Week in Review: Spurs find offensive stride in undefeated week
Welcome to 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 15: The Spurs got revenge from the week prior by returning to Houston and beating the Rockets the exact way they had been beaten: by flipping the switch in the second half and turning a double-digit deficit into a blowout win. They then went to Charlotte, enduring a time change to a noon tipoff in an attempt to beat the winter storm out before falling in a close game to the rapidly rising Hornets. Finally, after getting stranded there overnight, they had perhaps their most admirable victory of the season, overcoming two more tipoff time changes after having to change planes in Atlanta to beat the Orlando Magic at home.
Week 16: 3-0 (36-16, 2nd in West)
116-106 win vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams out with injury, the Thunder chose to also sit their next top four rotation players on the second night of a back-to-back, resulting in the ultimate trap game for the Spurs (just ask the 2012-13 Miami Heat). While the Spurs were guilty of being a bit complacent and never truly putting a depleted Thunder team away, they kept them at arm’s length most of the time before making a timely run to close the game and leave no doubt. With the season series already secured for the Spurs and the Thunder struggling of late, there could now be a legitimate race for the top seed in the West. Stay tuned…
135-123 win at Dallas Mavericks
Facing another shorthanded team (in this case, the Mavs were waiting for newly acquired trade pieces to become available), it was a tight game thanks to a sensational showing from top overall pick Cooper Flagg and plenty of help from players like Naji Marshall and Max Christie. Similar to the Thunder game, the Spurs failed to ever truly put them away but kept them at arm’s length most of the time, riding a big first half from Victor Wembanyama and full team effort in the fourth quarter for their third straight win.
138-125 win vs. Dallas Mavericks
With the Mavs’ main rotation now available, the second game of the miniseries again started tight, but the Spurs went on a game-changing run to close the first half before turning the game into a blowout by the fourth quarter, and it wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. This time, Flagg was held in check, and the Spurs rode a historical 40-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist triple-double from Stephon Castle to victory. (It’s amazing how two consecutive games against the same team with only a one-point difference in the outcome can feel so different.)
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 2 (last week: 3)
OffRtg: 116.5 (10) DefRtg: 111.1 (3) NetRtg: +5.4 (5) Pace: 100.8 (14)
The Spurs matched their win total from last season with a wire-to-wire victory over the shorthanded Thunder on Wednesday, finishing 4-1 against the champs. Then they swept a home-and-home set with the Mavs to climb within three games in the loss column of Oklahoma City.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs have outscored their opponents by 16.8 points per 100 possessions with Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama on the floor together, the third-best non-Thunder two-man mark among combinations that have played at least 500 total minutes. So, even with Devin Vassell back in the starting lineup for the last five games, Champagnie has remained there. Harrison Barnes has come off the bench in three of the last five, and Stephon Castle was a reserve for the first time this season in Dallas on Thursday.
2. Castle was back in the starting lineup and had the best game of his career two nights later, recording a 40-point triple-double as the Spurs blew out the Mavs. Castle is still shooting 28.9% from 3-point range, but he’s seen jumps from his rookie season in field goal percentage in the paint, the percentage of his shots that have come in the paint and free throw rate. He’s also seen the fifth biggest jump in assists per 36 minutes (from 5.5 to 8.2) among 310 players who’ve played at least 300 minutes in each of the last two seasons.
3. The Spurs have outscored their opponents by 76 points in the restricted area over their four-game winning streak, and now rank fourth in restricted-area differential (plus-6.0 per game) for the season.Coming up: The Spurs are 0-2 against the Warriors, having lost the two games (both at home) by a total of six points. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage when they close out their pre-break schedule at Golden State on Wednesday.
Law Murray, The Athletic — 3 (last week: 3)
Roster reset: PF Harrison Barnes
The Spurs are trying to be like the New England Patriots. That is, a team that dominated most of the 21st century and hit a rough patch in the 2020s but is back right before our eyes. The Spurs did absolutely nothing to their 15-man standard contract roster, and that’s been the case since the regular season began. San Antonio has started bringing Barnes off the bench, his first games as a reserve since leaving Golden State a decade ago. The Spurs didn’t need a move, though. Stephon Castle just had a 40-point triple-double, and the Spurs have beaten the Thunder four times this season. They even avoided a post-Thunder letdown this time.
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 1 (last week: 3)
With the Thunder struggling and losing for the fourth time this season to them, the San Antonio Spurs have jumped back into the pole position in the NBA power rankings. Between their physicality on defense and steady play on offense, the Spurs have cemented themselves as true title contenders in the Western Conference.
As good as Victor Wembanyama is, especially when he steals the show with his dazzling dunks or monstrous blocks, Stephon Castle has been the biggest difference for the Spurs this season. Recently, the second-year guard recorded a 40-12-12 game, becoming the youngest player to produce such a game in NBA history.*
(* Note: To be clear, Castle was the youngest player to record specifically a 40-12-12 triple-double, but not the youngest to record a 40-point triple-double. Both LeBron James and Luka Doncic had 40-10-10 games at younger ages. Just throwing that at there since there has been a lot of confusion when this is not specified. Castle is also only the second Spur to have a 40-point triple-double along with David Robinson, and he’s only the second player to have one while shooting over 75% from the field. The other was Wilt Chamberlain. Insane company regardless of any semantics.)
Coming up: Tues. 2/10 at Los Angeles Lakers (32-19); Wed. 2/11 at Golden State Warriors; All-Star Weekend
Prediction: 2-0 — The Spurs have me believing again. They kick off their annual Rodeo Road Trip against a Lakers team whom they’ve owned in their last two matchups. (Side note: this is a scheduling fluke game, with the Cup Quarterfinals making this their third game in LA this season.) Then, even though they’ll be at a rest disadvantage the next night, the Warriors are depleted with no Jimmy Butler, and Steph Curry has missed their last four games. (Also, the Spurs two losses to them early in the season feel more and more like a fluke. Curry went vintage and combined for 95 points in those two games, and both teams have gone in drastically different directions since then.)
