The San Antonio Spurs have won seven of their first nine games. It took them 15 games to win that many last year. The improvements across the board have been clear. They’ve done this without a full roster
for the bulk of the season.
De’Aaron Fox just returned on Saturday night, dropping 24 points in his season debut. Luke Kornet is a game-time decision for their next game against the Chicago Bulls – his presence has been sorely missed. Jeremy Sochan, Lindy Water, and Keldon Johnson have all missed time. Now, San Antonio is just waiting to get Dylan Harper back.
According to Spurs fans, the lack of availability has been the team’s biggest weakness this season. They’ve pushed through that adversity to find success. If the team were at full strength, they likely beat a shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers squad. Perhaps the Phoenix Suns’ defensive strategy on Victor Wembanyama doesn’t work if Fox is there to draw attention away. These are useless hypotheticals, but they drive home the point that injuries have hampered them.
The poll was relatively flat, but San Antonio’s lack of three-point shooting led the pack of on-court issues. The Spurs are 16th in the NBA in three-point percentage. The perimeter shooting woes aren’t nearly as bad as they’ve been in the past, but they aren’t quite “good” at shooting from deep yet.
San Antonio has thrived alongside its star, Wembanyama. It’s pretty hilarious that almost half of the voters called one player the team’s biggest strength. A player like Wemby backs it up with his elite defense and versatile offense. While he’s been in a bit of a slump lately, the team is starting to figure out how to play around him when teams make stopping him their defensive priority. The return of Fox should only make things easier for the Spurs.
Wembanyama has also made the Spurs an elite paint-protecting team. San Antonio is in the top three in the NBA in opponent 2-point shooting percentage (48.6%). They are 5th in blocks per game and 10th in steals. Overall, the Spurs are 5th in defensive rating. Even as the offense struggles to find its rhythm, the defense has helped the team win games while players are out of the lineup.
Now, as the team gets back to full health, the Spurs should be ready for their schedule to get much harder in the months ahead.
