Meet Dab Kid, the unsung hero of Spurs-Grizzlies Game 1
To the untrained eye, the San Antonio Spurs’ 106-74 annihilation of the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series didn’t feature a whole lot of noteworthy stuff. The Spurs crushed the injury-ravaged Grizzlies; Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and proved his Defensive Player of the Year mettle with four steals, three blocks and one very upset Lance Stephenson; Tony Parker and Patty Mills had their way with Memphis’ weren’t-in-the-NBA-a-month-ago point guards; it all went according to script. Pretty standard, really.
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As ever, though, hardcore film study reveals new and wondrous depths. Caleb Saenz, part of the collective of mad geniuses behind the long-running Spurs-focused site 48 Minutes of Hell, dug deep into the film and unearthed the secret unsung hero of San Antonio’s Game 1 win: Dab Kid.
The Spurs have long been at the forefront of the NBA’s analytics revolution, with general manager R.C. Buford leading a front office that searches for edges everywhere, and especially in the sorts of contributions that never show up in the box score. This certainly seems to qualify.
We might not yet have precise enough statistical instruments to calculate how many of the Spurs’ points were influenced by Dab Kid’s 38 dabs. Given both his prodigious per-minute dabbing rate and the fact that the bulk of his dabs came in a second half that saw San Antonio shoot 62.2 percent from the field, outscore Memphis by 21 points and run away with the contest to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, though, I don’t think we can discount Dab Kid’s impact. Spurs fans are surely hoping he’s in the building again for Tuesday’s Game 2, lest San Antonio find itself on the business end on what highly placed sources throughout the NBA world have taken to calling The Sugar Ray Felton Special.
While it’s unlikely that Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger can make many adjustments to overcome the staggering differential in health and talent his team faces in its battle with the 67-win Spurs, he could have one card to play in attempting to neutralize Dab Kid. It might be time to unleash Tony Allen, Coach.
As it’s always been for these Grizz: when in doubt, let the Grindfather cook and let God sort ’em out.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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