A week ago – with the San Antonio Spurs losing streak at 13 and with the ‘fill-in' games in the wake of the In-Season Tournament recently announced – Spurs fans may have circled December 8 vs. the Chicago Bulls. With the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves all looming, perhaps San Antonio's skid would end that night against a Bulls team that had lost five straight to fall to 5-14.
Since, Chicago has won three in a row, including victories against the Milwaukee Bucks and the same Pelicans squad that recently beat the Silver and Black handily without Victor Wembanyama.
Turns out, avoiding a franchise-record 16th straight loss Friday night vs. the Bulls should prove a tough task.
Improvement, but no more wins for Spurs
Aside from the aforementioned 121-106 loss in New Orleans, the Silver and Black have been much more competitive as the winless stretch has grown longer. Since a 20 point setback to the Los Angeles Clippers on November 20, the Spurs have hung tough with the Clippers (played them again on November 22), Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and most recently, the Timberwolves.
“I think they did well. That's the best team in the West and we gave them a good run,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said of Wednesday's 102-94 setback in Minneapolis.
For Wemby, it was an opportunity to go against fellow French star Rudy Gobert for the second time in his fledgling NBA career.
“It's good. We talk a lot. I've got a lot to learn from him. He's a great player to play against and he's going to be a great player to play with with the national team too,” Wembanyama, who struggled with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, said following another loss to Minnesota.
“They're strong, they're athletic, they're long, they're talented. That all goes a long way,” Pop added of the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and his teammates.
With a 16-4 record, the T'Wolves sport the best record in the NBA 20 games in.
Practice makes….better?
As a result of the In-Season Tournament, the Spurs benefited from several days with no games. With the week of December 3 left open for all NBA teams pending the inaugural competition's group play, San Antonio's contest in Minneapolis marked its first in five nights.
“It's definitely huge. As a group, we're a little banged up. Just to have time to practice with each other and really get the competitive juices going, even on the days that we're not playing and sharpen up the things that we need to improve on was huge for us,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said.
“Any practice time you get during an NBA season is beneficial for sure,” Popovich echoed.
The Spurs four-day break came a week after they were idle for three straight nights. Add their youth and time spent working on details translates into a different perspective come game nights.
“I can see a little bit of lack of experience on our side. Of course, we're young. I'm going to have to watch those minutes when we were bad on offense but I'm not worried,” Wemby insisted.
The generational prospect may not be worried, but as far as Spurs history is concerned, they'll fall on the wrong side of it with a loss to Chicago.
Follow Us
Subscribe