Season 49, Game 06
San Antonio 114, Charlotte 94
4-2
The 3s finally started falling. And falling. And falling.
With each made 3, with each assist, with each beautiful play, fond memories of ghosts of Spurs (very recent) past are rekindled. And with it, the hope that it will be possible to blend this ‘new look’ Spurs with the Spurs of recent vintage and build something even more potent.
The only problem? So far, all of the beautiful play is mostly attributable to the bench, a group of players that have been around and playing together for a few years. Again, single game +/- can be dubious; but, again, seems quite illustrative for this game.
The four primary bench players: +14, +31, +34, and +39. Wow. (And that +14 was David West, who only scored that ‘low’ because he spent more time with the starters, spelling Aldridge who was in foul trouble.)
And the starters? -1, -3, -4, -15, and +11 – the only positive being Kawhi, who is Kawhi, and who also routinely gets a shift with the bench after the starters have all left the game.
This is a real thing, albeit in a small sample. The starters are having trouble keeping up, and our bench is pretty much saving their ass. The starters often play even or fall into an early deficit, only for the bench to take control of the game. Then the starters cough it up at the end of the 1st half and beginning of the 2nd, only for the bench to re-take control of the game at the end of the 3rd.
It helps that our bench is full of players who could start most anywhere else, playing against players who can’t. But this is a dangerous game to play, especially against teams who have the ability to play their starters more time or have equally potent benches. At some point, the starters need to figure this out.
(AFP Photo/Chris Covatta)
LaMarcus was actually off to a really good start in last night’s game, finally seeming comfortable taking and making the wide-open shots he’s built his career on. Foul trouble limited him in both halves, and he really didn’t get to play a full game.
(AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Kawhi had another strong outing on both ends, though really got cooking in the 3rd quarter, sparking what ended up being a 42-point quarter, second best for the Spurs in this young NBA season.
The problem with the starters isn’t really about one person; it’s about lack of chemistry. The contrast with the bench really highlights the luxury of continuity and chemistry. What has traditionally been a strength of the Spurs is now a weakness – as the starters struggle to figure things out against opposing units with more continuity and more cohesiveness. It’s quite a turnabout for this team. But with talents like Aldridge and Leonard, it’s a worthwhile process.
We hope.
A few more thoughts from Saturday’s game:
• Along with the 3s falling (9 total), the assist numbers were actually up, which was encouraging. A whopping 35 assists on 45 made field goals. Even with the more isolation-focused offense, it’s good to see those high assist numbers.
• It looked like Aldridge was on his way to having a breakout game; instead, the other big man free agent had his best game in the silver and black (or camouflage, as it were). David West looked great out there. He had a very Boris Diaw-like game with 9 pts, 6 assists, and 9 rebs. He looked incredibly comfortable in the offense, and seemed to finally understand the spacing and the movement, getting great looks off of swing passes, but also making the right passes at the right time. He’s an underrated passer, especially from the post area, and the wings should have great success cutting for him.
The issue still remains that West and Diaw seem to be a tad redundant. How will the team find playing time for both when they can’t really share the floor together? They were able to be on the floor together successfully tonight because the Hornets don’t really have great rebounding with their second unit. It also helps to mitigate a lack of rim protection when you score 42 points in a quarter.
• Opposing point guards continue to have career nights against us. All PGs, not just the starters. Kemba Walker went wild on Parker, then Mills. Jeremy Lin got in the paint at will against Mills, then Parker. We are getting badly outplayed at the PG position on a regular basis. I don’t know what solutions there are for this. Mills is more of an undersized 2-guard, which is why he excels playing next to Manu. But he struggles when he spells Tony and plays with the starters.
Tony is just in another phase of his career. Most people worried about this vis-a-vis his offense; to me, it’s his noticeable decline in defense that is hurting the team the most. Individual PG defense is a touch overrated, since most quality PGs can get where they want, regardless. But it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the rest of the defense to be that much better. Having Green, Leonard, and Duncan back there helps.
You can’t continually give up All-Star nights to PGs who aren’t All-Stars. I don’t know what the solution is.
• Danny Green continues to struggle mightily with finding and making open shots. I think this is obscuring how great he has been on defense so far this season. I love watching Danny and Kawhi play in tandem on the wings on defense.
The Spurs go back out on the road again, facing the Kings in Sacramento Monday night. There’s a good chance that Cousins won’t play. Either way, this is a game the Spurs should win.
Go Spurs Go.
