Spurs Beat – The Season Is as Young as the Spurs But They Have One Job- Winning!
What a week it’s been in the land of silver and black. The Spurs come into this week at 3-4 following a 41-point drubbing at the hands of the Indiana pacers Monday night in Indianapolis. That loss comes on the heels of a 123-116 overtime loss at home Sunday against Toronto. That game saw the Spurs blow a 22-point second half lead.
The Spurs seem to be a team with no real identity as of yet. Yea there’s the rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama and Wiley Hall of Fame coach Pop, and even a new state of the art practice facility at La Cantera, none of these things equate to wins however. Winning happens between the lines and although the season is as young as the Spurs are, they haven’t quite figured out just how to win.
Coming into the season I predicted the Silver and Black being a top five defensive team with the addition of VDub. Why not? Defense has always been a staple of a Greg Popovich coached team. You add a freak of nature like VDub with his eight foot wingspan and the defensive possibilities are endless. Or so you would think.
The Spurs are currently 27th in the league in points allowed at 121.5 ppg. Opponents are shooting 45.8% against the silver and black. Only the Washington Wizards are worse at 48% for their opponents. For context the Spurs finished the 2022-23 season allowing 123 points ppg while opponents shot 50.7% from the field against them. BOTH were dead last in their respective categories.
VDub is a stud with an insane upside no doubt. He’s averaging 20.5 ppg on 48.9% shooting, 8.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 1.3 steals; all team highs. His case for rookie of the year though early is a strong one. As a team however it’s going to take a much bigger team effort to win games, starting on defense.
The Spurs have a number of issues that need immediate attention and I’ll concede, a lot of the issues revolve around their youth. The youth argument however will only go so far in professional sports when these same “youths” are millionaires with one job-WINNING!!!
Upcoming Games:
Tonight, Nov 8 @ NY Knicks(3-4) 6:30 pm ESPN
Fri, Nov 10 vs Minnesota(3-2) 7pm
NBA In-Season Tournament Group Play
Sun, Nov 12 vs Miami(3-4) 6pm
Tuesday, Nov 14 @ OKC (3-4) 6:30pm TNT
NBA In-Season Tournament Group Play
