San Antonio Spurs: Looking at the Final Stretch

Since the start of 2015, the Spurs have been rolling and picking up the slack after that mediocre December. After suffering a horrible 8-10 finish to 2014, they have finally figured out their knots and can only look to improve from here.

The Spurs are 13-5 since the start of the new year and have looked way better with a healthy Leonard and Parker. 2014 can finally become a thing of the past and with good reason since they were plagued with injuries since the start of the season.

Feb 9, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is called for a technical foul before getting his 1,000 career win against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. San Antonio defeats Indiana 95-93. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

With just one game left this week before they get a much needed rest during the All-Star break, San Antonio will continue on their famous Spurs Rodeo Road Trip to try to somehow get that spark back, that same spark that the Spurs have traditionally gained during that Rodeo trip which has resulted in building team chemistry and momentum. It always seems to bring out the best out of the defending champions and they can only hope that history repeats itself.

With 30 games remaining in the season, how will the 33-19 Spurs execute their playbook versus the west’s elite? The Spurs are currently ranked 7th in the western conference and are two games behind 4th seed Trailblazers and five games behind 2nd seed Grizzlies. They still have a fighting and deserving chance to end up in the top three. Mills along with Ginobili have provided that 6th man energy and are exactly what the big 4 need to compliment their offense.

Still the Western Conference is no picnic and the teams just keep on getting stronger and stronger. San Antonio will face 11 western conference playoff teams during the remainder of the regular season with most of them away from home. As much as the Spurs have always fought through adversity, this season is different and it won’t get any easier from here on out. At times, it seems the Spurs aren’t moving the ball as well as they’ve done before which leads to break downs in their offense as well as defense. That just suggests that because of their lack of precision on offense, it eventually leads to fatigue and inconsistency down the stretch.

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Regardless of that issue, San Antonio has managed to maintain one of the top eight defenses this season.

How will the Spurs overcome these minor issues in the end? Well, I think it all must start with their fearless leader on the sideline, head coach Gregg Popovich. He is a genius at fixing these glitches and will find that key rotation that will quiet the naysayers and allow the Spurs to rise back to the top in the west. San Antonio always blooms at this time in the season and I am predicting they will end with a 55-27 record as the West’s three-seed. With that being said, I will never count anyone else out in that extremely challenging Western Conference and, judging by how the seasons turning out, I don’t think the Spurs should either.