April 9, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with point guard Patrick Mills (8) during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Energy Solutions Arena. The Jazz defeated the Spurs 91-84. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

San Antonio Spurs point guard Patrick Mills will likely decline his player option worth one million and enter free agency according to Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. Mills has until June 25th to opt out of his contract.

Here’s what Mills had to say regarding his decision:

    ”I feel like I need to do my due diligence and really go and see what there is to make sure I explore every     option,” Mills said.

    ”But in saying that, I really enjoy being in San Antonio and being part of that program. I definitely want it     done soon and that is what I’m trying to do so that I can get it out of the way and go to London with a clear     head with the Boomers.”

This move isn’t surprising considering Mills played well enough to earn more money in the open market. HoopsHype ranked Mills as the 96th best free agent ahead of John Lucas III, Earl Clark, Jannero Pargo and Willie Green.

Acquired on March 23rd, Mills appeared in 16 games for San Antonio. He averaged 16.3 minutes, 10.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 42.9% shooting from behind the arc. Mills assisted on 25.9% of the Spurs’ possessions while he was on the court. Only T.J. Ford, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were better passers.

Mills’ tenure with San Antonio isn’t over yet though. The Spurs still have the opportunity to retain Mills in free agency. They have an advantage over other teams because he proved to be an immediate fit in Popovich’s system. The desire to maintain continuity could be appealing. In a limited sample size, Mills was one of the most efficient players on the team and that will always have some value irrespective to any team’s specific needs.

I’m talking about the loss tonight and not the indescribable feeling that I felt after watching yet another Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter commercial.

After winning 11 consecutive games by an average of 13.2 points the Spurs, anticlimactically, lost to the Utah Jazz, 84-91.

Without Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the Spurs relied heavily on a starting lineup consisting of Patrick Mills, Danny Green, Stephen Jackson and an interesting frontline — and one that weighs an aggregate 505 lbs — of Boris Diaw and DeJuan Blair.

Against an average frontcourt, much less a physically dominating one like the Jazz, the Spurs were destined to struggle down low. And that they did. Utah outrebounded San Antonio by 12, snapping the Spurs unlikely streak of six games with more offensive rebounds. Interestingly, the Spurs did hold a six point advantage in points in the paint.

April 9, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Devin Harris (5) goes to the basket during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Energy Solutions Arena. The Jazz defeated the Spurs 91-84. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

But that probably isn’t because the Spurs were necessarily more proficient at scoring at the rim. A more plausible reason would be the Jazz 33 free throw attempts, compared to the Spurs’ 10, and the fact that the Jazz can’t technically score points inside the paint when they are at the line. San Antonio was whistled on 22 personal fouls — Diaw was whistled on four, alone — including a couple of egregious calls on Devin Harris that, frankly, were ridiculous. Utah recorded 14 fouls.

Aside from a few tough pull up 3-pointers that fell in the fourth quarter, Harris, who benefited significantly from the referees loose whistles, scored 25 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Harris’ 12 free throw attempts were more than the entire Spurs team combined.

Even so, the Spurs held an eight point lead with 8:49 left. After Stephen Jackson — he finished with five points on 2-of-13 shooting — promptly missed a couple of jumpshots and a Mills turnover, the Jazz were able to, once again, get to the line and convert their free throws.

The Spurs 16 assists was their second straight straight game with less than 20 assists, which is a quick and easy way, albeit flawed, to gauge the efficiency of our offense. Understandably, the execution wasn’t up to our standards without our two best shot creators.

As the game closed, the Spurs were able to muster up a couple of decent attempts, some of which came out on the Spurs patented offensive sets. The Spurs shooters, however, went 0-for-4 from behind the arc in the final 3:26 of the game.

The Jazz, behind Harris’ 12 fourth quarter points and their 10-of-12 shooting from the line, were able to chip away at the Spurs lead. Although they weren’t quite efficient themselves — their field goal percentage was 42.5 percent — the sheer volume of attempts at the line were enough to beat the depleted Spurs. Utah finished the game on a 24-9 run.

With the loss, the Spurs are now one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder with 11 games remaining. The Jazz’ timely win keeps them 1.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets.

San Antonio will prepare themselves for the first game of a rigorous back-to-back against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Game notes.
Kawhi Leonard came off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in 25:44 … Leonard, presumably, didn’t get the start because he isn’t a great shot creator … Boris Diaw scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting but he didn’t record an assist … it was Diaw’s first game this year without an assist … Stephen Jackson did record three steals, seemingly his only positive contribution on the night … San Antonio shot 44.4 percent on 2-pointers … Utah made 45.8 percent of their 2-pointers … If you factor in their free throws (and the excellent true shooting percentage metric does) then Utah made 52 percent of their shots … DeMarre Carroll had the game of his last night but that didn’t translate today; Carroll only played 11:02 minutes, missing his only three shots and grabbing three rebounds in the process … Gordon Hayward had a game-high plus-17 … Hayward was rather efficient; he made 5-of-10 of his shots, including 5-of-6 from the line … Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap both posted double-doubles … The lead changed 11 times and was tied 13 times … The Jazz blocked 13 shots, their second highest total of the year … In 17:37, Jeremy Evans blocked three shots … The Spurs should run their offense through Tiago Splitter more often because they seem to get decent looks because of the attention a defense must pay towards Tiago …