You may think this update on the San Antonio Spurs Official Rebuild Season is appearing because they were victorious against the World Champion Milwaukee Bucks this weekend. And you’d be correct.
The victory combined all of the things they’ve done well so far this season. It also added the one major element that had been missing.
The Good
The Spurs backcourt tandem of Dejounte Murray and Derrick White have been a pesky and hardworking pair over the first five games. They harass ball handlers and affect rhythm. Jakob Poeltl has been serviceable in the paint, grabbing rebounds and being an imposing presence. The squad is built on defense and sprouts from there.
The scoring has been balanced and the team is generally unselfish, but there have been shortcomings. Three point shooting is still an issue. The full emergence of Keldon Johnson as a bonafide star has also been put on hold.
The Not So Good
The most glaring problem has been scoring in the clutch and holding onto leads late in games. The fact that the Spurs have been close in all of their losses has been cause for consternation. This all presents an interesting conundrum however.
The rebuild season is underway. The idea is to assemble young players in order to gain experience and improve. A big factor is getting a high draft pick. A high draft pick will be attained by accumulating a lot of losses. So, the Spurs now have a fan base who is unaccustomed to losing and is frustrated with the close losses. The fans also yearn for a high draft pick in the hopes of attaining a franchise changing player. Right now the San Antonio Spurs are a philosophical challenge.
A Peek Ahead
The factors needed for them to win games were on display Saturday night though. Dejounte Murray became “the Man” and came up big in the fourth quarter. The Spurs built on a slim lead and sealed the victory. It’s that X factor that’s been missing this season in the close games that they’ve lost.
Tonight they visit the Indiana Pacers in what could prove to be a meaningful test. This game should give Spurs Family a better idea of where the squad stands. If they’re to have any chance at the playoffs it’ll be because players like Murray or Lonnie Walker step up in crunch time. If those players don’t, then we’re looking at draft lottery status and a very long rebuild season.
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