With a difficult schedule, the Spurs would be below .500

[tmtcsc]

I'm grateful for the soft schedule because its allowed the team to continue getting better without losing games.

I'm sure most fans aren't fooled by the nice start and most importantly the Spurs team isn't. Making mistakes while still posting W's is golden.

The team needs to improve it's defense or it won't beat the good teams. Of course a coach with 4 rings realizes that too.

[stxspurs]

again..who cares....i rather them play lower teams to get in the groove. it lets then gain some confidence...i agree okc will be a tough one

[bus driver]

cool but we didnt have a difficult schedule and we are 6-1.. so gtfo

+1


schedule bull

[ElNono]

It's a good thing we didn't have a difficult schedule then. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. As others have said, at least this allows the team to get better prepared for the more difficult challenges that lay ahead.

[lefty]

I'm not. We are barely squeaking by non-contenders right now. At the same time, these close games should be good tests for our team when they challenge the contenders.

Too many stupid mistakes and no defense will cost us with these contenders.

I agee 100%

But playing vs average teams is a good opportunity for Pop to give enough PT to the rookies, so they can learn fast

[mingus]

the Spurs are playing down to their opponents' level to an extent. defensively, this team can be very good. their activity increases when they are commited to it, and they've been able to get stops when they need to get stops for the most part. Manu and Tim i know for a fact are not playing with the intensity that they woould play with against better teams. you can just tell by watching that they're kind of taking it easy and like i said getting stops when they need to. this is understandable for them because they need to save their legs for when it matters most. as long as both those guys are playing their best defense when it matters is what's important. right now they're letting their offense carry them, but you know what? that's their perogative. they have the offense to do that and if it means they're going to rely on it to save their legs i'm fine with that.

so i don't buy it at all that this Spurs team would be below .500. they'd be playing a different, defensively better brand of basketball against those teams.

[ducks]

last year spurs were 4-6 after ten games

it was a battle to get a decent seeding
atleast they have not dug themselves into a big hole this year

[ohmwrecker]

the Spurs are playing down to their opponents' level to an extent.

Exactly. They have done this for years. They play down to bad teams and ratchet it up for the good teams. The biggest difference is that they let a lot of those close games against bad teams slip away last year. This year they are shutting them down in the last half of the 4th quarter. I really have to question the length of time OP has been a Spurs fan, or how much basketball he actually watches.

[rascal]

The Spurs didn't have a particularly difficult schedule last year and were 4-6 to start the season which made them have to scramble to even make the playoffs. This is better.

I don't care if they're winning ugly at this point as long as they're padding the win column. They have plenty of time to figure things out. The nice thing about having rookies contributing instead of career journeyman veterans is the reality that they could actually get better. Remember when Matt Bonner was starting and Pops Mensah-Bonsu was looking like a really good option for a starting center?

The spurs were not missing the playoffs last year and they aren't missing the playoffs this year.

What matters is have the spurs built a team capable of beating the Lakers in a 7 game series and winning a le. It is another re-run of a season like we have seen many times before if they can't get past the lakers.

[TJastal]

the Spurs are playing down to their opponents' level to an extent. defensively, this team can be very good. their activity increases when they are commited to it, and they've been able to get stops when they need to get stops for the most part. Manu and Tim i know for a fact are not playing with the intensity that they woould play with against better teams. you can just tell by watching that they're kind of taking it easy and like i said getting stops when they need to. this is understandable for them because they need to save their legs for when it matters most. as long as both those guys are playing their best defense when it matters is what's important. right now they're letting their offense carry them, but you know what? that's their perogative. they have the offense to do that and if it means they're going to rely on it to save their legs i'm fine with that.

so i don't buy it at all that this Spurs team would be below .500. they'd be playing a different, defensively better brand of basketball against those teams.

So basically a more verbose way of saying why use 5th gear when 4th is getting the job done.

