Spurs' attitude problem just might win them a championship

San Antonio is showing something we're not really used to seeing from them: attitude—and fans should love it. Opponents, on the other hand, should hate finding out that the Silver and Black have been able to take the dog mentality they showed in the regular season and turn it up a notch for the postseason. Deni Avdija was on the other side of that yesterday, and it was glorious.

See, the problem is for them, not the Spurs. The good guys have way more maturity than most young teams. They take any slight, disrespect, or challenge and get indignant about it. It feels as if they're constantly out to prove that you can't punk them, and that level of confidence is dangerous when you can follow up on those feelings.

In Game 3, it was Dylan Harper responding to Scoot Henderson's berating in the third quarter after scoring on the rookie. The ex-Rutgers star proceeded to destroy the Trail Blazers almost single-handedly. Tonight's incident with Castle just felt like he wanted to send a message: "You can't F with us." And it was one the entire league should be listening to.

The Spurs are playing up to their seeding now

You could see some of the tentativeness in the players to start this series. It's the first postseason for most of them, so it's understandable to have a little anxiety, but they've settled in now. The cream is rising to the top, and the Trail Blazers are left flailing, searching for answers. If their best hope is going to be Jrue Holiday scoring 35 a night, they're on borrowed time.

The playoffs offer many challenges, but the mental side of the game is truly where you figure out whether so-called contenders are frauds or not. The Spurs were down 19 points on the road. They have several first-time postseason participants, and that includes the head coach. If they were overwhelmed by the moment and hostile environment, people would be disappointed, but not shocked.

Instead, they put their unified, proverbial foot down and refuse to lose. They get offended by the opponent's chippiness, trash talk, and just their assumption that they actually have a shot at winning the ball game. This team only lost two games when Victor Wembanyama was healthy after the All-Star Break, and they don't plan to just start collecting Ls now.

So, when you come, you'd better bring your best. The Spurs are proving that, just like the regular season, you have to take them out. They aren't going to beat themselves. And how dare you even consider the possibility that they would.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow