San Antonio Spurs Weekly: Aussies Step Up Again In Crunch Time

A few more cuts were made by the San Antonio Spurs and the team looks more and more comfortable with every game. Coach Gregg Popovich has been very careful with minutes so far and has also been sorting out the end of the bench questions as well. Let’s see how they fared this week:

Oct. 13 vs. Phoenix Suns – Loss (106-99)

The Phoenix wing players were the story of this game. Led by Gerald Green‘s 19 points, P.J. Tucker‘s 14 points and Dionte Christmas’ 14 points, the Suns were able to steal the victory in San Antonio.

Spurs power forward Jeff Ayres saw 26 minutes of playing time and recorded 10 points, three rebounds and five assists. Right now it’s a battle between him and Aron Baynes for the fourth spot in the big man depth chart, but Baynes would show later in the week that Ayres will have to make a big run to take it from him.

Oct. 14 @ Denver Nuggets – Loss (98-94)

Playing their first game without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs chalked up a loss in Denver, but that wasn’t without any bright spots in the game. With the All-Stars out, Kawhi Leonard got a chance to lead the team. He posted 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes. Cory Joseph got his opportunity to better his stance in the backup point guard race. In 23 minutes, he scored 13 points and dished out two assists. A decent game, but not one to definitively place him in the lead.

Kenneth Faried was clearly the best player on the floor, with 22 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes. Between this game and Thursday’s game, the Spurs also made three cuts. Corey Maggette, Myck Kabongo and Marcus Cousin saw their time as Spurs come to an end. Kabongo, however, is expected to sign with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros.

Oct. 17 @ Atlanta Hawks – Win (106-104)

This game must’ve been a bittersweet one for the Spurs, who were able to talk to their former assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, except he was the opposing coach. As we saw in the opener against CSKA Moscow, Patrick Mills and Aron Baynes again were two key players in crunch time against the Hawks on Thursday. After the Spurs allowed Atlanta to tie the game when they held a 17-point lead to begin the fourth quarter, it once again Mills and Baynes who helped the team recover.

Mills only played 9.5 minutes (all in the fourth quarter), yet he scored 11 points and was the main ballhandler while he was on the floor. Baynes finished with 11 points, including the game-winning shot, and seven rebounds in 16 minutes. So far, the two Aussies have been outplaying their teammates vying for the same spot in the rotation and with only two games left, they can seal the deal for a stable position to open the regular season.

Oct. 19 @ Miami Heat – Loss (121-96)

Well, this game didn’t bring back good memories. Anyway, the Heat played their way to a dominant victory on a night that LeBron James was given off. Highlights for the Spurs included Leonard’s 17 points in 12 minutes, Marco Belinelli scoring 15 in 21 minutes and Ginobili’s 13 in 13 minutes.

Spurred On: Aron Baynes, Marco Belinelli

Baynes is making a run at a spot in the rotation, outplaying Ayres and Matt Bonner so far in the preseason. He’s averaging nine points and six rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game, compared to Ayres’ 4.2 and four in 20.6 minutes and Bonner’s 2.8 and 1.4 in 9.5 minutes per game. Albeit it’s preseason, he’s also shown he can carry himself well in close games, with now two clutch moments so far.

Marco Belinelli is slowly regaining form and is expected to be another outside shooting weapon at San Antonio’s disposal. (NBA.com photo)

Belinelli is slowly picking up the pace and showing the shooting skills that the Spurs signed him for. He’s at 57.1 percent from beyond the arc in four preseason games so far, averaging 8.2 points in 18.2 minutes. With every game this week, he saw his field goal percentage increase from 28.6 percent in Phoenix to 55.6 percent at Miami.

Looking Forward
Tue. Oct. 22 vs. Orlando Magic: With two games left in the preseason, the only player left on an non-guaranteed contract is swingman Courtney Fells. The Spurs are facing the decision of keeping him on board as the 15th man, or keep that spot open for any players they may want to try out during the season. These two games can prove extremely crucial for Fells.

Thur. Oct. 24 vs. Houston Rockets: Dwight Howard makes his first trip to San Antonio as part of the Texas Triangle. By this time, rotation players should all play near their expected minutes so we can get a glimpse of what this matchup may look like in the regular season and maybe even the playoffs.

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