San Antonio Spurs Dynasty

In the second installment of 3 in the Key™, Trace Ronning and Dan Strickland discuss the fifth game of the season, the Spurs 91-106 loss at home to the Utah Jazz.

First, let’s get Trace’s three takeaways…

Well, there was no record-setting 5-0 start to the season for this year’s San Antonio Spurs. But the way the very-talented Utah Jazz played Tuesday night, it’s hard to be too mad at the short-handed Spurs for dropping this contest.

Did we learn anything?

Absolutely. If your opponent shoots 50% from the field – including 48% from behind the arc – it is hard to win a game in the NBA. But we also learned a few more things about this team:

Kawhi found his three and reminded us that he’s a monster on offense

After starting the season just 4-15 from 3-point range, Kawhi shot a cool 5-7 from deep against the Jazz, and even got to the foul line on an attempt that nearly went in anyway. He scored 30 points, grabbed 7 boards, and notched 2 steals on a night that only saw him get to the free throw line five times. I’m looking forward to seeing him get better at drawing fouls on a nightly basis. It’s scary to imagine how many points Kawhi can average getting to the line 8-10 times a game.

When the Spurs hit that extra gear, they’re otherworldly

With 9:02 to play in the second quarter, the Spurs found themselves down 47-31 after yet another Jazz 3-point shot (they made 15 in the game, compared to San Antonio’s 6). The Jazz wouldn’t score again until Rudy Gobert made a free throw with 3:18 left in the quarter to make it a 48-46 game.

During the six minutes that passed between Jazz scores, the Spurs:

Shot 6-for-7, including two 3-pointers
Outrebounded the Jazz 7-3
Blocked two Jazz shots and forced 7 missed shots

And they did it while only drawing one shooting foul. (Dedmon split his free throws). And again, the Jazz are no slouches – this was an impressive effort by San Antonio. Scoring in bunches like this was something that worried me going into the season, but the first week of the season has certainly calmed my fears.

Defensive help would be great

George Hill and Rodney Hood really hurt the Spurs tonight by giving San Antonio a taste of their own medicine. The Jazz moved the ball around in Beautiful Game fashion and constantly found themselves with wide open looks, especially in the first quarter. While the Spurs were able to overcome that first half deficit and take a brief second half lead, Utah made San Antonio pay for every inch of separation they gave up and never relented on offense.

Part of the problem was that Utah could not miss a shot for most of the game, but the other problem was sluggish defense by the Spurs. Tony Parker and Dewayne Dedmon were completed abused when they were on the court. Getting Danny Green back will certainly help wing defense, and hopefully take some pressure off Parker, but the defense at Center is going to be an issue, especially against teams with athletic big men like Rudy Gobert or, say, DeAndre Jordan, who San Antonio will seefaceSaturday night.

The Spurs get another crack at stopping Utah’s offense on Friday.

Now Dan weighs in…

I’m more disappointed by last night’s game than I should be, I suppose.

I really wanted the Spurs to start the season at 5-0, which they’ve never done before.

I really wanted this squad to beat a team that featured two of their former teammates: Boris Diaw (who didn’t play) and George Hill (who killed us). (Btw, Boris has looked awful in three games for the Jazz. Is he done? Maybe. I hope not.)

And I really hate to see the Spurs lose at home. You’ll recall that our team had the best home record in the league last season at 40-1. They’re now 1-1 at AT&T this go round. Hmm.

Trace is right: it’s difficult to win when your opponent shoots well. But how much of that comes down to poor defense?

After five games, the Spurs’ defensive rating is a ho-hum 98.8, between the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets. That’s not impressive.

The Spurs offensive rating, on the other hand, is fourth best in the league, behind the Bulls, Cavaliers, and Timberwolves. (What?)

My three takeaways, in no particular order, are:

The Spurs can’t rely too much on Kawhi.

Kawhi has been on a tear, breaking all kinds of Spurs records and league records. And he has already singlehandedly won a couple games for San Antonio. But Spurs basketball is team basketball. There were mismatches all over the court Tuesday night. Guys need to step up and take advantage. They can’t wait for Kawhi to bail them out of games like they seemed to do last night.

Pau Gasol needs to play better. Soon.

We all know Gasol is no spring chicken. And any new player will take time to get comfortable with the Spurs system. The thing that makes Gasol really exciting is that he can be a big offensive upgrade at the 5 from Duncan. And yet…

After five games, Pau is averaging a career-worst 14.0 points per 36 minutes. Last season he averaged 18.7 points per 36 minutes and his career average is 18.6.

On the other hand, Pau has looked good on defense and has been a monster on the block, averaging 11.3 rebounds per 36 minutes and 1.8 blocks.

Let’s see how he does against Gobert and the Jazz in tomorrow night’s rematch.

The Tony Parker problem is real.

We’ve been wondering about Tony for a few seasons now. I for one always worried that his aggressive, full tilt, balls-to-the-wall play in his twenties would catch up to him in his thirties. That now appears to be the case.

Tony is averaging just 7.5 points per 36 minutes. His lowest output was during his rookie season, when he averaged 11.2 points.

