There are many lessons to be learned by the young, talented San Antonio Spurs as they went down in five games to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
While the Knicks and their long-suffering fans get to celebrate a championship for the first time since 1973, it’s the Spurs who will look back on this series and detail some of the mind-boggling mistakes that let a title slip through their fingers.
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San Antonio led by double digits in all five games, including a 29-point second-half lead in Game 4 that quickly evaporated under a hail of poor shot selection, and at the end of the game, a decision by De’Aaron Fox not to dribble out the clock, which could have swung the series in their favor.
So, while the Spurs have all summer to ponder what-ifs, they should be right back in the fold in the Western Conference next season.
It all starts and ends with Victor Wembanyama, who this season turned into a superstar, earning first-team All-NBA honors and winning Defensive Player of the Year in a unanimous vote.
While still only 22 years of age, Wembanyama sometimes showed his age during the playoffs, committed stupid flagrant fouls, hoisted ill-advised threes, and did not ask to be taken out of the game when he was clearly fatigued. That responsibility also lies at the feet of head coach Mitch Johnson, who also failed to use timeouts in a desperate manner when settling down his young squad would have been the smart move.
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Wembanyama averaged 39.7 minutes per game in the series, averaging 26.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game – one of six Spurs who averaged double figures in scoring in the series.
Wembanyama’s supporting cast is solid, but one thing needs to be clear. Game 5 should be the final game that Dylan Harper starts on the bench. The rookie led San Antonio with 25 points, and at times could not be stopped no matter what Knicks defender tried to stand in his way.
The team doesn’t need much: they ranked third in points scored, fourth in offensive efficiency and third in defensive efficiency.
The bottom line is they have the tools to win the championship.
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But in the Finals, they relied too much on third-point shooting, and while that got them a record 14 in the first half of Game 4, they still lost the game because they had no alternative when those shots didn’t fall in the second half. A proven three-point shooter should be first on the mind of general manager Brian Wright. The NBA catchword is spacing, and as Wembanyama gets stronger and plays more in the paint, San Antonio would be better off with shooters who could make teams pay for trying to bully Wembanyama.
Whether Wembanyama needs some maturity (pointing to his head after drawing a Game 4 flagrant on Mitchell Robinson) or is being overly confident, saying “everybody knows we’re gonna do it,” when referring to the team’s chances at coming back from a 3-1 series deficit, is a matter of debate depending on who is doing the debating.
“One of many things I’ve learned is the margin of error is very, very thin,” Wembanyama said after the Game 5 loss. “Our domination instincts are absolute. We absolutely dominated for most of the series. But our errors, our mistakes, are punished so hard. We can’t have ups and downs like this, the ups are okay, the downs are the reason we lost.
As far as next year’s roster turnover, there shouldn’t be much of it. The team should be able to replenish the bench, as none of the six unrestricted free agents were part of the regular rotation in the playoffs. A savvy veteran who has playoff experience and is seeking a title run wouldn’t hurt.
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Small forward Julian Champagnie, a starter who averaged 11 points during the finals, has a $3 million club option for next season.
“This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment,” Wembanyama said . “I can’t tell exactly what the lesson is, but we’re learning.”
If they want to get back to the championship series in the near future, the Spurs need to pinpoint that lesson.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: San Antonio Spurs with Victor Wembanyama will remain top NBA team
