Sacramento Kings 113, San Antonio Spurs 115
The Spurs prevailed in their first game on the Rodeo Road Trip in a contest that wasn’t quite as close as the final score makes it seem. And again the Spurs are able to beat a team with a record below .500.
It’s important for this team to start the trip with a win. Tonight the Spurs play the Blazers in the second night of a back-to-back, so a loss last night against the Kings could have set a bad precedent for the entire trip.
With all the good vibes that usually come from the RRT, this team still has a lot of work to do on the court in order to challenge the Western Conference.
Richard Jefferson was frustratingly bad for the most part of this game. Jefferson’s point total (12 points) is misleading, he was able to get to the rim a couple of times and finish, and he knocked down one three-pointer. But in between that, there was an air of timidity to him that doesn’t work in the Spurs system.
His defensive effort appeared lacking for a large portion of the game. He continually got beat off the dribble and rarely hustled for rebounds or lose balls.
On one play in the first quarter, he was beat off the dribble near the top of the key by one of the Kings. At the rim, he was able to get a hand on the ball and strip it away from the offensive player. When the ball was on the ground, he lackadaisically reached down for it and former-Spur Ime Udoka jumped in and muscled the ball out. Udoka then went up and scored and drew the foul.
Sequences like that have come far too often for Richard Jefferson this season.
Offensively, Jefferson is at his best when he can spot up and take his time on an open jumper or get to, and finish at, the rim. This is where the bulk of his points came from against the Kings on Wednesday night.
But when Jefferson is forced to take a shot off the dribble, he appears at a loss for what to do, unsure of where to stop and pull-up.It usually results in a jumpshot that Jefferson appears to have no confidence in taking.
And unfortunately for Jefferson and the Spurs, good defensive teams limit your chances at the rim and open shots.
However late in the season it is, it still doesn’t appear that Jefferson fully grasps the Spurs system. His conversations on the floor during dead balls and other stoppages of play lead me to believe that he’s still learning. Granted, they could have been discussing the best place to get a steak and a beer in Sacramento after the game, but I doubt it.
This is both a positive and a negative. A positive in that he should continue to improve with the other players. He will get more comfortable and figure out his place in the system. Then the team will play better.
A negative in that it leads some to think, “What the heck is taking so long?”
Either way, regardless of what the Spurs record is coming out of the Rodeo Road Trip, expect this team to still be a work in progress.
