Following two consecutive wins, the Spurs seemed poised to increase their streak on Monday evening earlier than collapsing late to James Harden and the Clippers.
San Antonio performed their greatest quarter of the younger season to begin the sport. The offense clicked proper off the bat, as Wemby discovered Sochan for a wide-open dunk by spinning away from Harden and forcing Zubac to assist. With the tone set, San Antonio continued to maneuver the ball nicely and created straightforward photographs from three and on the rim. The Spurs’ communication was on level in their very own finish, too: even with Wemby taking a seat midway by means of the quarter, San Antonio nonetheless held the Clippers to simply 14 factors and ended the primary up 40-14.
That turned out to be the final quarter the Spurs would win, although, because the momentum utterly shifted within the second. LA got here out firing on all cylinders by forcing turnovers and getting straightforward baskets in transition. The Spurs’ offense utterly dried up too, as that they had hassle coping with the Clippers’ aggressive protection. It took San Antonio over six minutes to get their second basket of the quarter, and LA managed to make it a single-digit recreation by halftime.
Sadly, the Clippers’ onslaught continued within the second half. The sport appeared to hit an equilibrium with each groups buying and selling buckets till the top of the third. San Antonio maintained a double-digit lead then, however two essential errors by Stephon Citadel (detailed under) helped LA reduce the lead from 10 down to simply 4. Then, the floodgates opened within the fourth because the Clippers caught fireplace from deep and went on a 27-7 run in simply over seven minutes. With the house crowd hungry to see their first win within the Rest room Intuit Dome, LA held on to win 113-104.
It was a disappointing finish to an in any other case thrilling recreation, however hopefully the younger group can use it as a lesson transferring ahead. On the intense aspect, San Antonio didn’t stop even after LA went up by double digits, and that preventing spirit will preserve the group in video games this season — even when they’re overmatched from a expertise perspective.
Recreation notes
I do know that is beating a lifeless horse, however the amount and sorts of threes that Wemby takes nonetheless drive me nuts (he completed 2/9 on this recreation). Earlier than Monday evening’s full slate of video games, he averaged 6.8 makes an attempt from deep per recreation, which ranked thirty ninth league-wide. Which may not sound like a lot till you notice that it’s greater than gamers resembling LeBron, KD, and Kyrie, and the subsequent heart on the listing is Brook Lopez at 5.7 makes an attempt per recreation (61st). Extra irritating is that Wemby appears to take most of his makes an attempt early within the shot clock when he can create higher appears for himself and his teammates. I perceive that he received’t proceed making underneath 25% of his threes, and that the teaching employees is letting him discover the studio area, however a small a part of me additionally worries that Wemby is taking part in a mode that received’t maximize his potential.
Okay, let’s stroll by means of the 2 essential errors that Citadel made on the finish of the third. First, he was overly aggressive along with his assist protection by doubling Zubac within the publish when the large man had a mismatch in opposition to Keldon. Collins was already in place to assist and Citadel’s function was to zone up on the 2 perimeter Clippers on the weak aspect, however with him abandoning his place, Zubac made a straightforward move to Amir Coffey, who hit the wide-open three. Then, with 40 seconds left, Citadel missed a shot and left an excessive amount of time left on the clock, giving the Clippers an opportunity for a two for one — which they capitalized on after Coffey made one other triple. These errors are anticipated for a rookie, and given what we learn about Citadel’s basketball IQ and work ethic, I’ve bought little doubt that he’ll study from them.
Sochan exited the sport within the second quarter after taking part in simply 12 minutes as a consequence of a thumb damage, and there was no replace on his standing instantly after the match. Hopefully his absence might be short-term — it’ll be disappointing to lose the breakout participant for an prolonged stretch proper as Devin Vassell is ramping again up.
Talking of absences, let’s all hope that Pop is doing alright after it was reported that he might be out indefinitely as a consequence of a well being concern. It’s additionally vital to present him (and the group) some privateness on the matter, and we’re all hoping for him to make a full restoration.
Play of the sport
From protection to offense — this man would possibly actually be extraterrestrial.
Subsequent recreation: at Rockets on Wednesday
The Spurs will look to bounce again in opposition to state rivals Houston on Wednesday proper.
