Whether it’s the Philadelphia 76ers or Portland Trail Blazers, Gregg Popovich is unwavering in his ways.
With the San Antonio Spurs playing on the second night of a back-to-back against the Trail Blazers on Monday, the coach elected to sit out four key players in the rotation in Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter. To be fair, Parker has been dealing with a hamstring issue, Ginobili was listed as out with a lower back contusion and Splitter was resting for calf rehabilitation. Duncan, we assume, was simply listed as “old”.
The result was a 108-95 loss, dropping them down to a tie with Dallas for sixth place in the West. At 17-8, the Spurs still have a terrific record, but they have been a bit slower out of the gates this season compared to last season, when they were 19-4 around this time.
You can never doubt the reigning champions, and you know they can turn it on (at least with a full squad) when they feel compelled to, like when they easily defeated the Golden State Warriors on the road early in November (the Warriors have won 15 straight games since that loss). That said, they haven’t looked as motivated to execute teams to death in just about every game the way they did last season after losing to the Miami Heat in the Finals in heartbreaking fashion. The level of play has dropped some for certain members of the team, including Boris Diaw, who is shooting just 46 percent from the field, including a paltry 29.3 percent from the arc. Last season, Diaw shot 52.1 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from the arc. He was the catalyst in helping the team to victories with his dominant play whenever players like Duncan and Ginobili sat out. Championship hangover, perhaps?
As for the loss on Monday, here is what Diaw had to say:
Back to back are always difficult but we played hard and tried to get that win. Thanks for the kind messages guys and see you soon at home!
— Boris Diaw (@theborisdiaw) December 16, 2014
Having the core of your starting lineup would help, obviously.
With the Oklahoma City Thunder roaring back into contention, the sixth and seventh spot in the West may be in jeopardy, and that’s precisely where the Spurs are right now. While it’s pretty hard to argue against anything Popovich does, it’s going to be harder for the Spurs to get back on top of the ridiculous West if key players continue to miss games simply because of age or other minor bruises and aches. Also of note is that they still have the same team from last season, but certainly haven’t played the same way as last season at times. Losing to the Los Angeles Lakers at home is the perfect example of that.
James Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.