Week 2 in Review

Not much has changed in a week. The Spurs went 2-2 and have yet to return to championship form.

But not all is lost. It’s still early in the season. Seven games mean nothing. And flashes of light are being seen amongst the rubble. It hasn’t been championship basketball, but it also hasn’t been the 76ers.

I want to focus on three numbers: 98, 26 and 9.

It’s no surprise that the Spurs have been playing some pretty ugly basketball to start the year. To summarize how they have been shooting, I would like to offer you a few cliches to lighten the mood. Without further adieu…

The Spurs couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a shot gun.

The Spurs couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo.

(I think five examples is enough. Let’s move on).

The point is, the Spurs are shooting horrendously. I mean it’s really bad. It’s like they all know it, and we know it, but they can’t do anything about it. But the missed shots, especially from the three point line, don’t bother me much. Shots will fall and just as the Spurs had nights five months ago where they shot about 72% in a half, they will have nights where they shoot 7%.

In order for shooting woes to be the least of all your problems, you have to be able to say that you are doing everything else right. The truth is, as of now, the Spurs are not. I genuinely believe that the Spurs are playing like a team that is trying to be the Spurs instead of just being the Spurs.

Throughout the first week, we saw a whole lot of junk and not a lot of Spurs basketball. The offense is a wreck. We are seeing less and less Hammer action and Thunder down and more and more Zipper action.

Thunder action is basically when BoBo or the “4” screens down and brings Duncan to the elbow from the block for a jumper. Hammer action is when the Spurs swing around the baseline to find a guy wide open in the opposite corner. Both depend on intricate and precise ball movement.

Zipper series requires a lot more ball movement with the ball, versus off the ball. It’s very basic. Hammer and Thunder action are used when you are getting action away from the ball to get an immediate shot.

The offense is so stagnant, the team can’t even get into the Hammer and Thunder movements. In fact, the Spurs gave it a shot on Monday night about midway through the fourth quarter and Duncan almost walked up to the elbow to receive the ball, practically destroying the offensive set single-handedly.

Tim pump faked and passed back out to Boris and I tossed my iPhone halfway across my living room.

Our offense is in JELL-O® and oddly out of sorts.

I guess it’s because of all the new players the Spurs have. Oh wait. Nope that can’t be it.

Actually, I think it is because the team may have turned on the telly a bit too much.

For the last year or so, people have finally been talking about how good the Spurs are. Spurs fans have finally heard “they move the ball so well.” It seems to me the Spurs have heard this too and are now thinking, “Oh hey, people know we move the ball, so we have to move the ball.”

As a result, our team appears to be overthinking, over-passing and mucking up the offense. It throws the rhythm off, it throws the spacing off and it wrecks the team’s strongest asset… chemistry.

One thing which has been surprisingly good is the defense. Even in the loss, where Dwight Howard went bonkers, the Spurs only allowed 98 points, which is the first number I mentioned earlier.

Think about that. No Duncan, no Tiago and a half-blind Kawhi. No Manu. Still under 100. It was a blowout loss that was shorter than it should have been and the Spurs still showed life. Plus, they allowed only 92 to Atlanta, which is a bit much, a 100 point explosion of sorts to the Pelicans, and a mere 85 to a title contending Clippers team. Speaking of Kawhi…

I think the eye is ok. I mean, last night he matched his career high points against the Clippers with 26, our next number to consider. I know it was only one game, but he certainly seems to have dusted off the cobwebs. As bad as he was guarding James Harden, he was just as great guarding CP3.

Had Kawhi hit either of those game winners against the Pelicans, we wouldn’t be too concerned now, would we> If anything, I am more concerned about Kawhi’s increase in facial expressions. Did you see that stare down he gave Kyle Korver?

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

In reality, the offense has been bad, but the D is still there, even though it’s still below par. It would be nice if the Spurs got the concept of “team defense” together, but we are honestly seeing some individual defensive plays strung together. That’s actually all that matters. The shots will fall and the defense will get better.

Other things I have noticed…

• CoJo is playing like a guy who doesn’t want Patty Mills to take his spot when he comes back.
• Baynes wants to play like that, but we can all agree that we never knew how much we missed Tiago until we noticed he was gone.
• Bonner continues to be the scariest player who doesn’t have to make a shot.
• Kyle Anderson is fun to watch as long as you don’t need instant production. Slo-Mo needs a 20-point lead or a 20-point deficit in order to be fully appreciated. He’s sooo slow.
• No more Austin Daye. Please. No mas. Daye and Ayers for Zach Levine, please. No more.
• Manu looks like he is 27 instead of 37. He’s still wildly erratic, but he doesn’t seem old and slow.
• Danny Green sure is dribbling a lot more. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but he seems to be putting the ball on the floor a bit more.
• Parker has yet to do anything spectacular. He’s been wildly consistent, meaning… he’s consistently average. Never absolutely terrible, but certainly not great. Certainly not an All-Star.
• Pop’s beard makes me want to move to Montana, wrestle a bear and live in a log cabin. I hope November never ends.

This week, the Spurs have their West Coast swing: the Los Angeles Clippers last night (see Jeff’s recap), the Golden State Warriors tonight, who I regret saying will miss the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Sacramento Kings.

I still think the Spurs will most likely beat Golden State and lose a game to one of the weaker California teams. But a tack on the 76ers Monday and a 5-game win streak before they face Cleveland next Wednesday would be very nice.

Finally, the last number I want to direct you to is the number 9. Nine years has come and gone since the launch of SpursDynasty.com. Well, we are chugging right along and we have even more to offer you.

Our podcast is how it all started and we are back to our roots. It may be the best 12 minutes of your day, so check out the SpursDynasty.com podcast every week and don’t be lame.