Dex
01-20-2012, 05:38 PM
So I'm sure every team probably feels they have a reason to bitch about the lockout-shortened season and the condensed schedule that comes with it. That's what happens when you are forced to play 66 games in 124 days.
Breaking down the Spurs schedule so far, they've been fortunate in some areas, while unfortunate in others.
Home Sweet Home - The Spurs started with a very home-heavy schedule. In general, this is good to build the confidence of a team early in the season and establish a good base of wins, and the Spurs have certainly taken advantage with a 9-0 home record (so far, their 2nd best home start of all time). Everybody knew that the Spurs were going to have to start well this season, as trying to dig yourself out of a hole while dealing with this grind of a schedule would be a tough feat.
However...this balance is about to shift very quickly. Before the road B2B with MIA/ORL, the Spurs were 9/4 Home/Away. That B2B very quickly brought them up to a much more even 9/6, and now the Spurs face a stretch where 14 of their next 19 games are on the road. That means that by the time they are done with this, the balance will be 14/20 Home/Away. To further compound things, the 9-game Rodeo Road Trip stretch is not broken up by the All-Star Break like usual, and contains two back to backs. It's a good thing the Spurs built a decent record so far and took advantage of their home-court, because by the end of this journey, the Spurs could easily be at .500 if they don't solve their road woes.
Taking Care of Business Early - So far, the season is less than a month old, and counting this weekend, the Spurs will have played six B2Bs in the first month. Considering they have weathered the storm fairly well so far, the silver lining to this early barrage is that they don't have to deal with another similar stretch until April. After Saturday, the Spurs have only one B2B left in January, three in February, and four in March (including one B2B2B).
Battle of the Tired Legs - While the Spurs have played a large number of B2Bs so far, they have been fortunate that their opposition usually hasn't been in much better shape. Four out of the first five B2Bs were against teams who were also on the tail of B2Bs (including OKC and ORL, who were on the third games of B2B2B sets) Also, the Spurs were able to take advantage of a rare Home B2B with two wins. A minor victory, perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.
No Rest For the Weary - Perhaps my biggest gripe about the schedule so far, the Spurs have YET to have consecutive days off. Once again counting this weekend's B2B, the Spurs will have played 17 games in 26 days. People like to complain about three games in five nights, or five in seven....the Spurs have been working at that pace for damn near a month now. Add in the six B2Bs, and its amazing that they have anything left in the tank and only have two guys on the IR. In fact, the Spurs can't look forward to consecutive days off until February 9th, and they will be on the road and trekking around the country on the RRT at that point.
This results in several bad things: tired legs, lack of healing time for nagging injuries, and no full practices. So far, I think the Spurs have had one practice session for the season, and I'm sure it was even a light practice. For the new guys, it's all been trial by fire. Fortunately, this introduces another case of getting your work done early. Come February, the Spurs have several pairs of days off (four, including the five-day All Star Break), March has three (including a three-day break), and April has one (the 1st and 2nd).
The Home Stretch - Hopefully, that rest in February and March will be enough to get them ready for a bonkers home stretch, because the final month of the season will be an absolute battle with 16 games in 24 days. After those first two days off, April will quickly kick off a killer end run containing seven B2Bs (with 1 B2B2B), including 2nd games against Boston, Utah, Memphis, Lakers, Portland, and Golden State. The Spurs better hope they aren't fighting for wins at the end of the season, because those victories will be hard fought.
In conclusion, the Spurs definitely seem to face the brunt of this mini-season early and late in the schedule, with the middle portion being as friendly as it is going to get this season. So far, they have done a good job of taking care of business at home and establishing a solid record that will hopefully put them in a good position going into this extended road flurry (Spurs are currently 2nd in the Western Conference). Now they need to get their gears clicking when playing in other arenas, but the Rodeo Road Trip has historically been a good time to build that confidence and chemistry. After that, they'll have a short stretch to get in some practices and try to rebuild strength (including reincorporating Ford and Ginobili), because once April comes, there will be no time for looking back.
