Spurs-Kings showdown reveals plenty
Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
While it's true that wins and losses in games played from November through January are just as meaningful as the results of stretch-run games played in April, Thursday's contest deep in the heart of Texas between the Kings and the Spurs was an especially critical statement game.
Ever since the high-noon radiance of the Nash-less Suns began to sink toward the western horizon, ever since the Sonics' high-flying game began losing altitude, and ever since the Heat cooled off on their recent road trip, the Spurs have clearly emerged as the team to beat. Sure, they have trouble getting their chops up against some of the league's second-tier teams recently losing to Utah, and scoring only 67 points in a loss to Houston.
After being sky-high last Sunday and thoroughly humiliating the Kings in Sacramento 103-73, any bookie worth his stuff could have also predicted a letdown when the Spurs played the very next night in Portland. Indeed, San Antonio was lifeless in losing to the Trail Blazers 107-99. However, despite the absence of a potent center and the sometimes erratic play of their point guard, it's no fluke that the Spurs were 34-10 and shared the best record in the league with Phoenix.
Notwithstanding their recent thumping by San Antonio, Sacramento had won seven of eight, and the Kings' overall record of 28-12 was fifth-best in the NBA. Even so, the Kings were still haunted by their propensity to choke in the playoffs, and the battle to gain the respect of their peers is ongoing.
A victory in the SBC Center where the Spurs are 21-1 would certainly vault the Kings into the tight circle of elite team and do wonders for their morale.
Perhaps newcomer Cuttino Mobley has had enough time to blend his dynamic point-making skills into the Kings' intricate offensive schemes.
Or maybe the absence of Doug Christie constituted a lethal blow to Sacramento's already shaky defense. In any case, the pressure was on the Kings to make a definitive statement. Were they legitimate contenders? Or were they still mere pretenders?
Even before the game commenced, the big news was that Peja Stojakovic was out with back spasms. There are two possible scenarios when one of a team's leading scorers is unavailable: The team can hoist a white flag and concede defeat, or circle the wagons and hope that an understudy will rise to the occasion. In any case, the Kings had a ready-made excuse.
(It says here that Sacramento is forever nursing some excuse or other whether it's an injury, a series of cockeyed calls by refs, or an accidental and miraculous 3-ball that beats them at the buzzer.)
And how might an injury to a player like Stojakovic impact the Spurs? They could play with blood in their eyes and go for the kill from the get-go. Or they could ease up and take their dominance for granted. During the course of the Spurs' 90-80 victory, the Spurs moved from one extreme to the other, and then back again.
The Spurs devastated the visitors during the opening eight minutes passing, cutting, making the Kings play attentive defense for at least 18-20 seconds every possession. The result was a barrage of layups, dunks, and undefended jumpers. For the most part, Tim Duncan was stationed at the high post and Manu Ginobili frequently attacked Mobley one-on-one. The Kings' interior defense was so porous that Ginobili, Tony Parker, and even Robert Horry repeatedly drove through the entire team with impunity.
Meanwhile, Chris Webber was hoisting up (and missing) too many perimeter shots, and not transitioning from offense to defense. Webber and his teammates were also woofing about every whistle that blew the other way.
With about four minutes left in the quarter, the Spurs were up 23-11, and Rick Adelman's eyes were glazed with disbelief. That's when San Antonio started getting cocky. Hey, these guys are pushovers! Chumps! Front-runners choking in our dust! This game is officially over! Now let's have some fun!
From there, the Spurs began to cut the pie forcing fanciful passes, dribbling blithely into heavy traffic, gambling for steals on defense, playing too fast and out of control. The Spurs had been averaging 13.7 turnovers per game (fifth-best in the league), but in the first half they were already guilty of 13 such mishaps.
Meanwhile, Brad Miller was pumping in his trademark mid-range jumpers. Mobley was shooting the lights out. And the Kings were hitting either Webber or Miller on the high-post and executing squeeze-action picks that opened up easy jumpers for Mike Bibby.
Still, after playing eight wondrous and 16 horrible minutes, the Spurs led by 53-45 at the half. See? We can bring our D-game and still beat these jokers!
During the intermission, Adelman was encouraging. He was proud of his team for hanging in the game. Just a few tweaks in their execution control the boards, rotate quicker to the middle, set better picks, make sharper, tighter cuts and perhaps they could steal the game.
At the same time, Gregg Popovich was irate. Turnovers were unacceptable. His players were sloppy, careless, unfocused, and in too much of a hurry.
The upshot was that the Spurs began the second half by playing cautiously on offense. They wanted to establish Duncan in the pivot. To run Mobley into as many picks as possible. On defense, they sought to clamp down on both Miller and Mobley, and to shut down the Kings' screen/rolls.
But the Spurs were too cautious: If they took better care of the ball, their shots stopped falling. If Bruce Bowen put Mobley's offense in jail, Bibby found the range, Miller kept plugging the ring, and even Darius Songaila threw in a couple of jumpers. A tricky in-bounds play by rookie Matt Barnes cut the Spurs lead to 70-67 after three quarters.
Suddenly, the game was up for grabs.
Indeed, the score was tight for most of the fourth quarter and then with about five minutes on the game clock, the Spurs reasserted their dominance. Their defense was as tight as a noose around a condemned man's neck. Their offense was devastating.
And the Kings panicked. Webber and Miller took long, quick jumpers. Shots were blocked. Dribblers were stripped. Every call seemed to go the wrong way. Webber was T'd up. And the game was lost.
So, the Kings played well enough, long enough to feel good about themselves. And besides ... wasn't Peja hurt? Didn't C-Webb have a dinged ankle? Hadn't the Spurs shot 27 free throws to their 16?
OK, so the Kings had dropped three of four games to the Spurs but at least they wouldn't have to play them anymore. Not until the playoffs. By then, Peja and Webber would be healthy, Mobley would be in total synch, and the Kings would be ready to go to war to the last man.
And what did the Spurs take from the game?
Despite Pop's perpetual harpings and warnings, they know that (barring a tragic injury or two) they'll have the home-court advantage should they encounter the Kings in the playoffs.
And they know in their hearts that the Kings are their patsies.
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the next one being A pivotal season How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
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