December from hell can't end soon enough...

[ElNono]

It's been a brutal schedule... tomorrow is game #18 in 31 days, including numerous back to back...

Really appreciate the old guys, TD and Manu, suiting up and giving it their all, but they're so spent right now. Tiago still being babysitted, and all the injuries hasn't helped.

Pop has some tough decisions to make. It's clear Tim and Gino need at least 4-5 days off, but we're in a difficult situation at this juncture if the injured guys don't come back soon.

[BillMc]

It's been a brutal schedule... tomorrow is game #18 in 31 days, including numerous back to back...

Really appreciate the old guys, TD and Manu, suiting up and giving it their all, but they're so spent right now. Tiago still being babysitted, and all the injuries hasn't helped.

Pop has some tough decisions to make. It's clear Tim and Gino need at least 4-5 days off, but we're in a difficult situation at this juncture if the injured guys don't come back soon.

If Pop rests Manu and Duncan during the Detroit game on Jan 6th, they'll get five days off (with no travel) between the Washington and Phoenix games. And if they skip the away game against the Timberwolves, thats 1 game in 10 days. But can we risk it without Tony and Kawhi? Hopefully one or both will be back by then.

[ElNono]

If Pop rests Manu and Duncan during the Detroit game on Jan 6th, they'll get five days off (with no travel) between the Washington and Phoenix games.

Pistons are playing well now that Josh Smith is gone... Pop might have to wait until Kawhi or TP come back...

[chasky]

One more game, just one more game, hold on!

[Mugen]

Rest them. I don't expect us to lose after January tbh.

[look_at_g_shred]

Rest them. What's one more game tbh?

[spursparker9]

Just rest them.

This regular season is a huge success if we get the 8th seed tbh.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If Pop rests Manu and Duncan during the Detroit game on Jan 6th, they'll get five days off (with no travel) between the Washington and Phoenix games. And if they skip the away game against the Timberwolves, thats 1 game in 10 days. But can we risk it without Tony and Kawhi? Hopefully one or both will be back by then.

I think you totally sit them. We're losing games anyway. Those guys need to get their legs back.

[Legacy]

I can only hope January is better.

[Legacy]

Just rest them.

This regular season is a huge success if we get the 8th seed tbh.

:lol

[pgardn]

Just rest them.

This regular season is a huge success if we get the 8th seed tbh.

You are counting on all the teams in the West winning the way they are.
Its not gonna stay this way. We will not be the only team with a serious nose dive.

[Silver&Black]

I can only hope January is better.

That makes two of us....

[Sean Cagney]

Yeah this is the shittiest month I have seen from the Spurs in GOD knows how long? I can't remember one recently near as bad.

[RD2191]

CIA pop getting us fans ready for life after Tim/Manu. Easing us into a some losing seasons.:lol

[jARS mEsH sEt]

Pistons are playing well now that Josh Smith is gone... Pop might have to wait until Kawhi or TP come back...

Or maybe that's reason to say that we'll probably lose to the Pistons anyway in which case we might as well give Duncan and Manu the rest.

[tim_duncan_fan]

lol we still had enough to win tonight.

Long as we make and enter the playoffs with everybody raring to get 16 more victories, I really don't care about this December. If we're still getting our asses kicked with the whole squad in March then I'll probably bitch like none before but right now...

Spurfan aint got no worries.

[z0sa]

This truly has been the roughest December I can remember in a very very long time. The way our guys somehow simultaneously putting forth immense effort yet still comically failing ...

[spurs10]

This is the worst record and December we've had since Tim came onboard. Not getting any word about Kawhi is also something that can't end soon enough. If he required surgery it would have happened by now I'd like to think. If we can make it through December.....

[FireMicoHalili]

Welp. Have to ask if the rash of injuries cultivated our depth since the only takeaway I can gather is that the team totally rode on Duncan's back.

[hsxvvd]

Seems every game has been Western powerhouses, back to backs or both.

Frustrating when you see teams in the East playing against D-leaguers every other night.

[Buddy Mignon]

CIA pop getting us fans ready for life after Tim/Manu. Easing us into a some losing seasons.:lol


Now here's a dummy with a tad bit of common sense.

[EVAY]

I think you totally sit them. We're losing games anyway. Those guys need to get their legs back.

