The Spurs still need to raise their voice physically

Seeing Castle Stephon in front of him, Zion Williamson he didn’t hesitate to get on his shoulder, pass him and get the help of Keldon Johnson. The latter, since the Pelicans’ bulldozer had already been launched, had no choice but to foul to prevent it from going into the circle.

Johnson will end up on the ground, witnessing a physical impact from the inside on the opposite side. This action a minute from the end of the match would allow the lefty to seal, at the free throw line, his team’s victory in San Antonio.

A surprising failure for the Spurs, against the weakest team in the West, partly explained by this physical dimension. ” I found New Orleans did a great job, early in the game and early in the second half, of being very physical and setting the tone. And we obviously didn’t know how to answer that. », laments Mitch Johnson.

In an evening of general discomfort, with two teams at 40% success, the visitors scored another 24 points in the opponent’s racket (56-32), but also dominated the debates in terms of rebounds (58-46). Two pretty compelling metrics when it comes to measuring a team’s physical impact.

“An approach that is becoming more widespread among our adversaries”

« We will have to (answer), yes. We’ve gotten a lot of signals recently about the way teams are playing us. This is clearly an approach that is becoming more widespread among our adversaries. And some teams, like New Orleans recently, have made it their style and trademark, and it’s working well for them. So this is an area where we will have to raise our game. », demands the trainer.

Texans have made similar observations before in the month against Wukov. Against NOLA, they also failed to contain the impact of Zion Williamson and Sadiq Bey, each with 24 points and 10 rebounds, or Yves Misi, also with a double-double (10 points and 14 rebounds).

« We think they really intend to send a few players into contact. It’s also not an anomaly compared to what we see elsewhere in the league. It’s mostly a matter of effort and physics. You have to know how to withstand the blows. On several occasions we turned to block and they launched behind us », analyzes Johnson who has to prepare his team for a new challenge of this kind by traveling to Houston on Wednesday.