Season 49, Game 68
San Antonio 118, Portland 110
58-10, 2nd in the West

Pop wasn’t messing around.

With the Spurs up by nearly 20 at one point in the 4th quarter, Blazers Power Forward Mason Plumlee stole a Tony Parker pass to LaMarcus Aldridge at the top of the key and ran it down for an easy transition dunk.

Timeout.

A few plays later, the Blazers got out in a semi-fastbreak, and they found Gerald Henderson in the corner. Kyle Anderson was late in rotating, and Henderson buried the 3.

Pop wasn’t having it. Another timeout.

Keep in mind, the lead was comfortably between 10 and 16 points for the majority of the final frame. While the final score belies this fact, the game was never in jeopardy in the final 12 minutes.

It didn’t matter, though. Pop wasn’t just coaching this game: he was coaching Saturday’s game.

Two teams are playing at a historic pace, and both have the chance to go down as All-Time great teams. To do so, one will have to vanquish the other. The Warriors and the Spurs have been inextricably linked, their seasons winding around each other, growing more tangled each day. In a way, the entire NBA season has been defined by these two squads; anything short of a Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Warriors will be a disappointment and a failure.

It’s interesting how the Warriors’ season has muted the Spurs’. This is, without qualification, the greatest regular season in Spurs’ history. They are a complete and utter wrecking ball. Yet, my excitement is tempered by the omnipresence of the Warriors, casting a shadow over every game.

And the Spurs are doing the same thing in return. Every proclamation of the Warriors’ greatness must be necessarily followed with: …and the Spurs are only 3.5 games back. And their point-differential is better. And they have the best rated defense in years. Could they actually be the better, more well-rounded team?

So when Pop burns a timeout, up double digits, in the closing minutes of a game against Portland, it’s not because Gerald Henderson sprung free on a well-executed fast break. It’s because that could be Klay Thompson, and it could be late May, and Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals could hang in the balance. The Spurs sixth title could hang in the balance.

This is what Pop is coaching for. This is what he is always coaching for. This season, however, the threat has a face, and a name: The Golden State Warriors.

A few more thoughts from the Blazers game:

  • Tony had himself quite a game. 18 points and 16 assists in 27 minutes is pretty, pretty good. When his jumper is falling, so much of the rest of his game opens up, and, by extension, so much of everyone else’s game. While he is no longer the lynchpin of the offense, he is still the primer.

    I’d be curious to know how many of those assists went directly to Aldridge. The two have developed quite a good chemistry in the pick and pop game. The big will almost always have to help as Parker drives the lane, leaving Aldridge wide open for that jumper he loves so much. When it’s falling, Parker will (deservedly) rack up assists.

  • It’s nice to see Aldridge have such a good game against his former team. He gets more and more comfortable each game he plays in the Spurs’ system, and I’m really starting to trust him out there. I love how he’s mixing up his offensive game, throwing in aggressive drives to the rim to balance out his jumper. He’s also found a good balance of aggressively looking for his own offense and still flowing in the system.
  • Hey, the Spurs hit some 3-pointers. Way to go, guys! The team was 8 for 16, but Kawhi was 4 for 4, and Patty 3 for 4, so that’s the bulk of it. Still, the offense looks a lot better when the long ball falls. Green also hit a 3, after hitting 4 against the Clippers. He had mentioned that he noticed a small mistake in his form after watching tape. If he’s corrected that, the Spurs offense can go to even another level.
  • Kawhi had a quite game. And by that, I mean he went 4 for 4 from 3, scored 22 points on 11 shots (absurdly good efficiency), played amazing defense, and more or less took the game over in the 3rd when the Spurs put it out of reach. Ho hum. We get to watch this kid for his entire career. *Knocks on all of the wood in the apartment*
  • Kevin Martin is slowly finding his footing with the team. Pop is giving him enough minutes to get comfortable out there. It’s nice to see his one great skill–drawing fouls and creating points–has translated. This helps out team-wide, as it will allow the team into the bonus quicker, getting more FTs for everybody.

    Like most new players in the system, he seems eager to fit in and be a team player on both end. He was getting some good looks in the first half, most of which just barely missed. In the second half, he was more aggressive and scored better. I’ve been most impressed by his cutting without the ball and his passing. These aren’t things he’s been well-known for in his career. The Spurs do tend to bring out the best in players.

The team has been a very successful 4-0 during this home stretch against very good opposition. But it’s all been an appetizer; the main course is Saturday night against the Warriors. After the last game against Golden State, the Spurs can’t afford another poor showing. They don’t have to win, but they can’t be so handily beaten.

Of course, a win (continuing the home streak) would also be nice.

Go Spurs Go.