First and foremost, I very much hope that Anderson's injury is not serious. His screams were chilling. Hoping for good news and a quick recovery.
(X-rays negative, Spurs say it's a "left medial knee sprain", MRI to determine possible MCL strain
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21658938/kyle-anderson-san-antonio-spurs-exits-vs-oklahoma-city-thunder-left-medial-knee-sprain)
OKC - Pop chose this game for just about every regular rotation player to be out of the game after about 15 minutes. Anderson led with 22 minutes until he went down. And they won by only three points. OKC looked awful.
Still, I hate losing, and we could have actually had this one. Paul and Forbes had rough shooting nights (team wide, too many easy ones didn't go in), but Paul was busy on the D end, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, steal, block. I thought the players complained a bit too much for calls, not that I expect them to be robots, but at times it seemed as if they were driving for the call.
Really liked what Lauvergne and Bertans provided. They both shot really well, and played on both sides of the court. Started a bit tentative, but became more assertive as the game progressed, and adjusted well, Lauvergne to get O rebs from that beast Adams, Bertans with little things like getting to his D spot no later than when the pass got to his man, jumping out at his man on D then taking a step back to take away the drive, making the opponent adjust to him, and then of course all of his blocks, and running the floor like a gazelle. Lauvergne finished the game with 5-8FG (2-2 FTs), 6 rebounds (4 on O), 2 steals before he fouled out. Bertans was 6-12 (4-9 from the 3), 4 rebounds and FIVE blocks. They moved well, and sometimes - Bertans especially - had to adjust to getting to a spot because of broken O plays. They showed a lot more to their games than they usually get to, made a good impression overall. Smart players with skill and hustle.
I'd sort of forgotten White is on the team (sorry, Derrick), but credit to him for being ready and serviceable when his number got called. He was everywhere, energy and good D, with a team-high +14 in only 17 minutes (it's sort of a flat stat, but an indicator nonetheless).
Murray was the starting PG, and once again showed flashes of what excites fans about him, even now with his still learning to put it all together. He had solid stats 7-15 (3-5 FTs), 11 rebounds (3 on O), 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block (with 5 TOs), but watching him play for a longer period of time makes you appreciate what he brings on D right now, even if his O is still a bit erratic. I was impressed with his quickness and tenacity on D, and he got to the ball a lot for a PG; just one of those guys who has a nose for it and it finds him if you know what I mean. Great rebounding and defensive instincts. On O he holds the ball a bit too long, and sometimes gets tunnel vision, driving when he's got guys open to pass to. He's got the skills, if unpolished, and want to test the hell out of them, which is great to see, but he needs to channel them within the Spurs system. His leadership and game management will come with time and attention.
There was a stretch there at around 5-4 minutes left in the third that would've looked good slightly sped up and with the Benny Hill theme music playing. Then a timeout, and small ball and very solid D actually got a lead!
I like that whenever we give up a 3, the next play we look for one ourselves and almost always get it back. It was great to see the regular rotation players talking plays and instructing the young guys during timeouts. The whole system gets trickled down, players teaching each other. Huge respect.
Overall, despite some confusion on O, the D was solid throughout and I loved that we played with a lot of moxie. There was no backing down from All-Stars and the young guys rose to the mouthy MVP challenge. Westbrick gamesmanship only garnered better play from our guys. Loved it.
Heavy load coming up, with tomorrow completing the first of FOUR back-to-back games in December. It's a brutal schedule, so I expect more DNP-CD and 'post-injury management' rest in between. Lots of challenges, but that's the lot in the NBA. I expect us to rise to meet them head on. We have excellent preparation, more guys will have to step up, and these types of adversities tend to bind a team closer together. GO SPURS!
