Season 48, Game 44
Chicago 104, San Antonio 81
27-17, 7th in the West

That was embarrassing.

The Spurs were lifeless and listless, sleepwalking their way to their most lopsided loss of the season.

The Bulls came into the game in a bit of a swoon, having lost 6 of their last 8 games. Derrick Rose had some pretty strong comments after their last loss (a bit of a sleepwalk for them, apparently), and this was a kind of “Prove It” game for them.

I have no explanation for the Spurs’ lack of focus, but that coupled with the Bulls intensity and sense of immediacy set the end result in motion early. Sometimes it really is just about ‘who wants it more’. The Bulls needed this win for a variety of reasons and the Spurs were caught wholly unprepared. Mix, stir, bake: 23-point loss.

Kawhi Leonard had a fantastic first half and kept the team in the game longer than they should have (exactly one half of basketball). He scored the last 11 points of the first half for the Spurs, and it wasn’t really a team effort. This is an encouraging sign to see Leonard aggressive and able to get his own, but no player can carry this team alone.

Duncan played hard, but length has always been what gives him the most trouble, and between Pau and Taj, there was way too much for him. He forced it a bit inside and came up short.

Boris played a terrible game. Shooting 1 for 9 is just the beginning of it.

Tiago played hard (as usual), but was put into too many positions where he had to make moves with the basketball and try to score on his own. This is not where the team excels.

Tony Parker is getting better, but he is still miles away from being the Tony we all know and love. You forget just how important Tony is to making this offense hum, and from elevating the team from “good” to “great”. His activity and precision are the framework of the offense, and until he is completely back, this team will suffer down nights and never fully reach that championship level.

It became apparent pretty early in the third quarter that the starters just didn’t have it. Pop’s usual move would be to do a wholesale substation and see if the bench and deep reserves can get any action. Instead, he left the starters out there, didn’t call any timeouts, didn’t even stand up and patrol the sidelines. He left them out there to try and figure it out themselves. But really, he left them out there to get embarrassed.

It was probably the right call.

One loss against an Eastern Conference team isn’t going to hurt all that much. But the team needs to feel what it’s like to get their butts whooped by a team that is hungry and desperate, and be reminded of what that energy and urgency feels like. This season has been too up and down, and there will be no extended win streak, no “the Spurs are back” until the team finds a consistent will to win and execute.

Their next chance is Friday night, back home against the Lakers. A Kobe-less Lakers team should be an easy win, but we all know what happened the last time they played the Lakers. (If you’re lucky, you’ve actually forgotten.) From “pitiful” to embarrassing; that’s not much progress.