It's been several hours since the game, and I've slept since then. So my memory's not as clear as it usually is. I don't think the defensive difference was all that pronounced, though. The Spurs played with more effort, and Utah missed a butt-ton of openish looks. In the last Jazz game, they hit every one of those shots until true garbage time. Combine that with Gay getting 23 points rather than zero like on Tuesday, and you get the main explanation for the score. Obviously, whatever makes the guys play with more heart and focus should form the basis of any adjustments. If that means playing White rather than Cun, then go with that. The main benefit of Dante is that he consistently tries on defense, which is something few guys on the roster can say. If effort is no longer an issue, then playing guys for things like scoring and spacing makes some sense. Dunno if the team can rely on Gay with his health in flux, though.
Other things:
Aldridge shooting so well from range really helped neutralize Gobert, who had only one block in 34 minutes despite the Spurs attacking the paint many times over the course of the game. Dude did threaten a triple-double with a Jazz-high seven assists, but LMA did what he has to do for the Spurs to reach their potential: be the best big on the floor. Gobert is also in a stretch of obvious frustration with the team's performance, though homeboy is signed for two more years after this one and isn't going anywhere. Still something to watch going forward.
White guarded Ingles for most of the time both were on the court. I do think that's a good adjustment for the Spurs. Joe has PF size, but he plays with a guard skill-set and isn't selfish, so him having a mismatch doesn't result in the same crisis that it should. Difference between Ingles and Diaw is that Boris knew when he had the best shot and wouldn't hesitate to score when it was his turn. Diaw loved passing and did it a lot, but give that dude a mismatch in the post, and he was scoring the ball or drawing help. Ingles passed up multiple layups for kick-outs. Teams will exploit that in the playoffs.
It's hard to say if the Spurs played successfully against Utah's back court. On the one hand, the two guys combined for 53 of their team's 97 points. On the other hand, they shot 19/46, which is actually worse than the rest of their team shot (18/39). The gameplan always has to be to make Rubio score, but he's had decent success in doing so against SA over the past couple of years. The Spurs did a good job of neutralizing his passing ability, but allowing 26 points to a non-scorer isn't a great plan to win. Mitc had a stretch where he tried to take over the game, and over all, he scored 27 points on 28 possessions. As mentioned in the OP, Gay did a decent job holding him off to preserve the win. White should have been the guy on Mitc tonight, but the others didn't get too hurt by it due to Don falling back to Earth this year.
This game also gives a good look at how the Spurs were planning on playing offense with Murray. They have better spacing right now, but they were going to play shooters regardless. What I'm talking about is the pace the team had offensively, beating the Jazz down the floor with look-ahead passes and running duck-in post-up plays to get Gay good looks. It's easier to make up for the lack of outside shooting when everyone is moving toward the basket rather than waiting for everyone to set up and attacking off a high PnR. I've been clamoring for this type of fast-post attack for years, and I'm glad to see it used now, even if it's not for Aldridge. All in all, the downhill style doesn't seem to jive with LMA's and DMDR's comfort zones. They can fit that offense, but their games prioritize half-court isos. I'm interested in seeing if they can keep it up.
Eubanks was active for this game, while Ben Moore was not. That's weird to me, given that they were missing two forwards. Moore has 45 games of eligibility for the big club (though that might be less depending on exactly how the CBA counts "active days"). They've played 27 games as it is, so there are only 55 games left in the season. There simply isn't all that much time left to worry about him sitting out. If being down two rotational guys isn't enough of a reason to bring a guy over, what is? Metu wasn't god awful or anything (though I wouldn't have called him good -- he only played six minutes for a reason), but this was a perfect game to give the guy some run. The Spurs are going to be in position to make some big roster moves after about another week. Ben shouldn't stop them from trading for a legit starting F if one is on the table, but he could be a factor in whether they could include Pon or Cun in a trade or whether they'd need to acquire a depth forward if someone is sent out. The way the team's handled that two-way spot this whole year has been odd.
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