San Antonio Spurs turn to Jakob Poeltl to lead dominant win over Bulls

In the midst of the longest homestand in franchise history, the San Antonio Spurs were struggling to get a win. That all changed on Saturday night as they absolutely unloaded on the Chicago Bulls.

After two humbling losses to the LA Clippers, the Spurs were hungry for a win when they took the floor against the Bulls. And my oh my did the guys eat. Frankly, domination is a gentle term for the beatdown that the Spurs inflicted on the Bulls for the first 24 minutes of Saturday night’s game.

Chicago started to mount a comeback during the second half but this was a game that the Spurs had a firm handle on from the get-go. There is something to be said for keeping the peddle to the floor when you’ve got a 30-point lead like the Spurs did but I’m not going to nitpick what was an incredibly entertaining and enjoyable Spurs win.

It was great to see the Spurs snap their losing streak and to do it in such a decisive fashion as well. It was a great all-around team win but there was one player who stood out more than anyone else.

San Antonio Spurs get Jakob Poelt involved, watch him dominate Bulls

Known for being the anchor of the San Antonio Spurs defense, it’s rare that we see Jakob Poeltl have as strong of an impact on the offensive end of the floor as he did last night. Poeltl tied his season-high of 20 points against Chicago. Coincidentally, the first time Poeltl hit 20 points came against Chicago earlier this year.

The Spurs made it a point to get Poeltl involved early and often on offense. They repeatedly went to him in pick and roll and he rewarded them by dominating the paint, finishing on eight of his nine looks throughout the night.

After the game, Dejounte Murray said that the attention Poeltl received was deserved.

“We got to start rewarding our big men when they do something great on the other end, make sure he’s getting touches.”

Poeltl does so much for the Spurs on the defensive end of the floor, they’re counting on him to be the backstop of their defense so it’s only fair that his efforts are rewarded on the other end of the floor as well.

No one is going to mistake him for Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic but Jakob is a solid pick and roll partner. He’s got soft hands and a gentle touch around the rim, he might not dunk quite as much as Spurs fans would like him to but Jakob finishes his looks more often than not. Here’s to hoping that the Spurs playmakers continue to repay him for all the work he puts in on the defensive end of the floor.

Thankfully, the toughest part of the Spurs homestand is behind them. They can now look forward to a back-to-back series with the floundering Sacramento Kings, followed up by a game with the Atlanta Hawks later in the week.