OffRtg: 117.5 (5) DefRtg: 110.2 (3) NetRtg: +7.2 (3) Pace: 100.9 (13)
The Spurs are 15-1 since Feb. 1, a stretch that includes a sweep of the Pistons, an incredible comeback from 25 points down against the Clippers, and a thrashing of the Rockets on Sunday.
Three takeaways
1. Victor Wembanyama had a few quiet (and inefficient) offensive games at the end of the Spurs’ 11-game winning streak. And his offense wasn’t really needed in the Spurs’ 40-point win in Philadelphia on Tuesday. But he’s scored 94 points (on a true shooting percentage of 69%) in less than 91 minutes over the Spurs’ last three games. That includes 27 in less than 22 minutes (in the second game of a back-to-back) against the Clippers on Friday, when he had two go-ahead buckets (a pick-and-pop 3 and a leak-out dunk) in the final 70 seconds. Not coincidentally, it’s been the Spurs’ best three-game stretch of offense this season (129.1 points scored per 100 possessions), even though two of the three opponents (Detroit and Houston) have top-10 defenses.
2. With that, the Spurs are now a top-five team on both ends of the floor. They ranked in the top five on both ends three times under Gregg Popovich: 2006-07 (won the NBA Finals), 2013-14 (won the NBA Finals) and 2015-16 (lost in the Western Conference semifinals).
3. Wembanyama is also averaging 4.5 blocks over the Spurs’ 10 games since the All-Star break. He’s got more blocks than fouls for the third straight season, but he has been more physical this year, averaging 3.3 fouls per 36 minutes, up from 2.6 per 36 over his first two seasons. Of course, the Spurs still lead the league in opponent free-throw rate (23.3 attempts per 100 shots from the field).
Coming up: The Spurs and Nuggets last met in November, when they combined to score more than 136 points per 100 possessions in a three-point, San Antonio win that clinched a spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. They still have three more meetings left on the schedule, and the Spurs will have a rest advantage at home on Thursday, one of three very intriguing games this week.