Something clicked watching Victor Wembanyama step back and score a three-pointer midway through the game. San Antonio Spurs’ race in the third quarter. It’s been a while in the making, but after another dominant overall performance, it’s undeniable. Wembanyama is ahead of schedule. Not only did he live up to the high standards set for him in his rookie season, he exceeded them.
In the Spurs’ 117-105 win over the Indiana Pacers, Wembanyama was once again the best player on the court. He got just about everything he wanted offensively en route to a 31-point, 12-rebound night. He stifled the Pacers defensively, discouraging them from getting into the paint with his 6 blocks. This forced Indiana to take tough threes, which the rest of the Spurs worked hard to contest, leading to the Pacers shooting 20% from deep.
Reconstructions depend on obtaining a star. Once this happens, the acceleration towards discord can begin. There is no doubt that the Spurs have this star. Wembanyama could be a top 20 player in the NBA in his rookie season. His offensive repertoire isn’t even fully developed and yet he can score at will. Defensively, you’ll be hard-pressed to find five players who will have a bigger impact than him. It is now up to the rest of the young core to keep pace. That’s exactly what they did Sunday night.
Devin Vassell has become the Spurs’ number two alongside Wembanyama. The two-man game with these two opens up a lot of exciting possibilities for the Spurs offense. Jeremy Sochan is a solid defender and a great connecting piece on offense. He reeled off six straight points in clutch time thanks to timely cuts and a tip-in to finish his night with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Blake Wesley is an energizer coming off the bench, Malaki Branham has regained his confidence and Keldon Johnson can fill it in spurts.
Back-to-back wins against playoff teams are nothing to scoff at. Sure, the Spurs have been bad for most of the season, but over the last two games they’ve shown real signs of developing as a team led by a star rookie. The wins haven’t come at a consistent pace, but the improvement has been clear since the start of 2024. San Antonio now has a chance to continue its longest winning streak this season on Tuesday night against its rival. Houston Rockets.
To remember :
- The Spurs let Indiana back into the game with just over 5 minutes remaining. In a one-point game, Gregg Popovich made one of his best plays. This is a flexible screen installed by Vassell for Wembanyama. The first option is to give Wembanyama a post touch. The second option is for Vassell to come out of a screen down to take a shot. Wembanyama scored six straight points on this play, as Indiana couldn’t defend him without fouling him. Popovich put on a coaching clinic down the stretch with solid play calling, good rotations (inserting Johnson for Branham was smart) and timeouts to bring the team together when they needed to.
- After the game, Popovich told reporters, “The best part of the game was being in the fourth quarter and holding up their run. We kept our composure and continued to execute. Clearly, the winner was special in many ways. He also said that they continually made the same play for obvious reasons (to get the ball to their star).
- Branham has looked more like himself since the trade deadline. Sunday was his best game of the season. He started in place of the injured Julian Champagnie and had a solid match. He scored 18 points and made 6 assists. He played solid, physical defense and was a great connector on offense. He made smart extra passes to shooters, had great synergy with Wembanyama in the pick and roll (both as a ball handler and screener), and went 2-6 from three. He’s a player the Spurs would like to see finish the year strong.
- Johnson has had a turbulent season. From being moved to the sixth man role and then being benched by Popovich for a while. It hasn’t been easy for the wing. He became too reliant on his inconsistent three-point shooting and got lost in the Spurs’ shift in offensive focus. He was a major contributor to Spurs’ victory on Sunday. He had 17 points coming off the bench and made a few key shots in the fourth quarter. Johnson is a contender. His contract might outweigh his eventual role when the team becomes competitive and he has a long way to go defensively, but Sunday’s game shows he can provide a veteran presence and some buckets off the bench .
- Zach Collins has been strong lately. He had 11 points and two assists on Sunday. Last season, Collins regularly whipped pocket passes to cutters all over the field. There have been fewer this year, but we have seen a few lately. If Collins returns to the form he showed at the end of the 22-23 season, it would go a long way to solidifying the Spurs’ backup center position.
- Remember when Bill Simmons suggested trading the Spurs for TJ McConnell and we all laughed at him? Maybe he was onto something. McConnell killed the Spurs all night from midrange, finishing with a Pacers-high 26 points on 13-15 shooting from the field. Popovich stuck Sochan on him late in the game, making sure the backup point guard wouldn’t hurt San Antonio in critical moments.
