Season 50, Game 02
San Antonio 102, Sacramento 94
2-0

Tuesday’s win against the Warriors was awesome, but it felt more like a spectacle than an NBA game. With last night’s win over Sacramento, the Spurs’ NBA regular season has officially begun.

The Kings under Dave Joerger look a lot better, which is to say, they look like a competent NBA team. Their energy and overall team defense impressed me, especially in the first half. They fought much harder than the Spurs, flying around and making sound rotations, closing off the paint. On offense, they were aggressive and attacking, drawing fouls seemingly at will.

At the end of the first half, it looked like the Kings could easily win this game and that the Spurs might never play passable defense again. Thankfully, the Spurs tightened things up in the second half, holding the Kings to a mere 37 points. Given enough time (say, 42 minute or so), the Kings are still the Kings, and the Spurs pulled away.

The star – once again – was Kawhi Leonard. (Something tells me we’ll be saying that a lot this season.) After putting up 35 points in the opener, he scored 30 in the encore. The difference in his offensive game this season is noticeable. He is playing with more confidence, more freedom, and more creativity. Last year, it looked like he was imitating an offensive star; this year, it looks like he is an offensive star. The biggest difference in his efficiency is his ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line (where he hasn’t missed one yet). He is also seeing the court better and playing with more patience. Much like LeBron in Cleveland, he is the de facto point guard.

About midway through the 2nd quarter I started to wonder if Kawhi’s increased offensive load coupled with the Spurs’ dip in defensive efficiency would have a large negative effect on his defense. He promptly shut me up with four steals (three leading to breakaway dunks, layups, or fouls) in the second half. Never change, Kawhi.

Beyond Kawhi, the biggest surprise of the game were the bench bigs. Both David Lee and Dewayne Dedmon were spectacular in relief of Aldridge and Gasol. Lee was active on offense, and his natural instincts will mesh nicely with the second unit. If he can play even decent defense (his reputation would say otherwise), I daresay he might be a significant upgrade from both Diaw and West.

Dedmon was just flat out awesome. He is easily the most mobile big on the team with the most defensive presence and upside. He had a few outstanding blocks. He got key rebounds on both ends of the floor. He played Cousins better than any other big. He was active. While being known for having bad hands, he showed great touch around the rim and in the pick and roll. Pop put him in to close the game: he earned it.

Dedmon had 12 points and 7 rebounds; Lee had 12 points and 5 rebounds with 2 assists. Gasol and Aldridge? They didn’t have the best games. Aldridge came on late, getting some big buckets in the 4th quarter to help keep the Kings out of reach. But through three quarters, the starting front court was really bad.

They couldn’t defend Cousins without fouling. They couldn’t stop penetration without fouling. They missed rotations. They missed easy shots at the rim. They had no offensive flow.

Which leads to a bigger concern: the starting unit (minus Kawhi) is, simply put, bad right now. I’m officially worried about Parker. Kyle hasn’t shown any growth yet. Gasol is searching for his spot in the system. Aldridge is still looking for his shot.

Plus/minus numbers can be deceiving for a single game, but tonight’s do tell a story.

The four non-Kawhi starters were -10, -9, -13, and -12.

The five bench players were +18, +20, +21, +19, and +2. That’s… significant.

Everything just moves better with the second unit. And it’s not like they have continuity: the bench is integrating several new pieces as well.

Danny Green coming back will help with that. He works better with the starting unit (and is a natural wing partner with Kawhi), and Anderson works better with the second unit. I think Gasol will just take some time to find his spot. We knew his defense wouldn’t be like Duncan’s, but his offense should be loads better than Timmy’s over the last few seasons. I’m not worried about Aldridge.

But Parker? We need to keep an eye on Tony.

Let’s not jump to any hasty conclusions, though. Parker’s role is greatly diminished, and the team doesn’t need all that much from him. I think he’s earned our patience.

The Pelicans are in town tomorrow night for the team’s home opener. New Orleans always gives them a tough game, so let’s hope the squad gives the fans a memorable opening night.

Go Spurs Go.