The biggest obstacle to Spurs’ playoffs is familiar and completely controllable

A concerning early-season trend has emerged for the San Antonio Spurs, who are 2-3 to start their season. The Spurs have been turning the ball over at an alarming rate, averaging the fifth most turnovers with 17.2 per game as well as the fifth fewest field goal attempts per game.

That is a big reason why they are 2-3 and playing inconsistently. Historically, Spurs teams have often ranked relatively low in turnovers and near the top of the league in assists, but they have struggled to take care of the ball thus far.

Some of those struggles could be caused by having several new rotation players, including Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes, and Stephon Castle, though Victor Wembanyama has struggled there too.

He has thrown lazy passes and has been stripped of the ball several times, leading to an average of 3.6 turnovers per game. For a big man, that is surprisingly high, though the problem may have something to do with him not playing like a traditional center.

He tends to get in trouble when he faces up away from the basket, with shorter players being able to poke at the ball given his high dribble. Even still, his handles have been far looser than they were during most of last season, which is all the more surprising considering that he spent time training with Jamal Crawford to improve his handles.

Can the San Antonio Spurs solve their turnover problem?

Once Wembanyama tightens up his handles, as he did after having a similar problem last season, a lot of the Spurs turnover problems will go away. The same could be said for having Tre Jones back considering he is one of the best assist-to-turnover ratio players in the NBA.

Devin Vassell will also help in that regard when he returns, considering that he is a low-turnover player. He will likely play more off-ball this season and isn't shy about shooting, which should lead to fewer turnovers and more shots for the Spurs. It should also help their much-improved defense get even better, with live ball turnovers often leading to high-percentage transition opportunities for the other team.

Simply cutting down on turnovers should also help the Spurs solve a bigger problem with teams taking nearly 5 shots more per game than they do. The shot discrepancy over the course of a long season would make it harder for San Antonio to win most games.

Fortunately, the Spurs should be able to clean up these self-inflicted mistakes, and doing so is an easy way for them to improve and play more consistently.