Season 49, Game 12
San Antonio 90, New Orleans 104
9-3, 2nd in the West
The New Orleans Pelicans are the San Antonio Spurs’ kryptonite.
Nothing else matters. The Pelicans are the worst ranked defense in the NBA? The Spurs come in as one of the hottest teams in the league? The Pelicans are 1-11, can barely field a roster of competent NBA players, and are reliant upon players they literally signed a day before the season started? The Spurs are the best defense in the league, holding teams to an average of 91 points, and are the #1 team in the league at protecting the paint?
Doesn’t matter. None of it means a thing.
When these two teams play, the Spurs look like a Division II College program barely able to grasp the fundamentals of a motion offense, while the Pelicans look like NBA champs. Seriously, if I had told you the Pelicans were the worst defensive team in the league, would you believe me? No team does a better job of shutting down the Spurs offense.
If I told you that Ish Smith was on his 9th team in 6 seasons, had been released 6 times, and was cut by the Wizards this year before signing with the Pelicans right before opening night, would you believe me? He looked like Chris Paul out there, on his way to 17 points, 13 assists, and 4 rebounds. He destroyed – DESTROYED – both Patty Mills and Tony Parker, completely breaking down the Spurs’ defense at will, leaving vulnerable both the 3-point line and the paint for easy points.
If I told you that this was the first game of Tim Duncan’s career that he failed to record a rebound, would you believe me?
We all remember Game 82 from last season, a game the Spurs desperately needed to win, a game in which they were easily beaten by the Pelicans in New Orleans. But remember, the Pelicans beat us 3-1 last season, with the lone win being that crazy game where Tim Duncan and Omer Asik combined to tip the ball in from an inbounds pass from midcourt as time expired, sending the game to overtime. (The Spurs eventually won in OT.)
Some teams just have other team’s number, and the Pelicans have ours. In that sense, it’s easy to write this one off.
But a few troubling things stick out:
• The PG defense was abysmal. I don’t care who you have protecting the rim, if you can’t even momentarily slow down the point of attack, your defense will collapse. The Spurs have particular trouble with speed, like Ish Smith.
• Aldridge continues to be an afterthought in the offense, mainly called upon as a release valve as the shot clock expires. I’ve said it before, but I’d like to see how well he plays in Duncan’s usual role as the sort of pivot point of the offense near the top of the key. I’d also love to see him more in Pick-and-Pop situations, or integrated into the motion offense a bit more.
• The bench is pretty mediocre without Manu. The Pelicans bench (and not just Ryan Anderson) completely destroyed the Spurs bench.
• Parker was aggressive getting to the rim, but just could not finish once he got there. Again, probably an aberration. But if it’s not, that’s big trouble.
The team didn’t show up to play; it’s a long season, it happens. But on a front end of a back-to-back (and against the easier team), this is the game you really want to win. Now the team flies home to face the Grizzlies the very next night. Suddenly there is a lot more pressure to win that game and not lose back-to-back games on back-to-back nights. Memphis is playing a lot better and beat the Rockets on Friday night.
At the very least, I expect better energy, better execution, and more passion on Saturday.
Go Spurs Go.
