The San Antonio Spurs have big goals this season, so finally getting in the win column after an 0-2 start must have felt cathartic, especially against a rival like the Dallas Mavericks. Luckily, there wasn’t too much to complain about on Saturday.
Divisional matchups are always fun but the first half was all gas and not much brakes as both teams laid a stack of bricks from deep. The game was decided by three things: the Spurs’ offensive rebounding (which turned into 26 second-chance points) scoring off turnovers, and the defensive intensity of the fourth quarter, holding the Mavericks to 31.8 percent shooting.
Advertisement
Let’s check out the cool stuff.
Carter Bryant has looked lost at times to start his second season, but moves like this baseline dunk are reminders of what we can expect when his composure matches his athletic abilities.
Are the Mavs for real? Perhaps an assistant should have told coach Dusty May that it’s a terrible idea to play a zone against someone like Wemby who can stack up rebounds and jump higher than everyone else on the court. This was just too easy.
Stephon Castle is a hunter on defense and this was one of his three steals.
Alley oops get lots of great PR, but the next most exciting play in basketball is the pick-6 in the opponent’s territory and it might be the most deflating one for them. Castle gets extra points on this one for the mean mug after the dunk.
I present the Showtime Spurs. This was the second time Devin Vassell blew up a pass and started the break.
The thing about this Wemby lob is that it is only getting taken away with a big gamble at the expense of the arc or if the on-ball man makes a miraculous play because he grew a longer, third arm. The Spurs should be running more of these.
Yeah, this is year four of Victor doing this stuff, but it’s still hard to get over the novelty of him being that big and making this look so smooth. I must whisper “Oh my gosh” to myself a handful of times per game.
The rook, Tarris Reed Jr., is going to remember this moment for life and it’s cooler since the game was up for the taking at this point. He had been hovering by the dunker spot, which is a good idea for others to get open on this team. He showed some moves at school, and might be an option to turn to if a backup big needs minutes.
I’ve said it a million times: Wembanyama post ups are gold because few in the league have the minerals to stop it, and in this instance, he had four players looking at him, making it easier for De’Aaron Fox to get loose on a curl. This arguably could’ve been a foul because Wembanyama didn’t have much landing space and got it to go anyway.
Julian Champagnie took eight shots, which is what’s needed from him, but whoever said shooters are unwilling to go to the body had clearly never heard of him. Aside, Wemby’s screen is the MVP of this play because look how wide he is standing.
This would probably get a head nod from Nikola Jokić.
