Spurs fall flat in Chicago

October 31, 2:39 AMSan Antonio Spurs ExaminerMichael Chartier

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Official Scott Foster seems none too impressed with Popovich during this third quarter exchange

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

After San Antonio dismantled New Orleans in their season opener, Hornets guard Chris Paul joked, “We wanted to go 82-0, but we knew it wasn’t too feasible.”

Spoiler alert, San Antonio won’t go 82-0 either.

Playing their first back-to-back of the season, outside of Tim Duncan, the Spurs fell flat losing 92-85 in Chicago. Duncan, who seemed to rarely touch the ball in the opener, was the Spurs lone bright spot scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while collecting three blocks with a pair of steals and assists.

A night after nine different players played at least 20 minutes and scored at least nine points, only Richard Jefferson hit that mark among starters not named Tim.

San Antonio went cold, shooting just 4-of-21 from behind the arc while the Bulls served up nine blocks in generally outhustling the Spurs.

But before you bemoan the rotation or tired legs, remember, it’s only game two of an 82 game regular season. Nobody should be too worried. The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, in contrast, got blown out Friday at home to Dallas, the same Mavericks who lost their home opener to the Washington Wizards.

This isn’t the NFL, where every game counts. It’s a six-month long season and the Spurs don’t have a rotation yet, let alone cohesion.

Head coach Gregg Popovich remarked before the season began that the offense was going to be more about playing basketball than running sets and plays. As jumper after jumper clanged off the rim, I’m reminded why offensive sets will ultimately be implemented.

San Antonio faces Sacramento tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the AT&T Center. The game is live on My 35 TV with Spurs pregame starting at 7 p.m.

Numbers Game

10-1    The offensive rebounding edge for Chicago in the first half

19-0    The point differential for second chance points in the first half

61-27  The Spurs’ bench point differential from game one to game two

1         The number of Spurs’ starters in double figures

0         The number of made second half field goals for Parker and Ginobili combined

Do the Math

It’s no time to panic, but when I evaluated the Spurs NBA schedule, one thing stood out. The Spurs play 16 back-to-backs, none at home. That figure includes 10 on the road and finishing four others on the road.

In case that math fools you, the Spurs finish two others at the AT&T Center.

Want more? That’s 39 percent of their games in back-to-back situations. While it won’t be a concern making the playoffs, it will be a concern for seeding, where home court advantage still means something.

Granted, there are no such concerns in the playoffs, but San Antonio is now 1-1 overall and 0-1 on the back half after their first set. Considering Spurs' starters logged preseason-like minutes in their home opener, they should have been about as fresh as they'll be all season for the back half.

it’s a number to watch as the season progresses.