Visiting Miami, the Spurs suffered their second setback of the preseason (120-117). A logical setback since Victor Wembanyama's teammates (8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists) spent the game chasing the score, before providing suspense at the end. A classic preseason scenario.
The fault is essentially lost balls, born in particular from the lack of automatisms between the holders, but also from the aggressiveness of the Heat. An example: in the first three minutes, the Heat will steal four balls, and the Spurs will lose nine balls in the first quarter alone.
The Heat never shoots from mid-range!
Author of a nice pass for Jeremy Sochan's alley-oop on the counter-attack, “Wemby” had difficulty getting past the Miami defense, and in wanting to find him too much, the Spurs thwarted. At the helm, Chris Paul tried a lot, and messed up a lot. Here again, it is because of the lack of automatisms, with Spurs very academic, even slow in their attacks. A real contrast with the Heat where the players are there by heart. The key to the Miami game: never shoot from mid-range. This is obvious. Either it's 3-pointers or it's in the paint. But never halfway.
At halftime, and while the Heat had reached the break with a 10-point lead (59-49), Gregg Popovich decided to leave Wembanyama to rest, and paradoxically, there would be better things for the Spurs. Especially because Jeremy Sochan is clearly more comfortable alongside Zach Collins. Much more skillful in the second half, Chris Paul proved that he had lost none of his pick-and-roll skills, while Erik Spoelstra let Jaime Jaquez and the substitutes ensure the victory.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
