Season 49, Game 44
San Antonio 108, Los Angeles Lakers 95
38-6, 2nd in the West

On a night lacking in energy–and in a game where energy alone would be enough to win–it was two “old guys” that sparked the Spurs, lifting them past the Lakers.

I don’t want to live in a world where I can no longer root for Manu Ginobili in a Spurs’ uniform. Sadly, that day is rapidly approaching, so let’s treasure every performance he gives us. Manu’s energy was off the chart Friday night, and it showed in his box score: 20 points on 9-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, all in a tidy 19 minutes. That’s the very model of efficiency.

Once again, the Spurs started a bit slow, and it was Manu’s infectious energy off the bench that kicked the team into gear. Pop did an interesting thing with the rotation last night, playing the core of the bench unit (Manu, Patty, and Boris) for almost 12 straight minute of game time, from roughly the 6-minute mark of the 1st to the 6-minute mark of the 2nd. You rarely see Pop play his players in spurts like that.

Later in the game, when the Lakers were hanging around and threatening to make the game interesting, Rasual Butler gave the team great effort off the bench to help push the game out of reach. He was surprisingly aggressive (by his standards) looking for his shot, going 3-4 for 7 important points. He also chipped in a couple of rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. But it was more his tenacity and competitive spirit that drove the team. The way he competes on both ends of the floor is impressive, especially considering his role as the (often) 13th man on the bench.

It speaks to the Spurs’ monster depth, that the 13th man on the bench can come in and help put a game away. It’s nice that on any given night, Pop might get huge minutes from just about anybody. Butler is a veteran and true professional who knows his role on this team. Much like Bonner, he is always prepared when his number is called, and it’s clear the coaching staff trusts him to bring energy no matter the game or situation.

Playing the lackluster Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back with Golden State looming is the perfect situation for this type of energy off the bench. Luckily, the Spurs have it in spades.

Up next, the game we’ve all been waiting for: Spurs vs. Warriors. I can’t wait to see how these two teams match-up, but I have a bad feeling about this game. Everyone is so hyped for it, I think it will be a bit of a letdown. I also think the Warriors win. (And I don’t mind if they do.)

The two teams play 4 times in the next few months, including two huge games in the last week of the season. I don’t think either team will want to show too much in this game, so I expect it to be pretty by the book. No fancy schemes, no crazy cross matches. I think Pop wants to see how the teams fare straight up before tinkering around with potential countermoves and special schemes.

Either way, it’s still the best two teams in the league squaring off, which should make it a high quality basketball game.

Go Spurs Go.

Season 49, Game 43
San Antonio 117, Phoenix 89
37-6, Second in the West

That was the least fun 28-point win I can remember watching.

The undermanned and under-talented Phoenix Suns stayed surprisingly close with the sleepwalking San Antonio Spurs for most of the night. It was a tight 10-point game at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Spurs outscored the Suns by 18 in the 4th, and order was restored to the universe.

It was not an impressive showing from the Spurs, and it’s hard to know if the game is just an anomaly or a harbinger of cracks starting to show. I’m more inclined to call it a fluke born of 3 days off (an eternity in the NBA) throwing off rhythm; the absence of Parker and Duncan throwing off the rotation; Pop playing mad scientist and tinkering like crazy (he had a garbage time lineup playing crucial minutes at the end of the 2nd quarter in a relatively close game, almost daring his team to lose); and the team not showing the appropriate fear for the depleted Suns.

So for now I won’t worry about another slow 1st quarter start. And I won’t worry about Boban and Simmons showing their inexperience and limitations in the first half (before both finishing with very nice games by the end). And I won’t concern myself with Mills’ continued shooting woes gumming up the second unit. (Speaking of the second unit, you have to read this, confirming what we’ve all known for years.) And I won’t worry that the team will have to rely on big minutes from McCallum–who still needs about a year to fully figure out his role on the team–at some point in the future. And I won’t worry that the defense looked completely porous at times, and the rim protection absent. And I won’t think about the 30 point quarter that we surrendered to an 8-man Suns team whose best player is a sweet-shooting 19-year-old rookie.

No, I’ll just think about the final 28-point margin and assume (hope) that the Spurs will just continue to know how to do it.

Of course, the real exciting news from the night was Kawhi Leonard being voted into his very first All-Star game as a starter. Any semi-conscious NBA fan knows that Leonard is more than deserving of being an All-Star, but I am shocked that he got voted in as a starter by the fans. Spurs fans have a lot more power and twitter savvy than I expected. Over the final 4 days he made up nearly 68,000 votes to surpass Draymond Green (who is also deserving).

So good job, Spurs fans! I’m of the opinion that, because of the fan vote, being voted in a starter is less honorific than it should be, and less a mark of greatness and more of popularity and marketability. The inclusion of Kawhi helps assuage some of that cynicism.

We al know how special Kawhi is, and the rest of the NBA world is starting to figure it out. Still, none of us knew he would become this: a superstar and foundational piece of an entire franchise. Along with a smart front office, Kawhi’s ascendence has propped open the Spurs’ championship window indefinitely. Hell, at this point we might as well just call it what it is: a giant hole in the wall.

Congratulations, Kawhi. And thank you. I didn’t know how I’d feel about this team post-Duncan and post-“Big Three”. But now I love this team more than ever, in large part because of our quiet #2.

The Spurs finish off a back to back Friday night in Los Angeles. The Lakers are quietly playing just a little bit better lately, and this has the potential to be a trap game, especially in anticipation of Monday’s big showdown against the Warriors. Let’s hope the Spurs take care of business and get the easy win.

Go Spurs Go.