Sleeping giant in San Antonio awakening to an unprepared NBA

Before the regular season started, the Spurs were clear about their goals for this year's campaign. They understood that they were still a young team, but the squad is full of competitors, and they said they wanted to win games while learning on the job. A month into the season with a 9-8 record, it's safe to say things are going well for the Silver and Black.

The Spurs are a clear playoff team

These statistics tell a very specific story for San Antonio. There's an expectation to win the games you're supposed to win when you're a good team; that's what's happening. Bad teams look like the Spurs have looked over the past five years, minus last season. Despite the poor record, there were clear indicators that SA was a better team than people realized.

They gave up a ton of large leads and lost close games that should have gone their way. It was strictly due to the youth of the team because the talent was obvious. Now that the veterans have arrived and the young guys put in the work over the summer, what was always a possibility is being realized before our eyes.

This team was ranked third overall in defensive rating when Jeremy Sochan went down. They then dropped out of the top ten but have found their way back to the eighth spot. That's even more impressive considering the opponents they've gone up against lately, defeating two of the top-scoring teams in the league during their three-game win streak: the Thunder and Warriors.

They're getting their wins due to contributions from several players, and you never know who is going to step up on a given night, making game planning for them much more difficult. Harrison Barnes has been going off lately, but if you start leaning your defense to him, Keldon Johnson may go off again, Stephon Castle might drop 20, or Chris Paul will turn back the clock and shut you down.

The monster in the middle raises their ceiling exponentially, but when he missed those three games, it became clear to viewers that this has become a real team. Everyone is playing with such poise and confidence on both sides of the ball that they believe they can win any game they go into, and they can.

After defeating the top three teams in the Western Conference, there's no reason they should believe otherwise. Houston is up on the Spurs in the season series 2-1, but you can't take away that victory, and the Rockets are currently the third seed. There's no other team in the league who can say they've beaten all three.

Speaking of three, San Antonio is shooting 37% from beyond the arc over their last ten games. That's good for 13 in the league, and Devin Vassell has barely played. Getting him back on the court will only elevate the Spurs' offense, which is steadily improving. The Spurs' starting lineup is already the best in the league by a significant margin—the thought of it getting better is enough to make you salivate.

Making the playoffs in the Western Conference is no easy feat. It's a bloodbath every year, but San Antonio has the star power, defense, and depth to make it happen. They're ahead of schedule, and that should terrify everyone.

There has been nothing but adversity for this team this season, with guys in and out of the lineup and Coach Pop still out due to the mild stroke he suffered weeks ago. The way they're playing in spite of the obstacles is reassuring that they have another gear to reach because, at some point, most of the chaos should end, leaving only basketball, and they're showing they're pretty good at that.