I Really Feel Like I've Missed Out on a Cultural Watershed By Not Watching "Jersey Shore"
The results of tonight's game should shock no one. The Nets are not only the worst team in the league, they are flirting with historical badness. The Spurs, despite their problems beating good teams, almost never lose to poor teams. A win for the Spurs should be no surprise.
Nor should the manner in which the win occurred. Coming off a tough loss on Friday to the Mavs, and with a huge game looming Tuesday against the Lakers, it seemed inevitable that the Spurs, despite their own protestations, would come out flat against such a weak opponent. We played them even for a half, then overwhelmed them with our depth and talent in the third quarter, eventually pulling away and securing the win. No more significance should really be drawn from this game.
The most notable aspect of this game, and a huge surprise, is the appearance of Ian Mahinmi. Most Spurs faithful know the somewhat sad story of Ian, and most probably never expected to see him on the court for the Spurs again. After not picking up the last year on his contract this fall, the Spurs front office was more or less giving up on Ian. He has been on the inactive list for every single game this year. And yet there he was, playing meaningful minutes in a regular season game. He played well, scoring 15 points, securing 9 rebounds, and making all 6 of his shots in 21 minutes. He was active and looked very good out there.
The real question is why did he play? There are a few possible reasons. One is that Pop wants to see what he can get out of him and if he would have any use to us this season. We've had a pretty solid and productive big man rotation this year. But when looking at going up against the Lakers, you can never have enough big bodies. And you can never know about injuries, as Bonner has been out almost a month. Haislip has been underwhelming in his court time, so maybe he wanted to see what Ian could give us.
That's the optimist's point of view. The cynic's point of view is that we are showcasing him for a possible trade. There's no doubt that Ian has talent and athleticism and size (you can't coach size). But right now he has absolutely zero trade value because nobody outside of San Antonio has really seen him play in a good long while. With the trade deadline looming, and the fact that the Spurs are still a step or two behind in the West becoming clearer and clearer each day, Ian may be one of our best assets in a potential trade. Lots of struggling or rebuilding teams would probably be more than happy to trade for a player with Ian's potential and hope that they might hit the jackpot. And in return we might be able to get a missing piece that can help us on a title run this year.
Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Whatever the reason, no doubt the happiest person of all tonight is Ian. Good for him.
Looking Forward
The Lakers come to San Antonio on Tuesday. I don't really need to tell you how important this game is. A win against the Lakers would be immeasurably big for us. After Friday's loss to the Mavs, a win certainly seems unlikely, as we have shown no ability to win against even good teams. But the Lakers are ripe for the taking. They've lost 4 of their last 10, Gasol has been injured, and they've shown vulnerabilities. They are relying heavily on Kobe (much like they did several year ago), Artest is having trouble fitting in to the offense, and their bench is pretty mediocre, which is a decided advantage for us. Winning this game could go a long way to easing many of our woes. Of course, another loss would just be more evidence to our continued mediocrity.
Either way, it's a big game, and everybody in the Spurs' locker room knows it. I expect to see the corresponding effort and energy.
Nor should the manner in which the win occurred. Coming off a tough loss on Friday to the Mavs, and with a huge game looming Tuesday against the Lakers, it seemed inevitable that the Spurs, despite their own protestations, would come out flat against such a weak opponent. We played them even for a half, then overwhelmed them with our depth and talent in the third quarter, eventually pulling away and securing the win. No more significance should really be drawn from this game.
The most notable aspect of this game, and a huge surprise, is the appearance of Ian Mahinmi. Most Spurs faithful know the somewhat sad story of Ian, and most probably never expected to see him on the court for the Spurs again. After not picking up the last year on his contract this fall, the Spurs front office was more or less giving up on Ian. He has been on the inactive list for every single game this year. And yet there he was, playing meaningful minutes in a regular season game. He played well, scoring 15 points, securing 9 rebounds, and making all 6 of his shots in 21 minutes. He was active and looked very good out there.
The real question is why did he play? There are a few possible reasons. One is that Pop wants to see what he can get out of him and if he would have any use to us this season. We've had a pretty solid and productive big man rotation this year. But when looking at going up against the Lakers, you can never have enough big bodies. And you can never know about injuries, as Bonner has been out almost a month. Haislip has been underwhelming in his court time, so maybe he wanted to see what Ian could give us.
That's the optimist's point of view. The cynic's point of view is that we are showcasing him for a possible trade. There's no doubt that Ian has talent and athleticism and size (you can't coach size). But right now he has absolutely zero trade value because nobody outside of San Antonio has really seen him play in a good long while. With the trade deadline looming, and the fact that the Spurs are still a step or two behind in the West becoming clearer and clearer each day, Ian may be one of our best assets in a potential trade. Lots of struggling or rebuilding teams would probably be more than happy to trade for a player with Ian's potential and hope that they might hit the jackpot. And in return we might be able to get a missing piece that can help us on a title run this year.
Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Whatever the reason, no doubt the happiest person of all tonight is Ian. Good for him.
Looking Forward
The Lakers come to San Antonio on Tuesday. I don't really need to tell you how important this game is. A win against the Lakers would be immeasurably big for us. After Friday's loss to the Mavs, a win certainly seems unlikely, as we have shown no ability to win against even good teams. But the Lakers are ripe for the taking. They've lost 4 of their last 10, Gasol has been injured, and they've shown vulnerabilities. They are relying heavily on Kobe (much like they did several year ago), Artest is having trouble fitting in to the offense, and their bench is pretty mediocre, which is a decided advantage for us. Winning this game could go a long way to easing many of our woes. Of course, another loss would just be more evidence to our continued mediocrity.
Either way, it's a big game, and everybody in the Spurs' locker room knows it. I expect to see the corresponding effort and energy.
posted by secretchord53 at 9:21 PM
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