Inside The Spurs

5 Stats to Explain Spurs' loss to 76ers

San Antonio Spurs vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Key stats from the game that show why the Spurs came up short.

Taylor Hodges

Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) reacts after his three point score against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) reacts after his three point score against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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San Antonio may have the potential to repeat the franchise’s success from the early 2000s, but Monday night showed the current Spurs still have a long way to go until they’re a championship-caliber team.

The Spurs (15-14) had a higher field goal percentage (45.7 to 41.9 percent), higher free throw percentage (San Antonio was had just one missed free throw), had two more assists, and 12 blocks. However, there were other areas the Spurs fell short in that led to their defeat.

Here are five key stats that explain why the Spurs lost 111-106 to the 76ers on Monday night.

18

That’s how many turnovers the Spurs gave the 76ers in a five-point loss. One thing every sport has in common is that giving the opposing team possession is a bad thing. Each turnover is a lost opportunity to score points and for the opposing team to score points. The 76ers had 18 such opportunities that resulted in additional 11 points for them.

11

That’s how many steals the 76ers’ defense recorded in Monday night’s win. Turnovers of any kind are bad, but can mitigated with other types of turnovers, including steals. Well, Philadelphia had 11 steals and the Spurs had just four, which wasn’t enough to overcome shortcomings in other areas.

0

That’s how many San Antonio starters ended Monday night on the positive end of the -/- stat. Comparatively, the Spurs’ bench had three players (Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones) end the night with a positive +/-.

5

That’s how many more rebounds the 76ers grabbed than the Spurs. In a game as close as Monday’s every possession, point, turnover and rebound matters. Perhaps if the Spurs grabbed one or two more rebounds, they’d be headed into a Christmas day game with a three-game win steak.

14

That’s the total number of minutes played by the 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid played against the Spurs. Embiid was tossed from the game with 2:59 left in the second quarter after arguing with an official. He still managed to make a positive impact for the 76ers with nine points, three rebounds, two steals an assist before exiting the game.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

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