The Spurs continue to be plagued by an inability to maintain comfortable leads at home.
The Spurs being the youngest team in the league is going to keep getting pointed out all season long because it’s true, but it doesn’t make their repeated mistakes any less frustrating. In a pattern that has become all too familiar to the Frost Bank Center crowd, the Spurs started strong (something they have done much better at home than on the road), built a double-digit lead, and then proceeded to throw it away by taking their foot off the gas and getting sloppy with the ball.
Facing a shorthanded Miami Heat team, which was missing Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro, and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Spurs played swarming defense and were patient looking for the right shots early, finishing the first quarter up 29-15 while the Heat generally looked asleep at the wheel. They held Miami to just six field goals while hitting 12 of their own, including three threes.
The Spurs stretched the lead to 19 a couple of times in the second quarter, both on Malaki Branham threes, but as has been the case all season, they just couldn’t maintain the level of play that got them there. After leading 42-24, the Spurs started settling for jumpers while the Heat woke up on both ends and went on a 17-0 run in a matter of minutes to get back within one before a Doug McDermott three and Jeremy Sochan jumper briefly stopped the bleeding. Jimmy Butler later tied things up at 47 apiece before the Spurs scored six of the final nine points of the quarter for a 53-50 halftime lead.
A big factor that got the Heat back into the game in the second quarter was free throw shooting, with a 14-6 advantage in attempts for the first half. And it wasn’t one of those cases where it felt like the refs were calling the game different for both teams, but more indicative of the types of shots each team generated. While the Heat were attacking the paint, the Spurs were settling for jumpers, and once they stopped falling, that’s when the Heat went on their run(s). For the game as a whole, the Heat outscored the Spurs 28-10 at the line, which is always a tough stat to overcome.After a big night on Friday against Minnesota, Wembanyama’s shooting struggles returned. He couldn’t establish himself down low against Bam Adebayo and ended up settling for jumpers most of the night, scoring 18 points on 8-22 shooting but just 2-9 from three. It wasn’t all bad as he hauled in 11 rebounds and dished 7 assists, but he also had 7 turnovers as he got too aggressive with the ball at times. While we don’t want him to settle for jumpers, he also needs to work on not getting too desperate when he’s frustrated, which can lead him to drive too hard and lose ballss in crowds. It’s a happy medium that should come to him in time.
The Spurs would look like an entirely different team right now if they could maintain leads and close out games at home. They have led by double digits four times at home but lost each time (and yet they only led by as much as six in their lone win, an OT against the Rockets). If the Spurs had held on for all four of those games, they’d be 7-3 right now instead of 3-7, and everyone would be ecstatic. It’s something that seems simple and shouldn’t be too hard to turnaround.
