Keldon Johnson's Spurs have basketball gods smiling
San Antonio is playing 'the right way,' and it's being rewarded for doing so.
SAN ANTONIO — Gregg Popovich sat down at the mic following yet another win for his young, shorthanded Spurs, seeming almost relieved. It had been a tumultuous couple of days following the release of Joshua Primo on Friday and Saturday’s reporting of the troubling details that spurred the team’s decision to waive him. And while that story continues to develop, for a moment Pop could get back to basketball, and to a team that doesn’t seem at all fazed by the noise, the injuries, or the inexperience in all of it.
“They’re young enough, they don’t know any better. They just keep playing hard, they enjoy playing with each other, and they’re pretty much obeying the basketball gods — doing all the simple things that win games,” he said. “That’s the juice, that’s the competitiveness, and I think they’ve got that down.”
With its 108-97 victory over Minnesota on Sunday, San Antonio moved to 5-2 on the season and took a 2-1 season-series lead over the Timberwolves, a series that doesn’t resume until the Spurs’ penultimate regular-season game in April. That’s right, these two teams do not meet again for another five months and change, and next time the game will be played in Austin.
But San Antonio doesn’t really care who’s in front of it at the moment. It’s playing with hardly a care in the world, oblivious to the notion it’s not supposed to be winning like this, and not at all surprised by the fact that it is. As Devin Vassell might say, they’re hoopin’.
“Everyone’s so unselfish on this team off the court, and I think it carries over on the court. And you’re seeing that with the way we’re playing out there. It doesn’t matter who’s on the floor it’s who wants it the most, and we continue to just play Spurs basketball,” said Doug McDermott, who went off for 23 points and hit seven 3-pointers. “As a 30-year-old who’s been on like six or seven teams, I haven’t had this much fun playing basketball. It’s been a joy to be a part of.”
And what’s not to like? If you’re on the floor, you’re going to be involved in the game. The Spurs are flying around the court, performing an up-tempo symphony of ball- and player-movement that’s producing a league-high 31.7 assists per game, while their lead soloist and noted vocalist Keldon Johnson continues to take massive leaps.
Johnson scored 25 points and set a new career best with eight assists on Sunday as he continues to make his new extension look like another San Antonio contract heist. He’s now averaging a career-high 23.9 points per game, shooting a career-high 43.5 percent on a career-high 8.9 three-point attempts per game, dishing out a career-high 4.1 assists per game, and swiping a career-high 1.3 steals per game.
Sheesh.
In the shadows of an ongoing difficult situation behind the scenes, there are a number of great stories writing themselves in Spurs-land this season, and Johnson’s has moved to the top of the reading list. He’s embraced his role as the new face of this team beautifully, both on the court and in the locker room.
But you’d never guess that by asking him to answer questions about himself. Inquire about his role as the team’s leader and he’ll just talk about Tre Jones for two minutes; posit that he’s taken on a lot of extra responsibility and he’ll go on and on about Jakob Poeltl and all he does on both ends of the court; angle a question in a way that makes it impossible to deflect and he’ll rave about the support Devin Vassell has been giving from the bench while in street clothes for three straight games.
If you ask Johnson about his success, he’ll just attribute it to someone else.
“Before the game, I walked up to each person and was like, ‘Just be yourself. You know we trust you. We trust that you're going to play the right way. We believe in you always.’” Johnson said. “I feel like there is no pressure when I know my teammates are going to put me in the right position to be successful. It's only right if I pass that down to the younger guys, to the rookies, to everybody else on the team, and let them know that just like they believe in me, I believe in them.”
And the Spurs have needed him more than anyone. The yelling, the smiling, the flexing, the hoopin’ — they’ve needed it all. It’s been a rough few days, but Johnson almost makes you forget any of the stuff on the outside is happening. At least for a little while. He brings with him an energy that’s contagious and an expectation of competitiveness that’s felt by all. On Sunday, San Antonio was without Vassell (knee soreness), Josh Richardson (back soreness), Jeremy Sochan (flu-like symptoms) and Isaiah Roby (flu-like symptoms), and Blake Wesley was forced from the game after banging knees with Jaden McDaniels. But it didn’t matter. The Spurs’ system kept on spinning, with everyone contributing in their own way.
“I would say everyone is different on the team. Everybody brings different style,” Johnson said. “When we're missing something you know someone else is going to bring unique to the team. That's the main thing, everybody is ready.”
Whether it was McDermott’s shooting, Poeltl’s shot-blocking and rebounding, Jones’ steadiness, Keita Bates-Diop’s energy or Romeo Langford’s defense, the contributions came in many different forms. And for the Spurs it’s been that trickle-down effect, from the vets to the rookies, that’s provided the sense that everyone on this team belongs exactly where they are.
“Their overall effort was fantastic with so many guys out. You have young kids like Blake (Wesley) and Malaki (Branham) — I don’t think they even know what the capitol of Texas is, and I don’t care. They just want to play and fill in,” Popovich said. “The guys that have been here like Keldon (Johnson) and Jakob (Poeltl) and Tre (Jones) are great, young leaders. It’s great for everybody else to follow their example.”
It’s been pretty common for the 73-year-old coach to gush about the players on this roster so far this season — as much as he’s capable of gushing, at least. But it has nothing to do with the wins, or who’s scoring the most points, or where his team sits in the standings. It’s the little things that keep him going — like Poeltl catching the ball on the roll then finding Johnson for the game-sealing 3-pointer, or Langford’s defense on Anthony Edwards, or the rookies showing no fear. It’s a team that’s busting its ass to play a wonderful brand of basketball, and it’s being rewarded from on high for doing so.
“Like I’ve said this whole time, when you play the right way and you have unselfish guys on the floor, you’re going to get way more opportunities,” McDermott said. “And if you continue to play the right way, as Pop says, the basketball gods will reward you.”