Spurs lose second straight in a bizarre game vs LA

SB Nation

Following their first loss of the season, the Spurs had work to do. Phoenix had concocted a scheme that exposed San Antonio’s lack of shooting while also limiting Wemby’s offense, forcing the good guys

to adjust.

The Spurs did exactly that Wednesday night – to start, at least. From the tip, LA employed a similar strategy to the Suns by putting Marcus Smart on Wemby, and Jake LaRavia doubled as soon as the Frenchman touched the ball. This time, though, the Spurs were ready. Wemby instantly threw a pass to Barnes in the corner, who was left wide open due to LA collapsing in the paint. Mitch Johnson purposely started three shooters around Wemby and Castle in Champagnie, Barnes, and Vassell, and had one of them glued to each corner on every offensive possession. As a result, the Spurs made four corner threes by the end of the first, a marked improvement on the 10 total triples they had against Phoenix.

Defensively, Wemby was menacing as usual, making every Laker second-guess any shot they considered taking in the paint. However, LA also drove at him purposefully, trying to get him in foul trouble. This largely worked, as Wemby was forced to sit halfway through the second after picking up his third personal. Thankfully, both Kelly Olynyk and Jeremy Sochan returned from injury, giving the good guys some much-needed front-court support. The latter instantly drew the Luka assignment whenever Castle wasn’t in the game, but the Slovenian Wunderkind still made tough shots even against Sochan’s physical defense. With Wemby sitting for longer than usual, LA was also able to get easier looks around the rim, resulting in them leading 60-59 going into the break.

The floodgates stayed open for both teams in the second half. LA continued doubling Wemby at every opportunity, resulting in him struggling to get to his spots. To counter, he focused on creating contact and got some free points at the line, while the Lakers stuck to scoring from the perimeter. As soon as Wemby sat, though, Luka was able to throw easy lobs to his bigs, forcing Johnson to reinsert his star centre sooner than he liked.

The final period was chaotic on all fronts. With the Spurs up 96-88, the game turned into a slugfest when both Wemby and Luka were on the bench. Neither team could cobble together two consecutive offensive possessions to save their bacon, which changed immediately when Luka checked back in. Down nine, the Lakers’ defensive intensity went into overdrive, forcing multiple turnovers on Castle, resulting in the home team erasing the Spurs’ lead in an instant.

With an opportunity to get back in front, Wemby barrelled into Hachimura on a drive, leading to him fouling out. The Spurs’ fate seemed sealed by then, as the Lakers hit free throws to make it a two-possession game. However, Marcus Smart got overzealous and threw a cross-court pass to Hachimura before stepping out of bounds, allowing the Spurs to have one final opportunity down two. Champagnie almost got his hands on a potential game-tying layup but was fouled, and went to the line for free throws. After missing his first attempt, he purposefully threw it off the rim on his second try, and Keldon Johnson somehow managed to get his fingers on the ball, but his tip just barely rimmed out.

It was a bizarre loss in a game the Spurs mostly led, even though they didn’t deserve to. The good guys were disorganized the entire night, and it’s a miracle they had a chance to tie it in the final seconds. It’s hard to find a sample size smaller than two games, but the league now has a blueprint for how they can slow down San Antonio and Wemby, and anyone who thought that Fox is easily replaceable should certainly be changing their mind now.

Game notes

Some of Wemby’s and the Spurs’ offensive struggles in the game reminded me of what the Bucks went through earlier in Giannis’ career. Teams often contained a younger version of the Greek Freak by building a wall to thwart his drives, and the Lakers did that Wednesday night as well. A play in the third highlighted this perfectly, when Wemby isoed at the elbow and was the lone Spur on that side of the court. LA played him straight up with every other defender creating a zone by positioning themselves at each corner of the paint. With five Lakers walling off the inside and the other Spurs standing stationary at one side of the court, Wemby had no choice but to take and miss a long mid-ranger.
That failed play was largely on the other Spurs for not spacing properly, and they knew it right away. On the very next possession, they made sure that there was a player at both corners and also at the top of the arc. The result? A Wemby drive and kick to an open Barnes following a double team, and three more points on the board for the good guys.
It was nice to see Sochan and Olynyk back, but this team still sorely misses Luke Kornet. The former Celtic is the only player other than Wemby who provides consistent rim protection, and his absence has resulted in the Spurs bleeding paint points whenever Wemby sits.
For anyone thinking that San Antonio doesn’t need Fox because they have Castle and Harper, these past two games have proven the opposite. Castle has improved all aspects of his game, but it’s still hard to envision him as anything more than a secondary ballhandler. He had six turnovers Wednesday night and looked frazzled dribbling during crunch time. And while Harper can become the primary decision maker someday, he’s not ready for that now. Having Fox’s downhill threat and ability to self-create efficient shots will make Wemby’s (and everyone else’s) life so much easier.