Season 50, Game 48
San Antonio 108, Oklahoma City 94
37-11, 2nd in the West
The bad news: the Spurs still struggle to play a solid 48 minutes of basketball.
The good news? They’ve upped it from 24 minutes to closer to 36.
To play at a high level for 48 minutes is actually quite difficult. In every game, there will be ebbs and flows on both sides. The trick is to not let the lows get too low (or for too long), and/or to make the highs exasperatingly high (cf., Golden State Warriors). When the Spurs lose, it’s usually a matter of quantity, not degree. There’s just a bit too much low time, and they can’t fully capitalize on the high times.
Against the Thunder, they played two amazing quarters (the first and the fourth), and about another solid quarter spread out amongst the middle two. The score was 60-36 in the bookend quarters. That is…really good. At the start of each of the 2nd and 3rd quarters, they were able to push the lead to 18. In the 3rd, they gave all of it back, and then some, over a stretch of about 7 minutes in which they were -21. (Two quick 3-point plays to end the quarter allowed them to regain a modicum of control.)
The 4th quarter was Kawhi Leonard time. Perhaps the last two losses can be written off as simply as Kawhi was still finding his rhythm after a week off. Whatever he might have been looking for, he found it Tuesday. He was unstoppable in the final frame, refusing to let the Spurs lose their third straight. It’s sacrilege, but Kawhi might be the closest thing we have to mid-late career Jordan since Jordan. The stifling perimeter D, the body control, the midrange isolation game that is money in the bank. I’m not saying he is that good (yet), but his game resembles Jordan’s in a way nobody else’s quite does.
The most remarkable thing about Kawhi’s season might be that we’re seeing a mid-season jump. He seems to have actually elevated a level since the start of the season, which is usually unheard of. In the last month, though, he seems to have figured out how to be a 30PPG scorer in this league. His 3 career-high scoring nights have all happened in the last month. He’s scored 30 points or more 17 times in his career; 14 of them have been this season, but 7 of those have been in the month of January.
We’re watching a great player reach an even higher level right now, and it’s awesome.
The other nice development Tuesday night was a return to form for the defense. Outside of that 3rd quarter, the defense was great. Green did a fantastic job on Westbrook, hounding him everywhere he went and never letting him get completely loose. The team concept was strong, sniffing out the pick and roll with Adams, and making sure the Thunder didn’t get too many offensive rebounds, fast break points, or points in chaos, three areas in which they excel. The Spurs had a combined 25 steals and blocks, a good indicator that they were active and engaged.
The Thunder will never be as frightening as they once were, but they’re still a threat and still a rival. It was a good win for the team and hopefully sets them back on track after two uncharacteristic losses.
The Sixers come to town Thursday night. Unfortunately, Embiid is out with a minor injury, so we’ll have to wait a few weeks to get our first look at the exciting rookie. But it should make a win easier to come by.
Go Spurs Go.
