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Nobody knew what to expect from the San Antonio Spurs coming into the 2018-19 NBA season.
They had just traded their franchise cornerstone in Kawhi Leonard for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl and just before the season started, they lost their starting point guard Dejounte Murray for the season.
They started off poorly, but picked up pace and ended the regular season with a 48-34 record in the 7th spot, where they faced the Denver Nuggets, who were the 2nd seed.
It was an epic 7-game series in the first round, but the San Antonio Spurs came up short, losing out to the Denver Nuggets 4-3. Even though they had a disappointing post-season run, nobody expected the Spurs to put up such a solid performance this season.
With so many injuries tearing the roster apart, they were still one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Here are the top 3 individual performances from their 2018-19 NBA season.
#3 DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs)
DeMar DeRozan was a happy player at Toronto Raptors until one fateful night when he was traded to San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard.
Since then, he has been the go-to player at the Spurs, leading them from the front and into the playoffs in a season where they were hit by season-altering injuries.
They were considered to be out of the race for the playoffs but a great run led by DeRozan and his teammates included a superb game against the Golden State Warriors.
The Spurs played the Warriors at San Antonio and took them down in miraculous fashion, winning 111-105, with DeRozan leading them from the front.
He played 38 minutes that night, scoring 26 points, along with 8 assists and 9 rebounds. He had one steal on the defensive end and had just 3 turnovers.
It was during the final games of the regular season and the Spurs were fighting for the post-season seeding, and this win was vital to keep their run of form going.
Stat line: 26 points, 9-17 FG, 8-9 FT, 1 steal, 3 TOs in 38 minutes against the Golden State Warriors
#2 Derrick White against Denver Nuggets, Game 3
Derrick White was a second year guard coming off just 17 games in his rookie season. Everyone expected him to have an increased role due to the injury to Murray, but he exceeded them all, playing 67 and starting 55 of them.
He had the best game of his young career in the playoffs, in Game 3, against the Denver Nuggets. His game is built for the modern NBA and he showed everyone just how good he is.
White scored a huge 36 points in the game, shooting 71.4% from the field, grabbing 5 rebounds and 5 assists as well in 33 minutes.
He was superb on the defensive end too, locking down the Nuggets, grabbing 3 steals and a block. He also had just 1 turnover, showing everyone all his skills.
Final stat line: 36 points, 15-21 FG, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 1 TO in 33 minutes against the Denver Nuggets
#1 LaMarcus Aldridge against the Oklahoma City Thunder
LaMarcus Aldridge is one of the best post players in the NBA and with the league becoming more 3 point friendly, most thought he would adapt his game to become a more versatile player.
Instead, Popovich has made him rely on his strengths more -- his inside game, which has reaped dividends, both for the Spurs as well as for Aldridge, who is averaging a solid 21.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
In the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, the Spurs depended heavily on Aldridge since DeRozan was unable to hit his shots consistently and Aldridge delivered.
He won the game for the Spurs in 2OT, 154-147. Aldridge played 49 minutes in a marathon matchup, scoring a mammoth 56 points, shooting just under 61% from the field.
Aldridge also grabbed 9 rebounds, had 4 assists and made 4 superb blocks to stamp his authority all over the game. He even went to the line 16 times, making all of them. Aldridge probably played the best game in a Spurs jersey and the fans must have been thoroughly entertained with what they had witnessed.
Final Stat line: 56 points, 20-33 FG, 16-16 FT, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 5 TOs in 49 minutes in a 154-147 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder
Guess the Lakers players!
