Game Thread Spurs (40-16) vs Pistons (42-13) (Mon 02/23/26) [6:00 PM CST] on Peacock

[Sugus]

The Spurs should send that tape into the league office and ask for a fine. That’s ridiculously unprofessional.

That coach shit is hardly the only thing they should be sending tape to the league for. I'm honestly awaiting some kind of notice from one of our "beat reporters" on this.

It's disgusting that the egregious fouling masked as "physical defense" is only called out when a player gets injured from it. Anyone with video editing skills should be able to string together an illegal defense composition the length of a movie from yesterday's game alone. Fucking Adam Silver nowhere to be found, of course, only concerned about those precious gambling bags...

 

[Dbreiden83080]

Spurs could end up with the best record and Wemby still wouldn't win MVP tbh. NBA media is notorious for awarding it based on whose turn they consider it to be. Spurs also have a lot of talent while a team like Detroit is heavily dependent on Cade and Duren to win games.

It’s frustrating but true. I was watching First Things First yesterday and they were having this conversation and Victor was like 4th or 5th on their list and completely dismissed in the conversation. same thing with nba.com, etc. It’s stupidity.

 

[ace3g]

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[brazil]

I don't believe the Spurs will win a championship this year (though obviously I'd love to be wrong). But my skepticism about the team winning had more to do with my resistance to folks wanting to make a big trade to "win now". I believe the Spurs aren't a player away from winning. They are development away from winning. If that development comes mid-season and the Spurs win it all, that validates my stance that the Spurs should not have made a major trade for another piece. I was not (and am still not) against the team making a small move to add some front-court depth. I was cool with using seconds and Sochan/McLaughlin to bring a guy in. But I did NOT want them to make a move for a guy like Murphy because I didn't think he was going to make the difference this year. Either the Spurs figure it out and end up not needing him, or they show they're not ready. I didn't see a scenario where the guys were too young, BUT a role-player carries them.

I really enjoyed that the guys were able to handle the increased physicality and fight for the win. That shows growth. But the Pistons (whom I'm not convinced will come out of the East this year) were missing their other physical big, which could have been a swing factor in a game where Duren got early foul trouble. The Spurs spent most of the game at a sizable rebound deficit despite this, lost the turnover battle and missed too many free throws. In a single game, on the road against a very good team on a hot streak, you don't complain. Good teams find a way to win, and ugly wins count just as much. But I'm not sure I'd feel great about the team's chances in a hypothetical series against the Pistons. The hard-fought stat lines by Wemby, Castle and Fox feel closer to the norm for that series than Vassell and Champ getting 45 points off 12-19 from three. I wish their home match against Detroit were next game rather than next week.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying there tbh.. also analyzing with a cold head the win againts Detroit, you are right on your statement about Detroit missing a big and role players Vassell and Champ going for 45 is of course not to be expected on a regular basis. Nevertheless it is also unlikely to see Victor going for 6-16 and Cade going for 5-26 on a regular or Duren on a 10-13... what this game gives as element for a PO run is Spurs handling very well to physicality, Spurs keeping their head cold, Victor finding ways to contribute on a bad shooting night not getting frustrated and the Defense. Defense has been stellar, the 5-26 of Cade has a lot to do with spurs Defense.. Spurs can have bad shooting night but the Defense is getting very consistent, our 3 pts defense has improved a lot and this defense is a great fundation for a PO team.

I don't want to think about a ring, it would be crazy to ring with this young squad after 7 years of drought but at the same time Victor is doing stuff never seen before. What one can say is that no team will be happy to play against the Spurs in the POs... Spurs on the other hand have everything to win and not much to lose, a first round exit would be upsetting sure but the season is already a massive success anyway.

