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Welcome to 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 18: The Spurs returned from the All-Star break to sweep their Austin series and keep the train rolling. Against the shorthanded Suns, they did well enough in the first half to keep them at arm’s length before getting back into their offensive groove for a second half blowout. Then, their good friend Complacency paid a visit against the lowly Kings — who were on a 15-game losing streak — until late in the third quarter, when they finally flipped the switch and turned a close game into another blowout.
Week 19: 3-1 (43-17, 2nd in West)
114-103 win at Detroit Pistons
In the home of the team with the best record in the league, the Spurs continued to show they can adjust and win in any situation, successfully responding to the Pistons’ physicality against Victor Wembanyama by using his gravitational pull on their defense to find open shooters and driving lanes. Combined with some impressive defense on MVP candidate Cade Cunningham, particularly by Stephon Castle, it was one of the Spurs’ most impressive wins of the season and reminded the league they are much more than just Wemby.
110-107 win at Toronto Raptors
After three quarters in which Wemby couldn’t get anything going and the Spurs’ offense struggled with dry spells, they appeared in trouble after a big Raptors run had them down by 15 points late in the third quarter. However, the Spurs were able to take advantage of Toronto’s biggest weakness (poor fourth quarter play) by getting hot from three and turning up the defensive dial to get up by six late. The waning moments ended up being more interesting than they had to be thanks to poor free throw shooting — the Spurs were just 13-23 on the night and 2-6 in the final seconds to give the Raptors one last ditch shot that they fortunately missed — but what mattered is the Spurs escaped with the victory and their first double-digit winning streak since 2016.
Playing their third game in four nights, the Spurs looked a step slow at times but remained comfortably ahead of the rebuilding Nets, outside of a spurt from Michael Porter, Jr. that got them within six points midway through the third quarter. The win made them 11-0 in the month of February, marking only their third undefeated month in franchise history and making them the first team in NBA history to accomplish the feat while scoring 110 or more points in every game.
89-114 loss at New York Knicks
All good things must come to an end, and this game had all the trappings to be the perfect foil for the Spurs’ win streak. The month changed, it was a matinee game (which the Spurs never seem to win), they haven’t won in MSG since 2019, and the Knicks have strength at the one position the Spurs don’t: power forward. After a quick start to get the Spurs out to a 12-point lead, the Knicks responded with a 29-4 run to a build a lead that the Spurs could never get in a enough rhythm to overcome. Even though Wemby had his best scoring game of the week with 25 points (albeit while shooting 1-7 from three and committing 7 turnovers), the Spurs had no answers for Mikal Bridges or Mohamed Diawara and ended up suffering the first loss in over a month.
Power Rankings
John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 1 (last week: 2)
OffRtg: 116.8 (8) DefRtg: 110.5 (3) NetRtg: +6.3 (4) Pace: 100.9 (13)
The Spurs’ 11-game winning streak came to an end in New York on Sunday afternoon, but not before they got a huge win in Detroit, keeping themselves in the mix for the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs’ initial defense was good enough on Monday, when Detroit had its third-worst half-court performance of the season. And they’re still the league’s second-most-improved rebounding team from last season. But San Antonio ranks 29th in defensive rebounding percentage (64.7%) since the All-Star break, with three of their last four opponents registering more than 20 second-chance points.
2. Victor Wembanyama remains the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, but his offense remains a work in progress and he shot just 20-for-54 (37%) over the Spurs’ four games last week. Only 24 (44%) of those 54 shots came in the paint and he was 5-for-30 (17%) from the outside. The Spurs still scored more efficiently with him on the floor, and they were outscored by 17.3 points per 100 possessions in his 67 minutes on the bench over the four games.
2. San Antonio was 19-for-31 (61%) on corner 3s over its wins in Detroit and Toronto, with Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie a combined 12-for-14. The Spurs lead the league in the percentage of their 3-point attempts (33%) that have come from the corners and Harrison Barnes is tied for second among individuals with 62 made corner 3s.Coming up: After finishing their longest road trip of the season in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the Spurs will begin their longest homestand of the season (six games over 10 days), which includes big games against the Pistons, Rockets, Celtics and Nuggets. They’ve yet to face the Clippers, who they’ll play three times in the next month.
Law Murray, The Athletic — 2 (last week: 2)
On the last day of January, the Spurs lost in Charlotte. They proceeded to sweep the February schedule, and most of the 11 wins weren’t close. But March is here, and the Spurs had their worst offensive showing of the season in New York. Every time I consider the Spurs for the top of the rankings, they have a loss like that. But it’s a big week ahead, as San Antonio will return home from the Rodeo Trip for a rematch with the Pistons, who presumably will have added muscle with the return of Isaiah Stewart. And then the Spurs have an opportunity to clinch the regular-season series against the Rockets.
Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 1 (last week: 1)
The Spurs were not ready to play on Sunday against the New York Knicks. Their 25-point loss was their largest of the season, and this snapped the Spurs’ 11-game win streak, which included victories over Detroit, Los Angeles, and Oklahoma City.
Still, San Antonio remains at the top of the NBA power rankings for the time being, with several important matchups in March approaching. Not only will the Spurs face the Pistons again on Thursday, but they will also see Houston, Boston, and Denver in the span of five days after Friday’s game against the LA Clippers.
This is the time for the Spurs to put their foot down and potentially take the 1-seed in the West from the Thunder.
Coming up: Tues. 3/5 at Philadelphia 76ers (33-27); Thurs. 3/5 vs. Detroit Pistons (45-14); Fri. 3/6 vs. Los Angeles Clippers (28-31); Sun. 3/8 vs. Houston Rockets (37-22)
Prediction: 3-1 — The Spurs will finish the Rodeo Road Trip against a Philly team that — surprise! — won’t have Joel Embiid (oblique strain), but after that is when things get interesting. They will then head home to for a season-high six-game homestand, but it’s a beast on paper, with the Clippers being the “easiest” team they’ll face in terms of record. That first game back after being away for so long is always a trap game, and it doesn’t help that it’s against a Pistons team that will be out for revenge. Then, anything can happen facing a healthy Kawhi Leonard (admittedly with little help) the very next night, and of course the IH-10 rivalry is always unpredictable. The Spurs have proven they have what it takes to beat all of these teams, but they will need to return to February form, and they can’t have another off week from Wemby. We’ve reached a point in the season where every single game matters.