A Second Look: Breaking Down Crunch Time for the Spurs and Warriors
Breaking down crunch time for the Spurs and Warriors from Friday's NBA Cup game.
Before revisiting the film from the San Antonio Spurs’ one-point loss in crunch time to the Golden State Warriors on Friday, let’s first look ahead to the Spurs’ Sunday afternoon matchup with the Sacramento Kings.
Victor Wembanyama is listed as questionable to play in the game with left calf tightness. Rookie Dylan Harper will also be out, as he misses his 7th game in a row due to his left calf strain injury.
Now, let’s go back to what happened on Friday night. I want to examine each team's performance in crunch time - the final five minutes when a game is within five points.
The Spurs’ 14 Possessions on Offense in Crunch Time
Let’s begin with the Spurs, who struggled on offense in crunch time. From the 4:45 mark of the fourth, the Spurs had 14 possessions on offense. In those 14 possessions, the Spurs shot 4-of-11 from the floor, didn’t visit the free throw line, and had three turnovers.
I put each offensive possession together on tape, examining who took the shot or turned the ball over, the offensive set the Spurs ran, and the outcome in terms of makes or misses, as well as turnovers.
As you can see in the video, in the half-court, the Spurs primarily used a De’Aaron Fox-Wemby 1-5 Pick-and-roll (P&R), which allows either Fox or Wemby to take the shot. With the Warriors backing off the Spurs’ floor spreaders and showing bodies near the paint, Fox ended up taking his defender off the dribble for contested shots most of the time. Victor had the early alley-oop layup on the roll, but then when Fox tried to get the ball to him a second time, Jimmy Butler came in for a help steal.
