El Conclusión: Houston Rockets 98, San Antonio Spurs 81

Had a really nice cut to the basket for a layup in secondary transition, but he missed a couple of 3-point chances while this thing was still a game. Also, the Spurs needed that layup at the time, and it’s never a good thing when you’re depending on Bonner baskets outside of spot-up 3-pointers.

On one hand, the numbers look good; on the other, Aron Baynes got destroyed by Dwight Howard. And hey, that’s gonna happen, but we’ve seen Baynesy play pretty well in these situations. This was not one of those nights. There were a million missed baskets in this game, which allowed him to grab 12 boards in 31 minutes. Other than that, not good.

The Finals MVP looked good on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s been a struggle offensively. I think I had more beers than Kawhi had post-ups, and outside of a few wide-open mid-range jumpers, there was next to nothing there. Look, the dude had a two-week bout of conjunctivitis and barely got to play any basketball during the regular season, so he gets a couple of weeks. But this was the kind of game you want to see him step up. Again, he’s got a good reason for the rust, and his defense was solid enough. Good things to come.

I mean, just nonexistent in this one. Sure, he didn’t have his usual running mates, and Isaiah Canaan was playing physical defense in the mold of Patrick Beverley, but he didn’t do a thing until this game was essentially over. Nothing to stress over, though; the Spurs never really had a chance in this one, and it seemed like Parker knew it.

Danny was OK other than the fact he couldn’t hit a shot from the perimeter. And he had good looks. But it was just part of a weird night during which nobody could shoot the broad side of a barn with a freaking bazooka. We’re starting to get glimpses of that Green-Leonard defensive duo on the perimeter, though, and it was good early on Thursday. After a while it just didn’t matter, though.

He was fine, considering how bad everyone else was. But, man, that Tony Parker lob to him on a fast-break — DUDE THAT’S WHAT YOU DO YOU DUNK! Bleh, just a brutal game overall for everyone.

Bobo had to deal with a few weird defensive assignments given the Spurs’ lack of depth, and this clearly wasn’t the same team on the offensive end, but he seemed out of whack as well. There just never seemed to be a flow in the offense. And even if that’s where Diaw often thrives — when the Spurs can kind of drop the ball off to him and he can create — nothing was working tonight.

I thought he was pretty good in his first minutes as a pro. He didn’t shoot well, but nobody did; other than that, he distributed nicely and rebounded very well. Anderson led the team in defensive-rebounding percentage (33%) AND assists per 100 possessions (30). It was a good start to his career in a crappy situation. He’s a work in progress defensively, but he had a few swipes in there as well. Just a solid night.

Turned out well in the box score, which is always a weird thing to try and untangle. He did make a few plays, and I find myself being surprised by a few things he does along the way, but none of it is truly impactful. Still, he was the only Spur who was a net positive while on the court in this one. That counts for something? Eh??

Solid. Shot the ball well and played decent defense, but didn’t do much else. Obviously nobody was helping him in that capacity, and he’s not exactly known as a distributor, so Cory was OK tonight. Thought he was the best Spur, simply by virtue of the fact he did his job.

Didn’t bring a suit along with him.

See above.

Not quite sure what he could’ve done. There’s no “INC” option for the coach.