What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Rockets

In the minutes and hours before falling from his horse, John F. Reynolds displayed a keen understanding of the full scope of a battle for the Pennsylvania hamlet known as Gettysburg.

A shrewd and highly experienced commander of troops, Reynolds was perhaps the most beloved and respected General on the Union side of the Civil War. In fact, Reynolds had just turned down Abraham Lincoln's offer of full command of the prestigious Army of the Potomac less than a fortnight prior to the battle.

He must have smiled at the irony. Having allowed the offer to pass to Major General George Meade because Lincoln would not promise him a reduced amount of political and outside interference, there Reynolds was, essentially selecting both the site and battlefield position for Meade and the Union Army at large.

A Pennsylvania native, he understood better than most the significance of the location and what the North stood to lose in withdrawal or defeat. A mere 85 miles (65 as the crow flies) from Washington D.C., not only would the humble manufacturing town help replenish a Confederate army in need of supplies, but a loss would leave the nation's capital wide open to invasion from General Robert E. Lee's equally accomplished Army of Northern Virginia.

Anticipating Gettysburg as a key location, and wary of Lee's tactical brilliance, Reynolds tasked his trusted cavalry commander Brigadier General John Buford to ride ahead in defense of the town while his infantry followed feverishly on foot.

Buford and his men served as the only resistance to the initial Confederate march on the town, and facing a vastly superior force, made use of a series of strategic retreats and attacks to delay the opposition until reinforcements arrived.

Recognizing Buford's valuable defense of the high ground, Reynolds immediately worked to personally deploy his divisions to strategic positions on the battlefield. It would serve as one of the single most critical moments in a battle full of critical moments, and ultimately, cost Reynolds his life.

I'd like to tell you a great many things about what happened after Reynolds fell. I'd like to tell you that his men held their positions and denied the Confederates access to the town. I'd like to tell you that his men fought the good fight and the battle ended right then and there. But war is no fairy tale, and Reynolds took that sharpshooter's bullet to the neck in clear view of his soldiers, who loved him, and in their despair were gradually pushed from their places, through the woods and the town and into the hills and ridges that Reynolds and Buford had hoped to preserve.

I don't write that to insinuate that Reynold's men somehow lost their valor. By all accounts, they fought bravely against the greater enemy numbers. But there's something about losing a beloved commander that alters the field of battle.

You can find seemingly countless examples in the seemingly countless wars that human beings have waged against each other. Sometimes the armies rally. More often they lose their ground, lose their way, lose their confidence, lose their direction.

It's the kind of effect you witness watching the San Antonio Spurs play without Gregg Popovich on the sideline.

The Spurs had already come into the season at less than full strength, something they'd managed to weather with guidance from their wizened leader. The loss of Popovich (and Jeremy Sochan) for any extended stretch, however, appears to be one loss too many.

From the ending frames of their last game against the Los Angeles Clippers, to the entirety of last night's game against the Houston Rockets, the Spurs have been an absolute sieve defensively, ranking an abysmal 28th in defensive rating over their last two contests after sitting inside the top five in that category previously.

Combined with an offensive rating inside the bottom five, it feels like the catalystic jenga brick has been pulled only 8 games into the season.

The still-pending returns of Devin Vassell and Tre Jones have largely represented the hopes for this team as they navigated a rough opening schedule, but the words 'indefinite' tacked to Popovich's absence (with varying whispers on the severity of the cause) have knocked the proverbial wind out of both the fan-base and his players.

Even with a healthy return, there are still questions that will hover apprehensively in the background. Will his players be more careful and reserved in their communication for fear of upsetting a health condition? Will they feel secure enough not to worry about whether or not their coach will be there on a daily basis? Will they find their loyalties split between a legendary head coach and assistants who might have a different way of doing things?

These are the kinds of questions that both the franchise and fan-base have been ignoring as Pop approaches his 76th birthday, and it feels a little like a tipping point for some important conversations and accelerated planning.

Of course, this could all be much ado about nothing. Pop could end up coaching until 2028 and this will all look silly in the end. This is his 33th year with the Spurs though, and somehow it doesn't feel like nothing.

In any case, nothing is what's happening on the floor right now in his absence. With all due respect to Mitch Johnson (who almost certainly didn't want this), the Spurs have looked unorganized and uncoordinated; a team in search of leadership and continuity on both ends, as poor communication has led to miscue after miscue.

It's certainly not the season fans were hoping for, and, I have to imagine, not the season the players were looking forward to either. Sochan is out for at least 20 games, likely more, and there's been no word on Popovich's. Put more succinctly, it feels like the beginning of another lost season.

But that's the thing about the tide of battle — it falls subject to ebbs and flows.

General John Reynolds almost certainly understood this as a man who had spent most of his life involved in one war or another. Arranging his men in defense of McPherson's Ridge and Woods, he made sure to leave them clear avenues for retreat, and then personally assigned and led his best units (including the legendary Iron Brigade) to the most contested areas at great personal risk.

Painfully aware that Lee's main army was rapidly advancing on Gettysburg, Reynold's hope was to delay until Meade's forces arrived to fortify, and yet he so personally dedicated himself to the critical postponement that he endangered himself.

Commitment to a strategy that earns a leader no immediate glory is a rare thing in the annals of history — preservation itself, a less-than-glorious battle.

If this were to signal the end of his coaching career, one of basketball's greatest winners has done more in enduring loss to bolster and restock his franchise's still-growing talent reserve than perhaps any coach in professional sports history.

In the final moments before his demise, in a congested haze of smoke and sulfur, John F. Reynolds was heard endlessly exhorting and fiercely encouraging his men to drive Confederate soldiers from the woods as he stood under fire with them, astride his equally courageous steed.

For a soldier, it was a good death.

Even in absentia, not enough can be said about the leap that Jeremy Sochan has made so far this season. It's become painfully obvious that he had become the chief coordinator on the defense end for the Spurs, and San Antonio's perimeter has sprung all kinds of leaks without his ability to take on tough individual assignments and call out team adjustments. Whether or not he ever becomes a shooting threat from three, it's no longer a question regarding his overall value and effect on the team. Brilliant in agitation, positioning, and defensive freelancing, Sochan is the clear defensive leader and tone-setter right now, and a deserving recipient of all Dennis Rodman-lite comparisons. Other players will need to step up and do the dirty work that he's left on the table, but there's little doubt in my mind that the Spurs are a 'softer' team without their resident antagonist on the court. On the other hand, it was nice to see Sidy Cissoko get some playing time. In fact, due to the lack of players who can fill a Sochan-type role, it might be wise to give him some of those minutes and see if he can pull off a passable impression. Cissoko's a high-IQ basketball player who sticks to his game, makes a real effort on the defensive end, and can make the occasionally nifty pass. It also looks like he's really improved his shooting stroke and both units could really use an injection of that if he can convert regularly. At the very least, between player injuries and Pop being out, it feels like time to really experiment with some lineups until they get back. At this point, it almost certainly couldn't hurt. Stephon Castle spent a rough evening learning lessons from Houston's vets as he registered a -17 +/- on the night. And while plus-minus is a famously fiddly stat, he's just not ready to face the opposing team's starting guards just yet. I understand the logic in trying to get him court time with Chris Paul, but defense is one of the things that usually develops last with rookies, and he might be better suited to a bench unit that badly needs a lead distributor, rather than approach by committee. Additionally, Castle's shot really isn't ready for prime time yet, which is not something the starting unit needs to add to their offensive struggles. His intuitive understanding of spacing, however, is delightful! Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:

Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg