Key Takeaways From San Antonio Spurs Loss to Phoenix Suns

The San Antonio Spurs have been unsuccessful in the preseason so far, falling 104-84 to the Phoenix Suns and dropping to 1-4. The preseason hasn’t been what fans hoped for. With the regular season beginning next week, it’s important for Spurs players to catch a rhythm.

San Antonio was incredibly sloppy in their loss to Phoenix. They finished with 19 turnovers, which led to 23 Suns points. It didn’t stop there, the Spurs defense was terrible, and Phoenix made 53 percent of its field goals.

Kawhi Leonard‘s Performance

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 14 points on 5-for-12 field goals. Leonard made a few long-range shots and played hard. The problem with Leonard’s performance is that he made a lot of mistakes, which is uncharacteristic for the 24-year-old wing. Leonard finished with six turnovers in the game. Just to give you an idea of how unusual this was, Leonard had five turnovers in the previous four games combined.

Manu Ginobili Was Quiet

Manu Ginobili came into the contest on fire. Ginobili was averaging 11.7 points and shooting 80 percent through three preseason games. Against the Suns, though, he finished with four points and only one attempt from the field in 17 minutes. Expect him to be more aggressive against the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

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Where is the Rebounding?

San Antonio was out-rebounded 43-33. Yes, you read that right, the team only grabbed 33 rebounds. Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge combined for 11 boards in their 52 minutes. It’s easy to see why the Spurs got killed on the glass, since Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Tony Parker had a combined four rebounds in 68 minutes.

Loose Ends

Jimmer Fredette, DeShaun Thomas, Matt Bonner and Rasual Butler each did not play due to the coach’s decision.

The Spurs will battle the Rockets on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET. NBA TV will televise the game.

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