Tuesday NBA Roundup: Why Isn't Anyone Talking About the San Antonio Spurs?
Every year, like clockwork, a large sector of NBA fans and pundits doubt (or forget completely about) the San Antonio Spurs.
And every year, without fail, San Antonio proves them wrong.
Let's all agree to skip that dance this year and just accept the Spurs as overlords, shall we?
If it helps, you needn't act like this epiphany comes out of nowhere. Use San Antonio's 102-100 victory over the Houston Rockets as your trigger.
This was, after all, a win worthy of pivoting perception. The Spurs trailed by as many as 13 points inside five minutes to play but rattled off a 19-4 run to close the game...on the road...against the third-best team in the Western Conference...that was riding a 10-game winning streak.
That's a significant feat, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated:
San Antonio pulled off this comeback without a trademark effort from Kawhi Leonard. He finished with 21 points, reached the charity stripe at will (13 free throws) and was a general nuisance on the defensive end (five steals!). But he shot just 5-of-14 from the field, committed seven turnovers and was consistently overwhelmed by Eric Gordon (not a typo).
LaMarcus Aldridge wasn't especially fantastic, either. He chipped in 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while going 6-of-15 from the floor. But Danny Green drained four three-pointers, and Patty Mills capped his 13-point performance with a game-winning three:
The Spurs don't leave Houston victorious without Manu Ginobili. The 39-year-old exploded during the final frame, packing an entire game into seven-and-a-half minutes of spin.
He tallied nine points, three assists and two steals while also spearheading the most important defense-to-offense sequence of the night:
We have to stop ourselves here. You see what we're doing, don't you? We're treating this like an upset, when it's not.
Yes, the Spurs fell behind. And sure, the odds were stacked against them entering the fourth quarter. But as Project Spurs' Paul Garcia reminded us, San Antonio is no underdog:
There is no universe in which a team on track to win 67 games for the second consecutive year should be flying under the radar—not even when said squad has seemed almost human at times.
Has the Spurs' pick-and-roll defense been bad? Without question. But they are still fourth in points allowed per 100 possessions.
Are they shooting way too many mid-range jumpers and not hitting enough of their field-goal attempts inside the paint? Yes, and yes. But they also lead the league in three-point efficiency.
Do they have a better record on the road than at home? Yes, and that's uncomfortable. But they have the best enemy-territory net rating in the NBA—not to mention a top-six home differential since their Nov. 9 loss to the Rockets.
Should Pau Gasol be ceding minutes to Dewayne Dedmon? Is Tony Parker unfit for full-time point guard duty? Are the Spurs simultaneously too reliant on graying vets (David Lee, Gasol, Ginobili, Parker) and relatively inexperienced contributors (Dedmon, Jonathon Simmons)?
Does it feel like they're another high-end three-and-D playmaker away from making the Warriors take notice?
There are no concerns when it comes to San Antonio's championship candidacy. Some of them, like the pick-and-roll defense, are more major than others.
But for all the Spurs' flaws, they still have a top-six offense and top-four defense. They have the fourth-best net rating after playing through a relatively average schedule.
They have a better record than every team other than the Warriors.
James Harden—who went for 31 points and seven assists in Tuesday's loss—will garner more headlines for his MVP detonations. Russell Westbrook's daily triple-double alerts will do the same. The Rockets will be lauded for their surprise climb up the Western Conference ranks. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Warriors will be revered, through both love and hate, for their persisting NBA Finals collision course.
The Spurs, though?
They'll quietly go about their business, as a bona fide championship contender, away from rampant optimism and effusive praise—just like always.
Hornets Go Hollywood in Charlotte
It didn't look good for the Charlotte Hornets after the first half. The Los Angeles Lakers hung 73 points on the NBA's seventh-best defense, building leads as big as 29.
But the Hornets came storming back during the final two frames. They held the Lakers to under 38 percent shooting and used a 35-point third quarter to get themselves back within striking distance.
Eleven fourth-quarter points from Marco Belinelli—yes, Marco Belinelli—and one crunch-time bucket from Nicolas Batum later, the Hornets left Charlotte with a 117-113 victory:
When Belinelli isn't busy going full Stephen Curry, it helps that the Hornets have two seasoned stars to lean on in Kemba Walker and Batum. The latter finished with 23 points and 10 assists, while his partner in crime flirted with a triple-double, collecting 28 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
To answer your question: Yes, we've officially reached "Kemba Walker better be an All-Star this February or else" territory. The dude is balling and one of the few reasons Charlotte's mediocrity-sick offense hasn't imploded.
The Hornets, by the way, are now in sole possession of the Eastern Conference's fourth-best record—which means their season-long mission to toy with our sensibilities is right on schedule.
Stars Show Up in New York
Despite being slaughtered in the paint, losing the fast-break battle and trailing by as many as 15 points, the New York Knicks escaped Madison Square Garden with a 118-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
We were reminded of many things throughout this contest: Derrick Rose (24 points, six assists) can still be pretty good when he's attacking the basket and not leaving his feet too early. Kristaps Porzingis (21 points, three blocks) still plays like an alien-unicorn cyborg on loan to Earth from a far away galaxy. Joakim Noah (11 points, 11 rebounds) isn't dead yet.
