Season 50, Game 07
San Antonio 92, Los Angeles Clippers 116
5-2
Bad news: I checked with the league, and the Spurs do indeed have to finish out their remaining home schedule, rather than playing all 82 on the road.
After last year’s magical 40-1 home record, it’s odd to see the team stumble twice at the AT&T Center so early in the season. Losing is one thing; getting so thoroughly beaten in back-to-back home games and looking lethargic and out-of-sync is another.
It was not a good showing in any sort of way. The Clippers had their way in whatever manner they pleased. In the first half, the trio of J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin, and Luc Mbah a Moute accounted for 51 points, to just 55 total points for the Spurs.
Griffin is a superstar, and he’ll have nights like that; Reddick is a streaky shooter, and if he gets going, it can be a long night.
But Mbah a Moute? And you’ll notice the two names from the starting line-up we didn’t mention? Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, only the most fearsome pick and roll tandem in the league (for which the Spurs have never really had an answer).
You can see the problem immediately: it’s hard to win a game when you literally take nothing away from the other team. It doesn’t matter what the offense is doing, when the other team puts up 73 points in the first half, you deserve the whupping you’re getting. The Clippers’ offense has always given us fits, but this was another level.
I understand that it was the second night of a back-to-back. It was for the Clippers, too. So that excuse holds little weight. Except in this: perhaps chemistry is the salve for tired legs and minds.
Despite the age of the roster, the Spurs have been exceptionally good on back-to-backs over the past several years. Besides talent, I think you can attribute this to two things: roster continuity and roster depth. Meaning, a roster full of plenty of good players that have all played together for a long time will often win games in less than ideal situations, like back-to-backs, tough travel schedules, etc.
This season – while getting a bit younger and more athletic – the Spurs have added 7 new players to the roster, lost their two-decade franchise cornerstone, are playing mostly without their veteran PG and ingrained starting shooting guard, and have handed the keys over to a 25-year old sensation. While the talent and the ceiling might be higher than in previous seasons, there will be some stumbles to start the season.
In contrast, the Clippers are probably now the team with the greatest roster continuity, particularly in that starting line-up. Griffin, Jordan, Redick, and Paul have been playing together so long that their offense just flows through them naturally. (It should remind us of our Spurs from a few years back.)
So both teams came in to Saturday’s game tired, sore, and not fully prepared to play an NBA game. The Clippers have chemistry, thousands of hours of repetition, and the trust between each other to work through the tired legs and tired minds. The Spurs, currently, do not.
So we might see more games like that in the first part of the season. This Spurs team is still learning how to play together, figuring out tendencies, building chemistry and trust. The ceiling is high, but the floor, game-to-game, is perhaps lower than we’ve come to expect.
As for the Clippers? They were great. But this might be as good as it gets for them. The next meeting between the two teams will be an important one for the Spurs.
This is all a bit new to us. I hate blowout home losses as much as the next fan, but it’d probably be wise to preach patience this season, and enjoy the process more than ever. It’s been exciting watching this mixture of players figure each other out, and we have a great season in front of us.
Nobody likes losing to the Clippers in November, but that’s not the point. The point is to not lose to them again in May.
Houston comes to town Wednesday night.
Go Spurs Go.
