Victor Wembanyama Continues to Shine, But San Antonio Spurs Still Not Quite There
After a fourth-quarter meltdown to the Golden State Warriors last Friday, the San Antonio Spurs were rewarded with a road trip to face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets the next game ... not ideal for a young team.
As luck would have it, the Spurs dropped both of those matchups and now sit at a franchise-fourth-worst 12-game losing streak, and questions regarding whether or not they'll even improve beyond last season have already begun to surface.
Some conversation has even been centered around whether or not San Antonio was the right place for a 7-4 generational rookie to land, though Wembanyama isn't playing into any of those narratives. He's happy where he is.
“We have a very healthy locker room [and] healthy [relationships] with each other," Wembanyama said following his team's 120-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. "[That] is not an issue at all. When we're losing, we’re losing together."
That being said, the major problem is out in the open already: the Spurs are losing. Losing a lot, in fact. Even in the midst of one of their biggest slides in franchise history, however, they remain focused on learning, improving and gelling together.
Sunday's loss to Denver proved that. Here are three takeaways from that contest:
Nov 26, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Ball Arena.
© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Wembanyama’s Unofficial Triple-Double
For a rookie no longer heavily favored to win the ROTY, Wembanyama needed a game like the one he had against the Nuggets.
Not only did he score 22 points, but he rebounded well — notching 11 — and had stocks been an officially tracked stat, he would have registered a triple-double with 10.
Against one of the best teams in the league, the rookie showed out and proved why he’s certainly going to be an up-and-coming talent, while breaking his own personal records at the same time — recording a career high six steals. That alone says what it needs to about his potential talent, but if for some reason that wasn't enough, Jokic affirmed it himself when asked about Wembanyama post-game.
"He is 19 years old,” Jokic said. “He is not getting scared of getting tired. He’s playing hard, and he doesn’t take it for granted. He’s making mistakes, which is normal. I think the media around him doesn’t help him, but he’s gonna get used to it. He’s gonna change the game, 100 percent. And he’s already on that path.”
So, Wembanyama is doing well. That's been apparent. He's scored north of 20 points in five of his last six games and tallied a double-double in five of his last eight. He's growing in comfortability on both ends of the court, which is exactly what the Spurs had hoped for him. The next step is to make it translate into wins.
Close, But Not Close Enough
However you frame it, the Spurs need to start winning games to get back on track.
Losing 12 in a row isn’t the way to go about that, no matter how those losses came about. Specifically against the Nuggets, Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Malaki Branham — who’s performed well as a starter — helped Spurs keep it close, only falling by 12 points. That's considerably closer than it has been against other teams, but still, not enough.
This season, first quarters haven't been the issue for San Antonio, which is a good start. But that's where it differs from an experienced squad like Jokic's.
"Our first quarters are usually okay but we got to be consistent throughout the game," Wembanyama acknowledged. "I can see why [Denver] won an [NBA title]. It's a very balanced team."
If the young Spurs can keep it competitive out of the gate, they'll put themselves in a much better position to win, and while that obviously hasn't rung true as of late, it is a part of the learning process. The Spurs are close, but that doesn't matter.
They're not close enough. So, how do they get there?
More Starting Production Needed
Sunday's loss to the Nuggets wasn't completely a lost cause.
Branham scored 15 on an efficient night and Wembanyama did his thing. Vassell — off the bench — did well also, nearly notching 20 points in just 26 minutes, but there is still one major factor to address: the Spurs' starting unit needs to be better.
Where Branham and Julian Champagnie — who finished with a season-high 13 points — performed well, Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins struggled. Sochan only tallied four points while Collins scored just nine, and for a young team lacking consistency, improvement starts with the starters. That was not the case Sunday.
Now, it shouldn't go without mentioning that the Spurs are a unique case. Being the NBA's youngest team and still without "the player," as Popovich described, there is ample room for different players to shine every night. Branham might have a groove one night, while Doug McDermott can't miss on another. Wembanyama, Sochan — or Tre Jones — Vassell and Johnson also take turns having solid games, but again, the Spurs need consistency.
As they continue to develop, the Spurs will certainly want to maximize the production from every player, but they should also focus on ensuring that their starters are playing at the level they want them to be. Then, they can begin to expand and improve.
