Photos by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images A nice bounce back for a team trying to find it’s groove You’d rather win this one than lose it. I mean, that goes without saying, I suppose, but I’m going to say it anyway. As an organization, the San Antonio Spurs are clearly in a “let the chips fall where they may” mode, but the guys on the floor have no ulterior motive. They want to win. They need to win. They especially need to do so against one of the few teams in the Western Conference that doesn’t appear to have “big” plans for the season. To say that this early run of games has been rocky would be putting it mildly. The team has looked okay in fits and starts but has largely underwhelmed. They are clearly not a finished product, and they are showing as much. We know that, and we understand it. So while some of us (me) are in the process of reeling in our expectations from outlandish heights, the Spurs are working on hitting more realistic goals: bouncing back from a tough loss, beating teams with less talent, and closing out a game in the fourth quarter. In that respect, Thursday night was an unqualified success. It was an “eat your vegetables” game. There weren’t any blockbuster matchups on tap unless you count fellow top-of-the-2023-draft alum Scoot Henderson squaring up with Wembanyama. The eyes of the national media were focused elsewhere, and the stakes were about as low as they get. No one would really care if the Spurs won or lost this contest. The result is destined to float away into the ether of unremembered numbers and stats that make up the reality of NBA life. Are you excited? Are you pumped to keep reading more about this game that I’ve so cleverly hyped up? Look, these games aren’t what we really get out of bed for as fans either, but they still serve an important role in telling the story of this season. The Spurs could’ve written it off. The two-step of road losses in LA and Houston were humbling, and the injuries are already starting to pile up for a team that didn’t even start the season at full strength. Their talisman player, Victor Wembanyama, is working his way into basketball shape and dealing with all kinds of weird expectations and pressures that are difficult for us mere mortals to comprehend. The one constant in the organization, Gregg Popovich, isn’t there as a steady hand and has been replaced by a 39-year-old guy who admitted in an interview before the game that he has his “hands full trying to stay above water.” What I’m trying to say is that’s plenty of excuses! Pack it in, go to bed, and try again on Saturday. They didn’t do that, though. Was it an emphatic victory? A statement of intent? A warning shot to the rest of the league? No. But it was important in its own way. It was a game that saw the team use every inch of its roster to string together a win. There were solid contributions up and down the lineup, with everyone pulling their weight. They hustled, they scrapped, and they pushed their way through to a victory that no one was going to just hand them. It was impressive. I kept waiting for the gas to run out, and yet they just kept rumbling along until that final whistle. I don’t think this game saved the season, and I don’t think it’s some benchmark the Spurs will use to catapult back to life. I don’t think this game needs to have any more meaning ascribed to it just for the sake of doing it. It was a building block that needed to be taken care of before they could move on to anything else. If they didn’t pull themselves together to win a game like this, then they would’ve had to later. The Spurs organization has been adamant about not skipping steps in the process of retaking their perch at the top of the league. The logic follows that if you can’t skip any steps, then each step must be important. No one is going to write any ballads about Spurs vs. Blazers, November 7th, 2024. In fact, we’re all probably going to forget about it by the time they tip off against the Jazz on Saturday. That’s all well and good, but try to take a moment and appreciate it if you can. You can win or lose every single game you play, and generally speaking, you’d rather win this one than lose it. Takeaways: This is the type of game where you’re happy to have Keldon Johnson around. That man is up for anything, and his energy feels pretty infectious. Like, how are you supposed to take plays off with Keldon out there next to you, giving 110% on every single breath he takes? Now, do I wish he would maybe not crash his body into three defenders around the rim every single time he gets his mitts on the ball? Yeah, sure, that would be nice. It definitely drives me nuts most of the time. But in a game like this, where you’re just looking around for even the whisper of a spark? Hell yeah, KJ, throw that big body around! I’m probably doing Keldon a disservice; he actually had a really nice overall game last night. He hit a couple of threes, grabbed a ton of boards, and, importantly, had no turnovers! His movement without the ball this year also seems to be really improved! (It’s his movement with the ball that drives me bananas, but we can break that down another time.) Proud of you, Keldon! I feel like Zach Collins is one of those guys who always has the “much maligned” moniker attached to the front of his name. I would know because I’m one of those people who is always “much maligning” him. That said, I’d like to give him some flowers tonight. He put in a great shift and was largely able to look like exactly what we’re looking for out of a backup center. I think he maybe always looks a little worse because his minutes are sort of staggered against Victor’s, and whenever Victor isn’t on the court, everything just seems a little blah. Like, what do you mean you’re over 7 feet tall and can’t run around out there emulating Kevin Durant? Steph Castle is a good one. I know we’re still unlocking exactly what kind of good player he’s going to be, and I know it still isn’t perfect all the time, but I’m so happy with him as a draft pick. He’s fun to watch, he plays hard, and he genuinely seems to look more confident every single time he steps out onto the court. No turnovers! I can’t wait to watch him continue to grow, and I’m especially pumped to watch him start to get minutes with Devin Vassell as he works his way back into the lineup. Those two on the court together is already one of my favorite pairings, and I haven’t even seen it yet. A big night for the rook @StephonCastle14 PTS | 6 AST pic.twitter.com/MR5HWTgeTq— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 8, 2024 WWL Post Game Press Conference - Probably not the most fun type of game to write about. - Hey, I mean, I’ve only drawn losses so far this year so I’ll take writing about a win any day. - Yea, I was worried if you had to write about too many more losses we were going to start just getting chapters of unrelated novels on here instead of any kind of substantive basketball analysis. - There’s still time for that. I’ve often found that disassociating about my own emotional state is a great way avoid actually dealing with any kind of Sports loss that troubles you. - Do you think that’s what people want to read about when they come to this site though? - I dunno man, if people are wanting to come here and read about the Spurs losing then I have a hard time relating to them in the first place.