The Rockets look to keep stacking wins when they host the San Antonio Spurs
Since tonight marks the third matchup between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, a change of pace felt necessary. So instead of the usual preview format, I’ve brought in a close personal friend and Spurs fan, Blaine, to answer some questions about the Spurs. It led to some really interesting and in-depth analysis, which is enlightening. You really come away from the conversation having learned a lot more about the Spurs than the typical “It’s Wemby and a bunch of other dudes” that the media seems to believe. Huge shoutout to Blaine for coming through and giving us some of his insights.
Without further ado, here’s our Q&A.
AK: Welcome to The Dream Shake.
Blaine: Just wanted to take some time to say thanks for having me. I’ve been a Spurs fan my whole life, and have, for the most part, been immensely spoiled as a fan. I’m also just a huge basketball fan in general. That being said, I don’t always claim I’m right, homerism never fully goes away even when trying to be critical, and I’m sure there are several points below that not all Spurs fans will agree with me on.
AK: What is the realistic goal for the Spurs this season? What is the goal that fans actually have?
Blaine: So the actual short answers to your questions are probably Play-In and Playoffs, respectively. Personally, I think setting a team goal is somewhat pointless for this season. I don’t mean that it isn’t healthy to have goals, but this year is still an obvious growth year, a stepping stone. Everyone keeps saying that it should be a when-not-if Wemby wins a ring, but we can all agree the smart money isn’t on it happening in the next couple years. Do I hope they get playoff experience? Absolutely. Is it likely they will need the play-in to get there? Seems likely. We have split with y’all at home, beat a good Wolves squad at home and a bad Jazz squad on the road, and then have road losses to tough West squads in OKC and Mavs, then a tough loss at Clippers. The West is tough though, and the early contest between 3rd and 12th could continue for much of the year and I wouldn’t be too surprised. (I included the Warriors, because, although they are playing well, I’m just not sold on them yet. 5 of their wins came against Blazers, Jazz, Pelicans at home (twice), and the Wizards). I do think the Spurs are better than the 3 teams below them, but, until we see a healthy Spurs team, I’m not willing to say we are definitely better than those above them.
Obviously, everything starts with the big guy. Wemby has all the ability you could ask for with the size I still have trouble fathoming. His biggest things to work on are dealing with double teams, physicality, not settling for tough 3s (especially early in the shot clock), and knowing when he doesn’t have to overpress which often results in turnovers. I have full faith that he’ll end up as a great, but it’s unrealistic to think all his bad games are behind him. Even when he struggles offensively, he is a huge game changer on the other end with his presence alone. I will argue with anyone that he had a better defensive year than Gobert last year, and that he was unfairly punished for how bad the team was defensively with him off the floor (I may also just be salty that, somehow, Duncan never got a DPoY). He cleans up so many bad defensive rotations and possessions. To the point that so many experts wanted the Spurs to chase after every single bad defender in FA or by trade (looking at you Trae).
We have Chris Paul, who a large number of Spurs fans seemed less than enthused to get. I have been a fan of the guy since his Hornets days, so I’m excited to see what he can do for the younger guys. Wemby is learning what it’s like to get set up properly, Stephon Castle and Tre Jones get to learn what it’s like to run a team, and Jeremy Sochan doesn’t have to struggle trying to become a point forward. Also, don’t underestimate what his presence can do for the team’s shoot % just due to his ability to pass into a guy’s shooting pocket. His first four games in the Silver and Black weren’t his best, but the last three games, other than the team’s meltdown at the end of the Clips game, have shown how well he can raise those around him. Through the Jazz, Wolves, and first three quarters of the Clips game, he had 31 assists to 2 turnovers. However, he had 4 turnovers in the fourth quarter and missed all 3 3’s. On the season, he has 62 assists to 17 turnovers for a 3.65 a/t and is shooting a solid 43.2% from deep that would be a career high. I’m still thrilled we have him at least until a contender needs a playmaker towards the trade deadline.
Castle is still a little raw, but honestly, I’ve seen more promise in his shot than I originally thought. His size, defense, and athleticism give us a possible future star that could play 1-3.
I’ll be honest, Harrison Barnes is one of those players I just don’t think much about. It’s not that he’s bad, but he always seems to be at best the 4th most noticeable player on each team he’s been on. He’s been solid and even provides versatility that allows some younger guys not to be forced to play roles they aren’t built for. Still think it was a solid move this off season.
AK: Outside of Wemby (and let’s say Castle since it’s too early to tell), how many current Spurs are still on the team in four years?
Blaine: This question is why I’m more about individual growth/assessment this year more than looking at what the team accomplishes this year. Man, I’m really not sure I would put money on anyone else. We have a trove of draft picks, and some stars on other teams may become more available and too tempting not to try pairing with Wemby.
Devin Vassell, who we are still waiting to see make his first appearance this season, may be the next in line. Spurs have shown a lot of faith in him and I believe most people would say he was the clear 2nd best player last year for us. His play style could seemingly fit as the #3 option on a championship team, and he’s under contract through 28-29. Maybe he’ll even surprise us all and become an all out star in his own right. The biggest question mark, will he have to be packaged in the trade for the star I mentioned earlier?
