With their 37-point drubbing of the Jazz, the Spurs moved to the top of the league in point differential (the average margin of their games) at plus-13.2, just in front of the one-loss Warriors’ mark of plus-13.1.
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During that 13 game stretch, the Spurs have been dominant.
Hayward finished the game with four points on 1-of-5 shooting, his lowest scoring output since April. Leonard 7-10 from the field and also 6-6 from the line. Instead, San Antonio is wearing teams down with their big lineup, using Duncan and Aldridge in the frontcourt at the same time.
It was also the Jazz’s fifth game in a week and, considering it was against powerhouse San Antonio, could be written off as a proverbial schedule loss. The Spurs did more of the same on Monday.
A huge part of the Spurs’ success has been Leonard’s emergence as a legitimate MVP candidate.
On defense San Antonio has limited teams to under 100 points in 13 of the last 14 games.
According to ESPN, the Spurs have been strong defensively as of late.
Centre Derrick Favors was one of only three Jazz players who scored in double figures, finishing with 16 points.
Yet Leonard hasn’t let his defensive responsibilities take away from his offensive production (or vice versa). “They’re a championship-level program”.
But while the Warriors continue to garner headlines, and the talk of them chasing win streaks and regular season win total records, the Spurs continue to methodically march along, winning with one thing in mind: being ready in the spring whenever the inevitable clash with the Warriors finally takes place. No, the Jazz do not now have an inside presence to combat forward LaMarcus Aldridge and center Tim Duncan.
The Spurs have gotten it done on both sides of the ball, making them incredibly hard to beat.
In 1986, John, Karl & Co. lost by 46 points on two different occasions to two different teams – 150-104 at Golden State (Jan. 15) and 130-84 at the L.A. Lakers (March 5). Walsh of Number Fire notes, they’ve committed to getting Aldridge easier shots near the rim. “Those are two different teams with two different styles right now”.
As a testament to this being the last of a long road trip, and still without Bradley Beal, it got worse in the fourth quarter, with the Spurs putting on a free throw shooting clinic.
After losing just once in 25 games, there is growing evidence that no National Basketball Association team can beat the Warriors in a seven-game series. And the Warriors’ net rating (based on points per 100 possessions) of plus-14.8 is only 2.1 points ahead of San Antonio at plus-12.7.
For a small-market team, the Spurs made a giant offseason investment to keep their unparalleled run of dominance going. But simply that display of dominance is not the only reason to believe they could have a successful season.
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Entering Monday night’s game, Popovich and Adelman were tied at 1,042 wins apiece.
