The San Antonio Spurs still have one last game in Dallas, Texas before their season is officially declared over. Before that pit stop they celebrated the end of a long journey with fans at the Moody Center in the neighboring city of Austin Texas. The challenge faced was the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves were able to leave with a win after outperforming the Spurs 151 -131
Final from @MoodyCenterATX. Thank you Spurs fam for celebrating our Austin weekend with us! 🤠#SpursGetMoody | @FrostBank | #ad pic.twitter.com/4A9H0fujeR
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 8, 2023
Taking Advantage of Time to Advance
The stand-out performer of the night was shooting guard Julian Champagnie with 24 points, four rebounds, and one assist. Despite going undrafted in 2022 Champagnie had made a mark on the stat sheet as a Spur.
He says he’s just happy to be here (in the league) because this is what he’s been working towards. He’s been using his minutes to show what can make him valuable to a team. I say a team because according to Coach Popovich, everyone is watching from all angles. The Goal for many of these younger guys on the team is to solidify a career in the NBA.
Tre Jones is a veteran on this team but will just be completing his third year in professional basketball. He has improved in many ways one being from the three-point line. Jones says although he has elevated his distance shooting he plans to make that a focus in his off-season training. Tonight Jones achieved his second triple-double in a three-game span. He finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Next Season Up For The San Antonio Spurs?
This entire year the motto for the team has been “Next Man Up”. This was an important mindset to keep the machine running through extensive injury lists and eventually some trades made during the season. I’d like to shout out Spurs center Zack Collins for silencing the worries surrounding the loss of Jakob Poeltl to the Toronto Raptors.
Poeltl was an anchor to the Spur’s starting lineup and fans were worried there wouldn’t be anyone to fill his large shoes. According to Coach Pop, “He’s made it, He’s gonna be the guy at 5 for us”.
It’s not hard to understand why this mentality has rubbed off on the younger or new members of the squad. Whenever players ask where they get the nerve to think they can take the rink and keep shooting through a tough night they rave about the confidence the team provides them. A good support structure has proven to go a long way.
With this theme running through the team, how do you think it will affect the next additions to come?