Spurs: Home VS Away

[look_at_g_shred]

What do you think is the problem when it comes to the spurs hitting the road? Undefeated at home, yet when it comes to road games, they turn into another team and forget how to play basketball. Surely that can't be the case. They don't forget how to play basketball right? So what's the cause here? What I see mainly see is they don't play spurs basketball, and everyone tries to do it themselves. This is in no way a panic thread as I know they'll get it together. It's just weird to me that they are such a different group on the road. In years past, the spurs used to be one of the best on the road ( not that they don't have a good record this year) but you could always be sure that the spurs were going to win an away game. This season it feels like its 50/50 on away games. Just wanted to get that out there.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's more than a 50-50 proposition this season, given that they have the 2nd best road record in the league at this juncture, and have about the same margin of victory on the road as the Warriors.

I'd note, too, that of their 8 road losses, 4 have been at GST, CLE, OKC, and TOR, which are a combined 81-14 (.853) at home this season. So, it's not like they've been piling up road losses in buildings where road teams win frequently. It seems worse, because they've been beaten badly in their last two road games; of course, those two games happened in places where the home teams are a combined 41-3 this season, so losses there aren't unexpected (though the margins were disheartening).

[weeks]

team-wide iden y struggles become magnified on the road imo. especially without timmy

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Road losses happen to every team, it doesnt mean your team sucks, I remember the Spurs getting beat by the Heat by 30 on the road and then winning when they played them at home. It happens, and we are on a franchise best pace for wins, I just dont understand all the cliff jumping going on here.

[Maddog]

It's more than a 50-50 proposition this season, given that they have the 2nd best road record in the league at this juncture, and have about the same margin of victory on the road as the Warriors.

I'd note, too, that of their 8 road losses, 4 have been at GST, CLE, OKC, and TOR, which are a combined 81-14 (.853) at home this season. So, it's not like they've been piling up road losses in buildings where road teams win frequently. It seems worse, because they've been beaten badly in their last two road games; of course, those two games happened in places where the home teams are a combined 41-3 this season, so losses there aren't unexpected (though the margins were disheartening).

Once again someone clouding an issue with facts.
Thanks, for doing that. When you look at it carefully not too bad. The cavs game doesn't bother me as much..no Tim and LMA not playing hardly
I really think we are underestimating Time defensive contributions. LMA plays a lot better D with Tim, than without.

[MultiTroll]

It's more than a 50-50 proposition this season, given that they have the 2nd best road record in the league at this juncture, and have about the same margin of victory on the road as the Warriors.

I'd note, too, that of their 8 road losses, 4 have been at GST, CLE, OKC, and TOR, which are a combined 81-14 (.853) at home this season. So, it's not like they've been piling up road losses in buildings where road teams win frequently. It seems worse, because they've been beaten badly in their last two road games; of course, those two games happened in places where the home teams are a combined 41-3 this season, so losses there aren't unexpected (though the margins were disheartening).

Agree, nicely done.
While the Cavs won and would have won anyways, I think CavRef made at least a 10 point difference.

Moving fwd, got to see LMA get going on offense vs contenders away games. No doubt Duncan opens up more for him but need to see more regardless. I'd like to see some Boban/LMA interactions while Dunks is out so we can see the result good bad or ugly. Not speculate, but see it happen and then react.

[DenialTwist]

They say it's because role players "the others" don't play well away from home. This season it's like everyone on the team is struggling on the road. They had a bad road record last season. Remember Danny Green in 2014. Reggie Miller kept harping on the fact that Danny couldn't hit a three in OKC but he was unconscious in San Antonio.

[littlecoyotecoin]

Road games should always probably be a little more difficult, so seeing a discrepancy is not surprising. But, I haven't seen anyone mention it, so we might want to take it into consideration:

Pop plays his full cast at home. He rarely rests starters (or Manu) at home.

So, trying to win on the road is difficult to begin with, but often not having your best players will compound the difficulty.

[GSH]

It's more than a 50-50 proposition this season, given that they have the 2nd best road record in the league at this juncture, and have about the same margin of victory on the road as the Warriors.

I'd note, too, that of their 8 road losses, 4 have been at GST, CLE, OKC, and TOR, which are a combined 81-14 (.853) at home this season. So, it's not like they've been piling up road losses in buildings where road teams win frequently. It seems worse, because they've been beaten badly in their last two road games; of course, those two games happened in places where the home teams are a combined 41-3 this season, so losses there aren't unexpected (though the margins were disheartening).

I don't need to read any more. That pretty much says it all.

[GSH]

I don't need to read any more. That pretty much says it all.

BTW - any "Best Posters" thread that doesn't include people like FromWayDowntown (and some others) is just a ing troll-fest. That was short, to the point, and accurate.

