Spurscast Ep. 650: Keldon Johnson's Improved Scoring

In Spurscast episode 650, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer and editor Stephen Michael discuss: 

The Spurs in the last four games

Doug McDermott expected to miss the rest of the season

Keldon Johnson’s improved scoring post-trade deadline

The Last Four Games

The San Antonio Spurs went 2-2 in their last four games with wins against the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder, while suffering losses to the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the win against the Jazz, not only did the Spurs come back from a 15-point deficit, but the win also put Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich in NBA history with 1,336 all-time regular-season wins.

By going .500 in their last four games, the Spurs have moved closer to trying to get into the play-in game, while that means on the other end their lottery odds decreased with an improved record.

McDermott Expected to Miss Remainder of Season

Wednesday the Spurs announced forward Doug McDermott is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a grade 3 right ankle sprain.

With McDermott out, Josh Richardson is expected to start for the final 12 games of the season.

McDermott's play this season is discussed in the episode, as well as what the team looks like with a small ball starting five having Jakob Poeltl and four guards now in the starting lineup going forward.

Keldon Johnson's Improved Scoring

Since the Spurs traded Derrick White in early February, Keldon Johnson's scoring has increased from 15 to 20 points per game. Johnson is attempting more three-point attempts during the timeframe, while still shooting accurately from beyond the arc.

Johnson has improved his shot selection in the paint and his accuracy in the paint has increased as well.

Johnson's amount of wide-open 3-point attempts have decreased post-trade deadline. That could be for one of two reasons: a) defenses are not letting him get as many wide open looks or b) in trading White, the Spurs only have Dejounte Murray to break down the defense to get shooters open shots consistently.

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