The San Antonio Spurs are one of the few teams in the league that almost never loses to terrible teams, especially when the calendar reads March. The playoffs are nearing and this is the time of the year when they really clean up their act and dominate with crisp execution.
So it was rather inexplicable when such an experienced team suffered a loss against the New York Knicks – the very worst team in the entire league – at MSG on Tuesday.
The Spurs led for much of the game, but the Knicks clawed their way back and managed to send the game to overtime to eventually come out with a 104-100 victory.
Needless to say, Gregg Popovich was less than thrilled after the contest, saying his team didn’t respect the game.
Boris Diaw was also very disappointed about the way his team performed:
Very very disappointing loss but I guess we deserved it. We didn’t end the game well and give New York their confidence back. Next…
— Boris Diaw (@theborisdiaw) March 18, 2015
It’s just one game, and the Spurs no longer have to worry too much about missing the playoffs with a comfortable 4 1/2 game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans. The lack of focus this late into the season is certainly a cause for concern, though, and it’s a situation to keep an eye on.
Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.