[koriwhat]

What do you think is the problem when it comes to the spurs hitting the road? Undefeated at home, yet when it comes to road games, they turn into another team and forget how to play basketball. Surely that can't be the case. They don't forget how to play basketball right? So what's the cause here? What I see mainly see is they don't play spurs basketball, and everyone tries to do it themselves. This is in no way a panic thread as I know they'll get it together. It's just weird to me that they are such a different group on the road. In years past, the spurs used to be one of the best on the road ( not that they don't have a good record this year) but you could always be sure that the spurs were going to win an away game. This season it feels like its 50/50 on away games. Just wanted to get that out there.

Affirmation by fans.

[daslicer]

Spurs are not going to play that many good teams anymore on the road. They are already done with playing the Cavs and Raptors on the road who have the top 2 best records in the east. They are only 3 elite teams left for the spurs to face on the road which is warriors,thunder,clippers which is a total of 3 road games.

[FromWayDowntown]

Having said what I said earlier, this game against Orlando has had some really worrisome things, particularly from a defensive standpoint -- offensive boards for the opponent, slow rotations to open shooters on the arc, unimpeded drives -- that are the sorts of things that, when they happen on the road (particularly against better teams), tend to fuel home crowds and push home teams.

So, while the numbers to this point are impressive, their actual play more recently is concerning.

[FromWayDowntown]

Spurs are not going to play that many good teams anymore on the road. They are already done with playing the Cavs and Raptors on the road who have the top 2 best records in the east. They are only 3 elite teams left for the spurs to face on the road which is warriors,thunder,clippers which is a total of 3 road games.

If you confine it to "elite" teams, that's true -- though Memphis has been better of late, and might be creeping into the conversation for a top 4 seed (and the Spurs still have a game at MEM, too).

For what it's worth, here's the rest of the road schedule:

2/5 at Dallas
2/9 at Miami
2/10 at Orlando (road back-to-back)

All-Star Break

2/18 at Clippers
2/19 at Lakers (road back-to-back)
2/21 at Phoenix
2/24 at Sacramento
2/25 at Utah (road back-to-back)
2/27 at Houston

3/3 at New Orleans
3/7 at Indiana
3/8 at Minnesota (road back-to-back)
3/21 at Charlotte
3/26 at OKC (second night of a back-to-back; MEM at home on 3/25)
3/28 at Memphis

4/5 at Utah
4/7 at Golden State
4/8 at Denver (road back-to-back; second night in DEN)
4/13 at Dallas (second night of a back-to-back; OKC at home on 4/12)

[YGWHI]

If you confine it to "elite" teams, that's true -- though Memphis has been better of late, and might be creeping into the conversation for a top 4 seed (and the Spurs still have a game at MEM, too).

For what it's worth, here's the rest of the road schedule:

2/5 at Dallas
2/9 at Miami
2/10 at Orlando (road back-to-back)

All-Star Break

2/18 at Clippers
2/19 at Lakers (road back-to-back)
2/21 at Phoenix
2/24 at Sacramento
2/25 at Utah (road back-to-back)
2/27 at Houston

3/3 at New Orleans
3/7 at Indiana
3/8 at Minnesota (road back-to-back)
3/21 at Charlotte
3/26 at OKC (second night of a back-to-back; MEM at home on 3/25)
3/28 at Memphis

4/5 at Utah
4/7 at Golden State
4/8 at Denver (road back-to-back; second night in DEN)
4/13 at Dallas (second night of a back-to-back; OKC at home on 4/12)

Many back to back games...But if they secure the 2nd seed before, it's likely that Pop doesn't give a sh*t against Denver, OKC, Dallas, in those last games.

[SAGirl]

[

[SAGirl]

Having said what I said earlier, this game against Orlando has had some really worrisome things, particularly from a defensive standpoint -- offensive boards for the opponent, slow rotations to open shooters on the arc, unimpeded drives -- that are the sorts of things that, when they happen on the road (particularly against better teams), tend to fuel home crowds and push home teams.

So, while the numbers to this point are impressive, their actual play more recently is concerning.

There is going to be concern bc we don't have a center and are playing small ball from here on out until Timmy comes back, and we are not a good small ball team.

I suppose it will get LMA experience playing center in small ball. It will get him used to playing with Diaw as well, and it will give development time to Kyle, who is getting better and better. But when a HOF player is injured and your next big in the rotation is 2nd year combo forward Kyle, there is going to be a decline. This is no knock on Kyle, really the next man up is Lamarcus, but its a trickle effect, and Kyle hadn't played the 4 much until this stretch with Timmy. And really the rebound problems are not even on Kyle I saw him box out in a disciplined fashion except a couple of times (once he was leaking out and D.West didn't even go for the board). The real culprits are the other 3: LMA, D.West and Diaw.

Also, the Orlando game was a very bad game for Tony, and J.Simms and Danny struggled with TO and backcuts.

[SAGirl]

edit repeat post ....

