Spurs pull away from Lakers, head to Sacramento to close road trip
Several times in the past, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has talked about how the team embraces the Rodeo Road Trip because it forces a renewed focus for the team. After an incredibly sluggish start to the season, the Spurs first road trip of the season has appeared to have a similar outcome. It started with a grind it out win against the Los Angeles Clippers, then a picture perfect win against the Golden State Warriors. Friday night, they followed up those two wins with a 93-80 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
It wasn’t the prettiest win, didn’t feel as satisfying as the previous two victories, but it accomplished some goals. They played well enough, particularly in the second half to limit Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker’s minutes to varying extents. Duncan played just 25 minutes and got considerable rest in the second half. Parker played more minutes, but also didn’t play the final eight minutes of the game. Ginobili also logged 25 minutes, which is about his season average. Second goal has more to do with the role players. Both Danny Green and Matt Bonner had been struggling with the jumper, but Friday night at Staples the shot a combined 5-10 from 3-point range. Green was also excellent on defense, helping hold Kobe Bryant to just 1-14 shooting.
The first half really belonged to Kawhi Leonard. He scored 12 points on a variety of shots. There was a 3-pointer, a driver through traffic for a dunk, a fadeaway jumper from the short corner and a couple of terrific steals on Jeremy Lin that turned into a dunk one time and free throws the other. The combo of foul trouble and a shot above his eye held him out for the most of the second. According to the San Antonio Express News’ Mike Monroe, Leonard has been cleared to play Saturday in Sacramento, but it’s unclear if he will. Basically, we got an abbreviated version of what we saw against the Clippers and Warriors.
The man of the hour is Duncan. In the second quarter, he scored his eighth and ninth points of the game, giving him 25,001 points for this career. Duncan joins Kareem Abdul Jabbar as the only two players to reach 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds and 2,500 blocks. Those numbers speak to Duncan’s all around brilliance and longevity. It shows you can’t just point to one stat to show his greatness, although highlighting any one of those three categories is going to make Duncan look pretty damn good.
Next up for the Spurs is a Saturday night match up with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have started hot, but have lost three in a row, the last two in the most brutal fashion. Both times they 20+ point leads they blew, the second loss came in Memphis on a last second tip-in that makes .4 look like child’s play. This team is either really down or really mad. In year’s past I’d say those losses would fracture this roster, but they’ve shown a little more resolve this season when they’re not blowing 20 point leads. They could come out on fire thanks to what will likely be a pumped up crowd. However, if the Spurs can get their offense rolling early, they may be able to demoralize this young team.
Matt Bonner had been starting the last couple of games, but you have to wonder if Aron Baynes will start so Duncan doesn’t have to exclusively guard DeMarcus Cousins, who is averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds a game. If the Spurs can contain Cousins and keep the turnovers low I like their chances, especially if even 2 of the Three Amigos play in this game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Sleep Train Arena.
