OffRtg: 117.2 (9) DefRtg: 111.8 (5) NetRtg: +5.4 (8) Pace: 100.0 (26)
The Spurs won their first three games without Victor Wembanyama and had a double-digit, second-half lead in Phoenix on Sunday, but then couldn’t get stops over the final 23 minutes.
Three takeaways
1. With Stephon Castle also out for the last three games, Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet have been in the starting lineup. The new group was outscored by nine points in its 32 minutes (allowing 82 on 67 defensive possessions) over the three games, but bench minutes were big in wins over the Grizzlies and Hawks. Keldon Johnson seems to be the biggest beneficiary of Wembanyama’s absence, averaging 17.8 points on 65% shooting over the last four.
2. Johnson continues to do most of his damage in the paint, where he’s shot 64-for-94 (68.1%), seventh best among 106 players with at least 75 paint attempts. The Spurs outscored their opponents by 34 points in the restricted area over their first three games without Wembanyama before struggling to finish inside in Phoenix on Sunday. They still ranked third in restricted-area differential (plus-10.3 points per game).
3. The Spurs trailed the Grizzlies by a point with 2 1/2 minutes left on Tuesday, but then closed the game on an 11-0 run, with Harrison Barnes scoring the first seven of those 11 points. Barnes has also picked up some of the slack in Wembanyama’s absence: the 33-year-old is registering the best marks of his 14-year career in 2-point percentage (66%), 3-point percentage (45.2%) and free throw percentage (90%).
Coming up: The Spurs’ loss in Phoenix on Sunday was the start of a stretch where they’re playing seven of eight games on the road, and their current, four-game trip includes their first meetings with both the Nuggets and Wolves. The Spurs were one of two teams (the Wolves were the other) with two wins in Denver last season.