NBA set Spurs up for a ferocious ending to Wembanyama’s sophomore season

It's going to be a fight to the finish.

Indiana Pacers v San Antonio Spurs
Indiana Pacers v San Antonio Spurs | Dean Mouhtaropoulos/GettyImages

San Antonio is almost through the toughest month of their season, but the tribulations aren't done with the Silver and Black just yet. Looking at the schedule, the Spurs will have to fight tooth and nail for the rest of the year if they want to realize their goal of making the playoffs. They may or may not make it, but they'll certainly be tried and tested from the attempt.

There's a fair amount of parity in the league right now, and that means more teams will be difficult to trounce. The Spurs aren't close to a top-tier team right now, so almost every game will be a test, but when you look at the list above and see how many games are left against playoff contenders, you realize how tough the rest of the season will be.

The Spurs schedule is even tougher when you consider the travel

The Spurs have the 12th-ranked strength of schedule, according to Tankathon. As reliable as that site is, however, it does not take into account the number of road games remaining. Out of the 39 games left on San Antonio's schedule, 21 are on the road. Even that is a bit of a mirage because they also must play two games in Austin right after the All-Star Break.

While there is a strong presence of Spurs fans in A-Town, it is not a "home game" unless you're at home. Anything that forces the players to change their routine, use unfamiliar lockers, courts, etc, is not a home game. With that understanding, the Spurs will travel for 23 of the remaining 39 games on their schedule. That's not ideal, considering SA is 7-12 on the road this year.

San Antonio will play their next three games at home: the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup, then Milwaukee and Miami, who both just embarrassed San Antonio within the last 30 days. It's as tough as a three-game stretch as you'll get in the league, and then they get to begin their yearly Rodeo Road Trip.

The RRT is usually used to help the team come together. The time spent traveling from city to city brings the guys closer as their bond strengthens on and off the court. But this is still a young team, and that much time spent away from home can be trying. This year, it's worse than ever because of the insertion of the Austin games in the middle of the month.

After the Miami game on February 1, the Spurs won't be back at the Frost Bank Center until March 2. That will be the second night of a back-to-back against OKC, with the first leg of it vs. the Grizzlies. Just brutal stuff.

Before the season, the players made it clear they wanted to make the playoffs. It felt like a lofty goal, but then they began playing the games and impressed everyone with their growth. But things have begun to fall apart, putting San Antonio's season in danger of an embarrassing collapse.

So they better get it together quickly, either with better play, better coaching, and/or a better roster via trade before the deadline. If not, they won't achieve their preseason goal, and their path to failure will be littered with missed opportunities.

Schedule