When the regular season rolls around October 23 as the San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks, we’ll be providing a game-by-game tracker to Project Spurs Premium members for the entire regular season. What is this tracker? It takes the data from each box score and provides more numbers and interesting information you won’t get unless you really dive into the data. We’ve done the digging into the data and we’ll be updating the tracker after each and every Spurs game, so you can see how the team has fared from game-to-game.
To give all of our readers a chance to see what will be included once the season rolls around, we’re providing a free version of the tracker that monitors preseason data.
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This tracker will look at all the Spurs’ preseason data and ask the following questions on offense and defense:
Offense Tab
What was the Spurs’ largest lead in that game? This stat will keep tabs on the Spurs’ largest lead in each of their games.
How many games have the Spurs led by double digits? As the season goes along and more data gets logged, you’ll start to see how often the Spurs are getting double digit leads against their opponents.
Where did the Spurs’ scoring come from? These stats will break down just where the Spurs’ scoring is coming from in the four areas on the floor – beyond the arc, mid-range, the paint, and the free throw line.
How efficient were the Spurs in scoring from each area? Using the Points Per Shot metric, the goal is to get at least one point per shot taken from each area. So, if an area is colored in green, that was a good shot for that game. If the area is colored in red, that wasn’t an efficient shot during that game.
Did the Spurs move the ball well as a team? This stat focuses on assist percentage, meaning how many times did the Spurs get an assist on their made field goals.
How many second chances did the Spurs get themselves? Following the offensive rebounds, this will let you see how often the Spurs are crashing their own glass when they miss a shot.
How many turnovers did the Spurs record? This stat will tell whether the Spurs were responsible in this game for defeating themselves by turning the ball over too much.
Defense Tab
What was the Spurs’ largest deficit in the game? This stat will track how far the Spurs fell behind in a game and whether they were able to make the comeback or not when the deficit falls behind by more than 10 points.
How many good and bad defensive quarters did the Spurs have? This stat keeps track of good defensive quarters for the Spurs, like holding teams below 25 points. It would be considered an elite defensive quarter if they held an opponent below 20 points. The more points the Spurs allow in a quarter could warrant them having a bad or horrific defensive quarter, like if they allow the opponent to score 40 points on them in a quarter.
How many overall good and bad defensive games did the Spurs have by total points? This stat keeps track on whether the Spurs can hold their opponent below 100 points or if they’re giving up too many total points in a game.
Where did opponents score from and were they efficient from those areas? Just like on offense for the Spurs, the areas where the opponents scored from and their points per shot from those areas will be tracked. Because we’re only following the Spurs’ defense, if they allowed the opponent to have an efficient scoring night from that area (1.00 point per shot or more), it’ll be marked in red as a bad defensive night from that area. Vice versa, if the Spurs hold the opponent below 1.00 points per shot from an area, it’ll be marked green and considered a good defensive area for the Spurs.
Did the Spurs get back on transition defense? By following the opponent fast break points allowed, we’ll be able to see if the Spurs are getting back in transition on defense, an area that is very important to Head Coach Gregg Popovich.
Did the Spurs beat themselves with their own turnovers? Since we keep track of the Spurs’ turnovers on the offensive tab, we’ll see the effect of those turnovers on the defensive tab where we now see how big of an impact the Spurs’ turnovers made in letting the opposing team get easy buckets on the other end when the Spurs turned the ball over.
How many second chances did the Spurs allow to the opponent? Opponent offensive rebounds will be tracked for this statistic to see how many extra chances the Spurs are giving to their opponent.
As the preseason goes along, the data will continue to be updated. If you’d like access to the regular season data when the season starts, become a Project Spurs Premium member for $5 per month.
