Season 49, Game 74
San Antonio 101, Memphis 87
62-12, 2nd in the West
So the Spurs at home with the original Big 3 had a tougher time with the scrappy-but-shorthanded Grizzlies than they did on the road without their Big 3? Ok, then.
Based on last Friday’s game, I thought this game would be a lot tougher, given how hard this Memphis team has been playing and that we’d be without Tim, Tony, and Manu. I wasn’t counting on Aldridge playing, however. I guess I wasn’t counting on a more focused and determined effort from the Spurs, either.
Or maybe the Big 3 have been holding us back this whole time.
While that scenario is not likely, there is something to be said for a team playing without their long-term core and not having a safety net to fall back on. Without those key players (they were also missing Kawhi due to injury and David West due to a DNP-CD), the role players really had to step up and play strong games.
They delivered. Mostly. Kyle Anderson was the most impressive, putting up 13 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 block in a do-it-all performance. He has the size of a small forward with the natural instincts of a PG. In the wrong system, he’d be lost and forgotten, a minor footnote in the NBA. With the right Spurs seasoning, though, he has a real shot at a good and productive career, maximizing his strengths and hiding his flaws.
His biggest flaw is his speed, or lack thereof. But he’s shown that’s not really an issue on offense, as his ‘speed’ often serves as a change up, getting defenders out of position by committing too early.
(AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
On defense, what he lacks in speed he makes up for in intelligence and natural instinct. He has those long arms and has great timing to poke balls away. And he’s a better than average rebounder for his size.
Andre Miller also played well. He’s got the classic ‘old man’ game and is a natural PG. He seems to have picked up the Spurs’ system really quickly, and does well getting players the ball in the right positions. As long as he shoots enough to keep the defense honest, I trust him on the floor.
Patty’s shot was falling, which was a nice sight to see.
Danny played his usual excellent defense. However, it is a bit alarming that he is still missing shots, and is unable to have productive scoring nights even in games with multiple players sitting. These are the types of games for role players to score more points, not less. Without his shot (and scoring) coming around, the Spurs will struggle against better teams.
Boban played hard, but he was just a little lost out there. The Memphis bigs (who weren’t all that big) were able to really disrupt him, and absolutely destroyed him on the boards. If he is not outrebounding everybody when he is out there, we’re in trouble. The only way Memphis was able to keep the game close was by crashing the offensive glass and either getting second chance opportunities or drawing fouls on our bigs attempting to box out. Boban should never be on the short end of those match-ups.
Kevin Martin seemed nearly invisible in 22 minutes of action. His first shot – which came at the top of the 4th quarter – was an airball on a wide open jumper. If he can’t get opportunities to score in bunches in a game like this, I don’t know where he’ll find his niche on this team.
The star of the night, of course, was LaMarcus, far and away the best player on the court. He didn’t disappoint, and seemed to welcome the chance to play the role of lead player, at least for a night. Nobody on Memphis could do anything to stop him, and he got whatever he wanted out there. With his jumper falling, the Spurs had a clear upper hand in the game. Even with the increased offensive load, he still played good defense and still did the ‘little things’ on both ends of the court. It was a superstar performance, and one that probably won us the game.
So far I’m not minding the string of rest games, but I hope Pop doesn’t take it too far. Rhythm is as important as rest, and we can’t afford to let up too much as the regular season winds down.
The Pelicans come to San Antonio tomorrow night. I would expect a full and active roster.
Go Spurs Go.
