San Antonio Spurs’ Aron Baynes Playing Big in Backup Role
By Jonathan Brannon
@jbrannon89
Getty Images
The defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are known for a couple amazing big men. David Robinson and Tim Duncan are the faces of the San Antonio franchise and are two of the greatest big men to ever play in the league. However, Robinson has been retired for over 10 years and Duncan’s retirement is bound to happen sooner or later.
San Antonio has a few big men in charge of playing next to Duncan around the rim or taking his place while he gets the rest he needs to play at a high level. Normally Tiago Splitter takes the bulk of those minutes along with Boris Diaw. Matt Bonner, Aron Baynes and Jeff Ayres fill backup roles as well.
This year, Splitter has been sidelined for almost every game with a calf injury. Bonner has seen more time, but then he was out with illness. Enter Aron Baynes. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound New Zealander is not known for his finesse, but has shown an ability to produce down low in recent games. The Spurs had been struggling with Splitter out on the defensive end and on the glass, but Baynes is making his presence felt.
In his last five games, Baynes is averaging almost 10 points and five rebounds in about 16 minutes of action per game. Not bad for a backup’s backup. Baynes has been the beneficiary of San Antonio’s pick-and-roll masters and has been able to convert when teammates dump it off to him under the basket.
Baynes may not be taking Splitter’s job, but he has proven an ability to compete and produce for the defending champs in a time that they have desperately needed better post-play.
Jonathan Brannon is a San Antonio Spurs writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jbrannon89, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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