San Antonio Spurs: 3 Things that stood out in thrilling OT win over Wizards

Neither the Wizards nor San Antonio Spurs get much going from deep

One of the weirdest subplots of this game was that the teams were able to total 289 points while also combining for just 12 three’s (six for each team). It was like a flashback to NBA basketball in the 80s.

Now, this game was an anomaly but it does reiterate the Spurs’ need for more three-point shooting. That was something I pointed out during the game, only to have another fan say something to the effect of “why do they need more three-point shooting, they just managed to score 146 without it?”

If you’re driving, ignore directions, and still manage to end up at your destination, does that mean you should continue to ignore directions every time you get in the car going forward? No, because what happened in that one occurrence is not a reliable predictor of future performance.

Just because the Spurs managed to score 60 points in the paint and make 30 of their 35 free throw attempts doesn’t mean that they should plan on doing both of those things every game going forward. We can commend them on a good game while still pointing out the flaws in their offense, it’s really not that complicated.

The Spurs rank second to last in the NBA in both three-pointers attempted, and three’s made. They rank 20th in three-point percentage. In years past, they’ve been able to make up for their low volume with outstanding accuracy. But that hasn’t been the case this year.

There are some solutions for this, a few of them are on the Spurs roster right now. Others are waiting in the upcoming NBA draft and even more can be found on the free-agent market. The solution is out there, now it’s up to the Spurs to go and get it. Because this formula, as impressive as it was for one game, isn’t a sustainable recipe for success.

Last night’s win was one the San Antonio Spurs needed. They’ve now won five of their last six and stand just two games back of the sixth seed in the Western Conference. A few more surprising wins and they might be able to miss the play-in tournament entirely.