[DMC]

What do you think is the problem when it comes to the spurs hitting the road? Undefeated at home, yet when it comes to road games, they turn into another team and forget how to play basketball. Surely that can't be the case. They don't forget how to play basketball right? So what's the cause here? What I see mainly see is they don't play spurs basketball, and everyone tries to do it themselves. This is in no way a panic thread as I know they'll get it together. It's just weird to me that they are such a different group on the road. In years past, the spurs used to be one of the best on the road ( not that they don't have a good record this year) but you could always be sure that the spurs were going to win an away game. This season it feels like its 50/50 on away games. Just wanted to get that out there.

When you travel you are tired. You eat out. You stay in a hotel or sleep on a plane. Your role players don't have the comfort of home crowds booting their energy. Coaches tend to rest guys more on the road than at home. It's a league wide phenomenon, that's why they call it "home court advantage".

[DMC]

They say it's because role players "the others" don't play well away from home. This season it's like everyone on the team is struggling on the road. They had a bad road record last season. Remember Danny Green in 2014. Reggie Miller kept harping on the fact that Danny couldn't hit a three in OKC but he was unconscious in San Antonio.

It's a snowball effect (no ), while our role players don't play as well on the road, theirs play out of their minds. That difference shows in the score.

I was impressed with the Magic last night. They came out on the road and erased a really poor start, 16pt deficit to take the lead on a team with the best home record (just more wins) in the league. That was with no crowd support, just playing ball the right way and 16 or so offensive boards didn't hurt.

[silverblackfan]

If you confine it to "elite" teams, that's true -- though Memphis has been better of late, and might be creeping into the conversation for a top 4 seed (and the Spurs still have a game at MEM, too).

For what it's worth, here's the rest of the road schedule:

2/5 at Dallas
2/9 at Miami
2/10 at Orlando (road back-to-back)

All-Star Break

The thought of Timmy getting a huge amount of rest until after the All-Star Break is not looking too bad now.
The team should be able to handle the next 3 games without him.

[FromWayDowntown]

I'd note, too, that of their 8 road losses, 4 have been at GST, CLE, OKC, and TOR, which are a combined 81-14 (.853) at home this season. So, it's not like they've been piling up road losses in buildings where road teams win frequently. It seems worse, because they've been beaten badly in their last two road games; of course, those two games happened in places where the home teams are a combined 41-3 this season, so losses there aren't unexpected (though the margins were disheartening).

I did a bit more digging on this, since some pundits were trying to make something of the fact that the Spurs are "only" 4-5 on the road against teams that are over .500.

4-5 (.444) is actually the fourth best winning percentage on the road against .500 teams -- it was 3rd until Cleveland won in overtime last night in Indiana. For the record, there are only 2 teams that are over .500 on the road against teams that are over .500: Golden State (7-2) and Toronto (6-5). Cleveland is now 5-6 and then the Spurs are 4-5. Nobody else is even within a game of .500 in that spot.

	Road vs. .500+			
		W	L	GP
0.778	gst	7	2	9
0.545	tor	6	5	11
0.455	cle	5	6	11
0.444	sa	4	5	9
0.429	was	6	8	14
0.375	okc	3	5	8
0.364	atl	4	7	11
0.364	det	4	7	11
0.333	chi	4	8	12
0.333	lac	3	6	9
0.333	sac	4	8	12
0.308	ny	4	9	13
0.300	hou	3	7	10
0.273	uth	3	8	11
0.273	cha	3	8	11
0.273	bos	3	8	11
0.273	min	3	8	11
0.231	ind	3	10	13
0.222	mem	2	7	9
0.200	brk	3	12	15
0.182	mia	2	9	11
0.154	dal	2	11	13
0.143	mil	2	12	14
0.133	pnx	2	13	15
0.091	no	1	10	11
0.083	den	1	11	12
0.083	lal	1	11	12
0.000	prt	0	7	7
0.000	orl	0	10	10
0.000	phi	0	13	13

[FromWayDowntown]

Last one -- the actual road games for the elite teams (including Toronto for now) against .500 teams (as of February 1, 2016):

GST (7-2)
Wins
Boston
Chicago
Cleveland
Indiana
Clippers
Memphis
Toronto

Losses
Dallas
Detroit

San Antonio (4-5)
Wins
Atlanta
Boston
Detroit
Memphis

Losses
Chicago
Cleveland
Golden State
Oklahoma City
Toronto

Cleveland (5-6)
Wins
Boston
Dallas
Detroit
Indiana
Memphis

Losses
Chicago
Detroit
Golden State
Miami
San Antonio
Toronto

Oklahoma City (3-5)
Wins
Dallas
Clippers
Memphis

Losses
Atlanta
Chicago
Cleveland
Memphis
Miami

Toronto (6-5)
Wins
Atlanta
Boston
Dallas
Clippers
Miami
Oklahoma City

Losses
Chicago
Cleveland
Golden State
Indiana
Miami