OffRtg: 116.5 (10) DefRtg: 111.1 (3) NetRtg: +5.4 (5) Pace: 100.8 (14)
The Spurs matched their win total from last season with a wire-to-wire victory over the shorthanded Thunder on Wednesday, finishing 4-1 against the champs. Then they swept a home-and-home set with the Mavs to climb within three games in the loss column of Oklahoma City.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs have outscored their opponents by 16.8 points per 100 possessions with Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama on the floor together, the third-best non-Thunder two-man mark among combinations that have played at least 500 total minutes. So, even with Devin Vassell back in the starting lineup for the last five games, Champagnie has remained there. Harrison Barnes has come off the bench in three of the last five, and Stephon Castle was a reserve for the first time this season in Dallas on Thursday.
2. Castle was back in the starting lineup and had the best game of his career two nights later, recording a 40-point triple-double as the Spurs blew out the Mavs. Castle is still shooting 28.9% from 3-point range, but he’s seen jumps from his rookie season in field goal percentage in the paint, the percentage of his shots that have come in the paint and free throw rate. He’s also seen the fifth biggest jump in assists per 36 minutes (from 5.5 to 8.2) among 310 players who’ve played at least 300 minutes in each of the last two seasons.
3. The Spurs have outscored their opponents by 76 points in the restricted area over their four-game winning streak, and now rank fourth in restricted-area differential (plus-6.0 per game) for the season.
Coming up: The Spurs are 0-2 against the Warriors, having lost the two games (both at home) by a total of six points. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage when they close out their pre-break schedule at Golden State on Wednesday.