All true

As rebuilds unfold through extra lottery picks, the talent overlaps and fit questions that come with drafting ‘best player available’ make roster casualties inevitable. Sochan was the first piece of the new era to go, and he probably won’t be the last:

Thats a professional win. Warriors running hot for nearly three full quarters, Spurs continued to defend until regression came. Keldon jumpstarted the offense in the third and Wemby and Fox took the keys from there. Down 16 in the third, could’ve packed up for the break. Nope.

One night after a hard fall on his tailbone knocked him out of the game in LA, Steph Castle is available to play against the Warriors.

Spurs have officially announced they’ve waived Jeremy Sochan

ICYMI: a very casual postgame show from my car in the Frost Bank Center parking lot. We talked about the game, Jeremy Sochan, the trade deadline and the weird vibes that always surround it, and the seriousness of the road down the stretch:

Going live from my car to talk Spurs open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Beyond the SGA news, it looks like ESPN will be broadcasting Spurs vs the OKC Blue this evening. Presti channeling his inner Spur and sitting everyone for a nationally televised game on the second night of a back-to-back:

New SMB podcast (feat. @trevorz.bsky.social) is ready to consume! Topics o' the day: ⤵️ Downhill Dylan 6⃣ Keldon for 6MotY 🛑 Castle's defense 👽 All things Victor 🔁 Sochan trade talks Spotify: tinyurl.com/4typu2te Apple: tinyurl.com/4pks8ezn (🎙️ @bleavnetwork.bsky.social)

Victor Wembanyama, who said he didn’t feel comfortable as “a foreigner” fully expressing his thoughts, did have some things to say today about the ongoing situation In Minneapolis: “Every day I wake up and see the news, and I’m horrified.”

Working on free throws

Vassell says he’s going to be back for tomorrow night against the Pelicans.

Devin is here getting work in this morning at shootaround

Three Things + game thread — come on by: open.substack.com/chat/posts/d...

If you've got questions, I MIGHT have answers. We'll just have to find out together. Get your mailbag questions in!

Spurs say Devin Vassell (adductor strain) remains OUT tonight in Houston, but the rest of the injury report is clear of any other additions.

Victor Wembanyama on what he was thinking trying to intentionally miss that second free throw in the final seconds while up by 3 points: “Not much thought, I can guarantee you.”

Three Things + game thread for Spurs-Thunder Part IV. Come on in! open.substack.com/chat/posts/f...

Wembanyama developing that shot going either direction from both elbows is just lethal. The ability to dump it down and let him face up and go could be a total trump card if that thing gets truly consistent.

Great test for the Spurs. Not just because Boston is obviously good, but because they protect against rim attempts better than anyone else, which is where SA loves to set up/get its shots. Good defense keeping the Spurs in this one while they figure things out offensively.

Game chat + Three Things! Come join: open.substack.com/chat/posts/1...

Jeremy Sochan has been moved all over the place his entire life, both on and off the court. But in the midst of the toughest, most uncertain season of his young career, he needn’t look far for reassurance things can indeed get better:

Jeremy Sochan has been moved all over the place his entire life, both on and off the court. But in the midst of the toughest, most uncertain season of his young career, he needn’t look far for reassurance things can indeed get better:

New SMB pod is up (feat. @trevorz.bsky.social)! We talk about the current state of the Spurs, including the reappearance of Sochan, the impact of Devin Vassell’s absence, and some trade deadline thoughts. Spotify: tinyurl.com/mr3npa33 Apple: tinyurl.com/46sntffh open.substack.com/pub/matthewt...

Victor Wembanyama will be on a minutes restriction off the bench again tonight, per Mitch Johnson. When asked about whether or not he goes back after these games to review how those Victor minutes were distributed, Johnson had this to say:

Victor Wembanyama is nearing a return to the court, but those moments he spent on the Frost Bank Center floor on New Year’s Eve reminded us all how fragile the season (and future) can be.

Victor Wembanyama is traveling with the team to Memphis. He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow, but is questionable for now. He did play 5-on-5 today, per team.

Victor Wembanyama is back on the bench in his warm-ups, and he's celebrating Luke Kornet's And-1... Great sign. Potentially a huge sigh of relief.

On a night Victor Wembanyama goes down with a knee injury, Julian Champagnie sets a career high with 36 points and a franchise record 11 threes in a game. Still 4:09 left.

Spurs say Devin Vassell (left adductor strain) is OUT and Stephon Castle (left thumb sprain) is questionable for tomorrow night’s rematch with the Knicks.

De’Aaron Fox is officially available to play tonight

Narrator: It did not bode well

Looks like we’re about to have a Sochan sighting

Another 40-point first quarter for the Spurs. Usually bodes well.

Steph Castle has an absurd number of rim assists this season. Having to choose between him attacking the basket and Vic rolling is not an enviable task.

Three things + game thread #31: Jazz @ Spurs (Wembanyama back in starting lineup open.substack.com/chat/posts/2...

Mitch Johnson says Victor Wembanyama will start tonight

Spurs say De’Aaron Fox is questionable for tomorrow; left adductor tightness. So, groin tightness.

‘Press them where it hurts’ The Spurs are in a tear and growing stronger with every hit of dopamine they get:

The Spurs are about to start a 3-game homestand, which is the same number of home games they’ve played over the last 35 days. So not only has San Antonio been winning a lot over the last month+, it’s been doing so almost exclusively on the road.

Three Things + game thread for SA-OKC Part III. Spurs back in the Christmas Day rotation: open.substack.com/chat/posts/b...

Spurs beat the Thunder again and appear to be a real matchup problem for the defending champs — for now, at least. We went live from the arena postgame for our first Corporate Knowledge: After Dark test run on location:

Spurs say Victor Wembanyama is officially available for tonight’s game

Mitch Johnson said they feel good about Victor Wembanyama’s chances to play tonight, but nothing is official yet. Here was his explanation on the status change in yesterday’s injury report:

Victor Wembanyama is questionable tonight (calf injury management) but he’s here getting work in this morning at shootaround.

Spurs say Victor Wembanyama is questionable for tomorrow’s game against OKC (calf injury management).

Even as we’ve seen their consistent growth throughout the season, it’s still wild to me to watch the Spurs just thoroughly dominate a quality opponent on their home floor like this. They’ve improved so much, so quickly.

If you’re losing to the Spurs by a lot at halftime just start the 3rd quarter in a zone defense and you might get lucky

Three Things + tonight’s CK game thread. Come join! ⬇️ open.substack.com/chat/posts/a...