Spurs v. Rockets: The Team to Avoid
“The playoffs are all about matchups.” It’s a familiar song in the NBA this time of year, and for the most part, the adage rings true. In the Western Conference especially, nearly every playoff team knows a possible postseason opponent they’d like to avoid, a roster of matchup problems and question marks to circumvent in the chaos of establishing final seeding as the season ends.
Despite the list of teams the Spurs have pounded during their eight-game winning streak, there existed a quiet doubt among some that they would be able to keep it going against the Rockets. Houston presents significant problems for any team, but particularly so for a team like the Spurs. Even after losing Patrick Beverley and (just yesterday) Donatas Motiejunas for the season, the Rockets have length, feature a dominant defensive big, shoot a ton of threes, and earn an avalanche of free throws on the back of their unstoppable offensive specialist. These traits would seem to be enough to throw off the Spurs’ pass-heavy motion offense and disciplined defensive rotations equally. They’re not unique problems, to be sure – Golden State forces tough decisions with similar individual and strategic matchups – but for whatever reason, it’s been Houston that has gotten San Antonio’s goat these past few years more than just about any team in the league.
It certainly seemed like that trend would continue, as the Spurs spent most of the first quarter Wednesday night confused and scrambling, allowing the Rockets to score 33 points in the frame. Were it not for Tony Parker’s wizardry (13 points in the first quarter, 27 in the game), the Spurs might have found themselves in a hole too big to dig out of against a Rockets team whose defense does not typically allow big comebacks. Parker, who left Tuesday’s game in Oklahoma City early with Achilles soreness, was responsible for the Spurs’ first 13 points, scoring nine himself and assisting on two other baskets. For eight games, the Spurs had grown accustomed to simply handing Kawhi Leonard the ball and watching him go, and when he was quiet out of the gate, Parker provided a much needed burst of offense to keep it tight. So when he was subbed out with two minutes remaining in the first quarter and the Spurs down seven, things weren’t looking great.
For most of this season, the inconsistency of San Antonio’s bench has been a major issue, and Popovich has spent many games watching leads dwindle or deficits grow as the Foreign Legion struggled to rediscover its synergy. Since the All-Star Break though, the team has begun to find its rhythm, and on Tuesday night, the Spurs clawed and scrapped their way back into the game on the backs of their bench core – Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw – closing the first quarter on an 8-2 run. Those two, in particular, were brilliant all night, Manu hitting very timely threes, Diaw getting the better of whomever the Rockets threw at him.
When the deficit reached its eight-point peak halfway through the second quarter, Popovich called a timeout, and the Spurs answered back with another monster run to close the half and take the lead for good. From there, they continued to pile on to put the game out of reach. Like the Warriors game on Sunday, every time it looked like things were getting close in the second half, Tony Parker would pirouette his way into a layup, or Kawhi Leonard would grab the ball right out of someone’s hands, or Tim Duncan would make a huge block. Even without Splitter and Belinelli, San Antonio had answers. Aron Baynes came up with a big game starting for Splitter and was a monster on the boards (12 rebounds). Cory Joseph continued to establish his hold on the backup point guard spot, getting the hustle plays fans are accustomed to seeing.
For a team that limped into the All-Star break full of questions, having answers like these for really important games is quite a turnaround. There’s not much left to be said at this point in the season. There are certainly things on the line these remaining three games, but where the Spurs land won’t do much to change their new reality. After a half season of unlucky bounces and bad breaks, they’ve become the team everyone else wants to avoid.
