Season 50, Game 46
San Antonio 103, New Orleans 119
36-10, 2nd in the West

For whatever reason (yes, like you, I can think of a few pretty obvious ones), the Spurs always seem to struggle in New Orleans. Always. Yes, they win some games there; but, relative to comparative talent between the two teams, it’s always closer than it should be.

One need only look back to the end of the 2014-15 season, the last night of the regular season, when a win in New Orleans (against a team already locked into their seed) would have secured the #2 seed while a loss meant the #6 seed. A game I’m sure we can all agree mattered. And yet, much like Friday night, the Spurs just laid an egg.

Friday night the team seemed to run out of gas (which seems odd considering they had two full days off before the game). The Spurs shot a meager 39% to the Pelicans blistering 52%. The Pelicans made 15 more baskets than the Spurs. With about 6 minutes gone in the 3rd quarter, the Spurs opened up an 11 points lead, 66-55. Over the remaining 18 minutes, the Pelicans shellacked the Spurs 64-37. Hard to win games giving up 64 points in 1 1/2 quarters.

The team just looked sluggish and a bit out of sorts. Parker and Leonard, in particular, seemed to be struggling after each had a week or so off. In a game so dependent on routine and rhythm, it’s natural that a week off would throw that out of whack. Parker was moving well (a more important indicator, considering his nagging sore left foot), but seemed a bit out of sync with the rest of the team.

Leonard showed flashes of his usual brilliant self, but in general, also seemed out of sync. He was also visually more frustrated than normal, which perhaps speaks to how discombobulated he felt on the court. Remember, though, after Leonard missed two games earlier this season with the stomach flu, his first game back was also pretty mediocre. Immediately after, though, he kicked off what might be the best streak of his career. We can afford to give him a game to regain his bearings.

In general, the loss isn’t that troubling. If you’d told me the Spurs would play the Raptors and the Cavs on the same 4-game road trip, and would finish the trip with a 3-1 record, I’d be very happy. There was a loss somewhere in this road trip, it just didn’t happen on the night we thought it would. Oh well. The Pelicans played very well and got big games from several role players. The Spurs do that to opposing teams all the time.

What’s a bit more troubling is the recent defense of the Spurs. Over the last 9 games (starting with the loss to Milwaukee, the first game where the defense seemed suboptimal), the Spurs have a defensive rating of 106.4 (15th in the league in that span). For comparison, the Spurs’ rating for the entire season is 102.1, 3rd in the league. The Warriors are 1st at 101.0. Over the course of a season, that 106.4 rating would rank 21st in the league.

In other words, not good. Digging deeper, the Spurs starters over those 9 games still rank 6th in defensive efficiency, while the bench is 24th. (To be fair, the bench’s net rating is 7.0 to the starter’s 8.7, so both units are performing very well.)

The only significant change over that time is the loss of Gasol. Perhaps the starters are benefitting from losing their worst defensive player, while the bench is suffering from losing their normal rotations and comfort as a unit, with deep bench players (not comfortable with the defensive principles) being pushed into more minutes.

Whatever the cause, the offense has been covering up a lot of ills of the defense recently. For the Spurs to be real contenders, the defense will need to get better. Thankfully, we have 37 games of data that show us it can be done.

The Spurs start a 4-game homestand Sunday against Dallas. Let’s hope the team gets back on track.

Go Spurs Go.

Season 50, Game 45
San Antonio 108, Toronto 106
36-9, 2nd in the West

With the game tied heading into the fourth quarter (on the road and down the team’s best player), Pop put Murray, Forbes, Bertans, Anderson, and David Lee on the floor against the Raptor’s (2nd best team in the East) arguably best unit: Kyle Lowry and the bench.

For those keeping track, that’s 3 rookies, a first year Spur (so 4 first year Spurs) who was on his way out of the league last summer, and Kyle Anderson, a player who has barely been able to find floor time in his 3rd season. Against an accomplished line up. In a tie game. On the road.

I’m not going to lie and say they were amazing. But they were good. Very good. Much better than should have been expected. After 4 1/2 minutes (with Aldridge subbing in for Lee at one point), the Spurs were +3 in a game they won by 2 points.

One of the more exciting subplots of this season has been watching the youngsters grow and develop. Maybe this is just novelty, since as Spurs fans we’re not accustomed to watching rookies develop. But to get a glimpse of the future is exciting, and to know that the pieces are in place for the next great Spurs’ team is comforting.

Murray, Bertans, and Forbes could all be key players on the Kawhi Leonard-led Spurs team in the next 3-5 years. Murray looks like he could be a special player, perhaps the third of a Big 3; Bertans could also be special, a scoring force off the bench or a high-level role player. And Forbes could easily be a Danny Green/Patty Mills type if he develops correctly.

These players are so early in their NBA careers, though. Their path could go so many directions. What has been more interesting in the last few games is watching Anderson, a player who is reaching an inflection point in his career.

Sometimes a career can be built on seizing on opportunity. Kyle is not a bad player by any stretch, but right now he just doesn’t fit with the Spurs’ roster when everybody is healthy. In the last few games, though, we’ve seen a glimpse into a role he can play. Small-ball 4. Playmaking 3 off the bench. Key piece in quirky, position-less lineups.

What I’ve been happiest with is Kyle’s confidence within the opportunity. It could easily be frustrating seeing your minutes diminish and your role usurped, but he’s remained positive and ready.

Against Cleveland and then Toronto, he played strong, confident basketball. And he played his game. In 32 minutes, he finished with 8 points, 4 assists, and 7 rebounds. Not amazing numbers, but solid numbers. More assists than you’d expect from a big, more rebounds than you’d expect from a wing/guard. More, though, he was so important down the stretch, and he made so many important “little” plays on both ends of the floor, that helped to add up to the win.

It’s obvious I’m a fan of Kyle, and I’m rooting for him to find his footing and his role in the NBA. Perhaps his counterpart was playing against him Tuesday night. We all watched Cory Joseph develop by leaps and bounds in his first 4 years with the Spurs, and then move on to Toronto, where he is a key player. I hope Kyle can stay in San Antonio, but more importantly, I hope he has a long and productive career, fostered and spurred on by his first NBA home.

The Spurs finish out the road trip in New Orleans on Friday night.

Go Spurs Go.