The San Antonio Spurs have risen in the newest weekly NBA power rankings from Bleacher Report in the estimation of Andy Bailey. Previously ranked No. 27 overall in the league, the Spurs now find themselves ranked 26th. That puts them just behind the Toronto Raptors and just ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers, and a fair ranking given the Spurs’ play of late.
“If the goal was to wind up at or near the top of the lottery again, the … Spurs’ approach to this season makes plenty of sense,” writes Bailey. “If it was to be competitive during Victor Wembanyama‘s rookie season, it took way too long to consistently surround him with logical lineups.”
“The ‘Jeremy Sochan at point guard’ experiment was interesting, but turning someone who was a non-shooting, hustle-and-energy forward in college into an NBA 1 had almost no chance of success.”
Should the San Antonio Spurs slowly scale back Victor Wembanyama's minutes ahead of a packed summer? https://t.co/qYEAiXE01u pic.twitter.com/tf9FvZFXVE
— SpursWire (@Spurs_Wire) March 21, 2024
“Having Wemby play the 4 could’ve been interesting, too, but his advantages in terms of agility and skill are far greater against 5s,” adds the B/R analyst.
“So, even with a season-long net rating that’s been in the bottom five throughout 2023-24, the Spurs are plus-5.5 points per 100 possessions (80th percentile) when Wembanyama is playing center and Tre Jones … is merely on the floor.”
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