It makes more sense for the Spurs to end their crazy trial than to end an 18-game losing streak

The Lakers took turns to rest Anthony Davis, Russell, and Reddish, and in the face of the warmth sent by the Purple and Gold Army, the Spurs laughed and finally ended the most embarrassing 18-game losing streak in team history.

Although Davis, who blew up with Wembanyama in the last game, did not play, and the Spurs faced a lot less pressure on the inside, Wembanyama was still "paddling" on the offensive end today, scoring 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, and he gave up the C position to let Vassell have the spotlight alone. Of course, Wembanyama's performance on the defensive end was still unambiguous, grabbing 15 rebounds, delivering two steals and two blocks, and having a plus/minus of +19 points per game.

For the Spurs, taking advantage of the opponent's rotation to end the losing streak is not much of an achievement. But at the very least, the Spurs have gradually figured out a routine that allows young players to grow while winning occasionally.

The Spurs can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being, both by ending the losing streak and by Popovich ending his crazy trials.

In Wembanyama's memory, he has never experienced so many defeats since he was a child. Last season in Ligue 1, he led the once underdog Mets 92 to the finals and won the MVP. According to Wembanyama, the last time he lost so badly was when he played football as a child.

'I was still a goalkeeper at that time, we didn't have a good team, I had to play 3-1 situations a lot, so it was very difficult to keep the goal. ”

After entering the NBA and joining the Spurs, Wembanyama personally handed over a good report card, averaging 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game, only Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson played in their rookie seasons, and he received a lot of praise and was considered an unborn talent. The problem was that Wembanyama's performance did not translate into a victory, and after three wins in five games at the beginning of the season, the Spurs suddenly entered the rhythm of consecutive defeats. There have been games in which the Spurs have had chances of winning, but they have been overturned nine times this season with a double-digit lead. In some games, Spurs have no chance of winning at all, and they have lost at least 20 points in five games. The Spurs are at the bottom of the league in offense and 24th in defense.

All things considered, the Spurs' problem is more on offense, and if it is more precise, the Spurs' problem is Popovich's crazy experiments under the pressure of no record.

Before the start of the season, Popovich came up with the idea of "Sochan playing the core point guard", and as a result, the five-man team of Sochan, Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Wembanyama and Zach Collins were on the floor, and the Spurs scored 93.8 points per 100 possessions and shot 47.8% from the field, which is worse than the teams at the bottom of the offense. Although Popovich insisted in the face of criticism and doubts that "Sochan continues to improve and still has confidence in him", after the Spurs' 14-game losing streak, Popovich couldn't help it, and he adjusted the lineup to put Sochan on the bench and put the shooter Osman in the lineup. One game later, Popovich changed his lineup again, Sochan returned to the starting lineup, but Collins came off the bench, the Spurs put on four outside lines, and Wembanyama played as the center.

Collins (29.36 percent) and Wembanyama (28.38 percent) are the first and second lowest players in the league to shoot at least 100 jumpers, respectively, and they are clearly not fit to be on the floor at the same time.

"If we had a better shooting, I think the starting lineup would have performed better, and now the problem is space and that's the main reason why we're using a single interior instead of a double interior," Collins said. At the end of the day, you have to be able to shoot and open up space. ”

After the Spurs changed the formation, the competitiveness has obviously improved, at this stage, Wembanyama playing center may be the most conducive to his growth, if you want Wembanyama to improve efficiency, Spurs have to help him open up space. Although the Spurs only made 5 of 41 three-pointers in the game against the Rockets, the 12.2% three-point shooting rate is obviously not the normal level of the Spurs. Johnson and Vassell, in particular, shot 0-of-9 from the field and 1-of-9 from the other, and the pair combined for 1-of-18 three-pointers.

In the two games with the Lakers, the Spurs' three-point performance was indeed a bit over-the-top, shooting 16 of 37 in one game and 18 of 42 shooting in the other, but this is the state that the Spurs want after changing their lineup. After the change of formation, Vassell and Johnson took on more offensive roles, and the tactical status of shooters Osman and McDermott on the bench improved. The improved space environment will allow the Spurs to play better offense, and Wembanyama will have a lot easier at the No. 5 position.

Wembanyama's stats have gotten even more flashy since he became center, averaging 22 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks per game in the previous three games. Vassell and Johnson were in good offensive form today, and Wembanyama paddled on the offensive end, but still had 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

'I wouldn't define him as a centre-forward, he's just a defensive centre-forward, he can attack on the wings, at the top of the arc, in the low post, in the box, he's everywhere in attack. If you want to call him a center, it's only because he's defending the opposite forward. Popovich said.

In our previous interpretation of Sochan playing point guard, we said that Popovich did this crazy experiment purely to make it difficult for himself. The Spurs have qualified point guard Tre Jones, who averaged 6.6 assists and only 1.6 turnovers per game last season. But this season, in order to train Sochan, Popovich reduced Jones' playing time and kept him firmly on the bench. In fact, when Jones and Wembanyama were on the court at the same time, the Spurs outscored their opponents by 3.4 points per 100 possessions, which is one of the few Spurs duo with a positive 100-posing net score when they are on the court at the same time.

"Jones is definitely our general on the field," Johnson said, "and he has everyone executing tactics, working both ends of the floor, giving everything, and I'm very happy to have a player like Jones in the team." ”

But Popovich has no plans to keep Jones and Wembanyama on the floor more often: "He's a great combination with Collins, and he's going to continue to be a backup point guard and bring energy to the team." ”

Perhaps, in Popovich's perception, the diminutive Jones is not the starting point guard, and it is not in the Spurs' long-term plans. Rather than having Jones as the playmaker, he would have liked the starting lineup to have more height and better defense.

The Spurs want the future, not the immediate gains and losses, and every decision Popovich makes has nothing to do with winning or losing at the moment, he wants a longer-term future.

Wembanyama could only choose to be patient and choose to trust Popovich, even though he hated defeat.

'Of course I hate losing, it's not easy to accept losing, but we have no choice but to keep fighting and focus on the longer term. We are still a long way from the goal, but we are definitely on the right path. ”