San Antonio Spurs early-season performance, Digi Mart USA News: This is supposed to be the experimentation part of the season for the Spurs, but they are 8-2 with a 10.3 point differential, the second-best in the NBA. San Antonio is starting a three-guard lineup that has drawn considerable scrutiny from analysts and fans alike.
There seemed to be no reason to fix what was not broken after an NBA Finals run nobody predicted, but the unit is performing far better than expected.
As The Ringer’s Michael Pina pointed out in a newly published article examining the group in depth, the Silver and Black are +56 in the 90 minutes De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper have shared. Victor Wembanyama is shooting just a few percentage points below 70% inside the perimeter when on the floor with them.
It is not supposed to be going this well this fast.
Despite all the winning, not everything has been perfect. The bench play has been inconsistent, Stephon Castle has not had a strong offensive start, and Tobias Harris has yet to play a game.
Regardless, the Spurs have been blowing teams out, and that is what makes the streak impressive.
San Antonio has played Utah, Sacramento, and Dallas twice each, opponents that are not exactly world beaters. The Portland game meant more.
Portland faced the reigning Western Conference champions without Ja Morant, but the matchup was not close. San Antonio wiped the floor with its former first-round foe, which had beaten the Spurs in five games back in April.
One of those earlier wins came without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup, and this meeting was even worse for Portland. Deni Avdija attributed the result partly to the second night of a back-to-back, but the same was true for Portland’s opponent.
No matter what the Spurs try, they keep winning while doing it. That reflects how much the players buy into what the coach preaches, a demonstration of their high-end talent, and a determination to see each other succeed.
A team does not luck its way into a top-five rating on both ends of the floor, and players do not do it as individuals.
The scary part is that roughly 15% of the season’s games have not yet been played. There is more growth to come, and Tobias Harris will eventually be integrated.
The league’s best team is only getting better, and the runway to do so is long.
