (Note: he has a great future as a mall Santa Claus, if he ever wants it).

The Philadelphia D-League Affiliate is up next (Update: The Spurs won this game and the Sixers stink — there is your recap), then some clowns from Ohio on national television, followed by the Wolves and Nets. This is where the Spurs can pick up steam. A 4-0 week is very reasonable. Well, until Pop decides to sit everyone on Wednesday.

Don’t forget to check out our podcast as Dan, Jeff, Bramlet and I pretend we know what we are talking about. Don’t make it weird.

Go Spurs Go!