There isn’t anything interesting or exciting about the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Orlando Magic. The Magic are a young team that seemed on the rise last season under franchise players Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but despite adding an offensive-minded and “emotional” (more on that below) veteran in Desmond Bane to help address some weaknesses, they ha’ve stagnated this year. They aren’t an exciting team to watch, and this match-up begs for a defensive slugfest. With that being said, we have gotten
some excitement from this series this season. There was the Luke Kornet block-and-pose in December, and this matchup had its own unique circumstances, adding a certain level of intrigue that may have otherwise been lacking.
With winter weather stranding the Spurs in Charlotte overnight, just for them to have to switch planes in Atlanta the morning of the game due to mechanical issues, tipoff was pushed back twice, from 3:00 PM to 6:00, and finally to 8:00. As much of a disadvantage as the Spurs were at — the same-day travel, exhaustion, lack of morning shootaround, and the admitted scare the plane malfunction caused — don’t think it wasn’t awkward for the Magic, either. They had been in San Antonio for a couple of days, not knowing when/if the game would take place, and it’s not like they could just go home and wait. In a way, they were stranded too.
As a result, the game would come down to one big question: which young team that has been struggling to string together consecutive wins lately would show the maturity to handle and overcome this unusual situation the best? The answer was profoundly the Spurs. It certainly helped that they were the home team after a couple of road games in hostile environments, but as their most recent home game (a loss to the Pelicans) showed, nothing is guaranteed.
Still, the Spurs came out with a notable purpose, dominating the first quarter, and then overcoming a bad second quarter (again, more on that below) to retake control in the second half despite the Magic trying to make things physical and chippy. It’s the second time in three games we’ve seen the Spurs, including Victor Wembanyama, respond to physicality with physicality — an ability that has been called into question in the past. I said before this game that if the Spurs could pull this one out, it would be one of their most impressive achievements of the season, and I stand by that sentiment. It wasn’t their prettiest or most impressive win, but they showed a level of resolve that has been lacking in some games. Hopefully they carry it forward to future games, because this schedule that feels even more brutal than usual doesn’t get easier any time soon.
Takeaways
- I don’t know what was going on with Bane in this game, but apparently this tough guy act of his is nothing new. He wants to be an enforcer for his team, which is fine, but there’s a fine line between enforcing and just having a bad temper. Cases of the latter are starting to show more and more, like the time he shoved then-Grizzlies teammate Santi Aldama for not playing hard enough defense, or more recently he got fined for launching the ball at OG Anunoby for no apparent reason. It happened again in the third quarter on Sunday, when he hip-checked Wemby to the ground as he came up the court, resulting in an entirely unnecessary flagrant foul. This was as the Spurs were regaining momentum in the third quarter, so it just wasn’t a smart play and likely borne out of frustration more than anything. The point is, this is not how veteran leaders are supposed to act. Just ask Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks.
- By this point, we already know that the Spurs biggest weakness is consistency and a propensity for one really bad stretch that can sink them. A 16-2 Hornets run just before halftime was ultimately the defining stretch in Saturday’s loss in Charlotte, and getting outscored 40-23 in the second quarter the next night could have been more costly had the Spurs not won the first 37-21 and therefore weren’t in too big of hole to climb out of. One stinky stretch or quarter have been defining features in many of their losses over the last couple of years, and it has often depended on when it happens and what happened on either side as to whether they can overcome it. Inconsistency is part of being a young team, but unless they can start preventing these stretches (or stopping them sooner), they will keep alternating wins and losses instead of going on another extending winning streak.
- Congratulations to Mitch Johnson for making his first ever All-Star weekend as a coach! I know he gets a lot of flack from fans, be it for taking longer than desired to make an adjustment, line-up decisions — you know, things every coach gets criticized for — but it can also be easy to forget that this is his first full season as a head coach and decision-maker. It takes time to be great. With that being said, has anyone else noticed the Spurs are on pace for a 55 wins? Has anyone who is ready to fire Mitch after every loss stopped to think about how far this team has come relative to expectations? Does he not get credit for that? I honestly don’t get the lack of patience some folks have when he has them on the precipice of homecourt advantage in the playoffs after six straight years in the wilderness. My two cents: give the guy a chance, and also give him his flowers. He’s not perfect and doesn’t claim to be, but he’s better than given credit for in some corners of the Spurs universe.
Editor’s note: Apologies for this being a day late, but the original author is still dealing with the effects of last week’s winter storm, and this was the soonest I could get it.
