Spurs overcome poor start to defeat wounded Grizzlies

After a shaky first quarter, the more talented Spurs took down the severely shorthanded Grizzlies with ease.

As it tends to happen this late in the season, it’s tough for teams that are not fighting for anything and are shorthanded to muster the motivation to play with energy for the full 48 minutes. It was the case for a Grizzlies and Spurs matchup that at times resembled a Summer League game. In the end, San Antonio tightened things up on defense after a shaky start and cruised to victory in Memphis, 102-87.

The Spurs had success in the first few possessions when trying to get to the basket, but it became harder to do with the Grizzlies packing the paint, leaving shooters open and not really paying the price. San Antonio couldn’t buy a jumper, hitting only two in the entire opening frame, and compounded the issues on offense by turning the ball over carelessly five times. Memphis deserves some credit for out-hustling their opponent but the truth is the Silver and Black just sleepwalked through the first 12 minutes. The home team simply had to push the pace to punish some horrific transition defense and take the decent looks it got from midrange to carve out a double-digit lead, gaining separation in the non-Wemby minutes. The only bright spot in the opening quarter was the play of rookie Sidy Cissoko.

When Wembanyama returned in the second period, the Spurs went back to running the offense through him and the results were more open shots that this time went in. The effort on defense was also there, with Wemby doing a great job of protecting the paint and the perimeter players moving their feet. San Antonio quickly chipped away at the deficit and tied the game at one point before going back to coasting and making mistakes, both in terms of shot selection and turnovers that came as a result of playing out of control and rushing things. The Grizzlies, without doing anything particularly impressive, managed to regain the lead and protect it. It was a forgettable half between a team that came out with no hunger and a feisty underdog that without uses hustled to make up for a lack of familiarity.

It would have been embarrassing for the Spurs to take the game so lightly as to lose against an opponent that barely had NBA talent available, so it’s not surprising that after the break, they came out more focused. Wemabanyama was an absolute beast and affected shots inside, denying the Grizzlies of easy looks and kickstarting fastbreaks. San Antonio made fewer mistakes and was more active in terms of cutting and crashing the boards. There was no one in powder blue who could just get a bucket and the free ones that a disjointed opponent was allowing earlier became rarer. On the other end, the Silver and Black were hitting some jumpers but not settling for them, punishing the Grizzlies’ lack of rim protection. The Spurs unsurprisingly made it look easy once they started trying and they ran away with it.

The fourth quarter was mostly garbage time, with Wembanyama getting a few more ridiculous highlights to add to his collection and the deep bench getting a handful of minutes. The Spurs have now won 20 games this season and eight after the All-Star break.

Game notes

• Wembanyama is an all-around contributor but even if he wasn’t as polished on offense as he turned out to be, he would have still been a game-changer on defense. Opponents are legitimately afraid to challenge him at the rim.

Seven blocks for Wemby to go with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

• Malaki Branham and Julian Champagnie didn’t shoot all that well from outside, combining to make five of 16, but took good shots for the most part. Champagnie also played some good defense while Branham helped on the boards. A decent night for the starting wings.
• Pop used some weird lineups that somehow worked, including one featuring all three of Blake Wesley, Tre Jones and Devonte’ Graham. The point guards didn’t have great stat lines (bad shooting for Tre and Graham, five turnovers for Wesley) but played a part in securing the win.
• Pop also continued to use Collins and Wembanyama together for stretches and the pairing worked well enough. Wemby is at his best at center, but it’s not a bad thing to have those two developing some chemistry for next season because they could complement each other well in some matchups.
• Sidy Cissoko brought the energy on Tuesday, finishing with 10 points, three boards, two assists, a steal and a block. He singlehandedly shook the team out of its stupor by being physical in his first stint, at least for a while. Good night for the rookie.
• How should Sandro Mamukelashvili’s play as of late be analyzed? The season is over and opponents haven’t been at their best, but Mamu has consistently crashed the boards, moved the ball and generally made the right decisions. It’s tempting to take these last few games as proof that he belongs, especially considering how likable he is, but judging players on just a few late-season games seems like a bad idea. For now, let’s just enjoy how fun he’s been and postpone discussing the tough decisions that are ahead.

Play of the game

A 7’4” man did this, which doesn’t make sense.

Next game: at Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday

Another Wemby vs. Chet battle would be fun, but Pop said that Victor might sit the game out since it makes little sense to play him in a SEGABABA this late in the season. He didn’t commit to saying Wembanyama will rest, so there’s a chance, but it doesn’t look likely.