Season 50, Game 44
San Antonio 112, Brooklyn 86
35-9, 2nd in the West

With about three minutes remaining in the first half, the Spurs were winning 39-38, and it looked like all the hallmarks of a letdown game after the big win Saturday night. With Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, and Manu Ginobili all out, the margin of error was even narrower than normal. The last thing we wanted was a close game against (arguably) the worst team in the league.

All the hand-wringing was for naught: over the next 27 minutes, the Spurs outscored the Nets 73-48, cruising to another easy road win.

A few quick thoughts from Monday night’s win:

• It was nice to see playing time for everybody on the roster. This game was a perfect opportunity to get good minutes for players that don’t normally get them. Bryn Forbes, Kyle Anderson, and Davis Bertans, in particular, got a lot of playing time.

Forbes looked lost on both ends of the floor, which is to be expected from the last man on the bench. There should be no expectations from him or for him this season. He is a project, and will spend plenty of time in Austin. If he ever finds confidence in his stroke at this level, he could be a nice bench player.

Anderson, on the other hand, looked great yet again. He got time at the 3, the 4, and even the 1 for a small stretch. He is such a heady player with hands as quick as his feet are slow. His lack of speed will likely always limit him in the NBA, but on a well-orchestrated, intelligent team like the Spurs, he can definitely be a solid player. I particularly like him looking more confident in his offensive game.

• Games like this are also good opportunities for players to test out “skills” they are still working on. This is how we get to see Dewayne Dedmon run a fast-break (fail), take midrange jump shots (success), and even make a slick back-door pass to a rim-running Bertans (whoa!).

We take for granted that players continue to develop skills, even at the highest of levels. If you see a player develop a new skill in a game, you can be certain he has been working on it for hundreds of hours in practice and on his own.

• Another developing skill that I am surprised and happy about: Danny Green actually being able to dribble and make plays off the dribble. His vision used to be effectively zero, so to see it start to grow is exciting. Like Dedmon, he also made a slick back-door pass to a cutting Bertans. (Other lesson: Bertans is a really good cutter.)

• LaMarcus Aldridge was once again impressive in his all-around game. With Leonard, Gasol, and Parker out, it’d be easy for him to take on the scoring burden and focus less on other duties. To the contrary, he only scored 16 points, but chipped in 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. His overall activity and energy have been great this month, and he is a deadly player when he is more mentally and emotionally engaged.

• Dejounte Murray struggled a bit in the game. This is normal. He is a (barely) 20-year old rookie. For every stand out game, he’ll have at least one or two duds. After a rough start, he didn’t let it affect him mentally, and he ended up playing better in the second half. That’s encouraging. With Parker down for an indeterminate amount of time, there will be plenty of time for Murray to play through success and failures alike.

• The Spurs signed Joel Anthony to a 10-day contract. He was the last cut out of training camp, so the staff clearly likes him. He provides a nice veteran stopgap in the extended absence of Pau Gasol, and another big man to have on the roster. He likely won’t get much playing time, and who knows if he’ll stick once Pau comes back. As far as emergency big men go, though, he is a great fit.

The Spurs play in Toronto on a back-to-back Tuesday night. Going from Cleveland to Brooklyn to Toronto is an… interesting… change in talent of opponent. Toronto will be without DeMar DeRozan. I expect Kawhi will be back, but Manu will still likely be out. It should be a competitive game. The Raptors always give us trouble in Toronto.

Go Spurs Go.