OAKLAND -- "We almost got them," Gregg Popovich began.

He was just warming up. "My opening comment here will be," he said, "I'm just glad my general manager wasn't in the locker room, because it might have gotten me fired."

Told of that, R.C. Buford had his own line:

"We'll see how Wednesday goes."

They figured their team had played with such comedic flair they might as well follow with some stand-up. This is also a Popovich pattern; he's often looser in public after losses than after wins.

But Popovich knows better than anyone that some serious coaching will soon follow. And among his tasks -- besides reminding the Spurs how to throw a pass -- is something he has likely seen coming for a while.

Can he get LaMarcus Aldridge to rise for these challenges?

A 30-point loss doesn't fall on Aldridge alone. When the Spurs weren't turning over the ball, they were breaking down defensively.

And even if the Spurs had been more on point, would it have mattered? Steph Curry continued his fluid path toward another MVP trophy, scoring 37 points in 28 minutes. And when his teammates synced with him, they turned the league's best defense into another Popovich joke.

After Popovich went through his opening bit, however, he said something else. "It was like men and boys," he said, and then he defined the traits he cherishes.

Toughness, aggressiveness.

Popovich didn't name anyone. But after Aldridge went through the first eight minutes of the game without anything other than two missed shots on the stat sheet -- no rebounds, no assists, no points, no steals, no blocks -- he followed that with a telling sequence.

Late in the second quarter, during a Warriors' 8-0 run, Shaun Livingston took off toward the basket where Aldridge and Draymond Green stood. Green smartly blocked Aldridge from moving over to defend the rim.

Maybe Aldridge never had the angle to get around him, but Aldridge didn't appear to push back, either. With that, Livingston was left with an uncontested dunk.

The Spurs hadn't lost this badly in four years. Then, in a game in Portland, Popovich rested his core. And that night, against a frontline that included Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair, Aldridge led the Blazers in scoring.

He would eventually abandon that life to do more in San Antonio. And since his arrival, Aldridge has done everything the Spurs have asked. He's been, in short, the opposite of what he had been in Portland.

He's shown little ego and even less concern for his stats. He hasn't been a loner, and he's seemed to enjoy fitting in.

As Popovich said before the game when asked about Aldridge, "All considered, he’s done a really good job.”

But Popovich will want more the longer they are together. Popovich will want Aldridge to step up, on a night such as Monday, and assume control when everything is falling apart.

One in the organization said recently you can feel David West's presence when he enters a game. There is none of that with Aldridge, and the contrast of Monday took that further. Green, flexing his arms in celebration, is all about passion.

"I thought Draymond set the tone with the defense," Steve Kerr said. "This was the first time he's ever asked me to come out of a game. It's never happened since I've been here. It was late in the first quarter. He was really tired. That was the effort he was putting forth."

Aldridge has never been as animated, and he likely never will be. His body language also doesn't mean he lacks desire. He said Monday he felt he was "in a rush" because he liked the matchups he was in.

"I was eager," he said.

David Robinson once struggled with the same. His confusion sometimes froze him.

So this isn't as simple as it seems. Popovich will need time to get what he wants from Aldridge, and will use Monday as an example, along with some humor.

bharvey@express-news.net

Twitter: Buck_SA