Week in Review: Injuries, decision-making derails Spurs’ rhythm
The Spurs got Vassell back but lost Jeremy Sochan, all while blowing two very winnable games.
Welcome to the Week in Review: a Monday feature that looks back at the week that was for the San Antonio Spurs, takes a look at the week ahead, and more. Enjoy!
Week 2: The Spurs appeared find the missing piece of their offense in an aggressive Chris Paul to end their week with consecutive wins, including an upset over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Week 3: 1-3 (4-6, 11th in West)
104-116 loss at Los Angeles Clippers
Recap: The momentum and offensive rhythm the Spurs had gained in their prior two games appeared to carry over to a new week as they got out to 26-point lead by the end of the first quarter against the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers, but coincidently or not, everything fell apart around the time one of the main facilitators of that momentum — Jeremy Sochan — was lost in the second quarter to a broken thumb, and the Spurs blew the massive lead to end their winning streak.
100-127 loss at Houston Rockets
Recap: With Sochan out and Stephon Castle making his debut as a starter, the Rockets gave the Spurs no time to adjust, and their terrible play from the second half in LA carried over to Houston as they got down big early and never really recovered despite a much better effort in the second half.
118-105 win vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Recap: Back in San Antonio to kick off a five-game homestand, the Spurs finally got some help from a bench unit that had struggled in recent games, receiving a combined 58 points from Keldon Johnson, Malaki Branham, Zach Collins and Blake Wesley to help lead them to their only win of the week. Unfortunately, the injury bug struck again as Branham was lost to an ankle sprain as the second unit’s guard depth continues to wane.
110-111 loss vs. Utah Jazz
Recap: Everything was set for the Spurs to get through their first 10 games of the season with a .500 record, which most would have considered a success coming into the season. Unfortunately, a successful season debut from Devin Vassell and career nights from Victor Wembanyama from three (6-9!) and Castle were spoiled by the Spurs’ offense going cold and making too many mistakes down the stretch to give up a winnable game.
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 21 (last week: 18)
OffRtg: 108.0 (26) DefRtg: 110.7 (12) NetRtg: -2.7 (19) Pace: 98.2 (22)
Before they got Devin Vassell back, the Spurs lost Jeremy Sochan to a broken thumb. They’ve also lost three of their last four games, including one they led by 26 points.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs’ 26-point lead in LA on Monday was the largest for a losing team this season and the third largest for the Spurs in a game they lost in the 29 seasons for which we have play-by-play data. They allowed the Clippers to score 99 points on 67 possessions (148 per 100) over the final 36 minutes, even though Victor Wembanyama had seven of his nine blocks over that stretch.
2. He had seven more blocks in the Spurs’ loss to the Jazz on Saturday, and would now be the first player to average at least four blocks per game since Dikembe Mutombo in 1995-96. When Wembanyama’s been off the floor, San Antonio opponents have shot 61.4% in the paint. When he’s been on the floor, that number is just 49.2%, including just 25-for-70 (35.7%) at the rim when he’s been there to protect it.
3. Vassell made his season debut on Saturday, scoring 21 points (on 8-for-13 shooting) in less than 22 minutes off the bench. With Sochan out of the lineup and Stephon Castle (or Vassell) in, the Spurs will have better spacing around Wembanyama, which should allow him to operate more near the basket. He’s still taken at least half of his shots from outside the paint in every game this season, with that rate a season-high 80% (12/15) on Saturday.
The Spurs were 0-4 in the NBA Cup last season, and their first Cup game this year will be against the team that was 7-0. Their game against the Lakers on Friday is also the end of a five-game homestand.
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 23 (last week: 19)
Gregg Popovich’s absence is the main concern for the San Antonio Spurs right now. The long-time Spurs coach suffered a serious health concern recently and is out indefinitely, with no timetable given for when he could return to the sidelines in San Antonio. To make matters worse, the Spurs lost Jeremy Sochan to a broken thumb, and Victor Wembanyama is struggling to assert himself on offense right now. The only bright spot for this team is that Devin Vassell has retuned and scored 21 points off the bench in his first game of the season.
Coming up: Mon. 11/11 vs. Sacramento Kings; Wed. 11/13 vs. Washington Wizards; Fri. 11/15 vs. Los Angeles Lakers; Sat. 11/16 @ Dallas Mavericks
Prediction: 2-2 — Every time I get optimistic with this team, they let me down, but this still isn’t a bad schedule. Vassell’s return will only help the Spurs, and they should at least beat the Wizards at home (although they showed against the Jazz that they are still prone to a loss on any night). I also think they’ll take one of the two home games against decent-but-not-great California teams (best chance being the Lakers, especially if Anthony Davis is out).
