SpursUniverse

San Antonio Spurs

Brandon Lucero here, Journalist and Photographer dedicated to covering the San Antonio Spurs. I served onboard the USS San Antonio while in the United States Navy! I utilized my GI Bill and went to college where I received my Associates and Bachelors degrees in Journalism and Photography!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs lost back to back games against Western Conference contenders in the Minnesota Timberwolves (103 to 104) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (119 to 98)! V. Wembanyama was stellar against both teams (29pts, 17pts) but it was not enough to get the win! D. Fox (12pts, 14pts) was effective but needed to control the offense more if the Spurs are to beat these teams in the playoffs! He needs to assert himself early and often and average 20pts plus if the Spurs are to make a deep run. S. Castle (11pts, 20pts) had a better game against Thunder but playing with a wrist injury, as well as running the offense and guarding the best player on the other team has been impacting hist play as of late. Take into account that guard D. Vassell has been out for 2 weeks and as a result the guard rotation has suffered, as well as the shooting from deep and you can figure out why this team is struggling as of late. D. Harper (0pts, 12pts) has been in a rookie slump as of late and is stuck in his own head. He needs to figure out how to be effective with the ball not being in his hands and that of course will be on the defensive end! He will get his groove back in time so no need to worry about the rookie just yet! Getting D. Vassell as well as finding rotations that work (Coach Johnson) will eventually work itself out. H. Barnes (13pts, 2pts) continues to struggle since the Cup Championship! Maybe giving J. Sochan some more minutes if Barnes continues to struggle will shake up the rotations. The Spurs are in need of a defensive power forward that can rebound and hit the open three! Lets hope they figure it out or make a move at the NBA trade deadline in order to compete in a stacked Western Conference!

    Wolves: A. Edwards (23pts) is an elite scorer and a star in the NBA. When he gets a robin to his batman look out for the Wolves! They will be a good team for years to come but are still missing a piece to make a run to the finals! Crazy stat: Tim Duncan career wins 1158, Timberwolves franchise wins 1075!

    Thunder: SGA (34pts) took over in the 3rd quarter! He had some dirty plays and even got into a skirmish with S. Castle from the Spurs! Hopefully he understands that dirty play has no place in the NBA and to let his game do the talking. With that being said he played like an All-Star and is a reason the Thunder have the best record in the NBA!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics 100 to 95 in a back and forth game with big buckets from Wemby down the stretch. V. Wembanyama (21pts,6rebs,3blks) was critical for the Spurs hitting big shots off the bench as well as the game sealing jumper with 19.1 seconds left. D. Fox (21pts,6rebs,9ast) also had a steady game and bounced back from a bad showing against the Lakers! K. Johnson (18pts,10rebs) off the bench has continued his quest for 6th man of the year! He was a force off the bench and is showing the NBA he deserves his name mentioned when discussing the most consistent players to come in off the bench and shine!

    Celtics: D. White (29pts,9rebs) played great against his former team. If the Celtics are to make some noise in the postseason it will be because D. White is playing at an all-star level. J. Brown (27pts,8rebs,7ast) is an all-star NBA guard and can beat any team any night when he is hitting his 3 point shots, as well as playing solid defense! Watch out for the Celtics when J. Tatum gets back to 100 percent!

  • Spurs: KJ Desperado or K. Johnson (27pts,6ast) helped a tired and sluggish Spurs team beat the Lakers 107 to 91. He was the most consistent Spur on the floor besides Wemby and continues his push for 6th man of the year! Speaking of a 6th man of the year, V. Wembanyama (16pts,14rebs,4blks) was steller in 25 mins and was actually on the floor during the final stretch in the fourth quarter! Unlike in Memphis when he sat out the final 5 mins, coach Johnson actually finished the game with the Unicorn in the lineup! D. Fox (14pts) was off the entire night but had a decent stretch in the third quarter. S. Castle (15) had some key moments in the fourth quarter and was the primary defender on L. Doncic! J. Sochan (6pts) hit two 3 pointers and also played solid defense.

    Lakers: L. Doncic (38pts,10rebs,10ast) played a great game, but it was not enough to get the Lakers past the Spurs! L. James sat out the game because he normally sits out all back to backs. The Lakers will need him healthy in the playoffs!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs lost a close game against the Portland Trailblazers 115 to 110. D. Fox (19pts) had a good game but could not bring the shorthanded Spurs back to win the game. J. Champagnie (20pts,10rbs) was one of the few consistent Spurs in this game. He continues to add value with his shot and defense. L. Kornet (23pts,8rebs) was solid in the paint but could not figure out the Blazers young big man D. Clingan for the entire night. One bright spot is that Wemby and D. Vassell will return and help the starting lineup to get a groove.

    Blazers: The Blazers are playing better basketball as of late and D. CLingan (24pts,12rebs) and D. Avdija (29pts,11rebs,10ast) are a big reason why. Coach T. Splitter (Former Spurs) has them believing in the system and style of play, and more wins are a result of this belief!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Indiana Pacers 123 to 113 with big performances form their 3 headed guard rotation! D. Fox (24pts,7rebs) lead the way with a steady attack and consistent guard play! S. Castle (19pts,8rebs,8ast) also helped defeat the Pacers with help from D. Harper(22pts) off the bench. All three guards attacked the paint and played solid defense making life difficult for the Pacers. K. Johnson (16pts,6rebs) was also a factor off the bench and was his usual hyped self making timely buckets and hustling the entire night! When the Spurs guards are playing fast and swarming, other teams rarely have counters to the pace and physical play the Spurs bring to the table!

