It happens every spring: The snow melts, the birds start chirping, the cherry trees eventually blossom … and the Spurs start looking their best.
We have gotten a small sample size of it over the first few days of March, and with five weeks now remaining in the season, I will be so bold as to predict that San Antonio will finish with one of the top four records in the West and end up defending their title in Game 1 of the first round on their home floor.
This week begins with San Antonio riding a five-game winning streak following their 116-105 victory Sunday over the Chicago Bulls, led by Tony Parker’s 32 points and without a single bucket from Tim Duncan — the first time that has happened in a career spanning 1,310 games. Parker has scored 32, 24 and 19 in his past three games while shooting nearly 65 percent from the field. Parker reached 20 points only twice in February, not one single time in January and only once in December.
The other big factor has been the improved play of Kawhi Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP who has gone for 20 or more points in four consecutive games. He had only eight 20-point games over the first 59 games of the season.
San Antonio had an 8-game winning streak in late November for a record of 13-4, but between the beginning of December and the first four games after the All-Star break they were 21-19 with a pair of four-game losing streaks. People were starting to doubt them.
But as we move into the second full week of March, the Spurs are looking at a schedule over the rest of the month that includes a stretch in which their next six games should include only one toughie — this Thursday against Cleveland. After that, they get the Rockets, Thunder and Mavericks twice apiece before the end of the regular season, so they are peaking at a time when running their winning streak to double digits — something they can only do if they defeat the Cavs in the late TNT game Thursday — could allow them to leapfrog the Mavericks, Clippers and Trail Blazers … and maybe even the Rockets, who they trail by just three games in the loss column.
So write them off at your own peril. Call me crazy (you wouldn’t be the first), but I think they are going back to the NBA Finals.
Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.