Best of the Spurs week: Stealing seats and Keldon’s development

There’s only a quarter of the season remaining, everyone! Playoff teams are all jostling for seeding, while the media is still debating as to whether or not the Lakers can be a championship threat (spoilers: they can’t).

It feels really weird to be a Spurs fan, though. We’re just having a good time watching some of the young players continue their development while hoping to land a top-three pick in the upcoming draft.

Regardless, the past week was filled with funny and bizarre moments (as usual), including a clip that seemed too perfectly timed to be true.

Best timing

How does something like this even happen? It’s such perfect timing that I thought it was staged at first.

More importantly, is Big Baby unable to get better seats for himself? He’s a former player! Even if he doesn’t want to spend extra money on front-row seats, doesn’t he have any connections within the Celtics that let him sit there for free?

Forget about the other storylines surrounding the league; this is now the biggest question I need answered.

Craziest shot

Best defense

OKC’s mop-up crew plays better defense than the actual team.

In all seriousness, can you imagine if this had happened in a playoff game? The outrage would be off the charts, and rightfully so. The NBA should feel fortunate that this took place in a low-stakes game that was won by the Wolves anyway.

It’s also extra funny since it almost feels like the fourth wall has been broken. Folks who have never been to a basketball game in person before (like me!) might not realize that cleanup crews are often on the court during live play.

I wonder what else is hidden when watching on TV?

Kyrie has been in the news for all the wrong reasons for what seems like an eternity, which is truly a shame given how talented of a basketball player he is.

Dropping 50 points on less than 20 field goals is absolutely bonkers, and he’s one of only a handful of players to do so in NBA history. An engaged Kyrie is one of the most electric players to watch in the entire league, but he’s only appeared in 91 games since the start of the 2019-20 season.

As for the Nets, there’s no question that they have the talent and ability to win the championship, but the amount of question marks surrounding the roster makes them too much of a wildcard to safely pick.

With that said, having a 7-foot alien who moves like a guard gives them a chance no matter what. As long as they actually make the playoffs, of course...

Best comparison

Best perspective

Best worst MVP ever

Mr. Jokic, I love you.

After I geeked out about him last week, I was worried that I’d somehow jinxed him and he’d turn into Jackie Moon.

To be fair, they both love to pass.

Alas, that thankfully didn’t happen. Big Chungus actually went out and had one of the most dominant three-game stretches in recent memory, and the most impressive part of it was the insane efficiency.

We’ve seen lots of players put up staggering numbers while simultaneously building a brick house (looking at a guard on the Lakers who shall remain unnamed) but shooting 70% basically makes Jokic unguardable.

I mean, what can you do to stop him? He’s become one of the league’s most efficient post scorers, so leaving his defender on an island almost guarantees a Denver basket. If you double him, he’ll find the open man, and all you can do is pray that the player misses.

Honestly, I’d go with the second option. Just having the ball out of his hands is a small victory, and the Nuggets’ supporting cast isn’t exactly setting the world on fire...

Best reminder of greatness

LeBron’s still one of the five best players in the league. Appreciate his greatness while you still can, folks.

Best reunion

What do we make of Simmons here, folks? Should we give him credit for even showing up in Philly, or question the extent of his back injury and believe that he chose to sit out until after this game?

Personally, I think it’s a bit of both.

Simmons being in Philly is already more than I expected, but I’m also confident in saying that there’s probably a part of him that’s glad to be sitting out.

Regardless of what the actual story is, can we please just get a Nets-Sixers playoff series? If it does happen, I’d do anything to see Doc Rivers employ a hack-a-Ben strategy and try not to laugh in the process.

Most outrageous comparison

Well, guess it’s time to add Dejounte to the GOAT debate. If only we still had Thaddeus Young on the roster...

Best development

Going into the season, lots of people picked Keldon as a potential Most Improved Player candidate. Dejounte’s breakout season has largely overshadowed Big Body’s play, but he’s still made huge jumps in certain areas — even if it’s gone under the radar.

The most obvious area is his three-point shooting; Keldon’s currently making 41% of his treys on 4.8 attempts per game. That latter number might be even more important than his success rate since it shows that this isn’t a fluke. Dejounte himself, for instance, shot 37% in 2019-20, but only averaged 1.7 attempts.

A high volume of attempts helps stabilize a shooting percentage that might’ve been unsustainably high or low, so it’s safe to say that Keldon’s now a legitimate threat from deep.

Do I expect him to continue being a 40% shooter from outside on five attempts per game? Maybe not, but even if his percentage regresses to the high-30s, that’s still an extremely valuable skill that’ll open up even more space for his drives.

Best stat

Pop has now tied Don Nelson for most wins in history, and needs only one(!!) more to officially be crowned the GOAT.

Well, that happened a long time ago for us Spurs fans, right?

When he does get that elusive win, the thing I’m most looking forward to is his postgame presser.

“Pop, how does it feel to be the winningest coach in NBA history?”

“Do you guys have any better questions to ask, or can I go now?”

“Pop, you just made history...”

Pop has lefdt the room.

It’s going to happen; you know it will.

Best depiction of Pop

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This week, I’m sending you guys to the roundtable that Marilyn, Bruno, Noah, and Jesus had on the White trade. As always, they all provided some great insights into how it has impacted the team and the new rotations that Pop’s been using.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you guys next week!