Sochan is next up, as a versatile defender that no team can have enough of. Offensively, they have him spending more time inside, running the short corners more than trying to turn him into the outside shooter he isn’t ready to be yet. He needs to continue to make strides, but he should grow into a really solid player.
I don’t think he’s our next best player, but Tre Jones is probably next most likely. I still don’t see him as anything more than a good backup point guard, but I think he can excel there rather than trying to have him go up against the likes of SGA, Ja, etc.
Keldon Johnson is a good player, but he has been the easiest to point to as a good trade piece. He is at least average at several things, has a good ability when he attacks the basket aggressively, plays with energy, and has a pretty friendly contract.
Julian Champagnie can be a good bench 3&D guy for a really good team, just hard to predict if that will be for the Spurs in 4 years. Right now, he is, to me at least, a lesser Danny Green. He is a mostly good defender and so far this season, he is living up to Green’s, somewhat backhanded, nickname from some in the Spurs fanbase, IcyHot. He has 3 games this season where he shot 50% from deep (11/22), but in the other 4 he is 3/18 for an abysmal 16.7%. However, if he really is like Danny Green, I expect AK will be looking for Champagnie to catch fire tonight.
I would be pretty surprised if Branham or Wesley are still around in 4 years. They are currently fighting to hang on to the rotation, and we have too many draft picks to not eventually replace them, unless some major jumps from them.
Most Spurs fans that I see and hear seem ready to move on from Zach Collins and to Mamukelashvili. I’m not as sold on Mamu. He seems to bring offensive energy when he does enter the game, but his defense leaves a lot to be desired to my eyes, which is a big issue with our second unit.
AK: What are your views on this Rockets team as an outsider?
Blaine: Sengun- While he didn’t have his best games in the first 2 against us this season, I still really like him. The hope seems to be that he becomes a smaller Jokic, which can still be an outstanding player. I think y’all have some guys with higher ceilings, but to me, he has your highest floor.
Jalen- Seems to me that he has mostly started this season where he ended the last. His consistency seems to be the biggest question, but his ceiling is an absolute star in this league.
FVV- I questioned this signing the day it happened, but I thought he played great for y’all last season. This season has mostly been a step back, but I have faith he’ll find his way back into solid play.
Jabari- He might be the most difficult for me to assess. He reminds me of my feelings for Keldon Johnson in that I would say they are starter-worthy for their teams, but that they are probably best fit as the teams’ sixth men. I’m not sure if you agree, but I don’t think the Sengun-Jabari pairing is optimal, but both are too good not to play as much as they do.
Brooks- Another signing I was really skeptical of. It may not always show in the stat sheet, but every good team needs someone like this. Bruce Bowen and Pat Bev are maybe our teams’ best examples the last couple decades. Now we have Brooks and possibly his closest comp: Sochan (they both like to say crazy things that have made their fans shake their heads).
Amen- I’m big on Amen. If we hadn’t won the Wemby sweepstakes, he was my guy in that draft. His progress has even been better than I thought it would be at this point. Incredible versatility.
Eason- At worst, he’s a great glue guy. At best, he’s leading a near massive comeback against the Dubs.
Adams- Still early, but seemingly a great compliment to both Sengun and Jabari. Age and mobility are the obvious question mark to increased playing time. He does have that strength though.
Whitmore- Threes aren’t falling, but sometimes it feels like he is a couple more chances from breaking through into becoming a dangerous 6th man.
Sheppard- Y’all’s depth though… I believe in Sheppard, I would’ve been happy with him dropping to the Spurs (weird, I’ve become a huge Castle believer since). He probably needs some more minutes to find an offensive rhythm, and he will always be somewhat hampered by his size, but his shooting alone gives him some promise in his early career. Playmaking and defensive instincts will be the make or break skills to look out for.
AK: Predictions for tonight?
Blaine: Spurs come into this game after a disappointing loss to the Clips, though I like to think that only happened to lessen the pick going to OKC. Spurs will likely be without Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, and Jeremy Sochan, who injured his thumb in the first half of Monday’s game. I’m sure Rockets fans were hoping to let him know they heard his comments. They will also be without Gregg Popovich (get well soon) for the 3rd straight game. Please be a fun game, no injuries. Rockets 112-105.
Again, big thanks to Blaine for answering these questions with so much thought. I’m sure there are things that Rockets fans will and won’t agree with, but I know we can keep the discourse civil in the comments section. Disagreements are fine and encouraged. Being a jerk is not.
Xiane and I will be in the Playback room tonight, so you should come join to watch the Rockets and talk about the game. Remember, we get a handful of VIP passes that we give out to anyone who wants to watch the game. No League Pass necessary!
Tip-off
7pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: OUT
Dillon Brooks: Questionable (illness)
Tari Eason: Questionable (illness)
Thunder
Devin Vassell: OUT
Jeremy Sochan: OUT
Tre Jones: OUT
The Line (as of this post)
HOU -6
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Friday night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder