What we learned from the Spurs' win over the Raptors

03/24/2025 10:00 AM

The Spurs have found an offense. Hopefully it sticks around for next season.

I don't know what has come over the Spurs' offense lately, but I'm enjoying it. In the first half of the season, the Spurs had an okay offensive team that hovered in the teens in terms of rating, but it didn't look like anything special. Early on, Victor Wembanyama was taking "too many" threes outside the flow of the offense, both out of his own desire to improve as a shooter and because those were the touches he was getting. There were also times that the effort to get him the ball was such a focus that other players were losing rhythm on offense, but thanks to also being a good defensive team with him on the floor, they had a winning record.

Then came the struggles. January wasn't a great month thanks to a harder schedule that the Spurs had trouble adjusting to, but they seemed to find a new boost with the addition of De'Aaron Fox during the Rodeo Road Trip. Unfortunately, Wemby had been a funk and not feeling well for a while by then, and after just five games together, it was revealed he would miss the remainder of the season with deep vein thrombosis. Overall, the Spurs had a bad February, playing almost entirely on the road while going 3-9 to seemingly sink out of play-in contention without their star player.

However, something clicked when the calendar turned to March. Sure, they returned home and the schedule got easier, but the Spurs have put up a surprising stat since then. They have been the top rated offense in the entire league (and the worst defense, but we all know why):

When looking at their monthly splits, it's very easy to see the jump. They are averaging 123.8 points per game, over 7 points better than their next best month of January, and their shooting has skyrocketed to 51.1% overall and 40.7% from three: both over 5% greater than any other month this season. We see the numbers, but what about the cause? Is everyone just hot at the same time? Have they found something that works that they can (hopefully) carry into next season while also re-integrating Fox and Wemby? It's hard to say at this point, but it sure is much more enjoyable to watch.

Of course, it's hard to say if this will last long enough for the Spurs to make a serious run at the 10th seed. They have had a very favorable schedule the last two weeks (and still wasted two valuable opportunities with losses at home to the Mavs and Hornets, otherwise we'd be talking about an unprecedented seven-game winning streak), but it gets much harder from here, with just three of their remaining 12 games coming against teams with losing records, not to mention they get the Cavs and Celtics a combined three times.

I'm still not counting on the Spurs making a miracle run to the play-in without their top two players, but there are plenty of positives to takeaway from their newfound offense and the confidence it's bringing to everyone on the roster, especially if they can carry it over to next season. Now, if they can just add a little defense in there like they did against the Raptors last night...

Takeaways

• Speaking of which, last night's blowout showed what this team is capable of when things are clicking on both sides of the ball. Sure, the Raptors handed them some of their 15 steals, but there was also plenty of effort and reading of the passing lanes involved. Another benefit the Spurs have had during their recent winning ways is the opponent has usually lacked a solid man, making life easier down low for the undersized Jeremy Sochan and Bismack Biyombo. Again, this may change with the upcoming schedule, but for now, anyone who has tuned out assuming the Spurs would fold is missing out on something special and possibly significant for the future.
• Another cause of the Spurs' improved offense this month shouldn't surprising: Devin Vassell. We has embraced the role of go-to scorer with Wemby and Fox out, also posting his best numbers in the month of March. He has found his stroke from three to compliment his midrange game, and his defense has been its best in perhaps his entire career. He has already more rebounds, assists and steals than any other month, and he's actually leading all backcourt players in the NBA in blocks this month. While he won't get this many touches once everyone is healthy again, if he can keep up the defense while being ready and consistent when the offense does come to him, the Spurs are set to have an extremely solid starting five next season.
• If the season ended today, the 13th seeded Spurs would be the 9th seed in the East. Meanwhile, the Raptors team they just beat, who is 8 games behind them, is the 11th seed in the East but a distant six games behind the Miami Heat — who had lost 10 in a row before beating the Hornets last night. At this point, it's looking like the gap is just too wide for a team to make a run at the play-in the East, but in the West, there is just a four-game gap between the 9th and 13th seeds. Lopsided conferences continues to be an issue the league can't solve, and it's one reason the play-in was created. It's pretty clear that the league isn't going to demolish conferences, but one potential solution would be the top 8 seeds are from their respective conferences, while the 9th and 10th seeds are the next four teams regardless of conference. Who says no? (And for the pro-tankers, at least today, the Spurs would still be outside the play-in with this approach, so rest assured.)