“Be disciplined to be disciplined to like and embrace the boring.”
Those words echoed throughout basketball cyberspace after the San Antonio Spurs dismantled the Dallas Mavericks on opening night. Flash forward a few weeks, and it doesn’t seem like Mitch Johnson’s words have necessarily stuck with his young team.
The Spurs beat themselves on Wednesday night in a 118-116 loss to the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers. It’s the second straight loss where they weren’t the aggressors, made silly mistakes, and looked nothing like the team that started the season 5-0.
There were times when San Antonio looked more like the team from two years ago that won 22 games, rather than a team that proclaimed they were ready to win in a playoff-esque celebration after their fifth straight victory. Maybe it’s youth. Perhaps it’s key players missing games with injuries. Maybe it’s hubris. Whatever it is, it won’t get the job done.
The silly mistakes piled up for the Spurs on Wednesday night. They made sloppy inbound passes that got swiped away. They committed turnovers before clearing the ball after a defensive rebound. They allowed offensive rebounds off free throws and long misses. They allowed players to split double teams under the basket. They committed a back-court violation (this one was tough to avoid, to be fair). They missed crucial free throws. They committed silly fouls before the ball even crossed half-court, falling for Marcus Smart’s foul-baiting.
It didn’t look like a very disciplined team. And yet, they still found a way to stay in the game against the Lakers. Imagine what the team could accomplish if they just minimized these avoidable mistakes. This is still a talented team, but it seems like they need a bit of a wake-up call and a few adjustments. Maybe a 0-2 West Coast road trip will be enough to make that happen.
