As the San Antonio Spurs await the return of star Victor Wembanyama, they've stumbled onto the perfect strategy to win games.
As the San Antonio Spurs await the return of star Victor Wembanyama as well as rising star Stephon Castle, they have had to get creative to win games. In the six games that Wembanyama has missed, San Antonio has gone 5-1 and managed to pull out a couple of tight wins thanks to them dominating the possession game.
It's an underrated aspect that fans can often overlook, but simply having more possessions than the other team is a huge competitive advantage. San Antonio has been able to get off to their best start in years thanks to them simply shooting more than the other team.
Take for instance their recent win against the Portland Trail Blazers. San Antonio didn't shoot particularly well. To their credit, they had 14 more shot attempts than the Hawks did.
I'm no mathematician, but taking that many more shots than your opponent is a winning recipe and something that could be a key advantage once they are back at full strength.
San Antonio must continue to dominate the possession game
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There are several ways in which to dominate the possession game. One being simply to cut down on turnovers while forcing some of your own. Another is to crash the offensive glass.
While San Antonio has struggled at times with turnovers, since De'Aaron Fox has been given the keys to the offense, the Spurs have seen their turnovers drop dramatically. They have had 10 or fewer turnovers in four of the six games that Wembanyama and Castle haven't played.
No shade to them, but they ranked first and second on the team in turnovers, and Castle was actually leading the NBA in [turnovers prior to his injury](https://airalamo.com/spurs-injury-struggles-increase-with-new-stephon-castle-revelation). With both of them out of the lineup and Fox tasked with creating offense, the Spurs have done a far better job of taking care of the ball.
They have also done a better job of crashing the offensive glass this season. The Spurs' offensive rebounds per game are noticeably up over last season and still climbing.
With players such as Jeremy Sochan, Luke Kornet, and even Keldon Johnson pounding the offensive glass, the Spurs have made that into a potent weapon. On the other end, Wembanyama leads the NBA in defensive rebounds per game, helping keep teams from feasting on offensive boards.
Cutting down on turnovers and grabbing second-chance opportunities has afforded them more leeway as they try to hold down the fort until two of their three best players return.
When both players return, the offense will likely look a bit different, with Fox now a lot more comfortable in his role. Castle will likely settle in as a secondary ball handler who will probably spend all of his minutes playing alongside either Fox or Dylan Harper. That should limit his turnovers and maximize his effectiveness.
And if and when the Spurs are able to establish a two-man game between Fox and Wembanyama, Wembanyama could trim his turnovers with him having to create less from the perimeter.
Those are small changes that could make a big impact. Not only that, but Fox and Castle could quickly emerge as one of the most dangerous defensive backcourts in the NBA, helping the Spurs rack up extra possessions in the process.
Fox is known as a pickpocket defensively, and Castle has quickly emerged as a lockdown defender. Having those two alongside Devin Vassell, who is having a much better year defensively, and San Antonio should have no problems turning over opposing teams.
The early returns from the Spurs winning the possession game have been promising. And even despite all of the injuries, questionable shooting, and early turnover struggles, San Antonio already ranks fifth in offensive rating after Thanksgiving.
If they ever get healthy and continue to take more shots than their opponents, they could be a surprisingly great offense. Who saw that coming?