OffRtg: 118.1 (6) DefRtg: 110.8 (4) NetRtg: +7.3 (5) Pace: 99.2 (26)
Victor Wembanyama has cooled off a bit, but the Spurs got a big win over the Rockets on Friday and De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points in his season debut the following night.
Three takeaways
1. Fox replaced Julian Champagnie in the Spurs’ starting lineup and played more than 30 minutes in his return. The time of possession was split pretty evenly between him and Stephon Castle, who tied his career high with 14 assists in the win over the Pelicans. The Spurs lost almost all of a 19-point lead, but never trailed and scored 126 points on 100 possessions, their most efficient offensive performance of the season.
2. The Spurs have actually seen the league’s biggest drop in the percentage of their baskets that have been assisted, from 68.5% (third) last season to 60.0% (25th) this season. The percentage of Wembanyama’s buckets that have been assisted has dropped from 76% to 61%.
3. It seemingly defies logic, but with Wembanyama being defended by some forwards (Royce O’Neale, Rui Hachimura, Saddiq Bey) of late, he’s been more of a jump shooter over the last four games (44% of his shots coming in the paint) than he was prior (61%). He didn’t attempt a single free throw in the Spurs’ loss in Phoenix eight days ago or against the Pelicans on Saturday. The Spurs’ offense has been much better with Wembanyama off the floor, though the on-off differential on defense has been almost twice as big.
Coming up: The Spurs will visit Chicago before returning to San Antonio for five straight games. The first game of the homestand (Wednesday vs. the Warriors) is also their first rest-advantage game of the season.