The San Antonio Spurs have a habit of playing with their food, but the talent difference between them and their opponents makes up for it on most nights. Eventually, they flexed their muscles and there was nothing the visitors could do.
They overwhelmed the Indiana Pacers with paint pressure, which also opened up the outside game, and everyone who got time was a contributor. Victor Wembanyama was like an angry killer wasp on defense, constantly harassing ball handlers, racking up four of his five
blocks in the first half. Everything was going smoothly, but his teammates started allowing too much penetration, and their 21-point lead was reduced to eight. It was just three players doing most of the heavy lifting offensively for the Pacers, and the Spurs spent the rest of the game, denying them from getting within striking distance.
Observations
- This is a gap year for the Pacers, and despite their abysmal record, they have flashes of being a strong team since a lot of their DNA from the finals run remains. They were searching for 3-pointers in the fourth plus their ball and body movement gave the Spurs some trouble, but the latter’s significant rebounding edge gave them more shots. Keep in mind that the Spurs had three players log multiple offensive rebounds.
- These games are valuable at the end of the season because there may be someone who shows coach Mitch Johnson that the playoff rotation should be a bit longer. At the very least, they are showing they can be capable replacements in case of emergencies. Credit to Wemby for being a good teammate by taking a step back to let others shine for most of the game as he focused on defense. He and De’ Aaron Fox were the stars of the fourth quarter.
- Dylan Harper and Harrison Barnes were slotted into the lineup for Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. Harper played eight minutes before taking his rest in his first start, and had most of the first-half playmaking duties while being in attack mode. He got into the lane easily, and had one of his best games of his young career. Barnes was Mr. Reliable, making shots from inside and out. Moreover, the team didn’t get to the line much, yet the offense scored 136.7 per 100 possessions, good enough for the 95th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.
- Keldon Johnson led the cavalry off the bench, getting inside at will as bodies bounced off him. He was the team’s leading scorer at halftime with 16 points on 87.5 percent shooting. He’s a physical presence, sort of like the greater of the Ajaxes in The Iliad (ruler of Salamis).
- The Spurs are just as good as any team when they raise the pace. They finished with 24 fastbreak points, and Indiana’s turnovers and misses caused it, wearing out their legs.
- The zone is risky because of all the space available up top. They went to it with Luke Kornet, but it’s suboptimal with him instead of Wemby because he’s not as laterally quick. Still, Kornet had a solid night, and one of his finest moments was a chase-down block in transition.
