SAN ANTONIO — This was an evening of mantras for the Spurs. Being surrounded by good coaching can result in many tidbits that stick in the mind when the pressure rises. A principle or even a perspective keep players grounded when the speed and layers of the game become overwhelming.
De’Aaron Fox remembered how Sean Sweeney viewed defense. The Spurs’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator is often calling out assignments and coverages, or pulling players aside to talk them through something. He and Victor Wembanyama check in with each other frequently throughout games. There are many reasons why the Spurs have built the ideal defense around the ideal defender, but Sweeney is high on that list.
“Sweeney always says the way you start possessions is the way you finish them,” Fox said after the Spurs trounced the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-95 to tie the series at 1-1.
Starting a possession out of position can lead to a series of rotations and help that eventually give a player like Rudy Gobert position for an offensive rebound. Those little things determine whether a defense can generate momentum for an offense and actually pull away.
All the little things worked for the Spurs Wednesday night. After Fox and Wembanyama combined for 0-for-12 from deep in Game 1, coach Mitch Johnson dialed up a flurry of pick-and-rolls for the Spurs’ All-Star pair out of the gate to get them in rhythm. Fox said he was hesitant in Game 1, but that was mitigated swiftly in Game 2. The Fox-Wembanyama harmony was restored and the Spurs looked like themselves.
“It’s of great, great importance,” Wembanyama said of his relationship with Fox. “As the biggest screener on the team and the biggest handler on the team, with other guys along with him, we’re going to have the ball a lot and he’s more experienced than most of us.”
Johnson’s fingerprints were all over this game, especially when he was manually controlling impromptu traps of Anthony Edwards right in front of him against the sideline. Traps on Julius Randle against the baseline, too, left open the desirable shooters, showing that the Spurs had the game plan nailed down this time. A lot came down to betting on the Wolves to miss, which they did repeatedly. But there was also a level of intent and coordination, from the guards pressing in the back court to the bigs avoiding any cross matches underneath.
“Whenever we’re able to start games off pretty well, we’re usually on the front foot,” Fox said. “When we’re the aggressors, we’re able to win most of those games.”
With Carter Bryant back from a foot injury, Johnson didn’t remove Harrison Barnes from the rotation like he has in the past. Instead, he expanded to a 10-man rotation and kept the defensive pressure ramped up throughout the night, recognizing the Spurs could end the game quickly if they cranked the throttle.
“Just saying it like it is, I know this team’s capable of doing all of this. To be honest, I’m expecting this kind of response from myself, from my teammates,” Wembanyama said. “So I’m not surprised by any means and I’m just going to keep working so we approach more games like we did tonight.”
Wembanyama was asked about the tension in the series and whether that works in the Spurs’ favor. He tried to search for an answer, but eventually just settled on the obvious. The thing the Spurs just have to embrace as they move forward.
“It’s like, I don’t know, it’s like the playoffs,” Wembanyama said.
The Spurs will have their character tested every night. They are facing a tough opponent capable of a slew of adjustments and with vengeance on the mind. This isn’t the regular season, or the first round against a Blazers team that did not have the Wolves’ size and scoring. The Spurs won’t always be bad, and they won’t always be great. Game 2 represented their best self and a standard they will continue to chase for the rest of the series.
In the end, Wembanyama remembered how Gregg Popovich viewed the waves of winning and losing. Johnson’s predecessor, whose current job title is “El Jefe,” was the first person to walk out of the film room at Spurs practice ahead of Game 2. At some point along the way, his perspective on winning and losing landed with the team’s cornerstone.
“As Pop says, ‘When you win, you’re never as good as you thought you were,” Wembanyama said. “And when you lose, you’re never as bad.”
They were a little bad in Game 1, despite the final score, and just good in Game 2, also despite the final score. But as long as Wembanyama and Fox can start things off strong, they usually can finish just as well.
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