San Antonio's 114-103 road win over the Detroit Pistons was significant not just because the Spurs knocked off the team with the league's best record on their home floor. It was a statement about playoff readiness. Despite their youth and inexperience, this Texas team may well be ready to win in the postseason. The combination of excellent defense on Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama's six blocks, and the ability of different players in their deep backcourt to step up on any given night all pointed to a team that might still play ball come June.

Stephon Castle's elite perimeter defense on Cunningham was complemented by Devin Vassell's 28 points, including 7-of-11 from three. On another night, it could be De'Aaron Fox or rookie Dylann Harper carrying the offensive load.

For me, what stood out most was the Spurs' ability to create high-quality half-court looks. We've talked before about San Antonio's offensive identity - built around transition, attacking the rim, and kicking out to shooters. All of those elements were present in this game, but the team's half-court sophistication was particularly impressive. Mitch Johnson's players showed real intelligence in reading and reacting to different defensive coverages. And in the playoffs, when the game slows down, and transition opportunities typically diminish, half-court execution carries special weight.

The Wembanyama Pindown Action

In a previous column, we discussed Wembanyama as essentially a 7-4 guard. San Antonio's offensive playbook reflects exactly that, with several sets designed to get him the ball in guard situations. One example is an ATO (After Time Out) play where a guard sets a down screen for Wembanyama as a shooter. In the first clip, Jaylen Duran plays him top lock and takes the screen away. Wembanyama reads the coverage, pivots, and sets a ball screen for Castle instead. Castle then fires a skip pass to Vassell for a corner three.

In the second attempt, the play runs cleanly: off a sideline out-of-bounds, Champagnie sets a down screen for Wembanyama, who catches and knocks down the three.

Zipper Flare - Ball Screen Option

One of the more popular actions in the league is the Zipper Flare - a big man sets a screen for a guard, who moves diagonally to the opposite elbow. In the first half, San Antonio used this as a decoy to set up the primary action: a Wembanyama ball screen for the point guard. This is where the Spurs' read-and-react system shines - on one possession, Castle finishes a layup; on another, Fox finds Vassell for a three from the top of the key; on a third, Fox goes opposite the ball screen and hits a short pull-up.

Zipper Flair — Horizontal Zoom Option

In the second half, the same Wembanyama zipper Flare action - this time for a defense that was already keying on Vassell as a shooting threat - was designed to end in a horizontal staggered screen for Vassell, who receives a handoff from the second screener, Wembanyama himself.

In the first clip, Fox passes to Wembanyama, sets the first screen, and the red-hot Vassell takes the handoff from Wemby to finish at mid-range. In the next clip, Castle enters to Wembanyama, and as Fox steps up for the zoom play, Castle cuts hard to the rim, using Wembanyama's body to rub off his defender - Wembanyama then dishes him the ball for an easy layup.

That last action is called, fittingly, the Spurs Cut - a staple of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker's game during their four championship runs together (Duncan won five titles in total). The question now writes itself: can Castle and Wembanyama win a title together the way Duncan and Parker did, starting with this very postseason?