The San Antonio Spurs made a statement on Wednesday night. A dominant 125-92 win over the Dallas Mavericks has made them the talk of the NBA world in the last few days. That’s thanks to Victor Wembanyama’s
dominant 40-point, 15-rebound performance. Now, many are expecting the Spurs to go over their expected win total of 44.5 games.
Earlier this week, we polled Pounding the Rock readers on their expectations for San Antonio this season. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of a big year for the Silver and Black.
74% of respondents said that the Spurs will win 46 or more games this season. If Wednesday night was any indication, they may be onto something. Wembanyama already looks like an MVP candidate, Stephon Castle may have taken another leap (more on that later), Dylan Harper is ready to contribute, and we still haven’t seen this team at full strength. The Spurs have a lot of talent, and they seem entirely bought in on the defensive end. With an offensive engine like Wemby and a strong defense around him, this is a team that can compete for its first playoff berth in 6 seasons.
Wembanyama is the clear alpha dog on the team, and it’s fairly safe to assume that the former All-Star, De’Aaron Fox, will be his number two. The third man is up for grabs, and Castle snatched the title on Wednesday night. He looked like the second-best player on the court, let alone the team. His defense on Cooper Flagg was relentless; he was able to get to the basket at will, and he made some great reads throughout the night. Weirdly enough, he looks even more athletic than last season. We’ll see if the shooting comes around at all this season.
Do you agree with the consensus? If you don’t, explain why in the comments below.
