Week in Review: Spurs deliver on the road to stay above .500
The Spurs sandwiched two road wins around a home loss for their second straight week with a winning record.
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 5: The Spurs showed off their depth in a surprising undefeated week, getting wins over top West teams like the Thunder and Warriors despite being short-handed.
Week 6: 2-1 (11-9, 10th in West)
128-115 win @ Utah Jazz (NBA Cup)
Recap: The Spurs kept their NBA Cup hopes alive with their second road win of the season against a lowly, injured Jazz club, riding big nights from the rising “Area 51” duo of Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, who combined for 57 points.
101-119 loss vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Recap: With both teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers’ role players were the difference against a gassed Spurs team that got down big early and never really threatened to come back outside of a brief third-quarter run.
127-125 win @ Sacramento Kings
Recap: After a much needed three-day rest, the Spurs were back on the road against a struggling Kings team that had lost 5 of their last 6 games. Despite getting down big (again) in the first quarter, the Spurs grinded their way back for a thrilling win on the back of Wemby’s third career triple-double and the team hitting a franchise-record 23 threes.
What we learned
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 14 (last week: 13)
OffRtg: 112.2 (19) DefRtg: 112.2 (13) NetRtg: -0.0 (16) Pace: 98.9 (16)
The Spurs appear legit, having climbed above .500 and staying there with a comeback win in Sacramento on Sunday.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs are a second-half team, 18.3 points per 100 possessions better after halftime (plus-9.2, fourth best) than before halftime (minus-9.1, third worst). They’ve lost the first quarter in each of their last six games (and by double-digits three times in that stretch), but have won five of the six.
2. The bigger difference between the first-half Spurs and the second-half Spurs has been on offense and has been as much about free throw rate and turnover rate as it’s been about shooting. Among the six Spurs with at least 50 field goal attempts before and after halftime, Julian Champagnie has the biggest differential in effective field goal percentage (51.0% in the first half, 62.5% in the second half).
3. Overall, the Spurs rank as the league’s second-most-improved team regarding winning percentage and its fifth-most-improved team regarding point differential per 100 possessions.
The Spurs will win West Group B if they win their NBA Cup finale in Phoenix on Tuesday. It’s their first meeting with the Suns, who they beat three times last season. It’s also an opportunity for Victor Wembanyama to go head-to-head with Kevin Durant, the Suns’ primary defender on Wembanyama in the three games the reigning Kia Rookie of the Year played against the Suns in 2023-24.
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 15 (last week: 13)
Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes are not the same players they were earlier in their respective careers, yet these two veterans have helped set a standard for the San Antonio Spurs. This younger team in the West has won five of their last six games and wins against the likes of the Warriors, Thunder, and Kings can’t be overlooked. The Spurs are starting to form themselves into a legitimate threat, and of course, nobody wants to play them with Victor Wembanyama evolving into an All-Star talent. Between their passing and ability to get to the free-throw line, the Spurs are a sneaky team in the top half of the NBA power rankings.
Coming up: Tues. 12/3 @ Phoenix Suns (NBA Cup); Thurs. 12/5 vs. Chicago Bulls; Fri. 12/6 vs. Sacramento Kings; Sun. 12/8 vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Prediction: 4-0 — This is a risky bet that I probably wouldn’t put money on, but screw it, I’m going with a big undefeated week. The Bulls, Kings and Pelicans don’t scare me at home, but the big one is tomorrow in Phoenix. The Suns have struggled with injury and lost 6 of their last 8 games after a hot start to the season, and everyone remembers the magical two games the Spurs had in Phoenix early last season (before the infamous November slump). Just to add some extra motivation, if the Spurs win, they head to the NBA Cup Tournament since they own the tie-breaker over the Thunder in their group. Who saw that coming?
