It took Jeremy Sochan one possession to demonstrate invaluable skills

The first half of basketball in Phoenix could certainly be described as a first half of basketball in Phoenix. There was nothing spectacular about the overall display of hoops from San Antonio. The guys went down by double-digits in the first quarter, coming out with a lethargic effort. It was almost enough to ruin the excitement of the Polish Prince back in uniform—almost.

As soon as Jeremy Sochan went down on November 4 in the Clippers game, there was a noticeable defensive decline, but that wasn't the only stat that suffered without him. The Spurs were one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the league with the colorfully-haired forward on the floor, and he got right back to adding numbers to that category immediately.

Sochan helps the Spurs get extra possessions

A running theme all season has been the Spurs' lack of possessions compared to their opponents. For reasons like turnovers, for example, SA's opposition has averaged more field goal attempts on a nightly basis. That only got worse without Sochan because he added a few extra shots every game due to his savvy on the offensive glass.

He had six rebounds in the first half of his return game, and four of them came on the offensive end. It would be nice if there wasn't the need to rebound so many missed attempts, but there are going to be off nights for any NBA team. That will be especially true for the third-youngest team in the league.

Victor Wembanyama is taking advantage of the grace afforded to young players with a 0-8 performance in the first half. It's not often that the Alien ends a half with zero points, but the second half is where this team has done the majority of their damage. They'll need to reach deep to pull this one out after the slow start tonight.

Chris Paul and Zach Collins also went for no points in the first half. The lack of production from three players so important to the team is the reason they were down 13 points at the break. This is a night that Wemby will have to show he can score in other ways because his shot hasn't fallen thus far.

Sochan will keep bringing the energy he's known to bring. That's what the squad needs from him, and it's good to have him back. What his first minutes back show everyone is that Sochan is going to bring 100% effort every time he's on the floor. Once everyone else catches up to that mindset, the team really takes off.