San Antonio Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson has maintained a steady, composed approach throughout the season. Since stepping in for the legendary Gregg Popovich in early November, the 38-year-old assistant has largely avoided making bold or attention-grabbing statements.
However, following a 145-134 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Johnson may have come the closest yet to delivering something resembling a headline-worthy remark.
“At some point, if you can’t stop them, schematically, individually, collectively, whatever we or I put out there as a game plan, we just need more resistance. If you played a pick up game, that would still be disappointing with no game plan. That’s on us.”
Johnson specifically addressed the Spurs’ defensive struggles, pointing to the 81 points they allowed in the first half while committing just five fouls in those opening 24 minutes. By halftime, San Antonio found itself trailing by 25 points.
“You don’t get rewarded for sometimes type of effort or competitiveness or intensity or execution. I think we were a victim of that at times when we tried, but we weren’t consistent.”
The game was the Spurs’ first since announcing that star guard De’Aaron Fox would miss the rest of the season due to finger surgery. However, it was yet another setback in what has been a challenging stretch for the team over the past month.
Spurs’ loss to Hornets encapsulates rough stretch
San Antonio’s loss to Charlotte was its ninth defeat in 13 games since losing Victor Wembanyama for the season.
The crushing news came right after the All-Star break, just as the Spurs had acquired De’Aaron Fox in a bid to boost their postseason hopes and make a potential playoff push.
With this latest setback, San Antonio now sits four and a half games behind the 10th and final Play-In spot in the Western Conference.
That position has long been held by a Dallas Mavericks squad dealing with its own share of turmoil—from the Luka Dončić trade to season-ending injuries for Kyrie Irving and Dante Exum, as well as lingering uncertainty over Anthony Davis’ return.
Despite being shorthanded with only eight available players, the Mavs recently managed to defeat the Spurs.
Meanwhile, Charlotte’s victory over San Antonio marked just its 17th win of the season. The Hornets currently hold the NBA’s third-worst record.
“This league is too good to think that you’re going to be able to turn that on or flip a switch and we tried a couple of times throughout the game. We tried to make a run. We were fighting. You could see the effort and the competitiveness lift a little bit,” Johnson said of his Spurs, citing a late fourth-quarter push by his reserves who don’t usually play.
“That’s not how this works,” he proclaimed.
“The next thing you know, the ball gets kicked that way, slips through your hands that way. You had a steal, but, oh no, they got it back and they make a three.”
Charlotte ultimately swept its season series against San Antonio, a result that not only underscores but also symbolizes the Spurs’ struggles as they head into the final month of the season.
