San Antonio Spurs 104, Utah Jazz 89: Happy New Year
AT&T CENTER-Fitting that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich’s 800th career win would come against this organization, following this formula for success.
The Utah Jazz, after all, have been the model for which Popovich based his platform on; striving for consistent brand of basketball consisting of defense (Utah shot 37.1 percent) and execution (26 assists, 48.6 percent shooting). The San Antonio Spurs have been following this plan for a little more than a decade and the results speak for itself.
“He’s been doing this for a long time and it’s great to see a coach stick with a team in a situation like this for such a long time, he’s made us who we are,” Spurs center Tim Duncan said. “I’m proud to go out there and play hard for him, and we’re proud to see him get that 800.”
While the Utah Jazz are essentially building the third iteration of their franchise since the days of Stockton-to-Malone, the San Antonio Spurs are still trying to extend the shelf-life of Act II in the Gregg Popovich Era.
Of course the core of Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker remain the same. Duncan now functions primarily as an auxiliary offensive player but still remains the backbone of a Spurs defense that appears to be regaining its bite early in the season. Parker runs the offense and in stretches appears as quick as ever, providing the team with much-needed easy baskets.
But the latter part of this era belongs to Ginobili, who has found his shooting stroke early on this season. Ginobili scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half, hitting five-of-six three-pointers to help the Spurs break open an early 17-point lead.
“We were real fortunate in the first half to get that lead, mainly because of the threes,” Popovich said. “We didn’t do anything that well paint-wise, or inside-out-wise. We just lived on the perimeter. But we did that in Houston and lost by 20.”
Besides the three-point barrage from Ginobili, the difference between the Houston Rockets game and the Utah Jazz game was rested legs that allowed the San Antonio Spurs show off what will ultimately be the true story of this season-their depth. Popovich, with the brilliance of a coach that has 800 NBA wins on his resume, has done a masterful job of mixing and matching units to produce lineups that complements each players strengths. Particularly with the second unit.
Spurs backup point guard T.J. Ford (four assists) is still operating from a position of ignorance regarding the San Antonio Spurs system. But Popovich compensates for this by finding similar dance partners for Ford in young wings Kawhi Leonard and James Anderson, and an intuitive and mobile pick and roll option in Tiago Splitter. This young group provides the Spurs best sans-Duncan defensive unit, and an uptempo look that need not bog down inexperienced players trying to grasp the Spurs system.
More importantly, while Ford is certainly not the player George Hill is, at times his role as a true point guard afford Manu Ginobili the opportunity to continue working off the ball, relieving him of the full burden of ball-handling responsibilities against set defenses. The value of this was apparent in the second quarter when Ginobili found two three-pointers of the open spot-up variety as opposed to the off-the-dribble endeavors that made up so much of his shot selection without Parker or Duncan last season.
And by subbing for Richard Jefferson with Kawhi Leonard early, Popovich is allowing the rookie time with the Spurs first unit, where his raw offensive skills can be hidden enough to fully enjoy the defense and rebounding prowess he brings to this team. It also allows Richard Jefferson some time as the stabilizing veteran presence in an uptempo second unit, a role he was comfortable in tonight with eight points on three-of-four shooting in that second quarter.
“The second unit is typically without Manu and Tony and Tim, so I’m able to get a few more looks, a few more shots. I shoot a pretty good percentage, so typically if I get a few more shots I’m going to make one or two more a game,” Jefferson said. “I feel comfortable in that group.”
Right now, granted the small sample size, the Spurs role players are an interesting mix of beyond the box score intangibles. While it may not be enough to bring home a fifth championship ultimately, the marriage of such pieces around a hopefully healthy core and a coach with 800 under his belt will be enough to keep the Spurs intriguing throughout the season and into the playoffs.
