Season 48, Game 50
San Antonio 98, Miami 85
32-18, 7th in the West
Something about those red Miami jerseys must spark these Spurs back to life.
The Spurs haven’t looked this good since…Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals against these same Miami Heat. Well, not really the same Miami Heat. There’s one pretty good player missing. (LeBron James didn’t play, either; he is now in Cleveland.)
In all honesty, this Miami team is really depleted. James is gone, obviously. Wade is out an extended period of time. The out-of-nowhere phenom Hassan Whiteside missed the game. Udonis Haslem left the game after only about 3 minutes of action due to a left wrist injury. The Spurs should have dominated this team.
No matter how it comes, though, it’s refreshing to not only see the Spurs play well, but to also start to show glimmers of what made them so special last season. The ball was zinging around the court, but with a purpose. They were actually going “good to great” instead of just “good to slightly better” or, at its worst, “good to great to not as good to what are you thinking?”. The 3-point shots were wide open; the shots at the rim came off clever action and led to easy layups. The team seemed in control and all on the same page.
Leading this charge was Tony Parker, who played his first really solid game in a long time. He was getting to the rim and finishing; his jump shot looked good; and he was working within the offense really well, though the ball did stick a little too much in the beginning. Mostly, he looked quick and confident, perhaps the two most important aspects of Tony’s game.
Leonard had another solid outing on both sides of the ball. The best part was his confident 3-point stroke. If he can add a consistent 3-point shot to his ever-expanding game, we’ll be in great shape in the playoffs.
Marco continued to look solid in his second game back. Manu was also great again in what is becoming his best role on this team: second team facilitator, which allows him to play both frenetically and under control, if that makes sense.
The only point of discord came at the center position. Aron Baynes got the starting nod over Tiago. Baynes has earned a look as the starter, as he’s played really well, particularly on offense. He’s a big body who can rebound well, but is surprisingly nimble and clever with the ball and has a decent medium-range jump shot. However, his time as the starter was not good. Perhaps he is best served sharing the court with Patty and Manu.
Moving Tiago to the bench might have been to get him more court time with Manu, thinking that this might get him back in rhythm. But he continues to struggle. The only way I can describe Tiago right now is that he has the yips, a term usually associated with golfers who have lost their stroke. He is showing no confidence around the rim and often works himself out of the best shot; his usually sure hands are missing lots of easy passes and rebounds; and his usually stout defense just isn’t there. I’m not quite sure what is going on with him. He’s not critical, but we all know how much better this team is with the best version of Tiago.
The Spurs now start their annual Rodeo Road Trip. We all know the lore: this is when the team really gels and finds itself. This year’s trip is a little more West-heavy than usual and could end up being the toughest trip yet. Still, there’s no time left to be searching for answers and rhythm: it’s time to find it.
The trip kicks off in Toronto on Sunday.
