Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Plus more takeaways from the Spurs-Rockets miniseries. The San Antonio Spurs failed to complete its second-half comeback on Monday, finishing 1-1 in their Texas tussle with the Houston Rockets. The two games mirrored each other, being played at a snail’s pace with the winning team getting out to a big lead before the staving off a fourth quarter surge in the crucible at Frost Bank Center. Notably, a win meant coach Gregg Popovich and his players took 14 minutes of questions after the first game. They shared six minutes of their time after the loss on Monday. Let’s review what stood out on the court. The Spurs made Alperen Şengün a dud The Turkish center was a tough cover for the Spurs last year because he would play bully ball. But the Silver and Black’s backline defense neutered him in the miniseries. He averaged 10 points on 32 percent accuracy, with 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 24 minutes per game. He was benched in the fourth quarter of the first match because getting denied lowered his RPMs. Subsequently, he was shut down in the paint on Monday, misfiring seven shots, which lowered his intensity and hunger for up-close contact. He only made four shots versus Victor Wembanyama in 10 tries over both nights. Jalen Green’s speed plus shooting was a problem Green was the top Rocket over two games, producing on the dribble and off the catch. His acceleration and marksmanship exposed the defense, plus he was the go-to scorer in the fourth quarter on Saturday, shedding the first disruptor to pierce the lane. He recorded four of five attempts before garbage time in the sequence. Then, on Monday, he was a blur on the break, a menace hoisting from deep in the half-court and the main shot hunter for the Rockets late. But this time, the Spurs held him two of nine baskets in the fourth quarter. The Silver and Black were successful because Green was arrogant, trying to challenge Wemby in drop coverage at the rim and getting his jumper bothered on time. The Spurs’ inability to show resistance versus the ball handler for long spurts is a sign of what will come against opposing quick dribblers like De’Aaron Fox, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Maxey, and lights-out snipers like Tyrese Haliburton, Stephen Curry and Donte DiVincenzo, so that is something they need to work on. Wembanyama’s offense is a work in progress The Spurs did a good job of getting Slick Vic in actions against mismatches below the elbow on Saturday, creating shots for himself and his teammates. He also totaled six of seven makes in the restricted area and registered seven of eight freebies. But Dillon Brooks was better guarding him on Monday, slowing him down with physicality. It was so bad that Wemby spent an entire possession in the corner. Aside from not pressuring the rim enough for his size, staying in one outside spot for an entire play is unacceptable because the defender catches a break. Until he gets stronger, he should move more without the ball and curl around flares, stagger, and cross screens. Additionally, he settled for more jumpers as a result, making three of eight and hitting two shots at the rim before garbage time. He was thrown off his game, and in the end, he was thirsty for a basket when the game was virtually over. To boot, he screened poorly through two matches, racking up one screen assist for two screen assist points. A big man must throw his weight around more to free up cutting avenues for his teammates. Wembanyama’s pick-and-roll defense needs work The Rockets attacked Wemby with screen rolls often throughout the miniseries. Despite coming away with the win on Saturday, the most head-shaking instance was when he dropped instead of contesting Brooks’ pick-and-pop triple in the last 84 seconds of the game, which cut the score to a two-point Spurs lead. That can’t happen because it’s a terrible idea not to play tight defense in the last five minutes, as threes are so valuable. They made the same mistake in the next outing, too. Hunting Wemby for various baskets on Monday was part of why the Rockets were up 62-45 at halftime. He refused to come up when the on-ball defender was beat, and yet he blew up the play most times the Rockets foolishly tried to attack him going low. Until he can get comfortable shutting down the outside, he will be like a fighter whose guard is vulnerable to a left hook. And he must improve soon because not all his teammates are quick at screen navigation, and there are more effective pick-and-roll merchants across the league. The non-Wembanyama minutes are improving The Spurs survived the non-Wemby minutes in the first game by outscoring the Rockets 37-32. In Monday’s outing, they logged a 37-34 advantage while he rested. That’s a good sign for a team that struggled mightily without him on the floor last season. Ball movement, maintaining a high intensity level and good coaching is why the Spurs don’t look like a cockroach missing its head when he sits now. If anyone is curious to see what that’s like, tune into some Denver Nuggets games to see how they fall off a cliff when reigning MVP Nikola Jokić checks out. Few things wear out a star mentally like coming back into a match and the team is in worse shape than when he sat. The Spurs holding their own against a deep team for two straight games is further evidence that development is moving in the right direction.