NBA

The San Antonio Spurs have been struggling recently, but they managed to win a game against the Blazers. Victor Wambaniana had a great performance with 30 points and 7 blocks. However, their overall record is not impressive with only 5 wins this season. The team has some talented players like Jeremy Sokin, Devin Vazel, and Kelvin Johnson, but they need to improve their winning streak. Coach Greg Popovich has been with the team for a long time and is hoping for better results. The Spurs have upcoming games against the Celtics, Grizzlies, Bucks, and Pistons. It's unlikely that they will make it to the playoffs this year, but they have potential for the future. Well hello everyone, and welcome back to AKTalksNBA. Today, I'm going to be talking about what is wrong with the San Antonio Spurs. So, um, I don't know what's wrong with them, but I'm going to talk about what I think might be wrong with them. So, like I said in the last episode sometime in there, they haven't won a game in five games, and they did just win one last night, like I said, that day that they were going to play. Um, that game, Victor Wombaniana did play, he was questionable, but now he decided to play. Um, so, their points, uh, Victor Wombaniana had 30 points, which is a really good game for him. Um, Jeremy Sokin, however you say his last name, he had 16 points. Julian Shapaniki, I can't say these last names, I'm just trying, 2. Devin Vazel, 17, Malachi Branham had 13, Hilton Johnson, 9, Zach Collins, 11, Trey Jims, 8, Doug McDermott, 8, Kenny Osmond, 4, Blake Wesley, 0, and Sandro, can't say his last name, 0. The Blazers that game, they did pretty good, I did not know that Malcolm Brogdon went to the Blazers since yesterday when I checked out their roster. But Jeremy Grant had 29, um, Scoot Henderson had 25, Malcolm Brogdon had 29, I don't really need to talk about the Blazers, they did pretty good, but the Spurs did do better, and they did defeat the Blazers 118-105. So, the San Antonio Spurs, um, they have been doing pretty, I guess, so, they are still the 15th seed since the Blazers are the 8-22 and they are 5-25, and, um, their roster, I'm going to re-go over the roster like yesterday, because I don't know how many people watched that one, if you did, thank you, this is episode number 2. Their roster, Victor Winvignana, Jeremy Sokin, Devin Basil, Kelton Johnson, Zach Collins, Kenny Osmond, Trey Jims, Julian Champagne-Iggy, Doug McDermott, Devontae Graham, I guess he didn't play in the last game, Malachi Branham, Charles Bassey, Blake Wesley, City Siskoj, I can't say his last name, uh, subscribe, not subscribe, I'm so used to YouTube, um, I hope you like my podcast, but don't, don't not like it, because I can't say last names, because NBA names are hard, David Duke, Dominic Barlow, and Charles Benedico. So their roster is pretty decent, except Victor Winvignana is the only one who's averaging a lot of points this year, this year he's averaging 18 points per game, and, um, Jeremy Sokin, let me check out his stats, this year he's averaging 11, he is, this is his second season, and he should still be doing good, Devin Basil, he's been there for a couple years, he's averaging 12 points, uh, no, his whole career, in the 3, 4 years he's been in the career, is 12, this, this season he's averaging 18, just like Victor Winvignana, so, they're not bad, it's just they're not good at winning games, Kelvin Johnson, this year he is averaging 17 points per game, so they're all averaging a lot of good stats, it's just they're not averaging enough, like the Warriors, to win at least 15 games, this year they've only won 5 games. So, this season, Zach College is averaging 12 points per game, so, almost 11, 12.8, so their team isn't bad, but they still need to, um, bring up their winning streak, because again, they are 5 and 25 this year, which is not good. So, I've gotta keep going over how, if they can get up to at least the 10 seed, that'd be amazing, but I don't think they'll be able to, because the Warriors, Suns, Rockets, and Lakers are all, and Grizzlies, and Jazz are all in front of them, so I don't even know if they can get to the 13 seed by the end of this season, because it's Grizzlies, Jazz, Warriors, Suns, Rockets, Lakers, Pelicans, all in front of them, so I don't think they'll be able to make it to the playoffs this