Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans – Game #29
DeMar DeRozan dominated in his return to the court (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs improved to 17-12 on the season with a 117-114 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. The Spurs led 67-61 at halftime and, although the Pelicans remained within striking distance, the good guys never trailed in the second half.
Key Stretch
Coming out of the gates, the Spurs were stuck in mud. San Antonio trailed 17-9 midway through the first quarter. However, a three-pointer by Dejounte Murray sparked a 24-13 run that got the team’s offense back on track.
Key Statistic
The Spurs two main playmakers, DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray, combine to finish with 18 assists and only one turnover.
Spurs vs. Pelicans: Final Grades
DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan hadn’t played since Feb. 14 due to the impromptu COVID-19 hiatus and the death of his father but he was spectacular against the Pelicans. His footwork was otherworldly, his physicality consistently overwhelmed New Orleans’ defense and his decision-making was extremely good throughout. The Spurs were relying on DeRozan’s playmaking and he delivered again and again. He also had a handful of positive plays on the defensive end. Impressive return, to say the least.
Grade: A+
Dejounte Murray
It was another productive night at the office for Murray. Let’s start defensively. I thought he struggled a bit last game on that end of the court but he was really stout on defense against the Pelicans. He applied constant pressure on the perimeter, got his hands dirty in the paint and was ferociously competitive on the boards. Offensively, Murray was also a positive force. He wasn’t bashful about making the Pelicans pay for leaving him and his downhill attacking was relentless. Add the fact that he didn’t have a turnover and the 24-year-old continues to grow before our very eyes.
Grade: A-
Trey Lyles
This was a decent-to-good outing for Lyles. Overall, he simply looks a lot more comfortable as a starter. The good: He shot enough to help spread the court. His perimeter skill allowed him to be multidimensional with the ball. His smarts usually kept him in the right position on both ends. The bad: Lyles could have been more physical on defense. His rebounding effort was sporadic. His passing on the move wasn’t as good as usual.
Grade: B-
Lonnie Walker IV
Better. Walker continues to launch threes, which is a good thing. His path to maximizing his value includes him being a bulk three-point shooter. Within the three-point line, Walker’s decisions were improved. He could have gone up with more force on a few of his attempts but, all in all, it was a step in the right direction. Playmaking-wise and defense-wise, Walker wasn’t able to move the needle much in his 28 minutes.
Grade: B
Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl was seemingly in foul trouble all night long. That was a shame because he was really good during his time on the court. On defense, he was very good on the perimeter and a beast in the lane. His defensive rebounding was also better than usual. On offense, he moved with purpose and finished well. His passing, screening and offensive rebounding were also positives.
Grade: B+
Patty Mills
Through three quarters, Mills was smoking. He was 4-for-5 on three-pointers and kept the Pelicans scrambling. On defense, his tenacity was palpable. In the fourth, though, I wasn’t impressed. Not only did he miss all five of his three-point attempts, he was inexplicably always in a rush. If the Spurs would have fumbled away the game, Mills would have been the leading goat candidate.
Grade: C+
LaMarcus Aldridge
Welp, apparently Aldridge didn’t need long to adjust to a bench role. The bench unit used him as a focal point and he was up to the task. He played a rugged brand of basketball that led to ten free throw attempts. Aldridge pouring in 21 points in 23 was quietly a big reason why the Spurs won this game. Defensively, he was able to mostly hang around the paint, which allowed him to have a positive impact.
Grade: A-
Luka Samanic
On paper, it looks like Samanic struggle. In reality, I thought he looked better than the numbers indicate. Defensively, Samanic was physical on the interior, mobile on the perimeter, knew his responsibilities in the scheme and rebounded well. Offensively, he was active with and without the ball, and showed no fear. Eye-test-wise, he moves like an NBA player and I think he has improved his strength to the point that that’s no longer an issue. Can Samanic translate his tools to NBA production? That’s still up in the air but he looked the part against the Pelicans if you didn’t focus too much on his statistical production.
Grade: B-
Keita Bates-Diop
Speaking of statistical production and the lack thereof, Bates-Diop didn’t exactly tear things up in his eight minutes. Defensively, his lack of speed was an issue a few times and his fouling wasn’t exactly helping matters. Offensively, he didn’t get enough touches to make any determinations about his helpfulness.
Grade: C
Pop
I didn’t like Pop leaning so heavily on Mills in the fourth quarter — both in terms of playing time and plays being drawn up for him. That almost lost the game. Other than that, though, I was pretty impressed. Lyles works as a starter. I like that Poeltl is now apparently the full-time starter. Force-feeding Aldridge paid dividends. Giving Samanic playing time is useful both in terms of today and when it comes to big-picture strategizing.
Grade: B-
Next Up
The Spurs will attempt to get six games above .500 for the first time this season on Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets. After that, San Antonio finishes their four-game homestand with games against the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder.