Spurs look to banish road hex
Mike Monroe
Though the Spurs have had their share of rocky early road records in the first 12 seasons of the Tim Duncan era, they never have gone through November with fewer than two wins away from their home court.
Unless they defeat the Houston Rockets in tonight's game at Toyota Center, however, they will slide into December without a single road victory in five tries.
A team that traditionally has used hostile territory as a crucible in which to fire the ingredients of championship contention thus far has found the road icy and treacherous.
Players who have been part of the championship history understand the need to begin amassing some road success.
“We've been playing well the last couple games,” said All-NBA point guard Tony Parker, who had a season-high 32 points in Wednesday's win over Golden State, “but I want to see what we're going to do against the big teams, so Houston's going to be a good test for us.
“It's on the road, and we need to start winning on the road, so we'll see what we can do.”
This season's schedule has afforded the Spurs fewer opportunities for early wins than previous seasons. Tonight's game against the Rockets will be just the fifth away game — fewer than any other pre-December schedule during the Duncan era.
“Our schedule, early on, was really wacky,” Parker said. “We had a game here and then a three- or four-day break, and then a game on the road. Hopefully, we'll start getting some continuity here with December approaching.”
The Rockets, thumped 130-99 by the Mavericks at home on Wednesday, have found a way to maintain a winning record without their two All-Stars, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
Yao is out for the season with a foot problem. McGrady, who had microfracture surgery on his left knee in February, completed his first full practices this week but is not likely to return tonight.
McGrady's status doesn't change the Spurs' approach to the game.
“(This game) will be big,” Roger Mason Jr. said. “We haven't had a lot of success on the road. The road is where we really bond and start coming together. Hopefully we can start doing that.”
History suggests slow road starts do not portend disaster.
Four times in the past 12 seasons, the Spurs entered the second full month of the season with more road losses than wins: 1999 (2-5), 2000-01 (2-4), 2002-03 (3-5) and 2003-04 (2-6).
The lockout-shortened 1999 season began in February. The Spurs finished the 50-game season 37-13.
In the three 82-game seasons, the final win totals were 58, 60 and 57.
“I'm a firm believer we will get a win on the road this season,” Richard Jefferson said, tongue in cheek. “It's not like we need to win this game more than any other. We need to win every game. It's not like you win one and all of a sudden you win them all.”
The Spurs come into tonight's game off three straight double-figure victories at home, their longest win streak of the young season. The victories have stoked their confidence that they are starting to gain some chemistry and continuity with a roster full of newcomers.
I'll be at the game tomorrow! I'll be driving over there tomorrow morning so I'll have plenty of time to get settled in before the game. I made the trip to Houston last season when we played them in March and hopefully this game end the same way that one did.
I don't care who is playing for the Rockets...anytime its Spurs-Rockets, it's an intense game. Hopefully the Spurs pick up their first road W of the season.
The spurs have only played 4 road games?!
Yep. We get the Rodeo Raod Trip and many other roadies after the ASB. It is a home heavy schedule right from the start.The spurs have only played 4 road games?!
I've basically discounted all games to-date. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the losses and the wins. But I want to see what this team can do when its complete, when Manu takes his place on the roster. It will take some time for him to get into game shape and for the gelling process to take its course but no one can deny what a healthy Manu brings to the table.
I think the Spurs are on their way to developing the cohesion and consistency they're going to need to contend for the championship. Issues like RJ's fitting into the Spurs system or Blairs problems on defense are not really big obstacles but kinks that will be worked out given more time. After all, its still only November. I trust Pop and the players to figure things out.
People around here are really blowing this 0-4 road record out of proportion. Two were on the second night of a back to back and the other two had long layoffs...something that doesn't bode well for a team trying to find its way from a chemistry standpoint. , one of the games was the Dallas game that we took to overtime without Parker or Manu.
I would like to get the win in Houston, but it's still far from time to hit the panic button even if we lose. We have 7 road games between now and the end of December. Let's get through those first and see where we are.
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