year, but next year, they should do pretty good. Um, we are also going to talk about, after the Spurs, the Pistons, and why they're doing so bad, but for now, we're going to talk about the, um, San Antonio Spurs. So, the San Antonio Spurs, like I said, they have decent players, they just, um, who's their coach? Um, the San Antonio Spurs coach is Greg Popovich, I forgot about that. So, it depends on if Greg Popovich is playing everyone as much as he should be. He's playing Victor Mignogna, Devin Vazel, all those players, pretty good. Um, he's been the head coach, um, since Tim Duncan retired. So, he's been the coach for a long, long time to the San Antonio Spurs. He is extra, he's like, going nuts this year. He's probably very sad that Victor Mignogna is not doing as well as he should be, because, you know, they have a 15 seed. But, um, let's look at the upcoming games for the San Antonio Spurs. Tonight, they play the Blazers again. They play the Spurs on the 31st at 7, no, the Spurs don't play the Spurs. The Spurs play the Celtics on December 31st at 7pm. The Spurs play the Grizzlies on January 2nd at 8pm. They play the Bucks on January 4th. They play the Cavs, the Cavaliers, on January 7th. They play the Pistons, that would be a nice game, because we get to see who is actually the better team, on January 10th. They play the Hornets on the 12th. The Bulls on the 13th. The Hawks on the 15th. And then the Celtics again, and they just go back through that cycle for a couple of weeks. And then, it stops on April 14th. They play the Pistons. Um, so yeah, they play the Pistons on that day. The last day, the last season game until the NBA playoffs. So, if they did, and they did not lose a game for the rest of the season, maybe not the rest of the season, but for a long time of the season, they could make it past the Jazz. If the Grizzlies don't go up, and the Jazz go down. If the Grizzlies go up, and the Jazz go down, then they might have a chance. But, just to let you know, the Spurs aren't the best team in the league. You don't think, you would think that they'd be like the one seed with Victor Rubiniano. Like, when he was on the college team, or high school team, he was averaging like, what, 27 points per game? But in the NBA, since it's a higher league than what high school and college are, that's where he has to go crazy. Last night, he had 7 blocks, and yeah, 7 blocks. That's ridiculous. And he made NBA history, last night. That's crazy. He made NBA history, with what he did. 30 points, 7 blocks, 24, what does that say, 24 what? Um, yeah, he had 24 something, I'm guessing rebounds. But yeah, um, let's keep talking about it, about the San Antonio Spurs for a couple more minutes. And then we will talk about the Detroit Pistons. So, the San Antonio Spurs, who would you think is their best player? Um, I would say Victor Rubiniano, Rubin-yama, whatever you say his last name, I think it's Yama. Let's look at his stats. Regular season, 18.8 points, his field goal percentage is 44.0. His three point percentage is 28.5. His rebounds per game is 10.4, assists per game is 3.0, steals per game 1.3, blocks per game 3.2. And since he's been in the league only for one year, his career stats are the exact same thing. I cannot believe he had 7 blocks yesterday. That's ridiculous. 7 blocks. 7 blocks, that's ridiculous. I don't think anyone else has had 7 blocks in years. So, now let's check out the other stats of the other players on the team. Jeremy Sokin, I don't know how to say his last name, I'm pretty sure it's Sokin, but whatever. 11.2 points per game, 44 field goal percentage, 37.8 three point percentage, 5 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game, 0.6 steals per game, and 0.3 blocks per game. So he isn't doing as good, that good, but he's doing okay. I just don't want him to take over the team in Wimbledon and not do that good because he's taking over, but I don't think that will happen. Devin Vazel, this year he's averaging 18 points, his field goal percentage is 45.6, three point percentage is 35.7. His rebound, he averages 3.4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.2 blocks. So he isn't doing his, this is his best season he has in the past three years with his 18 points. All the other years he has been averaging way lower in points and all that. So, next is Kelvin Johnson, we're just going to go through one or two more and then we'll move on to the Detroit Pistons. This year he is averaging 17.2 points per game, his field goal percentage is 46.2, his three point percentage is 34.4. His rebounding is 6.2 rebounds per game, 3.8 assists per game, 0.9 steals per game, and 0.2 blocks per game. He is doing pretty well this year, in his career he's been averaging pretty much the same thing except 16 points. 