Gregg Popovich Reveals Concern for Young San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are a streaky offensive team, and Gregg Popovich explained how the lack of toughness on defense has a negative impact on the other side of the ball.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the San Antonio Spurs are struggling this season. They are experimenting with playing power forward Jeremy Sochan at point guard, which is an admirable effort but comes with challenges. Their best player is 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama, and the roster itself is the youngest in the league. There will be mistakes and there will be losses.

In the wake of the Spurs’ most recent loss, to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies, Gregg Popovich issued a proclamation that will define to mistakes the Spurs will continue to make this year.

"We get those periods where the physicality builds and we go dry offensively,” Popovich said. “When you don't score and you're in transition defense all the time it makes it difficult and the leads dissipate. It's just that consistency to continue to score."

Zach LaVine greets Gregg Popovich after a game last season. The pair won a Gold Metal in the Tokyo Olympics.  / © Scott Wachter, USA TODAY

The Spurs commit the fifth-most turnovers in the league and grab the fifth-fewest rebounds, largely due to inexperience and a lack of knowledge about the physicality of the NBA. The only “veteran” in the starting five is Zach Collins, and he just turned 26 yesterday. This means that the Spurs are constantly having to run back on defense and give up easy points in transition.

To their credit, the Spurs shoot more than almost anyone, taking the fifth-most shots in the league. Unfortunately, they are 21st in the league in field goal percentage.

On offense, the Spurs can be considered an average team at best, which is honestly ahead of schedule. Popovich’s main concern is that the Spurs get cold and end up losing leads thanks to sloppy play on both ends of the court.

A solution to making the Spurs more physical compared to their NBA competition? Play Jeremy Sochan off-ball so he can work down low. Or, if committed to the Sochan experiment, keep him, Vassell, and Johnson all out of the paint on offense so the three of them can get back on defense when an opponent grabs a rebound.

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Keldon Johnson is a good rebounder, but his crowding the paint is depilating to the Spurs’ transition defense. Conversely, letting him run the floor on a fast break helps the offense, but with him crashing the boards he can’t get a head start.

The Spurs get the luxury of experimenting this season, so all the possible scenarios will likely be played out until they find out what works. For now, fans simply have to wait for them to piece it together.