This is the 16th game the Grizzlies have won in a row against the Spurs. Don't give me that win San Antonio got over them toward the end of last season because that doesn't count. Virtually nobody played in that game on either team. Memphis had players on the court playing 25+ minutes who aren't even in the league anymore.
That's the only time SA left a Grizz game with a "W" in the last four years. Something feels really wrong with being on this end of a one-sided rivalry. The worst part is knowing that they could have won some of the games, but there's a problem with competing through adversity with this team.
Chris Paul called it out last night in anticipation of De'Aaron Fox's arrival, who, hopefully, can help fix this frustrating yet recurring issue.
Chris Paul on De'Aaron Fox (cont): "The biggest thing about Fox that I know our team can use is his competitiveness. Iām excited to have that."
ā Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) February 4, 2025
The Spurs fold way too often when adversity hits
San Antonio tried to make several runs, and there were times they looked like they had figured it out, but the bad stretches were extremely ugly. In the second quarter, the Spurs were only down by eight points when Wembanyama went to the bench, only for the lead to balloon to 15 points in mere minutes by the time he re-entered the game.
At that point, the pressure is on him to make plays because his team is failing without him, and he starts pressing, leading to turnovers. The Silver and Black went through an abysmal few minutes with bad shots and turnovers; they were just embarrassing Spurs Nation on television. They got it back together in time for the half to end with a respectable 10-point deficit.
But it was a trick to make fans believe they actually had a chance to topple their biggest bully. They won the third quarter by two points, only to get whooped in the final period (37-28). The issue isn't just the talent discrepancy between these two rosters; it's the fight when things start to turn.
Over the past two years, small mistakes evolved into cascading collapses way too many times this year. One turnover shouldn't cause the team to forget how to dribble or catch a pass for two minutes straight. They seem to get down on themselves for a bit before trying to bring the fight back, but by that time, it's too late.
They try so hard to get a bucket in an effort to stop a run when their opponent pushes the pedal, and when they can't, everything falls apart. It will look like they don't even belong on the same floor as these other teams, and that shouldn't be happening with players as tenured as Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson paired with Victor Wembanyama.
It's not even about the skill level of Dev and KJ, especially. They've been in the league long enough to know it's a game of runs, and if you want to win, you have to keep fighting hard while paying attention to detail.
De'Aaron Fox will help the guys understand that, but additionally, as a dynamic scorer and ball handler, he can prevent some of those turnovers, stop runs, and keep the pressure going in the other direction. Right now, when the guys get into those funks, it makes the game so much easier for the opponent. That should happen much less often with Fox on the floor.
Chris Paul is frustrated, and rightfully so. He can see what's going on, but he's at an age where he can't always be the one to stop these collapses. But De'Aaron Fox can, and he can't suit up soon enough.