The Margin: Four Talking Points for Your Game 2 Withdrawals
Sure, I may have hit the snooze button three or four times as I attempted to wake up after crawling into bed four hours prior; and yes, I might currently be drinking coffee and espresso mixed together (I’m told it’s called a Red Eye) in an effort to pry my eyes open with a psychoactive drug.
But last night’s game was what the playoffs are all about. Those are the games we remember for a long damn time, and keep us going to bed much later than is physically healthy. And luckily the game was close, so I can pick and choose when to run ‘The Margin,’ as opposed to last year when I had to do this for you crazy people as the Spurs were beating the poop out of the Blazers by 30 every night.
As always, credit to Rob Mahoney for creating The Difference back in the day when he was just a lowly blogger like us over at the Two Man Game, as The Margin is simply a rip-off of that. Final score: 111-107. Let’s talk about four things.
- I’m sure the emotional swings in last night’s game were something to behold from a non-interested observer, or a psychiatrist, or a neurosurgeon. My guess is, the elevated stress levels from Spurs fandom decreased its collective projected lifespan. But hey, party on while you’re here, right? The Kawhi Leonard fake-spin, fadeaway that temporarily opened a fissure in the court through which J.J. Redick fell seemed to be a hammer that smashed the Clippers’ chances, but nope! Los Angeles went on a 9-0 run over the next 3:13, and a Spurs offense that had just picked up a locomotive’s worth of steam had suddenly collapsed on itself, mostly because of the Clippers explosion of energy. Doc Rivers called a timeout after the Leonard shot, L.A. collected itself, and came roaring back. It did not help matters that Parker was pulled from the game with a sore Achilles that is quickly becoming a major concern, nor did it help that Manu Ginobili fouled out, but the Clippers cranked up the pressure and it hit the Spurs hard. I’m honestly still a bit shocked San Antonio won that game. L.A. had a chance to seal the deal, and then a Blake Griffin turnover and Patty Mills happened. The Spurs were saved from a painful collapse and a 2-0 hole heading back to San Antonio, and you have to give them credit for responding the way they did in the overtime period. And yet, just look at that final minute, even when it looked like things were done! Paul’s ridiculous 3-pointer; J.J. Redick’s open miss in transition that would’ve tied the game in the final 10 seconds. Holy hell, did that game have it all.
- Speaking of Patty: That dude saved the game. His explosiveness has been missed all season long, so of course — OF COURSE — he shows up in the postseason when the Spurs were in dire straits. And it looks like they’re going to continue to require his services, as Parker’s injury is going to linger. This series is just getting fun.
- Another topic of conversation that’s been present all year long is the Manu debate. There’s a chasm between those who still value his importance and those who recognize the decline. I personally sit squarely in the middle, as I can acknowledge that both observations are true. (See: El Conclusión comment sections.) He has bad moments on a nearly nightly basis, but that’s always been part of his game. The difference now is, he doesn’t always make up for them in the spectacular fashion he used to. But he still has irreplaceable value on this team. It can be both ways. Last night’s fourth quarter was a fairly glaring example of what happens when the Parker-Ginobili tandem is forced off the court: the Spurs’ offense struggles to find the ruthless precision we’ve seen in clutch situations for so long. Their shot-making ability has really dropped off, but they’re still so good at setting up others and taking care of the ball. In late-game situations, that counts for a lot. But it’s a tough balance to achieve. Guys like Mills, Marco Belinelli, and Danny Green are better shooters, and Leonard and Boris Diaw have shown they can handle running an offense around Tim Duncan. Decision-making is going to be damn difficult for Popovich going forward. And look, I get why people defend Manu. You can argue he’s the most beloved Spur ever, and that’s always going to create a defensive mindset when reacting to criticism of him. (By the way, don’t pay such close attention to our grades. They’re arbitrary and silly. We’re grading a basketball game.) Just remember: We can still appreciate his importance to this team while, at the same time, acknowledging that he’s more of a risk than he once was. But rest assured, that guy’s going to be on the floor A LOT in tight situations; that isn’t something that’s going to change, and neither is our admiration for the guy.
- The way the Clippers are playing defense is beyond what I anticipated through the first two games. They’ve shown an ability to disrupt a lot of what San Antonio wants to do with aggressive trapping and doubling schemes, and it’s given the Spurs offense a lot to think about. But they were a tiny bit slower on their rotations in Game 2 than they were in Game 1, and it was exposed much more often. There are two reasons for this. First and foremost, the Spurs were much quicker and more decisive with the ball. There was an intensity that wasn’t there in the first game, and they were zipping the ball around and moving bodies a couple of steps ahead of where Los Angeles wants to be. That scheme — one that San Antonio saw a lot of over the last couple of years against the Heat — is difficult to deal with and requires a hell of a lot of focus all night to crack, but the Spurs have an offense built to do it. It’s going to be interesting to see which team appears more gassed by the end of this series. They both looked exhausted last night, but San Antonio’s depth gives it a slightly bigger tank from which to draw energy, and the Spurs don’t play the same type of high-octane defense. In fact, they were switching all over the place last night, which isn’t something you’d typically see from this team. By doing that, they’ve acknowledged the Clippers just have too much athleticism and foot speed to deal with those pick-and-rolls for 48 minutes. This series is a godsend in a first round that hasn’t been all that great, and the matchups — from the coaches to the players — is a joy to watch for fans of this sport.
I’d be remiss to go this entire time without mentioning the brilliance that is Duncan, but what else is left to say? He’s just freaking unreal. I mentioned all that stuff about the Spurs offense and how decisively it acted last night, but how about Timmy just taking DeAndre Jordan, who finished third in the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award voting, to class for most of the night (Speaking of: We see you, Kawhi). Jordan did get him late in the game when things got tight, but Timmy responded in overtime with some of those “How the hell is he making these?” kinds of shots that must leave defenders depressed.
Game 3 is Friday night in San Antonio.
