El Conclusión: San Antonio Spurs 101, Milwaukee Bucks 95

There have been moments throughout this season where Duncan appears much more tired than usual during the winter months. He’s had a larger workload due to teammates’ injuries, a ridiculous December schedule, and a lower spot in the standings than is generally accustomed. But he was awesome against the Bucks. He was super active and rescued the Spurs during lulls where nobody else could hit a shot, which might have played a part in the five turnovers — he was being extra assertive. As things continue to normalize for this team, this is what a healthy Duncan will look like down the stretch. At least that’s what San Antonio hopes.

Kawhi has struggled a bit with his shot since returning, but that’s about it. The defense, the rebounding, even the passing has all looked really good and given the Spurs a kick in the ass. Since his return, Leonard is averaging 16.5 points and 10 rebounds a game, and the Spurs’ rebounding percentages as a team have skyrocketed. The big takeaway from this game: When great players aren’t scoring, they get to the line. Kawhi’s 12 free-throw attempts were a career high.

Just hasn’t consistently found the touch from the arc this season, but the Spurs are undefeated with last night’s starting unit of Bonner, Duncan, Leonard, Green, and Parker. I blame Bonner’s amazing, Kareem-esque inside game for the drop-off from the 3-point line

Parker mentioned in the locker room following last week’s Portland game that he still hasn’t found that sixth gear yet. It’s obvious, too. The lingering effects from that hamstring issue are showing — he’s unable to beat guys with his first step, and once he gets near the rim that last burst of quickness to separate from defenders just doesn’t seem to be there. I don’t think it’s time yet to worry about Tony, because he looked pretty spry before this injury hit him. But Spurs fans aren’t used to seeing guys like Brandon Knight staying in front of their All-Star point guard.

Oof. This was just an ICY/hot game. Not much more to talk about. The thing about Danny is, when he’s not shooting well he will help in other areas, just as he did last night on the defensive end (he was a plus while on the floor despite shooting like that, which is tough to do). But he’s out there to knock down shots and really spread the floor for the Spurs offense. He’ll bounce back, as he always does.

Barely played, but put himself in a couple of good spots for some easy dunks. Four points in just two minutes is an effective stretch, albeit a short one.

Bobo looked as smooth last night as he has all season. He was in rhythm and getting good looks inside, two things that seemingly haven’t been part of his repertoire over the last few months. Maybe this will jumpstart him, because he just hasn’t been the same guy. The Spurs need that guy.

Popovich continues to bring Splitter off the bench, as that pairing just isn’t working when they share the court. While I’m sure Popovich would like to get the two in rhythm again, it’s not exactly a bad thing having two guys who can anchor two different defensive units. Tiago was OK last night — good on the offensive end and not too hot defensively. He still hasn’t regained his playoff form from last season, but there’s still plenty of time.

It’s gotten to the point where I’m surprised when Patty misses a 3-pointer. So, it’s kind of like last year. Pop opted to use Joseph a lot more in this one, likely to have a bigger body on the defensive end, so not much to take away from Patty’s game other than he’s looking really good a month after his return from shoulder injury.

This was a weird one: Joseph didn’t hit a shot and didn’t record an assist, yet the Spurs were 58.8 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the floor for those 16 minutes. Just by the eye test alone, CoJo did a great job defensively when San Antonio needed to string together some stops. But I still don’t know how to grade him. The numbers don’t lie though — Joseph had the team’s best plus/minus on the night.

Not a good shooting night, and he didn’t exactly rack up the assists. Granted, it’s not like the Spurs were hitting shots, and the Bucks deserve credit for playing their aggressive defensive scheme very effectively. But Manu was underwhelming in this one, and in nearly 30 minutes didn’t have a great impact.

Obviously it has a lot to do with the fact he trusts Parker to make the right decisions late in close games, but he’s sure letting him play through these rough patches. To be clear, I have no issue with this. He needs to get his feet back under him. The only thing is, I always like to see MORE Patty Mills. I’m selfish like that. I always trust there are reasons behind Pop’s decision to play or sit guys more than usual, which is why I rarely change his grade. There’s more to most of these decisions than meets the eye on the surface. Just in general, I thought the team responded well to the crazy runs the Bucks went on last night. It’s not often teams win games when their opponents go on 16-0 runs.