 

[BSfromTX]

This team is young and like any team you can see room for improvement. I do think they can win the whole thing. They have beaten every contender pretty much so far, and that is not to be taken lightly. Inexperience and nerves would be my only concern, but with a team this deep, not one player feels much pressure IMO. Duncan for most of his career knew he would be the deciding factor, but that was when MAYBE we had two or three other players capable of dropping 30 points... Now, we have 5-7 players that are capable of scoring that. The win last night showed some resolve in this team. Detroit got after it and played great defense (got some home cooking as well on calls), but this team didn't get flustered. I can see us winning a seven game series against anyone. Shooting would my only real concern. This team has done a little better than expected from the three this year, but they are still capable of going cold in a game or two

 

[ginobilized]

One little thing I have noticed on this recent win streak is the look on opponents faces in the 4th quarter when they've thrown everything at this team and still are coming up short. It's a combo of confusion, fear and resignation. Pretty fucking beautiful! Duren had this look on his face around the minute and a half point in the 4th.

 

[dn0774]

Favorite part of this game was when Julian got a 3 in the corner late and JB was screaming at him right behind him and he sank the three and turned around and I can only hope said "Shut the fuck up"

I’m pretty sure JB was further up the sideline near the scorer’s table. Think that might’ve been their assistant coach Sidney Lowe. Still part of the coaching staff, still zero class.

 

[Mugen]

Yeah, that wasn't Bickerstaff. An assistant coach doing that is pretty funny but a head coach would be downright ridiculous. I could see Udoka doing it though

 

[ace3g]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2026323855795519832

 

[Floyd Pac]

Piston fans on Reddit are saying the spurs won’t shoot that good again and they only won by 11.

 

[ace3g]

Piston fans on Reddit are saying the spurs won’t shoot that good again and they only won by 11.

Counter, Wemby won't play that bad on offense next game.

 

[Exstatic]

Piston fans on Reddit are saying the spurs won’t shoot that good again and they only won by 11.

I think back to our previous 8 game streak when there were 8 different leading scorers, and I’m not sure that’s true. When you sell out 100% to stop Wemby, guys get wide open looks, like last night. Those eight leading scorers all dropped at least 20 in their game. That’s called depth.

 

[Mugen]

Spurs are just a rough matchup for Detroit even if we don't hit an above average clip from 3.

We played Ausar off the floor but even when he's in, we can just attack Cade and/or Duncan with whoever Ausar isn't guarding.

Duren had a nice game as well with some good stats but frankly he's the type of C that the Spurs match up really well against (can't shoot, can't pass, limited post up game).

Would be a 5 game series if the Spurs ever got lucky to play them in the Finals tbh.

 

[eric365]

That's true that the difference this game is the 3 point shooting when you look at the box score

But how much of it is good defense on duncan robinson / Pistons focusing on Wemby and letting spurs have open 3s?
And how much is just bad / good shooting night?

 

[LeBowen]

Wemby is the best player in the league, tbh.
His defensive impact is equal to what Jokic/SGA/Luka do on offense and his offense is more impactful than their defense.
Having Wemby means you can afford to have a subpar defender on the wing next to him, while having Luka/Jokic means you have to surround them with good defenders, even if they're offensively challenged.

If we get 60 wins, he has to be the MVP.

 

[ace3g]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2026311537153986670

 

[Spurminator]

Honestly seemed like he had 12 blocks. I remember when they showed 2 blocks at one point and I thought they had missed a few.

 

[spurs2112]

That's true that the difference this game is the 3 point shooting when you look at the box score

But how much of it is good defense on duncan robinson / Pistons focusing on Wemby and letting spurs have open 3s?
And how much is just bad / good shooting night?

