What We Learned from the Spurs win over the Suns

Yesterday at 01:12 PM

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was Austin?

Well. I mean. Shoot.

I guess they played a game in Austin last night. Did you hear about that? The Spurs played. They won, actually. Yeah, it was a pretty good game and everything. Weird, right? It's hard to imagine basketball even matters right now, considering the world-altering news that shook up the Spurs yesterday afternoon.

I'm not going to rehash all the details about Wembanyama's injury — you've got plenty of smart people you can read or listen to for that. I won't speculate on what it means for his future, and I'm not about to casually celebrate how this might impact the Spurs' draft odds. Instead, I'm just sitting with it for a minute. As fans, what we're dealing with isn't the end of the world, nor is it some secret mana from heaven. It just is — and it sucks.

Victor's health and well-being are, without question, the top priority. It's great that the team got to the bottom of this quickly and is already working on getting him better. If we can, just for a second, put that in a box labeled "OBVIOUSLY", I'd like to take a moment to lament the fact that we don't get to watch Victor Wembanyama play basketball for the rest of the season. And I hate that for us.

He rules.

He's the craziest thing I've ever seen on a basketball court, and every second he's out there in a Spurs jersey feels like a genuine miracle. Watching the rest of the season without him is going to feel like playing in a room with half the lights off. The league, the game, and basically everything else are worse off when Victor isn't hooping.

So. Yeah. It's a bummer, and I think it's okay to admit that. I'm going to do my best to move on, to not make every single game a referendum on the 7'4" hole in the lineup. But for at least this one night, it's hard to ignore.

Now, for the guys who did play Thursday night in the Moody Center: They showed up. They gave every indication that they're not about to roll over and give up on the season. We've got dudes who can really play — guys still fighting for their place on this team and in the league. It's going to be fun. It might not be the version of the season we thought we were getting, but it's certainly not a funeral.

The next few months are about figuring out what this team is without Victor. He's a massive part of the franchise's future, but he isn't the whole thing. He can't be. The guys and the structure around him matter just as much. And for now, we get to focus on that.

So take a minute. Be sad. Then splash some water on your face and get back in it. Let's rally around these guys instead of spending the next few months photoshopping Cooper Flagg into Silver & Black.

Let's win some games. Let's make the play-in. Let's ruin some people's days.

Let's play Spurs basketball.

The season isn't over. In a lot of ways, it's just now getting started.

Takeaways

• I still think the Austin experiment is cool. Expanding the Spurs' reach throughout South Texas is awesome, and the franchise has repeatedly shown that it's being done with real purpose — not just as an easy cash grab. The Spurs have been labeled a "small market" team for as long as they've existed. Usually, that's a stamp you never shake. But through a series of smart moves and outside-the-box thinking, they might have found a way around it— without relocating. That's a win.
• I'm in my seat and ready to fully experience the Bismack Biyombo era of Spurs basketball. LET's GO. The rest of the league thought we forgot about how to play with a traditional big and we're here to show them that we can still rock down low with the best of them.
• Among the many things that are sort of a bummer about Victor's injury, I'm sad that we're going to miss out on a few more months of him and De'Aaron Fox building out a good foundation of chemistry for the future. That being said, as long as we're grasping for silver linings, everything does seem pretty freed up for us to just let Fox go out there and show us what he's all about. That's not nothing! He's still one of the most fun players in the league and is unlike anyone the Spurs have had on their roster in a long while. I'm certainly excited to watch that.
• Was this intentional? It was on purpose right? He....he for sure meant to do this?

WWL Post Game Press Conference

- I like the concept of putting things in a box labeled "OBVIOUSLY". I feel like that could really streamline a lot of conversations.

- Right? I think we need to start a this movement. Like, I could put the statement "I love my dog and want no harm to come to her" in the "OBVIOUSLY" box so that when I tell you that if she licks my bagel before I have a chance to eat it then I might have to kick her out of the house for 48 hours

- And then i'll know that you aren't a monster, you just want your bagel not to have dog on it.

- I feel like always wanting my bagel sans dog is something that should also go in the "OBVIOUSLY" box.

- Maybe we should make it more of an "OBVIOUSLY" crate.

- More like a shipping container.