Welcome to the 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 4: The Spurs got a couple of solid but
expected wins against the Bulls and Kings, sandwiched around consecutive home losses to the Warriors in which Steph Curry scored 95 combined points to carry his team against a mistake-prone Spurs squad. However, the biggest takeaway of the week was Victor Wembanyama (calf) and Stephon Castle (hip) getting added to the Spurs’ injury report for at least the next couple of weeks.
Week 5: 2-1 (11-5, 5th in West)
111-101 win vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Recap: With two injury riddled teams facing each other, the game was close throughout until veterans Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox, who combined for 49 points, helped fuel an 11-0 run to close out the game with a confidence-boosting victory. (In a surprising and somewhat embarrassing stat, it was also the Spurs’ first home win against the Grizzlies since 2019.)
135-126 win vs. Atlanta Hawks
Recap: Looking to finish their five-game home stand on a high note before a stretch of seven-of-eight games on the road, the shorthanded Spurs continued to lean on their depth to take down a Hawks team that had been thriving despite missing Trae Young. Along with the usual veteran contributions from Fox, Barnes, and a season-high 25 points from Keldon Johnson off the bench, they also got five three-pointers from Julian Champagnie and some of the classic effort and hustle from David Jones Garcia that made him their Summer League star.
102-111 loss at Phoenix Suns
Recap: In a similar fashion to when the Suns handed them their first lost of the season, after a solid first half, the Spurs were overwhelmed by the Suns’ physicality and outside shooting in the second half while being unable to overcome their own mistakes or get consistent offensive contributions from anyone outside of Fox.
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 8 (last week: 9)
OffRtg: 117.2 (9) DefRtg: 111.8 (5) NetRtg: +5.4 (8) Pace: 100.0 (26)
The Spurs won their first three games without Victor Wembanyama and had a double-digit, second-half lead in Phoenix on Sunday, but then couldn’t get stops over the final 23 minutes.
Three takeaways
1. With Stephon Castle also out for the last three games, Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet have been in the starting lineup. The new group was outscored by nine points in its 32 minutes (allowing 82 on 67 defensive possessions) over the three games, but bench minutes were big in wins over the Grizzlies and Hawks. Keldon Johnson seems to be the biggest beneficiary of Wembanyama’s absence, averaging 17.8 points on 65% shooting over the last four.
2. Johnson continues to do most of his damage in the paint, where he’s shot 64-for-94 (68.1%), seventh best among 106 players with at least 75 paint attempts. The Spurs outscored their opponents by 34 points in the restricted area over their first three games without Wembanyama before struggling to finish inside in Phoenix on Sunday. They still ranked third in restricted-area differential (plus-10.3 points per game).
3. The Spurs trailed the Grizzlies by a point with 2 1/2 minutes left on Tuesday, but then closed the game on an 11-0 run, with Harrison Barnes scoring the first seven of those 11 points. Barnes has also picked up some of the slack in Wembanyama’s absence: the 33-year-old is registering the best marks of his 14-year career in 2-point percentage (66%), 3-point percentage (45.2%) and free throw percentage (90%).
Coming up: The Spurs’ loss in Phoenix on Sunday was the start of a stretch where they’re playing seven of eight games on the road, and their current, four-game trip includes their first meetings with both the Nuggets and Wolves. The Spurs were one of two teams (the Wolves were the other) with two wins in Denver last season.
Law Murray, The Athletic — 9 (last week: 6)
Thankful: De’Aaron Fox’s space
At some point, the Spurs will be able to get on an extended run with Fox pairing with Victor Wembanyama. But that would require both players to be healthy at the same time. Fox missed the start of the season, and now he’s carrying the Spurs with Wembanyama injured, along with guards Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper.
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 8 (last week: 6)
Victor Wembanyama will miss a handful of weeks with a strained calf, which puts the San Antonio Spurs in a tough spot. All of their action flows through Wembanyama on offense, and those who could potentially replace him as the main beneficiaries are also out with injuries.
Dylan Harper won’t be back for a few weeks with a calf injury, and Stephon Castle has been dealing with a hip flexor strain. That leaves De’Aaron Fox as the leader of the Spurs, with Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Harrison Barnes rounding out their other offensive threats.
Without Wemby and their dynamic backcourt depth, the Spurs are a shell of what they have been to begin the year. With two big NBA Cup road games this week, it will be interesting to see if Fox can carry the Spurs to wins and possibly win West Group C, which many are calling the “Group of Death” with five real playoff threats.
Coming up: Wed. 11/26 at Portland Trail Blazers* (7-10); Fri. 11/28 at Denver Nuggets* (12-4); Sun. 11/30 at Minnesota Timberwolves (10-6)
* In-season Tournament
Prediction: 1-2 — This is the first time I’ve predicted the Spurs to have a losing week this season, but outside of Portland, I don’t like these match-ups for the Spurs, particularly on the road without Wemby available to battle Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert. Of course, the Spurs have depth to win one or even both of these games, but they will need everyone to show up like they did against Atlanta, and so far that has been a hit-or-miss scenario.