Breaking down the Spurs schedule so far, they've been fortunate in some areas, while unfortunate in others.
Home Sweet Home - The Spurs started with a very home-heavy schedule. In general, this is good to build the confidence of a team early in the season and establish a good base of wins, and the Spurs have certainly taken advantage with a 9-0 home record (so far, their 2nd best home start of all time). Everybody knew that the Spurs were going to have to start well this season, as trying to dig yourself out of a hole while dealing with this grind of a schedule would be a tough feat.
However...this balance is about to shift very quickly. Before the road B2B with MIA/ORL, the Spurs were 9/4 Home/Away. That B2B very quickly brought them up to a much more even 9/6, and now the Spurs face a stretch where 14 of their next 19 games are on the road. That means that by the time they are done with this, the balance will be 14/20 Home/Away. To further compound things, the 9-game Rodeo Road Trip stretch is not broken up by the All-Star Break like usual, and contains two back to backs. It's a good thing the Spurs built a decent record so far and took advantage of their home-court, because by the end of this journey, the Spurs could easily be at .500 if they don't solve their road woes.
Taking Care of Business Early - So far, the season is less than a month old, and counting this weekend, the Spurs will have played six B2Bs in the first month. Considering they have weathered the storm fairly well so far, the silver lining to this early barrage is that they don't have to deal with another similar stretch until April. After Saturday, the Spurs have only one B2B left in January, three in February, and four in March (including one B2B2B).
Battle of the Tired Legs - While the Spurs have played a large number of B2Bs so far, they have been fortunate that their opposition usually hasn't been in much better shape. Four out of the first five B2Bs were against teams who were also on the tail of B2Bs (including OKC and ORL, who were on the third games of B2B2B sets) Also, the Spurs were able to take advantage of a rare Home B2B with two wins. A minor victory, perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.
No Rest For the Weary - Perhaps my biggest gripe about the schedule so far, the Spurs have YET to have consecutive days off. Once again counting this weekend's B2B, the Spurs will have played 17 games in 26 days. People like to complain about three games in five nights, or five in seven....the Spurs have been working at that pace for damn near a month now. Add in the six B2Bs, and its amazing that they have anything left in the tank and only have two guys on the IR. In fact, the Spurs can't look forward to consecutive days off until February 9th, and they will be on the road and trekking around the country on the RRT at that point.
This results in several bad things: tired legs, lack of healing time for nagging injuries, and no full practices. So far, I think the Spurs have had one practice session for the season, and I'm sure it was even a light practice. For the new guys, it's all been trial by fire. Fortunately, this introduces another case of getting your work done early. Come February, the Spurs have several pairs of days off (four, including the five-day All Star Break), March has three (including a three-day break), and April has one (the 1st and 2nd).
The Home Stretch - Hopefully, that rest in February and March will be enough to get them ready for a bonkers home stretch, because the final month of the season will be an absolute battle with 16 games in 24 days. After those first two days off, April will quickly kick off a killer end run containing seven B2Bs (with 1 B2B2B), including 2nd games against Boston, Utah, Memphis, Lakers, Portland, and Golden State. The Spurs better hope they aren't fighting for wins at the end of the season, because those victories will be hard fought.
In conclusion, the Spurs definitely seem to face the brunt of this mini-season early and late in the schedule, with the middle portion being as friendly as it is going to get this season. So far, they have done a good job of taking care of business at home and establishing a solid record that will hopefully put them in a good position going into this extended road flurry (Spurs are currently 2nd in the Western Conference). Now they need to get their gears clicking when playing in other arenas, but the Rodeo Road Trip has historically been a good time to build that confidence and chemistry. After that, they'll have a short stretch to get in some practices and try to rebuild strength (including reincorporating Ford and Ginobili), because once April comes, there will be no time for looking back.