What we learned from the Spurs’ loss to the Lakers

For some reason I have always been fascinated by measurements. As a small child living in a farmhouse, I was frequently awakened by the sound of heavy rain on a tin roof. Sometimes I would lie awake for hours listening to it. Not because I was afraid of thunderstorms, but because I wanted to know how much it was raining.

Does the water collect in the rows of fields? Has a stream formed at the end of the driveway? How many centimeters of rain have fallen now? How high is the water? Five feet high and rising?

In a state frequently hit by droughts, every inch of rainfall counts. It is often said that Texas needs rain; Farmers and ranchers are unlikely to complain even if the value is too high. Generally they are grateful.

But that’s the special thing about rain: it is quantifiable. Gratitude, on the other hand? I found it harder to measure.

It’s a foregone conclusion that the Spurs’ loss to the Lakers ranks pretty low on my overall gratitude scale. On the other hand, Spurs won ten games before the end of November for the first time in years, which is quite a tally.

How do you quantify gratitude? It’s a concept I struggle with in a time of social media-curated illusions of uninterrupted happiness. Measurement seems to be more important than ever, if only to know where you stand.

Spurs are winning games and I’m happy about that. But how happy? Could I be happier? It definitely feels like it could be me.

Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, alongside the rest of the team, have helped develop the trio of Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Jeremy Sochan and I am grateful for that. How grateful? Should I put it on a scale of 1-10?

And how far have Spurs actually progressed? Is this really a strong team, or was it just a hot series against a few cans of tomatoes?

At some point I think I have to accept that not everything is measurable – that I should just sit down, eat my cake and learn to enjoy the moment.

Maybe I should just practice making lists instead.

Things to be grateful for

• In the last 10 games, Victor Wembanyama averaged 30.7/10.6/3.7/3.4/1 with a shot split of 42/53/79. He has been everything Spurs fans could have wished for.
• He also leads the league in all-time defensive stats for players under 23 (and several others, too).
• Stephon Castle is already third on the team for Defensive Win Shares despite missing playing time early in the season (it’s important to note that Sochan is also out).
• Chris Paul has a True Shooting Percentage of .621, the highest TS% of his entire career! While his ability to direct the offense was eye-opening, his relative resurgence on offense was equally significant, preventing him from becoming negative and helping to create even more room for his teammates to operate.
• In addition to his other achievements, Harrison Barnes is shooting an outstanding 47% on three goals. If it stays that way for the rest of the season, it would be a clear career highlight.

Playing You Out – The title song of the evening:

You can’t measure the costs of bread