Life can be tricky. Sometimes, you are judged by your successes. Other times, you are judged by your failures. Which brings us to the San Antonio Spurs, who are sitting at 60 victories with a little over a week left in the 2013-14 regular season, practically assured of having homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. But when you play word association with the Spurs, what comes to mind first: Their 19-game winning streak that ended last week, or their 0-4 record this season
We already published one column this week analyzing the Spurs’ winning streak and how they aren’t cruising, they are gliding. Since then, they have had a pair of quality victories over the Indiana Pacers and the Golden State Warriors, winning by large margins each time. With the streak at 19 heading into Thursday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, we should expect another blowout, right? After all, only two games during the streak have been decided by 8 points or
The San Antonio Spurs are known for going on ridiculous tears when the season starts to wind down, and this season has been no different. With everything clicking on all cylinders once again, Gregg Popovich and his team have won a franchise record 18 consecutive games on Monday after dispatching the struggling Indiana Pacers 103-77. The biggest contributing factor may be the play of Kawhi Leonard. When the forward was lost in late January due to a broken hand, he missed
NEW YORK – The Spurs’ 17-game winning streak brought an added bonus Monday. Tim Duncan was named Player of the Week — this coming despite Kevin Durant averaging 32.5 points on .597 shooting. It was the 22nd time Duncan has won the award. The Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic and the San Antonio Spurs’ Duncan were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 24, through Sunday, March 30. Vucevic led the Magic to a 2-1 week, which
How about those Indiana Pacers? For five straight games they have been held below 90 points — and in four of those games they were sub-80. Their last two victories have been quality wins against the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls, but they have lost five of six overall and are now tied in the loss column with LeBron James’ team. All in all, it is fair to call them something close to a mess as they head into Monday
There have been some fair comparisons drawn between the current 17-game winning streak of the San Antonio Spurs and the remarkable 27-game run put together a year ago by the Miami Heat. Both teams expect to compete for the NBA championship. Both teams found their rhythm at the most opportune time of the season. Both teams stormed to the league’s best record and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. There are obvious differences as well. For one, San Antonio still needs 10
I don’t like the NCAA Tournament. I don’t like that college basketball’s regular season provides little postseason incentive. I don’t like that the coach is a bigger personality than the players. I don’t like that the games are played on neutral courts. I don’t like that one bad game or bad call or bad break can end a team’s season. I don’t like that “close” becomes a synonym for “well-played.” And I don’t like that poor play determines the outcome much
The week of March 9th-16th should hence forth be known as Phil Jackson Week. In the world of basketball at least. Because as the Zen Master continues to dominate the daily headlines, well, that’s sure what it feels like. [Read more…]