San Antonio Spurs: Pau Gasol to the bench is a veteran move
The San Antonio Spurs were on a fast slide out of the playoffs. Then coach Gregg Popovich moved Pau Gasol to the bench and everything changed.
Pau Gasol, a 16-year NBA veteran, has made a name for himself as a starter. When he signed on with the San Antonio Spurs, he believed he was going to start. This is for good reason, because of his 1,189 career games, he has started in 1,140 of them. The only long stretch of games where Gasol did not start came last season.
Gasol came back from injury and Dewayne Dedmon had played himself into the Spurs’ starting center position. Gasol became a super-sub. In 25 games, Gasol averaged 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
Gasol posted .490/.590/.783 shooting splits in this stretch, which was better than his starting numbers. Last season, Gasol shot .502/.538/.707 for the entire year.
Gasol’s bench numbers allowed him to be a focal point of the offense for the second unit. This took pressure of the starting unit, which sometimes looked a little shaky.
This season, Gasol had no such injury concern, but the Spurs had a team concern. Over a 14-game stretch early in 2018, the Spurs had a 3-11 record. For a team trying to make the playoffs, this is unacceptable. For the Spurs, who have a proven record of success, this was mind-blowing.
How has the team performed since the benching
In the eight games since Gasol moved out of the starting lineup, the San Antonio Spurs have gone 6-2. They won the first six games, which were all part of a long home stand. However, taking a look at the teams that the Spurs played shows that this was a critical stretch.
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They played the New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards (twice), Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks. The only non-playoff team was the Orlando Magic.
Tellingly, the Spurs won every game against Western Conference opponents in this stretch. They also played more than half the second Washington game without LaMarcus Aldridge, who injured his knee.
Gasol himself averaged 9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds 1.9 assists and 1.0 blocks per game in this stretch. These numbers are down on the season where Gasol is averaging 10.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 blocks.
However, with Gasol turning 37, it is also possible that Gregg Popovich is trying to help ease the Spaniard’s load toward playoff time. It is this sort of thing that puts Popovich a cut above every other coach in the association.
It is not just Gasol
Popovich has put the running of his team in the hands of Dejounte Murray. This means Tony Parker is also coming off in a bench role. Parker is in the stage of his career where his ability to start and compete against some of the younger point guards in the league has lessened.
However, Parker is still a cut above most reserve point guards and is relishing his bench role. If Gasol moves to the bench permanently, the Spurs will have Parker, Gasol and Manu Ginobili as key bench pieces (assuming Aldridge’s knee injury is not a larger concern).
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It is this style of thinking that has moved the Spurs back into the playoff race when it looked like they were done for the season. It may also surprise a few teams when the playoffs start.