Started strong with five wins in their first seven games, the Spurs then quickly fell into line, with in particular a series of 11 defeats in a row. What had never happened to Gregg Popovichthe legendary Spurs coach, in place since December 1996, twenty-six years ago.
Currently dead last in the Western Conference tied with the Rockets, with the same record of 9 wins and 20 losses, San Antonio is in the midst of a reset phase. After dominating the debates during the years 2000 and 2010, including 22 consecutive seasons in the playoffs and 5 titles between 1999 and 2014, the Spurs are relearning how to lose. And their young players to win!
Placed among the franchises that “tank” to attract Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson in the next Draft, the Spurs defend themselves from not following their historic course of action. Of course they want to win, simply, it goes through periods of lean cow, namely learning the hard way.
“You are doing your players a disservice if they are not able to play and perform to the best of their abilities,” thus exposes Popovich on ESPN. “There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that as they move forward in their careers. I’m aware of the opposite, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. »
“Seeing kids grow up is what really brings joy”
Similarly, local GM Brian Wright said his franchise has created “flexibility” with more than $30 million of wiggle room under the “salary cap” and a plethora of job options. exchanges with several veterans (Jakob Poeltl, Doug McDermott or even Josh Richardson) who should be in demand on the future transfer market. But he doesn’t want to talk about “tanking” either!
“In a season like this with the Draft coming up, everything is under the microscope for tanking. But for us, that was never the goal, and it never will be. We are a very young team and it is a league where you have to learn to win. And it takes time. It takes time, it requires standards and habits and repetitions, that’s what this coaching staff did for a very long time. That’s what our players are learning right now. We will get there. We don’t think about tanking as much as we think about the best ways to bring about sustained and regular success over time; what Spurs have been doing for so long. »
From experience, Spurs know that it can be good to be very bad so they can bounce back in the future. In Popovich’s first season as it happened, San Antonio had gently drifted off to a lackluster campaign after David Robinson suffered a serious foot injury. Enough to get the jackpot, Tim Duncan, in the next Draft…
The parallel with Victor Wembanyama, also expected as a generational player capable of straightening out a franchise on his own, is tempting. Spurs are more than ever in the race for the tricolor unicorn, but they prefer to insist on their internal development.
“What is most appreciable is that they are like whiteboards”, resumes Pop. “It’s all to do with each one of them. We start at the very bottom of the ladder and we teach. That’s what’s most enjoyable in the end. When the games come, everyone wants competitors. But seeing kids grow up is what really brings joy. »
“It’s all about development”
Reunited with one of his historic assistants, Brett Brown, a “great dinner partner” as Popovich put it in a typical Spurs press release, the Texans head coach is not deviating from his historic mission. The one he started even before setting foot in the Big League, on the Pomona-Pitzer side in 1979, in the NCAA third division.
“It’s all about development”, abounds Brown. “That’s a big word. It’s not just about saying, ‘Hey, he’s got a one-hook shot now’. You have to grow them with the NBA habits and the terminology and all that you need to educate in terms of scouting. They love being coached by Pop. They love it when Pop stings them. They have to undergo these stings and bites, so that they feel coached and feel progress. Pop is the best for that. Afterwards, you have to know when you can give them love and when you have to sting them. There is no book that teaches it, you have to feel it according to the pulse of the team. But this locker room is amazing. We have guys who are young but with a good character and who just want to progress. And it’s our job to do that. »
In spite of the defeats which accumulate, or the errors of course like the exit of road of Josh Primo (now without club) at the beginning of the season, the Spurs want to maintain their great tradition of training center. Gold medalist at the last Olympic Games, under the control of his coach in San Antonio, Keldon Johnson (21 points, 5 rebounds) is the latest proof of this, as is Devin Vassell (20 points, 4 rebounds) who is progressing also visibly.
Let’s be clear: the San Antonio Spurs haven’t been in the title hunt lately, but they’re currently gearing up to get back there anytime soon. Above all, by not derogating from their rules of procedure!
“It’s the same Pop every year, it doesn’t change”, concludes Keldon Johnson. “He is always on our backs every day. He expects us to progress. And we are progressing. »
Their prestigious victory against the Heat
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Keldon Johnson | 27 | 32.6 | 41.1 | 34.8 | 73.8 | 1.0 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 21.1 |
| Devin Vasell | 23 | 31.7 | 44.8 | 40.1 | 81.1 | 0.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 19.8 |
| Jakob Poeltl | 21 | 26.9 | 63.6 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 3.8 | 6.0 | 9.7 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 12.6 |
| Tre Jones | 28 | 30.4 | 42.2 | 29.4 | 89.7 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 12.4 |
| Josh Richardson | 21 | 23.3 | 41.3 | 36.8 | 85.3 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 10.7 |
| Doug Mcdermott | 25 | 20.8 | 47.8 | 42.0 | 68.2 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 10.4 |
| Zach Collins | 18 | 20.8 | 53.3 | 31.6 | 73.1 | 1.8 | 3.9 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 8.8 |
| Keita Bates-diop | 24 | 18.9 | 53.7 | 35.3 | 79.4 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 8.2 |
| Blake Wesley | 2 | 11.7 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 50.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 8.0 |
| Jeremy Sochan | 23 | 24.0 | 45.5 | 17.4 | 45.8 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 7.3 |
| Joshua Primo | 4 | 23.3 | 34.6 | 25.0 | 77.8 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 7.0 |
| Romeo Langford | 16 | 19.8 | 48.3 | 20.8 | 69.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 6.6 |
| Charles Bassey | 19 | 15.5 | 68.7 | 33.3 | 63.6 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 5.7 |
| Malaki Branham | 15 | 17.0 | 34.9 | 27.1 | 81.8 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 5.3 |
| Isaiah Roby | 24 | 12.4 | 45.3 | 35.0 | 43.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 4.6 |
| Gorgui Dieng | 12 | 11.8 | 40.9 | 29.0 | 75.0 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 4.0 |
| Jordan Hall | 9 | 9.1 | 32.1 | 20.0 | 77.8 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 3.1 |
| Dominick Barlow | 4 | 6.4 | 42.9 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
| Alize Johnson | 4 | 7.4 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Stanley Johnson | 2 | 3.4 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