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a little bit lower on each thing. But, he is doing pretty well this year. Now, lastly we're going to talk about Zach Collins. Zach Collins this year, he's averaging 12 points, his field goal percentage is 48.5, his three point percentage is 31.5. His rebounding, he averages 6.1 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks. He's doing pretty well this year, and I think next year they will be much better. Just like the Thunder, they only needed one year with their rookie not playing for them to get up. So, next year they will probably be in the top 10 for sure. Now, we're going to move on to the Detroit Pistons. Who do y'all like better, the San Antonio Spurs or the Detroit Pistons? If you're watching this on YouTube, comment down below. If you're listening to this on Spotify or any other podcast, make sure to follow or go check out my YouTube channel at AKTalksNBA. Where I also have this podcast, and every episode I upload on the podcast apps, I also upload it on YouTube. So, make sure to go check that out as well. Now for the Detroit Pistons. Let's look at their games. Yesterday, the Detroit Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics in overtime. So, let's check out those stats. Bogdan Bogdanovich had 17 points. Kevin Knox II had 6. Jalen Duren had 15. Cade Cunningham had 31. Jayden Ivey had 22. Alec Burks had 12. Isaiah Livers had 9. James Wiseman had 6. User Thompson had 2. And Killian Hayes had 2. They played in the TD Garden, that's probably why. But, you know, they always lose. So, I'd be surprised if they won. But, they're 2-29 right now. The Celtics are 24-6. They're pretty much the exact opposite. Celtics, you don't even need to know the stats because you probably will feel bad for the Pistons. But, I'll tell you them anyway at the top in the starting lineup. Jason Tatum, 31. Al Horford, 8. Christoph Porzingis, 35. Drew Holliday, 12. And Derek White, 23. I do not know where Jalen Brown was in that game. That's probably why they only lost. They only won by 6. But, who cares. The Detroit Pistons, they're, again, the 15th seed. They're doing worse than the Spurs. So, at least the Spurs are doing better than the Pistons. But, I want to tell you the Pistons and what their roster looks like. They have Cade Cunningham, Ussar Thompson, Jalen Duren, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jaden Ivey. I love Jaden Ivey so much. James Wiseman, I also love him. Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, Joe Harris, Marvin Bagley III, Alec Burks, Montae Morris, Kevin Knox II, Isaiah Livers, Jared Roden, Malcolm Gazzalin, and Stanley Umiday. I think it's Umiday. So, their players aren't that bad. But, I don't know if they're better than the others. They do have Jaden Ivey, who this year has been averaging 12 points. And he's been playing for two years, I'm pretty sure. And his team, we're going to go over the top five and then we're going to talk about how they could be better. So, Cade Cunningham, this year he is averaging 23 points per game, 44 field goal percentage, 34% from three, four rebounds per game, seven assists per game, one steal per game, and 0.4 blocks per game. He's been playing for three seasons, this is his third season. And I think he's going to do really, really well in the rest. Uzair Thompson, this year he's averaging nine points. His field goal percentage is 46.1. His three point percentage is 15.8. 