Week in Review: Fully healthy Spurs finally get a chance to show what they can do
Yesterday at 03:00 PM
The Spurs' preferred starting lineup finally made is debut to promising results.
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 8: Following some much needed rest thanks to the NBA Emirates Cup tournament, the severely shorthanded Spurs pulled off a miraculous comeback in Portland before returning home and laying an offensive egg against the Timberwolves' superior defense.
Week 9: 2-0 (15-13, 9th in West)
133-126 OT win vs. Atlanta Hawks
Recap: For the first time this season, the Spurs were fully healthy and able to put out the starting lineup everyone assumed would be their go-to for the season, and the small sample size was promising with a strong start. However, the game itself would be chaos, especially in the second half as the teams traded leads with dramatic plays. However, the Spurs persevered in overtime on the back of a 42-point game from Wemby, as well as big games from Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan.
114-94 win vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Recap: Unlike their previous match-up against the Trail Blazers, the Spurs showed up completely healthy and focused this time, inserting their will and cruising their way to a comfortable victory in no small part thanks to another big game from Wemby, who had 30 points and 10 blocks.
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com—16 (last week: 19)
OffRtg: 111.7 (17) DefRtg: 113.0 (16) NetRtg: -1.4 (17) Pace: 99.5 (16)
The Spurs have won four of their last five games to climb back into the Play-In Tournament group in the West.
Three takeaways
1. Victor Wembanyama had a pair of huge games last week, totaling 72 points and 14 blocks as the Spurs beat the Hawks and Blazers. After scoring at least 20 points in just three of his first nine games this season, he's done so in 13 of his last 14. More than half of his shots (147/285) have come from 3-point range over that stretch, but his free throw rate (24.6 attempts per 100 shots from the field) is the same as it was over the first nine.
2. Devin Vassell got his first two starts of the season last week, scoring 23 points (shooting 5-for-7 from 3-point range) against Atlanta on Thursday. The Spurs' new lineup — Chris Paul, Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan and Wembanyama — outscored the opponents by 16 points in 25 total minutes over the two games, though Keldon Johnson was on the floor (instead of Barnes) down the stretch of the overtime win over the Hawks.
3. That win improved the Spurs to 8-3 (second best) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes. With Wembanyama hitting the go-ahead 3 on Thursday, they're 18-for-38 (47%) on clutch 3s and have seen the league's biggest jump in clutch winning percentage from last season (13-28, third worst). The flip side of that is that they're one of three teams — the Lakers and Suns are the others — with a winning record (overall) and a negative point differential.
The Spurs are the only team that hasn't played in the Eastern time zone, but they'll begin a four-game trip in Philadelphia on Monday and are playing 12 of their next 16 games outside of San Antonio. Wembanyama will make his Christmas debut at Madison Square Garden, where he shot just 4-for-14 in the Spurs' visit last season
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points— 12 (last week: 19)
The biggest riser in the NBA power rankings this week is the Spurs. Wembanyama has been the driving force behind San Antonio's recent success, as he has averaged 29.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.2 blocks per game over the team's last five contests. This includes his most recent performance with 30 points and 10 blocks against the Portland Trail Blazers, a rare double-double for any player to record.
Even though Wemby has been the driving force for the Spurs, this young group has been seeing steady play across the board from Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and a very underrated bench unit led by Keldon Johnson. Sleep on the Spurs at your own risk, as they are rising up the rankings when it comes to both offensive and defensive ratings over the last few weeks.
(Of note, Brett also made the Spurs the subject of the intro of the article, so be sure to click the link and go check it out!)
Coming up: Mon. 12/23 @ Philadelphia 76ers; Wed. 12/25 @ New York Knicks; Fri. 12/27 @ Brooklyn Nets; Sun, 12/29 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Prediction: 2-2 — This is the Spurs' first extended road trip of the season (with many more to come), and it's hard to glean much from their relatively small 4-6 road record. The Knicks are the only team in this week's schedule living up to expectations set by last season, but the 76ers and Timberwolves are also both trap games against underwhelming but talented teams. We'll see how well the Spurs bond away from home for the holidays.