He’s averaging only 5.4 assists per 36 minutes. Again, his low mark was during his rookie year, when he averaged 5.3

Let’s hope Tony is able to reclaim some of his spark, or transitions gracefully into a smaller role and fewer minutes.

Don’t get me wrong. I really like what I’ve seen from this Spurs team so far. In fact, I think they might be better than the squad that won a franchise-best 67 games last season.

And this Spurs team will get better. Of that I’m certain.

Btw, I think Utah should give “Jazz” back to New Orleans, because that City deserves it.

Until next time… Go Spurs Go.

Season 50, Game 04
San Antonio 106, Miami 99
4-0

We’ll start in what will likely become a very familiar place: “Kawhi Is Awesome and Will Destroy Your Team’s Will”. In today’s segment, Kawhi scored 16 of his 27 points in the 4th quarter, including the last 12 for the Spurs, as he almost single-handedly won the game in the final few minutes.

I can’t remember the last time the Spurs had such a reliable one-on-one scorer, a player who could just create good-to-great offense from nothing. Duncan in his prime in the post might be close.

Over the last few years, end of game offense could be dicey for the team, as it relied so much on passing and cutting and precision. As beautiful as that is to watch, it has a much higher success variance, particularly at the end of close games when every defender is completely locked in.

Sometimes, what you really need is a player who you can just give the ball to and tell him to go get a good shot. Kawhi is that player.

There have been a lot of Kobe comparisons at the beginning of this season, which is bittersweet for Spurs fans. It is true, though, that some of these end of game possessions do look like Kobe. Kawhi is showing the willingness to put the burden on himself, and the cold-blooded resolve to win (or lose) the game on his shot.

The difference? Kawhi might already be a more efficient scorer and better shooter than Kobe.

Even more than those final 12 points, what I really appreciated about Kawhi’s game was his playmaking. You can see his field of vision expanding, and he is seeing the floor in a much more complete manner. Already this season he has made some really clever passes out of pick and rolls, on drives collapsing the defenses, or even through holes in the defense. He had a few really nice passes to Patty for 3s that he would have never been able to make last season.

I was worried that Kawhi, as great as he had been, would never be able to fully embrace being the top offensive option and fulcrum of an entire team’s offense. Through four games, he is making me look stupid. In this case, I am quite happy to look stupid.

A few more thoughts from Sunday’s win in Miami:

• Gasol had his best game as a Spur. Not every match-up will suit him, and the roster is constructed in such a way as to only heavily rely on one or two players. On defense, he’ll never be mistaken for Timmy. But on offense, he is an upgrade over the Duncan of the last few seasons.

He occupies that same space in the high post where Duncan often operated. Over the last few years, Duncan seemed to lose all confidence in his jumper from that spot, in essence allowing the defense to really collapse and gum up the entire offense. Gasol’s shot from there is just gorgeous, and it was on full display Sunday. With his shot being a legitimate threat, the defense must cover him, thus opening up the lanes.

Gasol is also a smart and willing passer, and I expect to see more of that as he gets comfortable in the system. If he can average something like 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, he’ll be a huge plus for the team.

• Manu was in full Manu mode. He giveth, he taketh, and he makes you say: “What the hell?”

• Davis Bertrans’ shot is pure. He is still a little hesitant in the offense, and passing up shots he should probably be taking. But damn, when he does shoot it, it looks like the ball isn’t even going to touch the net, let alone the rim.

• The whole team seems to be getting to the FT line better, not just Kawhi. This is a very good thing, particularly with so many strong free throw shooters.

• Simmons is fearless attacking the rim. I love it. As his vision expands, the bigs are going to get so many bunnies off him collapsing the defense.

• Dedmon is an athletic big unlike any we’ve had in a long time. His activity level is constant, and usually leads to positive things. He creates deflections, blocks shots, gets offensive rebounds, and does so many little things that contribute to wins.

• Patty is having an awesome start to the season. His shooting looks to have returned after two down years.

• Much as New Orleans was a case study in how a superstar’s gifts can be wasted, Miami is a lesson in what can happen when a front office is ruthless and calculating. Mind you, the Miami front office has been extremely successful, and might be second only to the Spurs in terms of constantly creating winning teams.

But the way in which Wade left this team this summer is another reminder for Spurs’ fans as to how lucky we are that our front office seems to have an emotionally deft touch. It really does feel more like family than business. Miami felt that way, too; but when it came time to pay up, business won out, as it so often does.

I can’t imagine ever losing Duncan or Manu at the end of their careers over money. Thankfully, we’ll never have to.

The Spurs play Utah the next two games, first in San Antonio in Tuesday, then in Salt Lake City on Friday. This will be a nice test for both teams.

Go Spurs Go.

San Antonio Spurs Dynasty

Page 98 of 749

3 in the Key: Spurs v Jazz

Cold Blooded

Casa De Spurs Podcast

Spurs Dynasty on Twitter

YOUR AD HERE

Ads by Google

Schedule & Results

Spurs Schwag