The Spurs are so much more fun when Kawhi Leonard isn’t playing. And Pau Gasol. And LaMarcus Aldridge. And Tony Parker. Those dudes, I know what those dudes are like. They’re good players, but familiarity breeds contempt or whatever. I want to see the role-players! And tonight, I got my wish. Big time.
It’s no surprise that the Spurs won this one, even with their role-player-heavy lineups, since the Mavericks are blatantly tanking at this point. What was a surprise was the two leading scorers in the game: Bryan Forbes (already did highlights so don’t even ask) and Davis Bertans (highlights patiently waiting until you finish reading these words).
Bertans has had his share of decent scoring games, mostly on the back of his smooth three-point shooting. There must be some serious flaws with him that I’m not seeing, otherwise he’d be getting more minutes, right? Screw it, let’s revisit the theme of the Forbes description: Gregg Popovich is HOLDING BERTANS DOWN. With intensity. Everyone likes to pretend he’s the greatest coach ever, but would the greatest coach ever fail to play the second-best Latvian basketballer in history major minutes? Check and mate.