As the Golden State Warriors looked to close out their first-round matchup against the Houston Rockets in Game 5, very little went according to plan.
On relatively short rest, with just a day between Games 4 and 5 of the series, the Warriors looked sluggish and tentative, allowing the Rockets to score at will in the first half and slogging through a stagnant offensive structure.
The Rockets jumped out to a quick 26-point lead in the first half, leading head coach Steve Kerr to pull the plug on his starters and allow the end-of-the-bench guys to see some playoff action.
This is when things got interesting, as Golden State drew back within 13 points in the fourth quarter and forced Houston to put their starters back in the game in order to close it out.
In just 14 minutes of playing time, Warriors guard Pat Spencer made an outsized impact on the game, and his fiery performance could have major implications for the team's rotation next year.
Has Pat Spencer earned a shot at the rotation?
Spencer, who was originally signed and waived by the Warriors in 2022, got another chance late last season as he earned a two-way contract with the team, eventually working his way to the end of the bench.
This season, through 39 games, Spencer averaged 2.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists on only 6.4 minutes a night.
However, in his limited stints, he has shown ball-handling and shot creation ability as well as a defensive tenacity that matches that of Golden State's best on-ball defenders.
When he was given run in Game 5, Spencer made the most of it, posting 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in just 14 minutes of game time.
His most memorable moment of the night, however, came in an altercation between him, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Alperen Sengun, when Spencer was ejected for lightly head-butting the Rockets star center.
Although the Warriors ultimately lost the game, Spencer and the rest of the bench's intensity evidently rattled the Rockets, and, although Spencer likely will not see any more time on the floor this postseason, his showing could have helped him take strides toward a rotation spot next season.
With Gary Payton II entering unrestricted free agency this summer, and Steve Kerr being infamous for using a wide variation of players during the regular season, Golden State could need another gritty, defensive presence on the bench, and Spencer could fill that role perfectly.
Therefore, while Spencer's Game 5 performance might not seem notable in the grand scheme of this playoff run, such appearances could have major implications for the Warriors moving forward.