This game was a lot closer than Spurs fans would have liked, but at least it was an exciting win and not a frustrating loss. San Antonio earned the victory over the Pelicans 121-116, and while not everything was perfect, the boys found themselves on the right side of the win/loss column. There is no substitute for victory, so we take the wins when they come.

There was a lot to be happy with, like Victor Wembanyama’s one-legged three-pointer. It’s a move deep in his pocket that fans have known about for a long time, but he rarely uses it. This is certainly intentional. A coach like Popovich will at least warn against relying on such unconventional shots, but he had to do it at some point.

The alien finished the evening with 25 points, ten rebounds, one assist and three blocks – an easy evening full of otherworldly activities for the Frenchman. But the other half of Area 51 came to help secure the victory. Stephon Castle dropped 22 points and added five rebounds, four assists and a steal to his stats.

Both players were tough, including Wembanyama, who won the game, and got just enough help from the rest of the team to secure the win. Wemby and Steph impacted the game late on both sides of the ball, and New Orleans couldn’t overcome its relentless drive to win.

Others on the team had nights of ups and downs – another consistent trend this season.

I get it; Vassell went from third option to second option, he was supposed to be the first option last year but quickly became the number two option for Victor. Now Chris Paul and Stephon Castle are on the team and they dominate the ball on many possessions and Dev is stuck trying to figure out where he belongs without trying to rock the boat.

Spurs’ culture is based on sacrifice, so making waves isn’t ideal. However, he may need to create a few waves. He’s by far the second-best offensive option on the team, but too often he plays like he’s another guy waiting for the ball to swing his way in hopes of having enough room to take a shot.

The fourth-year guard has too much talent to stand around and wait for the ball on so many possessions. He’s still on some minutes restriction, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take more shots when he’s in the game.

At the start of the fourth quarter, he had seven shot attempts in 20 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Keldon Johnson scored five goals in ten minutes, left the game due to an injury in the first half and did not return. Charles Bassey and Jeremy Sochan had six attempts around the same time, Dev seven. It’s not enough from the guy with the highest field goal percentage on the team.

He had a bad night of filming. He was 2-7 at that point and finished the night at 3-11, but the best players on the team have to be aggressive.

For him, it’s almost always better to take more shots than anyone else on the team not named Victor Wembanyama. When he doesn’t, the less efficient players shoot, and that drags the offense down. Part of the Spurs’ rise to the next level will require more from their All-Star hopeful.

They’re not the only ones in the league suffering from this epidemic, but that doesn’t make it any better. The Silver and Black haven’t had a healthy roster all season, and that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. Luckily, Wembanyama quickly recovered from the illness that forced him out of the game early on, but Spurs lost Zach Collins (back) in the process.

You can think what you want about Collins, but having fewer available players is generally not beneficial. Keldon Johnson went down during a non-contact play, but the details of his injury are unclear. Mitch Johnson said in the postgame that he thought it could be a cramp, but it was still unclear.

The team is already without Tre Jones. Fans are hoping the boys can stay healthy long enough to see a fully-capacity Spurs team take on an opponent together. That hope remains out of reach, but San Antonio continues to pull off games despite this ongoing problem.

12,099 assists. That’s a lot of dishing and orchestration. Chris Paul continues to prove that he can think about this game at a level unlike most found on the NBA hardwood. It only took until the second quarter for the Point God to make his next mark on the league, passing Jason Kidd (12,091) for second place all-time in the NBA assists rankings.

It will be a very long time before anyone overtakes the Point God in second place, where he will likely stay unless he plans to play for five or more years to try to overtake John Stockton’s 15K . That’s highly unlikely, so second place is more than enough, and that’s quite an achievement.

Let’s be honest, Bassey has made a strong case for more minutes a few times this season. I’m not sure what he needs to do to get a more consistent look at the backup center spot, but he’s doing everything he can. The Nigerian big man scored 16 points on 6/12 from the field, added 12 rebounds and stopped four shots at the rim. Give this man more time on the floor.

Bassey has missed an absurd amount of time in his young career due to injuries, but if this is his ground he needs to be trained carefully because he has a lot of potential in this league. Protecting the paint the way he does is invaluable, especially when you have a team that can drive opponents away from the 3-point line – a trait that is more important than ever in the current NBA landscape .

San Antonio is off for the next four days. They will be back in action on December 13th against the Portland Trail Blazers. You need this longer period of time to become as healthy as possible. Maybe the next game will be the start of longer health, but that may just be wishful thinking.