OffRtg: 116.7 (10) DefRtg: 111.6 (3) NetRtg: +5.0 (5) Pace: 100.7 (15)
The Spurs suffered their first loss to the Thunder last week, but they remain comfortably in the top three in the West after surviving a wild game against fourth-place the Wolves on Saturday.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs’ loss in Oklahoma City on Tuesday was the end of their worst five-game stretch of offense (103.4 points scored per 100 possessions) this season, with their trio of guards – De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper – combining to shoot just 34% over the five games. San Antonio ranks 26th offensively (111.0 scored per 100) since Christmas.
2. But the offense returned as they returned home to beat the Bucks and Wolves. The three guards scored more efficiently, Castle had 19 assists and just two turnovers over the two games, and Victor Wembanyama scored 39 points against Minnesota. Though he’s first in defensive rebounding percentage, he’s just 61st in offensive rebounding percentage (6.9%) among 289 players who’ve averaged at least 15 minutes per game. But he sealed the win by rebounding Julian Champagnie’s missed free throw in a crowd of Wolves with four seconds left.
3. With that win, the Spurs are 21-1 when they’ve scored at least 116 points per 100 possessions and 6-3 within the top five in the West, set to visit the fifth-place Rockets (1-0) twice in the next 10 days. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage for the first of those two visits (Tuesday).
Coming up: The Spurs are 9-1 against the eight teams that have lost at least 60% of their games, with the one loss having come (at home) to the Jazz. They’ll face Utah twice this week and also complete their season series with the Pelicans.