San Antonio Spurs

Winter is coming.

The White Walkers of the NBA did it again. With the odds stacked against them, the Spurs made the playoffs last year for a mind-boggling 22nd consecutive season.

Where there is a Pop, there is a way. It didn’t matter that the Spurs lost Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, Kyle Anderson, and that Dejounte Murray went down with an ACL tear before last season started. As long as Pop still resides in San Antonio, you can bet your sweet ass that the Spurs will play hard on a nightly basis and execute all of the little things that give them an advantage over lesser prepared opponents. You can bet your sweet ass that the Spurs will win.

Pop is the Night King and he doesn’t give a lick about your love of three-pointers. Pop has a personal vendetta against the 3.

Long live the midrange! DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge are the midrange gods. Reliable as fuck. DeRozan and Aldridge were #1 and #2 in midrange attempts a year ago, and you can expect more of the same. DeRozan with the fadeaways and Aldridge with the pick-and-pops.

The Spurs attempted the fewest threes in the league last year, but they shot the best percentages from all over the court. This midrange-heavy retro style resulted in the 6th-highest offensive rating in the NBA. An offense that relies on the midrange is an offense that takes care of the ball. San Antonio averaged the fewest turnovers per game. This style also helps limit transition opportunities for opponents which in turn helps mask a weakness: the Spurs are not fast and the defense was shaky.

San Antonio’s defense ranked 19th in defensive efficiency, but they were significantly better at home where they ranked 9th compared to a frightful 28th on the road. This correlated to a 32-9 record in San Antonio and 16-25 outside of AT&T Center. The good news is that the return of All-Defensive team point guard Dejounte Murray will vastly improve the defense right away.

Murray’s return will also alleviate some of the additional playmaking duties that DeRozan had to handle last year. DeRozan was up for the task and averaged the most assists per game (6.2 dimes) of his career. Perhaps Pop has another transformation in mind for him this season. Maybe even more midrange?

Have we mentioned that Pop always get the most out of his group? Pop has even turned a “Bryn Forbes” — an undrafted free agent from Michigan State — into an 81-game NBA starter. Forbes sniped 42.6 percent from 3 on five attempts per game. We can’t help but wonder if that is sustainable. We can’t help but assume that Pop will find a way.

Rudy Gay is still kicking it in San An, as well as Spurs staple Patty Mills and Euro sharp-shooter Marco Belinelli. San Antonio has six veterans on the roster who have played more than 10 seasons in the league with the addition of DeMarre Carroll this summer.

The only other free agent signed was Trey Lyles who we have always been a fan of, going back to his days at Utah. We wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the next one to take a leap while under the Spurs regime.

League Pass Notes

Tim Duncan is here as an assistant coach!

Derrick White might have had THE power dunk of the 2018-19 playoffs on poor Paul Millsap.

Lonnie Walker’s hair will be back on the court after a torn meniscus kept him out of most of his entire rookie season with only 17 games played.

The Final Questions / The Final Take

How will the Spurs handle this year’s Rodeo Road Trip? 02/03 at Clippers, 02/04 at Lakers, 02/06 at Portland, 02/10 at Denver, 02/11 at OKC, 02/21 at Jazz, 02/23 at OKC.

Can San Antonio keep the playoff streak alive?

We suspect that the Spurs will do what they always do. They will execute for Pop, and now Timmy, and they will do so in Spurs fashion.

Sound three horns, the Night King and White Walkers are here. OVER 45.5 wins.