Season 49, Game 39
San Antonio 106, Brooklyn 79
33-6, 2nd in the West

Don’t forget about #12.

The way the Spurs have been playing this season–absolutely destroying teams–and the emergence of Kawhi as a bona fide capital-S Superstar, it’s easy to forget that the hope of this season way back when was hung on the biggest free agent signing in club history.

Remember LaMarcus Aldridge? 4-time All-Star, 2nd team All-NBA last season (and 3rd team two other times in his career)? Turns out he’s a pretty good player.

What a luxury to have so many weapons on such a deep team. On any given night, the opposition really has no idea who the offensive focal point will be, where the scoring will come from, or how the Spurs will beat them. They just know they almost assuredly will.

There was some consternation early in the season (including from me) about Aldridge’s transition to the Spurs. At times he seemed to be deferring too much, sometimes disappearing completely. His shot didn’t seem quite there, and he wasn’t entirely comfortable in the system.

Credit to him, he continued to work hard and play his butt off, many games becoming the highest paid “garbage man” in the league. He is a bully around the rim, and has a knack for capturing offensive rebounds and getting cheap points on putbacks.

Monday’s game against the Nets showed us what it can look like when everything comes together for LaMarcus and the Spurs. Right from the tip, you could tell his jumper was on point. The Spurs kept feeding him, and he kept making shots.

The Spurs actually played a fairly lackluster first half, and it was mostly Aldridge’s potent offense that kept the Spurs in the lead. In the second half, the team came out running the offense through Aldridge, but showed some more looks with him in the high post, serving more as the pivot man and facilitator/decision-maker (a role often occupied by Duncan).

With the rest of the team fully engaged in the second half, by the time Aldridge scored his final points (25 in total on 12-17 shooting), the game was all but over.

Like many Spurs games, the team was sluggish and a bit out of sync in the first half. Unlike Spurs teams of the past few years, we now have a big man we can ride for extended periods of time to keep the offense afloat.

A few more thoughts from the Spurs’ victory in Brooklyn:

–Other than Aldridge, the Spurs played a pretty poor first half. The team looked a bit out of sync and discombobulated on offense. Kawhi, in particular, seemed out of sorts. This is the second game in a row I thought he played below his (absurdly high) usual level of performance.

–Thankfully, the defense seemed a lot better this game than over the last few. Opponent is certainly a factor, but the team did seem a bit more locked in on that end.

–Usually when a team fires a coach, you have to worry about the next game, as the players will often play with a renewed energy and vigor. Which the Nets did. But they’re still the Nets. They were just completely outmatched, even with the not-fully-engaged Spurs. What a hopeless situation. Never stop counting your blessings, Spurs fans.

–Boban came in in the second half and put on his usual show for the visiting crowd. Fans just instinctively cheer for him, even on the road. It was his insertion into the game with the second unit that sparked the big run that put the game away in the 3rd quarter. He keeps getting more and more comfortable each time he plays, and he is a legitimate weapon in limited minutes off the bench. He shows well on both ends of the court, and once the ball is in his hands on offense, something good is going to happen.

Not much more to say about this one. The game I’m really interested in on this mini-road trip is Tuesday night in Detroit. Detroit is a good team with some really good players and a great coach. The Spurs should beat them, but this could also be a trap game that they could easily give away, particularly on the second night of a back-to-back. How the team plays in this game can show us a lot about their mentality this season.

Go Spurs Go.