15.8! He's a forward. Is he a power forward? No, he's a small forward. And his three point percentage is 15.8. That's not that good. That's actually terrible. But maybe he just doesn't like shooting it from the three point line. Rebounds 7.4, assists 2.3, steals 0.9, and blocks 1.1. So he is not doing the best, but I'm pretty sure. Let's see. Yeah, I think this is his rookie season. So, I mean, 15.4 or whatever it was at three point, that's not that good. Jalen Duren, this year, he is not a rookie, but last year he was a rookie. He did a little bit hurt his ankle, so I'd be surprised if he got a 30 point game. But last night he got 15 points. But this year he is averaging 12.7 points, 63 field goal percentage, 0 in the three point line. 11.4 rebounds. That's pretty good. Assists 2.6, steals 0.6, and blocks 1.2. So he's doing not that bad this year. But no one on the Pistons are doing that good either way. Next is Bojan Bogdanovic. He was on the Jazz two years ago. He was on the Jazz two years ago. He's been in the league for like 11 years or whatever. So let's find out his points this year. This year he's averaging 19.7 points, his field goal percentage is 45.6, three point percentage 37.1, rebounds 3.5, assists 2.8, steals 0.9, and blocks 0.1. So he isn't doing that good this year, but he's at least averaging 20 points or whatever it was. And finally, Jaden Ivey. Jaden Ivey had 22 points last night, which is really good. This season he's averaging 12.8 points, 45.7 field goal percentage, 31.1 three point percentage, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.8 steals in 0.6 blocks. Sorry, my mouth is going nuts today. So he's not doing that bad this season, but no one is doing good. I mean, Kate Cunningham's 23 points per game. We're just going to check out James Wiseman's stats and then we'll be done. And I'll talk about how they can do better. So James Wiseman, he's averaging 6.5 points, he has a 70.4 field goal percentage, 4.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks. This year his minutes are around 15 minutes, which I was surprised that it's only 15, because when he was on the Warriors he was playing like 30, because he was their center, along with Kevin Loon. Now he's on the Pistons and he's not doing as good, and neither is his team. So yeah, now I'm going to talk about how they can do better. So how can they do better? Well, if they would just play, if they would give Kate Cunningham the ball every single time, he would average 30 points. Along with giving it to Jalen Duren, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jane Ivey, all those players, maybe even James Wiseman, all near the paint for a shot or whatever they need to, or Marvin Bagley Jr. No, not Marvin Bagley Jr., Marvin Bagley III, Joe Harris, Isaiah Stewart, all those guys. If they would give them the ball and they would score, they would do way better than 2-29, or wherever they are. Are they 2-29? Yeah, 2-29. So I think they will do better next year if they get a really good draft pick this year, but they are a very, very, very young team. They don't have that many old people. I think their oldest player might be, it's either Monte Morris, Joe Harris, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart, all those guys. And the rest of the team is very young. So I think they're going to do way better next season. So again, we asked the question, why are they bad? They're just not doing that well this season because they need to pass the ball around more. If Kate Cunningham is the point guard and he brings up the ball, he's going to try to shoot it every single time, and he might not make it every time. Maybe pass around the ball to Jalen Duren in the paint, Bojan Bogdanovic at the three in the corner, Jaden Ivey up top for the three, James Wiseman in the paint. They can score all the time. They have a pretty decent team, and they can score every time if they want to. And yeah, also, who is your favorite team in the below-10, the Eastern Conference, and the below-10 seed in the Western? I'll tell you them. In the Eastern, it is the Chicago Bulls, 11 seed, the Atlanta Hawks, 12 seed, Toronto Raptors, 13 seed, Charlotte Hornets, 14 seed, Washington Wizards, and 15 seed, of course, the Detroit Pistons. The Western Conference, the 10 seed, the Phoenix Suns, 11 seed, the Golden State Warriors, the 12 seed, Utah Jazz, 13 seed, Memphis Cruisers, 14 seed, Portland Trail Blazers, and 15 seed, Victor Wapinyana, just kidding, the San Antonio Spurs. So, comment down below if you're on YouTube, follow me, and then tell me. And yeah, that is the podcast. Make sure to, if you're on YouTube, like and subscribe. On Spotify, follow me. On any podcast app, follow me. And I'll see you in Episode 3. Hope you like it. Peace out.