3 Critical takeaways after Spurs’ demoralizing blowout loss to upstart Pacers
The Spurs of San Antonio are having a difficult season. They were being throttled by the Indiana Pacers while playing on the road on the second night of their first back-to-back of the season. Bad performances are inevitable when you have a young team, and it will be easier for supporters to digest these games if they keep that in mind. Having said that, there were several events on the court that were challenging to observe.
Although there is still plenty of time to work on the details, some of them will eventually work themselves out because the NBA season is still early. The supporters are furious, seeing this team falter via offensive inefficiencies and defensive spells that are so long that San Pedro Road resembles an airport runway. It’s an issue when inadequacies are caused by a lack of effort, but it was only one of many.
1. The Sochan experiment is having a negative impact on the offense.
Growing difficulties were expected when Gregg Popovich announced that he would be experimenting with Jeremy Sochan at point guard. As he begins his second NBA season, the twenty-year-old is mastering the most difficult position on the floor. Supporters can only hope that Sochan will get better every time out, but this was the Polish Prince’s second-worst performance of the season thus far. (That horrible Clippers game is still going strong.)
When starting Sochan at point guard in the early stages of the experiment, the Spurs should have the biggest edge possible: defense. The Pacers got everything they wanted, like the spoilt grandchild of an owner of an all-you-can-eat buffet, so that advantage was nonexistent. He was frequently slow to start the attack and had poor shooting, but all in all, he gave off an uneasy vibe.
We must keep in mind that he is a second-year player getting used to a new position and playing back-to-back away games without Devin Vassell, who is a significant missing piece of the puzzle. Despite the inevitable challenges that will arise, it is far too early to end the Point Sochan trial run. The defense is the thing to watch out for. The Spurs may need to abandon the idea sooner rather than later if they are not seeing any benefits from the decision’s primary point.
