Spurs' Gregg Popovich Issues Warning to Starters After Loss vs. Hawks

The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Atlanta Hawks, and coach Gregg Popovich issued a warning to his starters.

The San Antonio Spurs are reeling after allowing the Atlanta Hawks to soar to a 35-16 first-quarter lead and were never able to get themselves back in the game. Trae Young finished with 36 points on efficient shooting, and the Spurs were led by Victor Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan, each scoring over 20 points.

The first half, however, was a disaster. Sochan was the only Spur with more than five points, they were four-of-22 from deep, and Young had already posted 29 points.

San Antonio Spurs forward Jermey Sochan (10) and Memphis Grizzlies Marcus Smart (36) / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Disaster was looming. Another nationally-televised game that would have TNT cut to something else before the game could even finish.

Disgusted after halftime, coach Gregg Popovich trotted out a motley group of Julian Champagnie, Blake Wesley, Cedi Osman, Sochan, and Dominick Barlow to start the second half. And it worked. By the time the first substitutions of the half were made, the Spurs 14-9 second-half lead, going on to easily win the third quarter.

"The starters needed some sort of message or infusion of something whatever,” said Popovich. “I thought the starting team in the third quarter made their point. They played. They competed."

Moving forward, it sounds like Coach Pop will expect more from his second unit, or continue to tweak the starting five. The only Spur who seems to be unmovable as a starter is Wembanyama. "He's receptive to any type of coaching. A really high IQ. He understands the game intuitively. You explain something to him and he understands it,” praised Coach Pop.

Spurs Start Off Cold in Loss vs. Hawks

Both Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell were non-factors all afternoon, totaling only nine points on horrid shooting. In limited action, Wesley looked poised for one of the first times in his young career and could snag the seventh-man role from Malaki Branham, and start leading the bench unit with Johnson.

Moving forward, the Spurs are a young team that can’t be expected to come out of the gate hot every game. That being said, the starters need to understand that their role on the team is not bound by steel, and if they don’t do their job, the bench unit can and will step up down the stretch.