SAN ANTONIO — In their Dec. 6 home matchup against the Kings, the San Antonio Spurs did something they do not often do when tip-off begins: They did not fall behind on the scoreboard in the first period.
San Antonio scored 33 points against Sacramento, a rare feat for the Spurs, who usually have slow starts to games this season.
However, that was one of the few bright spots in the game, as the Kings ran up the score en route to the lopsided 140-113 win.
"We haven't been one of the better teams in the first quarter," guard Chris Paul lamented.
This season, the Spurs are outscored in the opening frame by 25 to 29 points per period. They have trailed 16 times heading into the second period and have led just six times.
This concerns the team and has them looking for answers on how to fix this issue.
"If we knew that, that wouldn't happen," Paul said. "I think for us they (coaching staff) got the analytics and statistics of everything."
A deep dive into the stats and much-needed practice will help.
With the team off for a few days as the NBA Cup game got going, the team addressed the slow starts and focused on more energy.
"We try to figure it out. We addressed it the last game or two games ago," said Devin Vassell. "We obviously know it's a problem."
Vassell believes it comes down to focusing more on defense and getting into transition to get them out of the slow starts.
"They always say 'defense your way into the game' so if we're starting with getting stops and we're in transition, I think that makes it a lot easier."
The good news is that despite the slow starts, it does not impact the team terribly.
Overall, the team is 8-8 when trailing after the first and 5-5 at home. Also, the team has been great in the third period this season, contributing to their wins.
San Antonio is out-scoring opponents 30.5 points per period to 27.3. They are 9-1 overall when leading after the third and are undefeated at home, 7-0.
"Third quarter has really been our quarter," Paul said.
San Antonio has been playing much better than last season. The team is 12-12, has a four-game win streak, and its defense has been ranked among the league's best.
Despite this, the opening frame has been a thorn for the Spurs. A deep dive into the stats shows the team has a poor Defensive Rating to start games at 120.8 and an Offensive Rating of 103.7. That makes for a -17.2 Net Rating to start games.
Paul believes it comes down to one thing—consistency from the start—that could help the team overcome its first-period woes.
"I think we are just trying to find consistency through the whole game, and once we figure that out, I think we'll see much brighter spots."