[rascal]

last year spurs were 4-6 after ten games

it was a battle to get a decent seeding
atleast they have not dug themselves into a big hole this year

The seeding doesn't matter. The spurs could play all 7 games of a 7 game series at home and still lose to the Lakers.

[MarHill]

Did Spurs make their own schedule? No!

You can only play the schedule that's in front of you. If the Spurs were 1-6...you would start a thread that's over and they suck.

Spoiled Spurs fans!!! Unbelievable!!

They play 82 games and the season is marathon not a sprint.

I would be more worried if they were playing perfect basketball in November than March and April.

Do they have some things to get better at? Absolutely!!

But sometimes...fans don't have any perspective!

[rascal]

The lack of blowout wins is a good indicator on how strong the team is. Point differential is important to show which teams will win in the end.

[MarHill]

The seeding doesn't matter. The spurs could play all 7 games of a 7 game series at home and still lose to the Lakers.

I disagree.

Seeding does matter and the Spurs don't have the same margin of error as they had in the past.

Having HCA in the first 2 rounds of playoffs will make a big difference until they face the Lakers in WCF.

[Spurminator]

It's too early to judge really, but I like what I'm seeing so far. The logic that we're only 6-1 because we're not facing difficult teams is questionable. Good teams consistently beat the teams they're supposed to beat, average or below-average teams will lose a few of those.

But time will tell. Anyone who has watched this team for even the last ten years knows it's not uncommon for the Spurs to come out of the gates a little sloppy in some areas.

[DBMethos]

I'd rather be 6-1 with the easy schedule we've had than 4-3, or worse. You take what you can get.

[eric365]

We won against Houston and Houston is a top 10 team according to Hollinger rating.
We are fine

[silverblk mystix]

The seeding doesn't matter. The spurs could play all 7 games of a 7 game series at home and still lose to the Lakers.

I hope this is a joke.

If not, the lakers probably have their own forum-it is not too late for you to return there.

[NRHector]

People in ST are over exited for this 6-1 start, but we are playing awfull D. Hill and Blair don't look good at all.

if the Spurs were 1-6 right now you would be ready to jump off the cliff, this early wins are going to help the Spurs later

[tmtcsc]

I hope this is a joke.

If not, the lakers probably have their own forum-it is not too late for you to return there.

rascal is a known Laker troll in disguise. he gets people riled up all the time by his Team: San Antonio indentifier.

[yavozerb]

If they can win win 50% of the games against the upper tier teams and win 80-90% against the lower tier teams this should be a great season. I also consider the upper tier team to total around 7-8 teams in the NBA.

[silverblk mystix]

rascal is a known Laker troll in disguise. he gets people riled up all the time by his Team: San Antonio indentifier.

ok...that makes more sense,thanks.

[In-SPUR-Raider]

Alright... I'm VERY excited about the Spurs 6-1 start! I'm not ready to talk about the 5th ring in the bag but, I'm excited about the 6-1 start.
Why?
It's obvious!! Because these "close games" to non-contenders were the ones they were losing last season!!
After a few years, we FINALLY have a big athletic man in Tiago Splitter!
After a few years, we FINALLY have a better bench with Gary Neal, James Anderson, George Hill, and McDyess!

I understand that there was probably only 1 (2 at the most) team(s) that are playoff contenders in this 5 game winning streak but that's exactly why we're happy that we're beating those non-contenders! Because last season, the Spurs were kicking those below .500 teams asses in the first 3 quarters but ended up blowing those games and losing!

Yes, there's still A LOT of problems with the Spurs playing but come on now! It's still the begining of the season! THE SPURS ARE WINNING THE GAMES THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO WIN! So IMO, they're getting the job done!

Now if someone wants to already give the MVP to a Spurs player or talk about "We're DEFINATELY winning a ring this year!" Thats a different story but a 6-1 start... Come on man! Just be happy that your team is beating the teams they're supposed to beat!

[sandman]

Spurs just beating the teams they are supposed to beat.

[Cry Havoc]

All I care about is making the playoffs and getting Duncan rest down the stretch so he can beast in the real season.