I wrote some predictions here at the beginning of the season, and with the NBA coming back today, it feels like a good time for me to check in on those predictions.
Keldon Johnson leads the team in scoring
So far, Johnson (863 points) sits in 2nd place behind NBA All-Star Dejounte Murray (1,036 points) in scoring on this Spurs team. It’s pretty likely that they’ll end up in the same position at the end of the season, but we’ll see!
I wrote at the beginning of the year that the reason Johnson was primed to lead the team in scoring would be the evolution of Murray’s game as a point guard. I didn’t anticipate that Murray would evolve in such a way that he was a nightly triple-double threat. I ain’t mad at it though!
Doug McDermott finishes in the top-3 at the 3-pt shooting contest at All-Star Weekend
Honestly it’s just kind of fucked up that neither McDermott nor Johnson were even invited to the three point contest. Absolute travesty in the case of Johnson, really.
Thad Young remains a Spur after the trade deadline
The reverse jinx worked!
No, San Antonio didn’t send Young out as part of a Ben Simmons package like I originally hoped for, but I am very happy with what ended up happening in the long run.
San Antonio flirts with the Play-In tournament
The Spurs, at 23-26 are indeed flirting with the Play-In tournament. They currently sit at 11th place in the West, while Portland is 25-34 and currently in control of the final Play-In seed.
I also predicted San Antonio would end the season with 34 wins and 48 losses and finish 12th in the West. They’re currently on pace for 32 wins and 50 losses, so I’m pretty close. The team played better during the first part of the Rodeo Road Trip, so I don’t think 34 wins is out of question.
Coach Gregg Popovich is definitely going to be the all-time leader in wins by the time the season ends, I feel very confident of that.
BONUS: Two Predictions for the rest of the season
I’m a big fan of bonuses and honestly, most of this article was just rehashing old content so I feel like I’ve got to add something new. I’m not that lazy!
Josh Richardson steals Lonnie Walker’s role by April
I feel like we’ve reached the beginning of the end for young Walker. The team will want to see what they’ve acquired in the Derrick White trade and they very well may like Richardson more than they like Lonnie Walker.
I’d be surprised if we see a ton of Romeo Langford - or much of him at all, but it makes sense to see how Richardson fits in to San Antonio’s future, given that Walker probably does not.
Devin Vassell finishes the season with the third most points
At the trade deadline, White was sitting in third place with 706 points, followed by Jakob Poetl at 642, and Walker at 605. Vassell currently has 588 points, but will surpass both Walker and Poeltl over the final 23 games.
Thanks for reading, please be kind to each other out there.