Spurs ‘Not a Great Offensive Show’, Says Coach Popovich
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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich didn’t mince words following the team’s 102-90 loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"Not a great offensive show by either team except they got to the rim a lot more than we did especially at the start of the game," Popovich said. "We can't spot people. We're not built to spot people 10 points like we did in the first quarter. You spot them 10 [points] and then you turn it over 19 times and you're probably going to be in trouble."
The Spurs rank 25th in the NBA for points scored per game, and San Antonio fittingly has the NBA’s third-worst record to match their third-highest turnover rate. San Antonio is averaging an abysmal 15.6 turnovers per game this season, up by three turnovers compared to its average last season.
Although growing pains are expected, considering that the Spurs are one of the nine youngest rosters in the NBA, sloppy play isn’t something Popovich is likely to allow to continue.
In Popovich’s 27 seasons coaching the Spurs, he gave the small market franchise an identity rooted in strong basketball fundamentals, hence why his brightest pupil Tim Duncan was nicknamed ‘The Big Fundamental.’
Duncan was drafted first overall following Popovich’s first season in San Antonio, which saw the squad win only 17 games; nearly three decades later, history may be repeating itself. The Spurs have only 17 wins on the season, placing them atop the NBA’s lottery system amongst the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons as teams with the best odds to win the No. 1 overall selection.
The gem of this year’s draft is considered to be another big man in French prodigy Victor Wembanyama. Legendary Spurs alum Tony Parker has mentored Wembanyama into becoming a 7-5 unicorn that holds the potential to reinvigorate the entire franchise with his elite offensive repertoire and shot-blocking prowess.
While San Antonio is seemingly a site for sore eyes in the present day, a brighter future may be just around the corner as Popovich teaches his young squad to embrace fundamental basketball to reclaim league relevancy.
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