Jeremy Sochan isn’t a point guard, but the Spurs are making him one

Jeremy Sochan, the second-year San Antonio Spurs energy forward-turned-point guard, gathers the ball with a 1-point lead and a pair of:30 left in the second quarter of a Nov. 14 street recreation in opposition to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

As Sochan rushes up the court docket, he would not look over at Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who’s attempting to name a particular play. While the Spurs’ offense is in motion, Popovich implores Sochan to take a look at him subsequent time.

The Spurs possession ends in a missed 7-foot jumper by Malaki Branham, and Josh Giddey corrals the rebound and shortly drives down the court docket, blowing previous Sochan for a transition layup to present the Thunder a lead they’d by no means relinquish in what turns into a 123-87 rout.

A fuming Popovich shortly calls timeout.

Sochan approaches his coach, who explains — in a a lot calmer tone than he took whereas the earlier play was unfolding — that Sochan wanted to look to the sideline in these conditions.

It was a educating second for Popovich, one of many who have taken place to date this season. A 3-2 begin has been eclipsed by an eight-game shedding streak that has dropped the Spurs to final place in the Western Conference heading into Monday’s recreation in opposition to the LA Clippers.

With the Spurs leaning into a supersized beginning lineup this season, there have been rising pains.

Devin Vassell is the solely conventional guard in the lineup. Keldon Johnson has largely been a small ahead with the capability to slip up and play the 4 if wanted. Zach Collins is settling into his function as the staff’s beginning middle. And No. 1 general choose Victor Wembanyama, all 7-foot-4 of him, is malleable sufficient to slot in wherever he is wanted.

Then there’s Sochan, who got here into the league a 12 months in the past as a energy ahead but has now been thrust into an unfamiliar place. Prior to a late October recreation in opposition to the LA Clippers, Popovich referred to as Sochan “our official 2023-24 experiment to see what happens there.”

Popovich has stated the Spurs went to the large lineup with Sochan partly for defensive functions, with the hope the staff can create extra havoc and deflections. The Spurs averaged 13.9 deflections a recreation final season and are simply shy of that this season at 13.1 by way of 13 video games.

After Sochan’s first recreation at point guard in the preseason, Popovich stated he appreciated the tempo with which Sochan ran the offense, but the coach has constantly stated it’s going to proceed to be a work in progress.

“It is the first time I have ever played point guard in my life,” Sochan stated. “I am doing it. I am making a transition like this in the NBA, which is rare. You don’t see a lot of people going from power forward to point guard.

“There have been moments the place it is like, ‘Yo, I do not wish to.’ It’s like, ‘f— this s—.’ I’m going to be trustworthy. There have been moments the place there isn’t confidence. But there are moments of being assured and simply working. Knowing the belief I’ve from the coaches and gamers, it helps.”

Though Sochan had by no means performed point guard previous to this season, Popovich stated the Spurs did not give Sochan a directive to look at a specific participant on movie as a result of they nonetheless need him to be himself.

“He cannot play like Chris Paul or he cannot play like John Stockton. He’s bought to be Jeremy,” Popovich stated. “So we watch him play and we help him understand how to run a team, what’s going on on the floor, what plays are appropriate at what time, time and score, all those things. He’s got to do it his way.”

Doing it his approach is what Sochan prefers as nicely.

“Your mind is always running,” Sochan stated. “But it is fun. It is tiring, but in a positive way. It’s not like I am trying to hide from it or anything. It is going to be a process, for sure.”

So far that course of has resulted in his assists-per-game common leaping from 2.5 a season in the past to 4.5 this season. His turnovers, nevertheless, are up as nicely, from 1.7 to 2.5. The Spurs are averaging 16.1 turnovers per recreation, fifth most in the NBA. At instances, they’ve struggled to get the ball to Wembanyama, who remains to be averaging a team-high 19.3 factors per recreation, greatest amongst all rookies.

Sochan stated the psychological side of taking part in point guard has been as tiring as the bodily facet, but he has gotten assist from backup Tre Jones, the solely true point guard on the Spurs’ roster.

Jones began 65 of 68 video games a season in the past for the Spurs, averaging 12.9 factors and 6.6 assists per recreation. He was rewarded in the offseason with a two-year, $19 million deal. He has taken his transfer to the bench in stride whereas taking part in solely barely lower than he did a season in the past — 25.3 minutes per recreation in comparison with 29.2 per recreation final season.

Jones stated that he talks with Sochan about the place and what he sees on the court docket on nearly a every day foundation.

“We’re always with each other and we’re always in the gym or there’s film or whatever it may be,” Jones instructed ESPN. “There’s so many different scenarios that it brings, but obviously we have a great relationship and a friendship and we’re able to just talk about so many different things that we see and that he’s going through right now as well.”

San Antonio has been at its greatest with Jones as the point guard. In 253 minutes with Jones on the ground, the Spurs have scored 115.8 factors per 100 possessions. With Sochan on the ground, they are scoring 100.1 factors per 100 possessions. As a staff, the Spurs have a 106.9 offensive ranking.

According to Second Spectrum, the Spurs are averaging 0.966 factors per possession when Sochan brings the ball up the ground. That is final amongst the 50 gamers who’ve introduced the ball up 200 instances or extra this season.

Still, the Spurs are sticking with the Sochan experiment. And Sochan says having the backing of his teammates and training workers has gone a good distance in serving to him recover from the dangerous days.

“They know that it is not always going to be perfect,” Sochan stated.

Sochan stated it feels good realizing that everybody in the constructing believes in what they are attempting to perform, and his teammates are devoted to working by way of their on-court points as the season progresses.

“I do feel like Jeremy’s more than capable of being point guard,” Johnson stated. “I feel like he’s getting better and better each and every game and you can just see the confidence growing and brewing inside of him. I’m proud of him because this is something different. … So just to see his growth with all the noise and everything like that, I’m very proud of him and I have his back 110%.”

Adding to the problem of studying a new place is the indisputable fact that Sochan is usually drawing the opposing staff’s greatest perimeter defender, whereas additionally ceaselessly defending one of the opponent’s greatest gamers on the different finish of the court docket. On Nov. 17, Sochan drew Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox 48 instances but additionally defended Domantas Sabonis 9 instances in halfcourt matchups. No different participant has guarded each All-Stars as a lot in the half court docket to date this season. Defensively, that was a function Sochan needed to deal with at instances final season as a rookie, but with out the added strain of initiating the offense.

“As a 4, I would be guarding one of the best players, but then normally I’d go to the corner and I see what the point guard says and I know my route,” Sochan instructed ESPN. “But as the point guard, you need to know what you’re about to do and everyone else’s role in the play. It’s a little tougher.”

While the preliminary returns of the 2023-24 experiment have been missing, the Spurs are dedicated to maintaining Sochan at the point transferring ahead, and doing no matter they’ll to assist him succeed — which ideally will result in long-term success for the staff.

“He’s got a lot of responsibilities on both sides of the court, and he’s doing his best to respect the coaches’ game plan,” Wembanyama stated. “We’ve got a long-term vision. We are not close. But we’re on the right path. Someday it’s going to pay off.”