Spurs show depth on romp over injured Trail Blazers

The domain of the Spurs’ roads continued on the day of Martin Luther King Jr. in Portland. With LaMarcus Aldridge leading and a strong display of the second unit, San Antonio comfortably won the Trail Blazers 125-104 to win his sixth game outside the AT&T Center and the eighth of the season.

Both teams started the game by taking advantage of the opponent’s central weakness, with the Spurs using pick-and-pop after pick-and-pop to expose Enes Kanter’s inability to contain and recover, while the Blazers did the same with LaMarcus Aldridge using hand-offs and screens to free Rodney Hood from mid-range. These moves unlocked the offensives, which dominated early, as the defenses were unable to do anything. San Antonio’s attack seemed a little more fluid, which explains why the team had the best quarter of shots of the season, but despite scoring, Spurs led by just four after the first quarter due to their inability to make enough stops.

The trend of merely exchanging buckets continued into the second period, at least for a while, although the second San Antonio unit looks better than the Blazers. Once the starters returned, however, Spurs made its first round. The jumpers were falling, allowing Silver and Black to gain a nine-point advantage before Damian Lillard stopped the bleeding. It was a missed opportunity to put the brave Blazers away in the beginning, caused by some unforced mistakes (and an understandable attempt to attack Lillard, who was in trouble) that backfired and stopped the attack. There were enough shots for the Spurs to increase their lead to five in the interval, but it was not the best effort.

Not much has changed in the second half. Aldridge was still delighted with the pick-and-pop jumpers and San Antonio’s attack seemed more fluid and balanced in general. But again, the second they created some separation, the Spurs started to turn the ball around and make the wrong decisions in the attack, while letting Portland get enough buckets to keep the game going. Despite having to work hard against a large switchable perimeter defense, Lillard managed to get in line and fuel an attack that did not have many other reliable weapons. As soon as the banks checked in, Spurs regained the lead, but there was a feeling that they had missed another opportunity to end this quickly.

Fortunately, the second unit did not stop to start the final period. The Blazers’ lack of depth caused by injuries to CJ McCollum, Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic was finally exposed, with Patty Mills, Rudy Gay and Jakob Poeltl dominating their outdated opponents to open a significant 17-point lead. From then on, it was quiet for San Antonio, despite Lillard’s attempt to make it a game. This time, Spurs’ tendency to play at the opponent’s level did not bother them again, as they closed tightly, just as they did against the Rockets on Saturday. It would have been great to see more of a killer instinct before, but in the end all that matters is that, eventually, Silver and Black took care of things.

Game notes

• Thank you, Enes Kanter. LaMarcus Aldridge needed a great game and he managed to do what is most comfortable to do: catch open mid-range jumpers. Aldridge scored all 20 of his 22 points in the middle while making – and missed – his only shot on the edge and his only attempt beyond the arc. Is that the shooting profile he should have in the attack? Definitely not, but considering his defender, it made sense that he had this kick chart:

• In the previous game, Spurs had a low in the assisting season. Against the Blazers, they had their second highest number in a game. Everyone who played at least won a penny, while Dejounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan had 11 each and Devin Vassell (!) Had four of his own. Portland has a poor defense and Aldridge’s hot kick influenced the guards receiving so many assists (five from DeRozan went to Aldridge), but it was still nice to see the ball move.
• You couldn’t tell by looking at the scoreboard, as he finished with 35 points in 23 attempts and six assists, but Spurs made Lillard work for everything and made him cough the ball five times. Perimeter defense is still far from optimal, but there is potential there.
• Speaking of defense, Keldon Johnson and Lonnie Walker IV did not shine in the attack, but did their part at the other end. They also combined to obtain 11 plates. Dejounte Murray had nine rebounds, a shy triple-double. Perimeter players recovered well, which partially explains why Aldridge, who had only two boards on Monday, posted below-expected numbers in that category.
• As good as DeRozan, Aldridge and Murray were, the bank really was the difference in this. Rudy Gay and Patty Mills had to go beyond the bow and Jakob Poeltl once again took advantage of an opponent who did not have a reserve center. The Spurs’ bench more than doubled Portland’s on points and had a prominent defender and offensive rebound in Jak. Depth is important.
• Devin Vassell has his own bullet point because he not only made three more in this game (two) than in the last five games combined, but he also moved the ball, hit well and was solid in defense. Games like this are encouraging not only about your future, but also about your ability to contribute now.
• Spurs continue to pick up opponents while they are losing important players, and defeating them. Memphis had no Jaren Jackson Jr., the Clippers missed Paul George, the Rockets lost half their squad, including John Wall and Victor Oladipo, and now the Blazers were losing their second and third best players. Some would say that this may explain why they exceeded expectations, in terms of records, but the Spurs are losing Derrick White and have been without DeRozan for a few games. In any case, Prata and Preto will take the victories for now. There will be plenty of time to prove your worth against opponents in full force at the end of the season.

Next game: @ Warriors on Wednesday

The Spurs will have their first confrontation against the always dangerous Warriors. They will need to make Stephen Curry work for everything and win the internal battle against Draymond Green and James Wiseman to escape with a victory.