Most importantly, though, we were reminded what happens when Carmelo Anthony (35 points, four assists) isn't living in isolation.
Almost half of Anthony's buckets came off assists, and he was allowed to fire off the catch from beyond the arc more than usual—which is good. Anthony is shooting 43 percent on spot-up triples this season and, as SB Nation's Seth Rosenthal pointed out, he scores far more efficiently when he's not playing like he's on an island:
Nights like this won't always be possible for Anthony; Rose isn't good enough to be a No. 1 option every game anymore. And while Porzingis is close, he's not there yet. He still has to be New York's bail-out savior.
But the Knicks are at their best when Anthony can score within the flow of the offense. This game—specifically the third quarter—should be the blueprint they try to replicate so long as he's in orange and blue.
Greatness Rears Its Many Heads in Milwaukee
Hot damn, the Cleveland Cavaliers' 114-108 overtime victory versus the Milwaukee Bucks was fun.
LeBron James came to play, because the Cavaliers stink when he doesn't. He tallied 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while drilling five of nine from three-point land.
Oh yeah, James is quietly swishing triples this season. He's now putting down 36.8 percent of his threebies for the year. No big deal.
Giannis Antetokounmpo did Giannis Antetokounmpo things, racking up 13 rebounds, two steals and three blocks to go along with his 25 points—13 of which came at the foul line. Jabari Parker continued his march toward Carmelo Anthony-like stardom, finishing with 30 points and nine boards.
Kyrie Irving pitched in 28 points and five assists (on a blah 8-of-23 shooting), but nothing he or anyone else did was enough to steal the show from Bucks rookie Malcolm Brogdon.
Sure, Brogdon's six points and five assists don't seem like much. But he ended LeBron James, which counts for everything:
Don't let the posters fool you; Brogdon is more than just a future Slam Dunk Contest champion. He leads all rookies in win shares per 48 minutes.
Here's hoping Bucks head coach Jason Kidd stops giving minutes to Matthew Dellavedova that should be going to Brogdon.
Give Hassan The Ball
It took two extra periods for the Miami Heat and Orland Magic to settle their beef. When the final buzzer sounded, the Orlando Magic had themselves a 136-130 victory.
And Hassan Whiteside was not happy, per Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley:
Whiteside finished with 32 points on 22 shots. And he owns Miami's third-highest usage rate for the season. But he attempted just three of Miami's shots through two overtimes, so perhaps he has a point.
Then again, as Buckley also noted, it's not like the Heat have been freezing out Whiteside down the stretch of close games:
These comments are weird and might earn Whiteside a light closed-door scolding from head coach Erik Spoelstra. But at least we know he wants to win.
Also: Shoutout to the Magic for shooting 50 percent from deep and having four players notch at least 20 points. That's not going to happen for this team again.
Another "Threat" to Golden State Bites the Dust
In many ways, the Utah Jazz seem like they could be a viable challenger to the Warriors.
They grind games down to a slow, physical, unforgiving halt, which gives them the power to displace Golden State from its frenetic comfort zone. If a few things break right, you could see them giving the Warriors some problems.
So much for that.
Golden State destroyed Utah, 104-74, without even making 10 three-pointers. The Warriors won the rebounding battle, dropped more baskets in the paint and outscored the Jazz four-to-one in transition.
Even Golden State's fans were getting buckets:
This is a problem for "the Warriors haven't won the title yet" crowd. Golden State has already laid beatdowns on the Los Angeles Clippers and Jazz. And the Rockets feel like an artificial obstacle because, in the long run, you can't beat the Warriors playing their own game.
That leaves Cleveland and San Antonio as Golden State's biggest roadblocks. After them, there's nothing—just a billboard screenshot of Stephen Curry holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy as he rides around on Kevin Durant's shoulders.
Boogie Gonna Boogie
DeMarcus Cousins responded to being fined for his postgame confrontation with a Sacramento Bee reporter in the most DeMarcus Cousins way possible: by scoring 54 points, then getting ejected, only to get un-ejected, put in his 55th point and lead the Sacramento Kings to a 126-121 victory.
Here's the full mouthpiece-gate sequence:
And here's Cousins' not-so-polite take on the night's events:
Let's get a few things straight: Cousins definitely spit his mouthpiece at the Portland Trail Blazers bench. He is also very, very good at this whole basketball thing.
Finally, the NBA's two-minute report on this game is going to be lit.
Team Celebration of the Night
Long live the Knicks' party faces.
Tuesday's Final Scores
- New Orleans Pelicans 108, Philadelphia 76ers 93
- Charlotte Hornets 117, Los Angeles Lakers 113
- Toronto Raptors 116, Brooklyn Nets 104
- New York Knicks 118, Indiana Pacers 111
- Orlando Magic 136, Miami Heat 130
- Cleveland Cavaliers 114, Milwaukee Bucks 108
- Boston Celtics 112, Memphis Grizzlies 109
- San Antonio Spurs 102, Houston Rockets 100
- Los Angeles Clippers 119, Denver Nuggets 102
- Golden State Warriors 104, Utah Jazz 74
- Sacramento Kings 126, Portland Trail Blazers 121
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Salary commitments via Basketball Insiders. All information accurate leading into Dec. 21 games unless otherwise noted.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
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