3 Things That Have Gone Wrong With The San Antonio Spurs During The First Quarter Of The Season

The San Antonio Spurs look to snap an eight-game losing streak, Wednesday night on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.

The San Antonio Spurs are a young team, that statistically commit alot of turnovers, have been plagued with injuries and despite a potential potent offense the Spurs have struggled on defense. Coming off their latest 143-138 loss to an aging Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs look to snap the franchise's fourth-longest losing streak against OKC.

Here is a deeper dive into the Spurs first quarter of the season and eight-game skid

Youth at the helm

From day one, expectations were low. A stark contrast to the 90's and 2000's when the Spurs were shoo-ins for a spot in the western conference playoffs.

The Spurs are a young team that lacks a superstar presence, and find themselves outclassed against opposing teams, according to Jeff Garcia, Locked On Spurs reporter. Fans and experts alike expected this to be a developmental season for the franchise.

Shooting guard Devin Vassell, is the Spurs leading scorer. The 2020 Spurs first-round pick, ranks 35th amonsgt the rest of the NBA scoring leaders.

The 2021-22 San Antonio Spurs set the NBA all-time record for highest assist/turnover ratio in a season, at 2.197. That trend has continued this season, as the Spurs youth develops into grasping the NBA game currently ranked second-to-last behind the Houston Rockets.

Injury plagued season

Aside from trading star gaurd Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawas in the offseason, the Spurs are currently hamstringed with missing players. Whether it is due to rest or being released, the Spurs mainly suffer from injuries on its roster. Primarily decimating the team’s big man rotational depth. Spurs center, and leading rebounder Jakob Poeltl will likely miss a week, according to Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News.

The Spurs already lack household names. Injuries to your roster are not good, however a silver lining to them in this rebuilding year is that they have allowed an opportunity for players guys to change the coaching staff’s mind and earn a spot in the rotation.

Look for center, Isaiah Roby, to have a a revenge game against his former team, after being waived by OKC, as the Spurs look to snap their losing skid. San Antonio's shooting guard depth will also be depleted as Blake Wesley is out, and Josh Richardson questionable for Wednesday.

Defensive Struggles

The Spurs have been abysmal defensively, and the effects of that reality have bled into all other aspects of the team’s performances. The eight game losing streak can be attributed to many aspects, but one glaring statistical ranking has been in their transition defense. The Spurs are ranked 27th in defending fast break points, and 28th in the league defending in transition.

The Spurs will have their hands full tonight, as they face one of the NBA's hottest names. Despite outstanding play from star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City find themselves in a similar situation as the Spurs yet have been patient in their approach to their franchise’s rebuilding efforts.

Will the Spurs snap their eight-game losing streak?

The Spurs 6-15 look to snag a win against the OKC Thunder 8-12 who also share a losing record. The Spurs defeated OKC three of four times they played last season. Wednesday's meeting is the first of three this season between the teams in 2022-2023.