Painful truth the Spurs face ahead of looming NBA trade deadline

With the third-best record in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs are looking like legit contenders. Especially with them having regained their defensive form.

Since Victor Wembanyama returned to the lineup, San Antonio's defense has steadily improved, now ranking third in the NBA. Even so, their offense is a source for concern.

While they have the seventh-best offense in the NBA, they have had some concerning struggles on that end of late. Recently, against two championship contenders, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets, the Spurs' offensive machine ground to a halt on the road.

The Spurs were up by 17 against the Wolves at one point in the second half but scored just 14 points in the fourth and lost by one point. Same story against the Rockets: up by 15 points at one point but scored just 14 in the fourth quarter.

For whatever reason, this team struggles to score in the second half, usually in the third quarter and occasionally in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs must solve their offensive woes for them to contend

The solution to the Spurs' offensive problems could be as simple as having Devin Vassell return. I mean, who knew he was so important to San Antonio's offensive approach?

I previously called him their x-factor, but San Antonio can't shoot or finish at the rim without him. Worse yet, his absence has revealed that the Spurs aren't nearly as deep as we first thought.

They have tried out players such as Lindy Waters and Carter Bryant on the perimeter, trying to eat up minutes. Neither has made an impact. Same story with starter Harrison Barnes.

He has been in a shooting slump for at least two months now and connecting on just 35.8% from three. That is a stark contrast to his impressive 43.3% three-point shooting from last season.

They must solve their shooting woes at the trade deadline

No Vassell and a big drop-off from Barnes have hurt this team's spacing. Another underrated aspect of their shooting woes is De'Aaron Fox He went from drilling a blistering 38.8% from 3 to seeing his 3-point percentage plummet.

Without those three making teams pay for leaving them open, San Antonio has seen their ability to attack the basket dwindle recently. Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Fox have all struggled to get to and finish at the rim of late.

That limits the Silver and Black's ability to generate easy baskets. Shooting and attacking the paint go hand in hand, and the Spurs have struggled to do either of late.

That has contributed to their inconsistent offensive performance. Fortunately, Victor Wembanyama has had several strong performances of late and seen his 3-point percentage take a big jump.

More monster performances from him and the Spurs getting Vassell back will help alleviate their offensive struggles. Even so, they should still scour the trade market before the deadline in hopes of adding more shooting.

Otherwise, San Antonio could still have scoring droughts that might come back to bite them in the postseason.