Where do I begin? Let me preface with…The Spurs are the youngest team in the league. That being said, the boys were definitely separated from the men last night as the Spurs dropped their season opener to the Dallas Mavericks in front of a sold out Frost Bank Center crowd.
I’ll have to admit, the atmosphere inside the arena to witness Victor Wembanyama’s regular season debut was nothing short of lit. While the #1 pick in last year’s draft showed flashes of what we expect of him, his debut was marred by foul trouble. He finished the game with 15 points and 5 rebounds on 6-9 from the field and going 3-5 from the 3pt line in 23 minutes. He also had 5 turnovers as well as the aforementioned 5 fouls.
The Spurs got off to a blistering start putting up 43 points in the first quarter and taking a 68-64 lead into halftime. It was definitely a tale of two halves however as the Mavs were able to maintain contact while at the same time outscoring the home team 62-51 in the second half.
The Spurs had action late in the fourth quarter but youth reared its ugly head. With 2:09 left in the game the Spurs held a one point lead at 119-118 after two free throws by Devin Vassell. The Mavs then went on an 8-0 run starting with a Kyrie Irving three and culminating with a contested step back three from Luka (from Harlem) Doncic. The Spurs had two turnovers (Sochan, Johnson) in that same 2:09 span to help seal their fate. Interesting enough, Pop chose not to use a timeout until the 26 second mark and the team was down 126-119.
$135 million dollar man Devin Vassell led the silver and black in scoring with 23 points on 9-17 shooting. Last year’s leading scorer, Keldon Johnson chipped in 17 points on 7-15 from the floor. Johnson also had 9 rebounds and 7 assists, both team highs of the night.
Ultimately though, the Spurs had no answer for Luka Doncic who had a triple double with 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. He became only the third player in history to open the season with a triple double joining Giannis Antetokounmpo and Oscar Robertson. Kyrie Irving had 22 points and 6 assists in the Dallas win. The Mavs received unexpected help from rookie Derek Lively II who had 16 points and 10 boards.
I’m going to wait to reserve judgment, I mean it is only the first game, but….this FIRST game sure looked like a LOT of CLOSE games squandered LAST season.
Time will tell…..
