What we learned from the Spurs win over the Jazz

“Are they going to put Wemby back in?”

It was an excellent question, and one that I had myself.

It was, in a way, the question of the season so far when it comes to a Spurs team that has scuffled quite a bit coming out of the gate.

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The starting unit, forced into a new configuration by the ascension of the prodigious Dylan Harper, has looked disjointed and seems to do its scoring in fits and starts.

The bench, on the other hand, seems almost lost — unmoored without the steady hand of the rookie who led it for most of last season.

The one player holding everything together has been, somewhat predictably, Wembanyama, and the better part of almost every game has seemed to hinge on his presence and the antigravity of his occasional absence.

But, to paraphrase an episode of Cartoon Network’s Samurai Jack, even the gods must rest, and for all his gifts, Wemby is not a god.

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With nine minutes left in a game that the shorthanded Utah Jazz had spent clawing for every point, Mitch Johnson had made the call to give Wemby a quick breather.

That seemed reasonable. Wemby would catch his breath and then jump right back in, right? Right?

The Spurs were clinging to a six point lead when Wemby headed for the sideline, and Spurs Twitter was awash with (understandable) anxiety.

The Spurs had led for most of the game, but it was a tenuous bargain with a scoreboard that seemed determined to forsake its oath to the Silver and Black. In fact, I was beginning to doubt its fealty altogether.

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With every Wemby exit, betrayal was in the air, and San Antonio’s 2nd unit (and Luke Kornet in particular) were bearing the brunt of the Jazz’s unholy pact with the jumbotron.

Utah had shot nearly 60% from the field in the 3rd quarter, and it felt like they were heating up again.

Everything seemed to be going in. The post was a turnstile. The rim was actively thwarting San Antonio’s short-armed stabs at conversion. It was getting dramatic. Catastrophic, even.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the atmosphere more closely resembled that of a postseason contest rather than game 5 of 82, on a Wednesday night in late…

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Publish date : 2026-10-29 16:00:00

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