It's going to take time. The fact that not much of the schedule has passed since the San Antonio Spurs last endured such lopsided consecutive losses proves as much.
Last March, in the 71st game of the 2022-23 season, Gregg Popovich's team lost to the New Orleans Pelicans by 35 points. The very next night, the Milwaukee Bucks ran San Antonio off the floor by 36 points. The Spurs ended that week with a 44-point spanking at hand of Boston Celtics.
Those three blowouts came in a stretch that saw the silver and black lose eight of their remaining 11 games by double-digits, the Spurs' final defeats of last season coming by 21 and 20 points.
Spurs' start to 2023-24 mirroring end of last season
Wednesday's 21-point loss to the New York Knicks marked the third time in their first eight games this season San Antonio trailed an opponent by at least 30 points. The other two resulted in 40 and 41 point blowouts.
“As a young team, any team really, we’re going to go through losing streaks. The most important thing is how we bounce back,” super rookie Victor Wembanyama said following Wednesday's rout at Madison Square Garden.
Not only has San Antonio yet to bounce back, but its losing stretch began with an ugly second-half effort that teased the tough road trip ahead. The youngest team in the NBA threw away a 22-point lead while getting outscored 88-62 by the Toronto Raptors in the second half and overtime on Sunday, en route to a frustrating 123-116 loss.
“I'm seeing people score 120 and 130,” Gregg Popovich said in Manhattan. “That's what I'm seeing.”
Actually, the Hall of Fame coach saw an opponent score 152. It came in the aforementioned 41-point shellacking to the Indiana Pacers on Monday. Eight days earlier, the Spurs gave up 123 in a 40-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Defensive problems compounded
But while no Spurs fan is going to confuse this version of the team with defensive juggernauts that dominated the early Tim Duncan years, no one will compare them to the teams in the 2010s, either. Those units peaked offensively in 2014 with a championship so revered by basketball purists that ‘beautiful' is in their nickname.
The 2023 edition of San Antonio's offense has often looked disjointed and clunky. They'll go possessions without giving their blossoming 7'4 star the ball. And when he does get it, Victor Wembanyama has looked uncomfortable while navigating the second week of his career in the league.
“You have a 19-year-old rookie who is just learning about the NBA. Of course it’s a learning experience,” Popovich said.
That said, these Spurs have registered enough points to win games. Their 113.4 points per contest are just about a point less than the vaunted Golden State Warriors' attack, and a point better than the Kevin Durant and Devin Booker-led Phoenix Suns. The 105 points they scored in New York marked only the second time this season they failed to reach at least 111.
“Every game is a game of mistakes,” Popovich said. “You learn when you win, you learn when you lose.”
The Spurs are looking forward to those mistakes resulting in a victory.
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