The Microscope: Spurs Executing on Another Level (and More)
The Microscope is your recurring look at the NBA's small-scale developments—the rotational curiosities, skill showcases, coaching decisions, notable performances and changes in approach that make the league go 'round.
The San Antonio Spurs, executing opponents into the ground. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a Gregg Popovich team is executing at a level currently unmatched in the NBA, and yet the Spurs are still sneaking up on opponents and fans alike. Over the weekend, San Antonio toppled Dallas without Tony Parker, beat New Orleans without Manu Ginobili, and crushed Philadelphia without Tim Duncan -- all on consecutive nights. The maximization of role players in San Antonio is as astounding this season as it ever has been; Danny Green, Gary Neal, Matt Bonner, DeJuan Blair, Kawhi Leonard, and San Antonio newcomer Stephen Jackson aren't just cogs in the machine, but dynamic elements of an offense that goes beyond specialization.
At the risk of sounding too definitive, it's safe to say that the Spurs are -- if only for the moment -- the West's second best team. It's also fairly safe to say that flaws and all, San Antonio isn't as far behind Oklahoma City as one might think.
On Kobe Bryant, and the gall of sitting a player for four minutes. Apparently, Kobe Bryant didn't sub out of the Lakers' game against the Grizzlies on Sunday -- he was benched. And if the tenor of the reactions to that development both last night and this morning are to be believed, that benching is a fate worse than death itself. Don't fear the reaper, but be sure to yell at Mike Brown.
But let's try framing this another way: Brown pulled a player who was riding a bit too high from his phenomenal third-quarter performance, and also kept his star player's minutes at a mere 38.
Are we really at the point where it's common to gripe at Brown for not playing Bryant 40+ minutes a night? Are we really supposed to ignore the fact that Bryant hadn't sat a second of the second half prior to his "benching," (a fault which assuredly does rest with Brown), and was starting to show some signs of fatigue? And are we also going to overlook the fact that the Lakers made a quick 6-0 run as soon as Bryant checked out of the game?
It was merely a substitution -- perhaps one that should have come earlier than it did, but alas. Anyone who wants to make it more than that is obviously free to do so, but only with a certain tradeoff in contextual truth.
Raymond Felton's cruel taunt. Portland may be tanking, but no one decided to tell Raymond Felton, who is suddenly playing his best basketball of the season at the most hilariously inopportune time. Many of Felton's struggles with the Blazers this year have gone beyond explanation; even when accounting for poor fit, acclimation to a new team, the post-lockout schedule, and any other complicating factor possible, it's difficult to articulate exactly why Felton's play had been so miserable.
And now, when it behooves Portland to lose as many games as possible in order to improve their draft standing, Felton is finally playing at a level that would have offered the Blazers some stability, and maybe even saved Nate McMillan's job. In the six games since the Blazers officially embarked on the tanking trail, Felton has averaged 16.0 points and 7.2 assists (to just 2.3 turnovers) per game, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 47 percent from the three-point line. Those numbers aren't breathtaking by any means, but they still represent a very noticeable improvement over Felton's prior performance.
