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I’ve seen enough: Award the Spurs the authority to Saint Nick's elf headquarters. Put Castle in control of present construction. Permit De’Aaron Fox throw presents into chimneys, from whatever range he’d like. Devin Vassell can personalize the festive biscuits. Harrison Barnes has the brigade of elves covered. And, of course, Santa Claus’s vehicle must at once be resized for a more statuesque, thinner pilot so that the immense Victor Wembanyama can operate it with ease.

The electrifying San Antonio squad have beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trio of matchups in a fortnight, and in accomplishing this have breathed new life into this league schedule. I now have greater belief in the Spurs’ ability to deliver excitement to the fans than any seasonal myths of old.

A Grim Beginning

It looked dire for a time. The Thunder might have secured the Larry O’Brien trophy in June, but commenced this season in increasingly ominous form. They strung together 24 wins in their opening 25 matchups (the sole defeat was a freak 20-point comeback). In the bulk of those games, Williams, their next best player, was on the bench healing from wrist surgery. Gilgeous-Alexander, their top player, rarely had to play in fourth quarters. The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings by 31. The Lakers, who some predicted to be a possible challenger, fell by 29; their offensive genius Doncic appeared as if he was competing with ten men. The Suns' spirited opening resulted in a narrow defeat, by just four points. When they played a rematch 12 days later, the Thunder won by 49. This game was a decisive statement and started winter 10 days ahead of schedule. Oklahoma City looked capable of dominating anything in its path, even the Warriors' fabled regular season record of 73-9.

A Question of Style

The Thunder do not employ a especially appealing style of basketball. They skillfully leverage the referees’ problem over which fouls to call (a consistent whistle disrupts the rhythm of the game, an absent one allows players escape punishment for clear violations), often resulting in SGA shooting foul shots after whistles that would be left uncalled, while personified mosquito swarm Caruso seems to have carte blanche to do anything he likes on the defensive end. Some profess to enjoy, Gilgeous-Alexander contorting his body to draw small bumps from defenders; I can only assume those same people also like being struck hard between the legs. That’s not to mention man-mountain Dort leaving his feet and into opponents after many suspiciously slight touches. This tactics lets haters to harbor the fantasy that in a world with flawless officiating, the Thunder would be a mediocre team. True knowledgeable fans know it’s far more irritating than essential to the Thunder’s success, but the widespread irritation is enough to push some fans who might otherwise be indifferent into cheering for Oklahoma City’s demise.

Dominance can be impressively clinical to watch, but a all-time dominant performance tends to inspire less awe the more times it recurs. How many times does anybody really want to watch one team beat another by 35? Sooner or later you remember that the uncertainty is the point. The Thunder were sapping the season of excitement, running up leads on other teams in the standings as well as on the floor.

Enter the Spurs

Through the first half of the first quarter of the initial San Antonio vs. OKC game this season, San Antonio found themselves behind by 16 and appeared destined to go the identical path as every other team. Instead, they have unleashed chaos on the Thunder ever since.

Against the Spurs, the Thunder look mortal. Each member of their core deserves significant credit for that, but this is Victor Wembanyama’s team, and the Thunder know it. “There’s this man on their team that’s seven-foot-five and commands a lot of area on the court,” Jalen Williams remarked, with some irritation, when asked what made the Spurs such a hard team to beat. The Thunder’s lanky center, 7ft 1in Holmgren, is the biggest player on the floor in most games, free to grab rebounds and reject opposing shots. Next to Wembanyama, he’s short, unpolished, and even tentative. Wembanyama’s contempt for Holmgren is apparent in how he celebrates each time Chet misses a free throw, as though he’s hit the jackpot; the way he commits a foul on him with a bit of extra venom; the way he told reporters he does not view Holmgren a competitor. (There is indeed no argument over which player is more talented.) At this rate Holmgren must expect Wemby to emerge from the pantry, talking smack, when he stretches for a treat.

A Festive Declaration

The Spurs led by Wembanyama made their most conclusive statement yet on Christmas, defeating the Thunder by 15 on their home court. San Antonio took the customary early punch well yet again, recovering to drop 41 points on the league’s stingiest defense in the first quarter. De'Aaron Fox easily found the miniscule holes in that defense to the sum of 29 points. The Spurs even restricted SGA to a career-low 22. He attempted to make up for it by firing passes to open teammates behind the arc, but they disappointed by missing almost every single attempt.

A Thunder believer would say that a sufficient number of those three-pointers will go in next time to produce a victory or a closer loss, but I found the failed attempts indicative of a flaw. Off the strength of his silky-smooth stepback jumper, SGA is the most reliable scoring weapon in the league. He is tough to guard and nearly unguardable to stop. But even he can’t carry an offense entirely on his own. The Spurs put him under enough pressure that he had to distribute more than usual, and his supporting parts struggled under the increased burden. Dort and Caruso are good for the sporadic three-pointer, but relying on them to hit the three-ball is the least desirable situation the Thunder want to be.

The New Landscape

The Spurs’ surge couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Not only have they decisively established themselves as championship threats – but they’ve let fans to see the Thunder in {higher definition|sharper focus|