This is pretty much where I come out. If we are losing the games with them (and god knows we are), then why play them? We aren't winning games against the best in the West without ALL of our starters playing starters minutes, and that hasn't happened all season.

So - just wait and then climb back into 8th place and go from there.

[cjw]

Nothing sticks out to me as a red flag looking at our record:

- Around .500 against +.500 teams (last year this looked much worse)

- Not getting blown out - only MEM, TOR and POR have less 10+ point losses than we do (3)

- Tied for second most losses by one possession (5, IND has 6, we are tied with NY, CHA, PHX) ... not to mention 0-4 in OT games, some of which didn't end up as one possession games. Have played by the most of those types of games (24% plus OT games) ... by comparison, GS has been in only one "close" game, while it has more 10+ point losses than we do

- Have played less than half of games against <.500 teams and half above. Only DAL and MEM have had less among other top west teams.

- Have allowed the third least 3pt FG attempts but teams are shooting 36% against us (OKC, GS, HOU giving up more and all at 32% and below). At 20 attempts per game, that's a three point swing each game.


These numbers should even out as the year progresses. We've been unlucky and have lost significant games played due to injuries, while others may not keep up their pace.

[houston spurs fan]

OKC eventually gets in to the playoffs. I'm very concerned we are digging in to too big of a hole...

[Chomag]

People keep saying "Well when Spurs are all back 100% healthy they are going to own the league so no worries" Is this really a given though?

I think Spurs will make it to the playoffs but how hard are they going to be playing at the end of the season to get in is the question. All of this resting early in the season is for naught when they have to play themselves into the ground late season. I would rather them had fresh legs going into the playoffs but now they may have to be playing the main players heavy minutes.

[EVAY]

Yeah this is the shittiest month I have seen from the Spurs in GOD knows how long? I can't remember one recently near as bad.

There hasn't been one recently. There hasn't been one in the Tim Duncan era. Last month that was this bad was the season before they got Tim. I was there for that season and I remember going to games just to watch Dominique Wilkins shoot the ball because he was fun to watch. No chance the team would win anything.

Tickets were cheap, though!:lol

[ElNono]

People keep saying "Well when Spurs are all back 100% healthy they are going to own the league so no worries" Is this really a given though?

Nothing is a given, but it's impossible to try to be the best team you can be missing 2 starters and playing almost every other day for a whole month. The schedule should ease up a bit now, and hopefully we can get those guys back and stay healthy to try to build something there. We already know what the ceiling is for this team. There's no guarantee we'll get there this season, but we know we have a pretty damn good team when everyone is available and rested.

[baseline bum]

I just don't want to see this team spent by April like the 2010-11 team was. So Duncan playing huge minutes now is really bad.

[HI-FI]

Thank God we won this one. I really thought losing in OT would've been a cruel and unnecessary bitchslap. Least this brutal month ended well.

happy new year.

[ElNono]

So long, sucker

Happy New Year

[SnakeBoy]

Glad this month is almost over.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

December is over. Look at the Spurs schedule. It is pretty easy as they only 10 B2B remaing (3 1/2 months) after playing 11 B2B in only two months. Plus they have 24 ECF games and they play 20 plus games against under .500 teams out West.

Spurs are primed for a run as their schedule is probably the easiest remaining schedule of all the WC teams. This comes after having the worse scheduling in recent memory. 18 games in one month.

I only recall one year when the Spurs had to play this many games in one month in a non lockout season. It was back in the Robinson era where they played like 17 games. Spurs were like 10-7, didn't have the injuries they had this year and didn't have the SOS they just faced.

The first two months for the was just brutal.

[TampaDude]

We should have Kawhi back by the break, and our schedule gets a lot easier going forward. We'll be fine.

GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[Biernutz]

18 games, 7 back 2 back and the real kicker 45 minutes of overtime. Many of the starters sitting with the
bench putting in long minutes. Sure this gives the bench a lot of game time but they have to get
tired also. You would think that the NBA champs might have a little slack in the schedule but it
seems that Stern's schedule maker is still around. I worry about Manu using it all up. Boris is looking tired
by the 4th quarter. The one shining bright spot of all this is the play of Cory Joseph. Cory has stepped up
with Tony out and has played just great. This has been one of the most brutal month I have seen but
we get a little more time off now the rest of the season