What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Clippers

01/30/2025 04:28 PM

Another frustrating night in San Antonio

It's never a good thing when the things happening off the court are more exciting than what's happening on it. There's buzz around this franchise for the first time in what feels like forever. Spurs are on the runway at fashion shows! Spurs are in the dunk contest! Spurs are rumored to be the "preferred" destination for big free agents! Exciting stuff, yeah? I know I wake up every day pumped about Spurs basketball. Then I watch them play.

It's not that it's bad, because it's not. We've watched enough bad basketball around these parts to know what that looks like, and this isn't it. This is competitive, it's compelling, and it's promising. The frustrating part is that it's also coming up short. It's lacking that final polish or edge to really have everything pull together and be something special.

I don't know what to do with that! It makes me feel weird to be having more fun with the theoretical Spurs than the actual ones. It's like my worst instincts as a basketball fan are being fed and, even though I'm aware of this, I still feel like every time I sit down to actually watch them play, I have to psych myself up for it. Sure, it's fun to watch Victor fill up the stat sheet and Stephon Castle blossom into one of the best young players in the league, but I can also do that on YouTube without having to stress out about Kawhi Leonard's emotionless visage steadily pushing the lead out to double digits.

Maybe I'm being a bad fan. After all, running out of patience at this stage of the process is pretty shortsighted, all things considered. They're not that bad! They're just... frustrating. That's what I keep coming back to. They're frustrating. They make silly mistakes that feel like they should be ironed out at this point. They lose their focus at inopportune times. They aren't lazy, per se, but sometimes when things aren't going their way, you can palpably see their effort dip.

Maybe it's the actual proximity to being good while still continuously running the "Step on Rakes" play that's getting to me. I just want to tell them to ring me when they've figured everything out, you know? These losses seem preventable, and I have a hard time visualizing the tangible steps being taken to prevent them. I'm sure they're happening behind the scenes or whatever. Tape is being watched. Drills are being run. Progress is being made. Lessons are being learned. I know this is how a better team is being built. I think I'm just finding that I'm less interested in the day-to-day of it.

It's not a good look for me. Very fair-weather fan. I'm basically saying I want to show up for the party but don't want to actually help set it up or pay for it. The worst kind of person, I know. Still, I think everyone in the building would agree that it's time for the Spurs to get on with the business of growing up. The "youth" excuse is starting to wear out its welcome. The lack-of-experience well is starting to run dry. The clock is ticking on low expectations.

The Spurs are on the cusp of becoming one of the premier organizations in basketball once again. It's about time they started acting like it.

Takeaways:

• I'm glad Victor almost got in a fight. I love it when we get a glimpse of that competitive fire that everyone is always raving about. I also think it's important for him to occasionally raise the specter of "boy, I sure am getting fouled a lot." I know complaining about the refs is a little gauche, but it simply must be done. One of the most important weapons the rest of the league has for combatting the freakish nature of Vic's game is to play super physical with him and count on the fact that they can't call a foul every play. The Shaq playbook, basically. Fair play to them, I guess, but in the meantime, reminding the refs that, actually, you can call a foul every play is a nice counterbalance to that. Just something to think about.
• Would also like to note that I'm also pretty glad Victor did not get in a fight. The "almost" is pretty key.
• Hyper annoying that the Clippers might be good right now. I really want to support their whole thing, you know? I like the idea of Lakers fans being annoyed. I like the Intuit Dome. I like The Wall. I just sort of... hate all their players? Tough hurdle to get over. Need a complete transfusion there before we can really make progress.
• With all the noise out there, it's a little hard not to feel like every single game right now is a referendum on everyone's trade value. Did Sochan play well enough to stay on the roster? Has Castle made himself untouchable? If Vassell had made a few more shots last night, would he be more attractive in a three-team deal? I know that's not how any of this works, and frankly, it'd be sort of frightening if it was. Still, it's hard not to view things through that lens at the moment. For the first time in a while, the Spurs find themselves really sitting in the middle of a trade deadline conversation and, even though it's a little fun, I'm pretty sure I'm ready for it to be over already.

WWL Post Game Press Conference

- Are you excited about the concept of a trade right now?

- I'm...yes. I don't know. Yes and no? I'm not totally sure if I'm ready to give up on any of these guys yet but, as evidenced by my whole attitude up there, I'm also pretty keen to get going on the next phase of things. The Spurs pressing the button on a trade feels like it would be a pretty definitive signal from on high that they too are ready for that phase to begin.

- Is De'aron Fox that guy?

- Who can say? I think he's fun and I think he's talented and I also think he's been on the Kings for a long time and the Kings aren't exactly the number one team in my league pass rotation. His highlight reels on YouTube look sweet. He almost never misses on those.

- Manu aside, you're famously anti-left handers. If Fox were to come over, do you think you would have space in your heart for one more?

- We're going to have to see. The fact that he has apparently said the words "I want to be in San Antonio" really carries a lot of weight for me.