Spurs: 3 Positive Trends That Show Playoff Promise

2. Team basketball is still the Spurs' way

San Antonio posted 28 assists in the win, which is right on pace with their season average. Their average of 28 a game leads the NBA, in large part to Dejounte Murray being fourth in the league in the category.

On Monday, Murray posted 11 and Josh Richardson had five, but it was Keldon Johnson who made the highlight reel with his “Uncle Rico” style pass (shout out, Project Spurs) to find a wide-open Tre Jones from 65 feet away.

While Keldon Johnson and Josh Richardson are both 40% three-point shooters, the Spurs lack anyone who can knock down shots off the dribble. Their bigs aren’t good enough to put the ball on the floor and create, so having the best passers in the league to create for the scorers is a very understated weapon moving forward. 

The Spurs have by far the best turnover/assist ratio in the league with well over two assists for every turnover. Let’s face it: the Spurs are not the best defensive team or the best at shooting, but taking care of the ball and making the most of good passes will certainly help the Spurs beat better teams in the play-in and first round of the playoffs if it comes to that.