We're only 3.5 games out of the #4 seed

[Old School 44]

Agreed. At the least, hopefully this hand thing lowers his market value.

If Kawhi comes back healthy, he's certain to get the max. I'm sure there are teams waiting for the opportunity if the Spurs low ball him.

[hater]

we stand a good chance of going on a win streak with the current roster.

tomorrows game will be tough since Wiz got raped in ATL and will be looking for a solid home win to bounce back

[Brazil]

we stand a good chance of going on a win streak with the current roster.

tomorrows game will be tough since Wiz got raped in ATL and will be looking for a solid home win to bounce back

I had this game in the L column tbh

Gortat always is a pain in the ass for Duncan IIRC. Maybe we will see some Duncan on Nene and Split on Gortat ?

[hater]

I had this game in the L column tbh

Gortat always is a pain in the ass for Duncan IIRC. Maybe we will see some Duncan on Nene and Split on Gortat ?

agree but if we use the same exact roster and rotations as last game we will be fine

[FromWayDowntown]

At the moment, and after all of the dreck that December was, the Spurs are only 4 back in the loss column from leading the division with more than half a season to go.

Not suggesting that it will be easy to overcome that gap, but it's also not impossible.

[Richie]

I just hope we're healthy after the All Star break. We went 21-1 in our first 22 after the All Star game last year, replicating that this year is unlikely but if we can get healthy for the last 20 games of the season going in to the playoffs then I'm happy.

[look_at_g_shred]

During the summer of 2013, winning the 2014 le seemed impractical.

[EVAY]

I had this game in the L column tbh

Gortat always is a pain in the ass for Duncan IIRC. Maybe we will see some Duncan on Nene and Split on Gortat ?

I have wished that we had Gortat for the last couple of years. I think he is a Spur type player.

[ElNono]

It just really sucks it's another back to back... Pop will be doing his minute management thing, so it's going to be complicated to put the best team out there for long stretches.

[boutons_deux]

last season, Spurs lost their 15th game on 10 Feb.

Even assuming some injuries to seeds 1-6 above the Spurs, it's going to be very hard for the Spurs to get 4th or higher seed.

In April, where Pop will be resting the starters, we play 4 games vs OKC, GSW, HOU

[Cry Havoc]

The only team that's looked continually impressive this year is the Warriors. Everyone else has hit snags here and there. Memphis seems to be way off their early pace, and several other teams as well.

[024]

Whether we like it or not, Pop is staying the course on his borderline insane lineups and minute management. Health is always the #1 concern for the Spurs and Pop is right to be paranoid about limiting the minutes and being overly cautious towards injured player. Without Leonard, Ginobili, Duncan, Parker, or Splitter in the playoffs, the Spurs have a near 0% chance of winning. With those players plus the 6 or 7 seed, the Spurs might have a 10% chance of winning. Pop would definitely take the 10% rather than risking a 0% chance of winning.

[look_at_g_shred]

No one wants to see a healthy Spurs team in the first round.

[Horse]

Clippers (6-4), Mavs (6-4), Rockets (6-4), and Grizzlies (5-5) have all had a relatively difficult 10-game stretch, and the Spurs have a favorable upcoming schedule.

Also worth noting, the Spurs have played more interconference games than any of the above teams. Another positive is that We've gotten some much needed rest for Timmy, Manu and Tony, and Kawhi is due back within weeks.
I liked seeing CoJo and Patty playing together. It will all come down to matchups but I think his jumper is underrated and against some teams his D will be needed.
Things are finally looking up after all of the injuries and that December from . However, we've still got some legitimate concerns heading into the second half of the season:

1) Can Kawhi and Tony stay healthy? - these two guys can't seem to catch a break this season. Kawhi especially is so vital to the team. His help D ability negates Timmy's deficiency in defending the PnR, and he also gives us another solid defensive option against opposing wings. Kawhi's defensive absence is obviously exacerbated by the fact that Bellinelli (our human traffic cone) has taken a good chunk of those free minutes. Tony, while clearly in decline, still adds another dimension to our offense and puts a ton of pressure on opposing PGs/defenses.

2) Did we burn Timmy and Manu out? Due to the injuries to Kawhi and Tony, our two elder statesmen had to handle a huge chunk of the scoring/playmaking duties. Timmy has looked slower and a bit worn down, and Manu is currently out with back spasms. Ideally you'd like to rest both guys for a week, but the Spurs are in a deep hole record-wise, making each game vital.

3) What the #@$#@$ happened to our defense? For the first month and a half of the season, the Spurs had arguably the best defense in the league, but then Kawhi went down, Timmy had to assume a greater offensive responsibility, and well...the results weren't pretty. The 3-point defense in particular has been atrocious. Some of it is due to Kawhi being out, but the Spurs have also done a horrendous job of closing out on shooters (looking at you, Danny). At some point the coaching staff should tell our guys that wildly leaping at guys isn't proper close out form.

4) What to do with Cojo? Joseph has been huge for us all season, especially in Tony's absence, but with Patty and Tony back, where does he fit in? His strengths are penetrating, defense, and just being a ball of energy. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the outside shooting ability to play with the starters, and he's relatively useless off ball, so how does the coaching staff utilize a guy who's clearly earned a spot in the rotation? Should be interesting going forward.


What are some of y'all's primary concerns?

[james evans]

I didn't see the pelicans/celtics game last night(i don't watch other teams) but as I said earlier in the season, we will see some strange things happen to get OKC in the playoffs. the pelicans lost to the celtics. I can see NO and Phoenix losing a lot of close games, and we already know they cheat for okc, just to get them in the playoffs. Tim Donaghy talked about it in his book how bavetta would fix games he reffed to affect seeding of other teams. I believe him. The happens.

[scanry]

The Spurs should move past Dallas, Memphis, Houston & the Clippers. The Spurs should be better off being a 3 seed than a 4. Portland btw looks legit this year.

[ElNono]

The Spurs should move past Dallas, Memphis, Houston & the Clippers. The Spurs should be better off being a 3 seed than a 4. Portland btw looks legit this year.

Portland looks legit every regular season, tbh... means nothing...

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Portland looks legit every regular season, tbh... means nothing...

Blazers beat the Spurs the first two times they played them last year, pretty handily I might add. They had the best record in the NBA for awhile last year. We all saw what happen when playoff time came around.

I think the Spurs can take the 3rd seed easily if they start playing to their potential to the end of the season. Now that December is over, Pop is going to stop experimenting as much and is going to focus on just winning. If the Spurs grab the 3rd seed and GS and Blazers are the top 2 teams out West, Spurs will be favorite to make the Finals again this year out West.

Like I said, OKC is the only team the Spurs seriously need HC over in the playoffs. Spurs can beat any other team in the NBA in a 7 games series w or w/o it.

[hater]

if we're discussing avoiding the Blazers in the playoffs, then we have no business even dreaming about a championship tbh

[8FOR!3]

I think losing Kawhi was our only huge concern and it looks like he's healing just fine so I don't see why we can't sneak up and get a good spot in the playoffs. We're not getting blown out by teams, we've had a ton of close losses, and you know Pop wouldn't have us peaking in December of January.

[cjw]

I forgot their record without him in the lineup, but it was drastic.

Ran the numbers in another post and they're basically a 64 win team with him and a 45 win team without him since he came into the league.