Season 48, Game 53
San Antonio 98, Orlando 96
45-8, 2nd in the West
A question was posed on Twitter by a SpursDynasty staffer:
Torn about last night's #Spurs win. Good that they came back from 14 down to win at the buzzer, or bad that they trailed 14 to Orlando?
— BLUE GENE (@thehalestone) February 11, 2016
Excellent question, Stephen. For me, the answer is pretty simple: great win for the Spurs. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back against a Magic team whose youth and athleticism gives the Spurs fits and heading into a week-plus vacation for the majority of the roster, it would be easy to chalk this game up as a schedule loss. For most of the second half, it looked like that’s the way it was going.
After a mostly solid first 22 minutes, the Spurs surrendered an 11-0 run in the final 2 minutes of the first half to give Orlando the lead at halftime. Throughout the third quarter, the lead grew steadily as the Magic simply outplayed the Spurs.
The Spurs haven’t had much crunch time this season. They are routinely blowing teams out. While I love the gaudy point differential, I also appreciate the team getting same late game execution reps, to get the guys ready for the crucible of the playoffs.
This is particularly important for Kawhi and LaMarcus, two players who will see wholly new roles for themselves this spring. It’s also important for the rest of the team to get used to our new co-Alpha Dogs. While the Original Big 3 will always be pivotal in any important close game, it’s clear that Pop is grooming the New 2 to be our go to guys now and for the future.
Photo: Sam Greenwood, Getty Images
What I love about Kawhi and LaMarcus as go to guys is that their games are low risk, high reward. Particularly when they are working out of the post. They rarely turn the ball over, and they can almost always get a quality shot. And if the double team comes, they are both willing and adept passers to get the ball to the open shooters. Yes, this is a form of ‘hero ball’ that we’ve come to spurn in San Antonio, but it’s ‘hero ball’ for a new generation. These aren’t selfish heroes, nor are they unaware. They just simply offer the team the best chance to score efficiently and ruthlessly.
In those final 6 minutes, this is exactly what we saw. Kawhi in the post. LaMarcus in the post. Turnaround jumpers. Fouls and free throws. The occasional wide open 3 for Patty or Danny. Slowly grinding away.
On the other end of the ball, the benefit of this offense is that it mostly allows the team to easily transition into defense, as there will always be players ready to get back, and very little opportunity for the opponent to fast break. The defense in the final 6 minute of this game was also excellent. Butler, Green (Danny was particularly great on the defensive end this game), and Aldridge all recorded at least one block, and Patty used his usual frenetic energy to cause turnovers and just generally wreak havoc.
Then that final shot. Oh, that final shot. There’s nothing special to it, which is what makes it so special. There are only a handful of players in the league who you can give the ball to, let them dribble down the clock, and then drive into a contested 20-foot jumper and say that’s a good shot. (There are plenty who think they are capable of it.) That Kawhi is becoming that type of player is just another testament to his greatness. Pop is known for his clever end of game play calls, but when you have a player that can do that, why outthink yourself?
It wasn’t a blowout, but it was a great win for the Spurs. And with that final shot, Kawhi sends the Spurs into the All-Star break with a historically great 45-8 record, on pace for the best season in franchise history. We all know the giant caveat that comes along with that statement, but for the next 8 days, let’s just appreciate how awesome this team is and how much fun it is to watch them and root for them.
Go Spurs Go.