Probably a little of both. Devin and Champ were great at the 3 last night. But we've seen games when they haven't been. Over all it was a good hard fought game. Good physical defense on both sides. My kind of game I enjoy watching. I don't mind the physicality as long as the refs let both sides play (OKC cough, cough). I would like to see Vic and Steph stop flailing and hitting the floor though. I feel like, just my opinion, they try to bait the refs to much. With Steph its almost 50-50 when he drives that he's either going to make it or be on the floor looking at the ref with his hands up for a few seconds. I know he does get hammered as with Vic sometimes and they do deserve the call but not every time they hit the floor. There was a few times last night he probably would have made the play if he didn't try to bait a foul. As for Vic I think the whole head and arm flailing is a little to much. Someone said on another thread awhile back that the refs probably notice that and thats why he probably doesn't get a lot of calls we think he should get. I just think Vics to damn good to be playing like that. Play your game, go up strong and let the fouls come. I don't want him getting the Shai and Luka foul baiting moniker.

 

[Floyd Pac]

I think back to our previous 8 game streak when there were 8 different leading scorers, and I’m not sure that’s true. When you sell out 100% to stop Wemby, guys get wide open looks, like last night. Those eight leading scorers all dropped at least 20 in their game. That’s called depth.

It’s true. For all we know it could be Keldon, Fox and Harper who go off next time

 

[spurraider21]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2026137967937323148

this is fake. there have been plenty of undefeated months. debunked yesterday, but the online AI slop continues to circulate

 

[Sugus]

this is fake. there have been plenty of undefeated months. debunked yesterday, but the online AI slop continues to circulate

I was thinking that yesterday too - like, no way the '16 Warriors or the Jordan Bulls didn't win out a single full month in their 70-win seasons... Bummer because it sounded cool, but that's Twitter for ya

 

[Sugus]

Two underrated things I haven't seen much discussed from last night's game, one good and one bad;

1. The good: Castle's defense is getting all the shine, but I was particularly impressed by some of the 3pt shots he took and made yesterday - the one at 00:30 on this highlight video in particular. Running to the corner, off-balance, just sets his feet in a second and puts up a beautiful jumper for a clean 3. That was not happening at the start of the season, nor during his slump; Guard Whisperer training seems to be finally reaping its benefits. Harper is already a decent C&S threat, and if Castle can be a reliable outside threat as well.... That's a ceiling raiser.
   
   
2. The bad: I continue to be disappointed with Fox's play and lack of not only scoring arsenal, but general playmaking. I know Scott and others heavily attribute this to scheme and coaching decisions, and it's obviously true to an extent that Castle and Harper are designated "PGs"...... But at some point, you just can't be having your second star being a corner stalwart or relegated to just spacing the court. It's not so easy to "flip the switch" when you're already in high-stakes playoff games, and I fear the team won't be accustomed to a heavier Fox usage, leading to out-of-rhythm players when he's "calling his own" and just growing pains at the worst possible times.
   
   The Spurs have looked so good and powerful that it's hard to say they should be doing things differently, but I'm coming to be a little concerned about Fox's presence or role on the team moving forward. He's a sixty million dollar man starting next season, and the way this season's gone, there's about 3 or 4 players I'd rather be paying that money to (not to mention splitting that into 20/20/20 or 30/30M role-player upgrades, or whatever).
   
   It's all too easy to assume "we're saving his stuff for the playoffs" and if it's truly real, then Mitch is a god-damned mastermind and the Spurs are chipping this season, considering how good they've been with hardly depending on their second All-Star [that period with Wemby out notwithstanding]; but I fear it's not that at all, and that by the time we're resorting to ringing the Fox Bell when Harper, Castle and Wemby are struggling to create offense deep into the postseason, Fox may not be ready to seamlessly step into that role.

Just some things going against the grain of current discourse and back-patting, obviously a relatively small concern all things considered (and yes I'm aware the contracts line up nicely, but I'd still rather not be paying Fox like that if this is what we're getting from him more often than not). A 30/10 game from Fox against Toronto would be a sight for sore eyes....

 

[Splits]

lol Cade

 

[Sugus]

Btw, seems that we caused some internal strife within the Pistons lol;

 

[Dex]

Yeah, that wasn't Bickerstaff. An assistant coach doing that is pretty funny but a head coach would be downright ridiculous. I could see Udoka doing it though

Udoka would punch them in the kidney lol