Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Spurs came out of the gates, got down early and never threatened in a blowout loss in Houston. The Spurs followed one of their worst halves of the season in LA with an even worse first half at the home of the Houston Rockets, getting outscored 38-63 while shooting just 36% from the field with 12 turnovers and no one having more than six points. They showed better fight in the third quarter, nearly doubling what they scored in the first half with 33 points, but unfortunately they couldn’t make enough stops, and every time they flirted with a comeback by getting the lead into the teens, the Rockets had an answer. Eventually, Mitch Johnson waved the white flag considering the Spurs have another game tomorrow, and they lost 100-127. Six Spurs ended up scoring in double figures, led by an inefficient 15 points and 6 rebounds from Victor Wembanyama (we’ve already delved enough into what a match-up nightmare the Rockets are for him), and Julian Champagnie had 13 efficient points while hitting 3-6 from three. Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green both scored 21 points to lead seven Rockets players in double figures. Observations Amazing scheduling logic by the NBA: this is the third game against the Rockets in 12 days, which has given it a bit of a playoff series vibe, not to mention they also played in the preseason. (Fortunately, they don’t have to play again until April.) Also consider this travel schedule for the Spurs across the last eight days: Oklahoma City, Utah, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Houston. That’s a lot of crisscrossing the western half of country, and with time changes between each game. If the NBA’s goal is to reduce travel and keep players as fresh as possible, this isn’t the way to do it. Stephon Castle got the first start of his young career, which is likely a good indicator that Julian Champagnie will remain a starter in place of Jeremy Sochan, who will likely be out until January, and Devin Vassell will simply be plugged back in in the place of Castle when he returns from injury. The change in role didn’t do much for Castle, as he finished with just 5 points on 2-8 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. The Spurs turnover woes continued early in the game as they had five in the first five minutes and quickly got down by double figures, which they never recovered from. They also looked very stagnant on offense, in part missing the movement and cutting to the rim Sochan had been providing. They also continue to badly miss Vassell’s ability to create offense for himself when nothing else is happening. The sooner he can get back (and it should be during the upcoming home stand), the better. In this installment of the bigs matchup, Alperen Şengün went at Wemby on two pick-and-roll plays in the first quarter, scoring on one. Later, he registered a basket at close range because he established position as Wemby was late. As the game continued, Wembanyama forced Şengün to commit a foul in the paint as the helper, then denied his layup on the other side. Yet, the Turkish center outplayed his French counterpart, outperforming him in the accuracy department, and he was a better playmaker for his teammates. Another result of Sochan’s absence was Sandro Manukelashvili got some time as backup power forward, subbing in alongside Wemby, whom he immediately found for an open lay-up with some high-low action. Unfortunately, other than a Mamu three off a pass back out to him from Wemby that jiggled out, there wasn’t much else between those two despite sharing some considerable amount of time on the court together. Still, I’m all for more Mamu minutes because the bench desperately needs his offense. Speaking of which, I really hope Tre Jones is a big answer the second unit’s woes (and by extension, Vassell returning). Without a designated ball handler and any serious threats from outside, the bench’s offense mostly consists of players taking turns driving to the basket to force something up while everyone else stands around covered, leaving the driving player with no one to pass the ball to. It’s though to watch. (Heck, the third string of Charles Bassey, Sidy Cissoko and the two-way players looked more competent on offense.) One stretch in the second half was Wesley in a nutshell: he missed a forced lay-up, made a three, then hesitated to take an open three on the next possession, instead driving and losing the ball on an unforced turnover. While he’s a good point of attack defender, that’s not enough to make it in the NBA if he’s a net negative in every other aspect of the game. He has to take the shots he’s given, whether he makes them or not, to have any chance of being more than a third stringer. Green’s speed was a problem for the perimeter pests to stop with and without the ball. He downed four 3-pointers in nine attempts, made two shots at the rim and generated multiple penalties on the Spurs. Fred VanVleet also decimated coverages with isolation plays, screen rolls with Şengün and on a maneuver on the break. Overall, dribble penetration and sharp passing destroyed the Spurs’ inside protections. The crew gave up 66 digits on 62.2 percent of tries. It was a tough night on both ends. For the Rockets fans’ perspective, visit The Dream Shake. The Spurs will be right back in action tomorrow night against the Portland Train Blazers to kick off a five-game homestand. Tip-off will be at 7:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports Network, and you can also watch along with us on Playback!