The San Antonio Spurs suffered a 17-game losing streak in the 2023-2024 season after losing 82-93 to the Houston Rockets on the road, despite improving on the defensive end. It was also the longest losing streak in Spurs history.
The Spurs vs. Rockets game was a visual torture for spectators, too spicy for the eyes, and the two teams shot oddly poorly. The Spurs shot 35-of-31 from 876% shooting, the Rockets shot 34 of 23 from the field4% shooting. When you're only 34When they can still win on 4% shooting, it's against the Spurs, who have lost 17 in a row.
How bad can the Spurs be?The 82 points scored in this game are the lowest single-game scoring of any team in the league this season, after the previous record was 83 points scored by the Spurs against the Clippers on Oct. 30. There were 41 shots from the outside, not because he had a wide three-point vision, but because he couldn't score the ball at all, so he could only shoot blindly from the outside, and as a result, he shot 5 of 41 three-pointers (12.).2% Hit Rate). Tonight, the Spurs scored a total of six points on 16 "unguarded" catch-and-shoot jumpers. The Rockets had 16 turnovers in the game, and the Spurs scored just four points on those turnovers.
Wembanmayr played well, especially on the defensive end, slowing down Alperen Sengun, one of the few Spurs players who could hit the ball to the basket, finishing with 15 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks. If the Spurs want Wembanmair to be more involved on the offensive end, they will have to endure the inconsistency of his jumper shot and the quality of his coverage that is not high at this stage.
The Spurs have once again put Wembanmair at the No. 5 position with four perimeter players around him, which is not the most fluid offense so far, as it is difficult to create easy access to the basket next to Wembanmaier. Obviously, Popovich tried to beat the Rockets with a three-point + defensive tactic, and the defense showed its power, allowing the Rockets to hit down to three into four, but unfortunately several main players were too poor in three-point shooting, Wembanmayr was 1 of 6, Devin Vassell was 1 of 9, Kendall Johnson was 0 of 9, and Branham was 0 of 3 three-pointers. Kendall Johnson had some success with his inside shooting against the Rockets, shooting 3-of-5 from the field but missing once from the outside. The Spurs need him to put pressure on the basket, and if he can continue to do so on the inside, the team's offense will be better.
The Spurs have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, but have improved their defense over the past three games, keeping opponents at 106 points per 1004 points, compared to 119 points per 100 offensive attempts in the previous 19 games4 points. Maybe that's what the young team is going through, the defense improves, and the next step is to improve the attack.