    Pacers: P. Siakam (23pts,9rebs) continues to play at an elite level despite his teams bad record. He was critical in the Pacers making it a game but without their star point guard it wasn’t enough!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks 134 to 132 at home to end the 2 game loosing streak. V. Wembanyama (31pts, 13rbs, 1blk) was playing great basketball before he slightly hyperextended his knee against the Knicks Wednesday night. The arena went silent when Wemby seemed hurt. He eventually came back to watch the rest of the game and after tests were conducted he was deemed good by the Spurs medical staff. D. Fox (26pts, 7ast) helped close the knicks with timely buckets and solid defense. J. Champagnie (36pts) hit 11 three pointers and is now a new Spurs record in a game. He played solid defense and caught fire from deep helping the Spurs comeback from 19 down. K. Johnson (19pts, 8rbs) was huge for the Spurs off the bench and was a major reason the Spurs won the game!

    Knicks: J. Brunson (29pts) continues to play at an all NBA team level. He hit timely shots and was the reason the Knicks had a chance to win the game. J. Clarkson (20pts) off the bench has a solid game and brings balance to the Knicks lineups. KAT (20pts, 7rbs) will be a big factor in how deep this team goes into the playoffs. He can play solid and sometimes can vanish so his play might just dictate how good this team is!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the OKC Thunder 117 to 102 on Christmas day and remain undefeated at 3-0 against the the champs! D. Fox (29pts) was in attack mode the entire game for the Spurs in his first Christmas day game! Every time the Thunder got close, Fox had an answer! V. Wembanyama (19pts, 11rebs) was a force off the bench that no NBA team can counter! No backup big can stay with Wemby and the bench unit gains so much confidence when he is playing with them. S. Caste (19pts, 4rebs, 7ast) controlled the offense and made mostly sound decisions on both sides of the ball. H. Barnes (15pts) and D. Harper (12pts) each had moments in the game that helped turn the tide for the Spurs! San Antonio is 3-0 against the Thunder this year and have let the NBA know they, “Are Here!”

    Thunder: SGA (22pts) was steady for the Thunder but it was not enough to counter the San Antonio attack!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the OKC Thunder 130 to 110 as Wemby’s streak of 101 consecutive games with a block ends! WeM-VP had 12 points off the bench and continues to be thorn in the side of the Thunder as the Spurs are 2-0 against them this year. His impact on the court continues to show just how his game can and will impact a series in this years playoffs. The confidence he gives his team cannot be overlooked and is a reason the Spurs have played some good basketball against the defending champs! K. Johnson lead all scorers on the Spurs with 25 points and continues to be a 6th man of the year candidate! Pineapple express remains steady for the Spurs with S. Castle (24pts, 3ast) and D. Vassell (17pts, 5rebs) each have impactful moments on defense as well as offense for the Spurs! H. Barnes (20pts) or as the younger generation call him (Unc) is starting to get back to form from deep and has been a steady force when the young Spurs team needs a bucket and a leader down the stretch!

    Thunder: J. Williams (17pts) is still getting back into form and is always a dangerous option for the Thunder! SGA (33pts) is still getting buckets, but many around the NBA are pointing at his antics and foul percentage as a real problem similar to how J. Harden was officiated a few years back. The San Antonio crowd were yelling (Flopper) every time he was on the free throw line! It is a quick turnaround to X-Mas day for both teams!

  • Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Wizards 124 to 113 in a game that got closer than anticipated! The Spurs were up by 24 points at one point in the game, but the Wizards kept playing and got close enough to keep the starters in the game in the 4th quarter! V. Wembanyama (14 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks) was great off the bench once again! He continues to impact games in an MVP level while coming off the bench, all while not being patient when coming back from injury. D. Fox (27pts, 7ast) is awesome to watch in the open court! His court vision and ability to finish as well as his command for attention has defenders on skates majority of the game! Speaking of another Spurs guard that stays in the paint, S. Castle (18pts, 5rbs, 11ast) owns real estate in the nations capital! He had a nasty steal and slam in the 2nd quarter that is on highlights around the NBA! L. Kornet is an honorable mention for this game totaling 20 pts and 12 rbs in a very effective night!

    Wizards: The Washington Wizards have a good young player to build on in B. Carrington (21pts). He has flashes of shooting and playmaking! Some NBA team needs to save CJ McCollum! He can still get buckets and is just wasting in Washington!

  • Spurs: Consistency is key if the Spurs want to make a run in the deep Western Conference! Having an MVP candidate come off the bench in V. Wembanyama is a luxury the Spurs are taking advantage of at this moment in time. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Wizards 119 to 94, and defeated the Atlanta Hawks 126 to 98, in the last two games to gain momentum as well as stack wins. WeM-VP is starting to heat up (15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in 15 minutes) against the Wizards and (26 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks against the Hawks), will eventually be back in the starting line-up, but his impact is MVP caliber no matter if he starts or comes off the bench! D. Harper (24 points against the Wizards) is getting more and more comfortable in his approach to the game. He shows no fear and is in total control of the Spurs potent bench unit. D. Vassell (18 points) and S. Castle (17 points) against both the Wizards and Hawks have been steady as starters at the 2 and 3 for the Spurs! They complement each other as D. Vassell is a shooter and S. Castle is a slasher! Winning the games you are suppose to win is key in keeping San Antonio in the thick of the crazy Western Conference playoff race!

    Wizards: A. Sarr is a building block for the tanking Wizards. He can be a future NBA center but needs more pieces around to be truly effective!

    Hawks: N. Alexander-Walker is still a dog when you discuss who the Hawks are and what they want to do when trying to win games. The Hawks are a drive and kick 3 point shooting type offense and are without T. Young. They need him back if they are to push for a play-in slot!