Spurs' brutal upcoming schedule means playtime is over for San Antonio

31 games into the season, the San Antonio Spurs are still trying to find their footing. After a couple of tough, close road losses to the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks knocked them down in the standings, they are running out of time to put it all together. Especially with their schedule getting tougher when the calendar changes over to 2025.

Thus far, they have played 18 of their first 31 games at home, with just 23 of the remaining 51 games left at home between now and the end of the regular season. That means that there will be a lot of road games upcoming, and the Spurs haven't fared well on the road.

The Spurs will have to hit their stride as they enter a tough stretch

What's unusual about their schedule in January is that they will play three teams back-to-back, with the Spurs having a home and home against the Denver Nuggets shortly after the new year.

They will also play the Los Angeles Lakers in consecutive road games at the Crypto.com Arena, only to return to San Antonio to play the Memphis Grizzlies in back-to-back games. All that is to say that January will be very tough for the Spurs.

After blowing a couple of winnable road games against playoff teams, the Spurs don't have much of a cushion heading into the toughest stretch of the season. According to Tankathon, they have the fourth-toughest remaining schedule.

That makes January an important month of the season for San Antonio, with it potentially being make or break for their playoff hopes. Last season, it took 46 wins to make the play-in tournament, meaning that the Spurs would have to finish five games above .500 for them to have a chance to make it.

If they can weather a tough January, then they will be better prepared for a potential appearance in the play-in tournament. The Spurs could be better for this tough stretch, so long as they finally click. That could happen with them having their full roster available with Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan all back in the lineup after extended absences.

Having those players back will give the Spurs a boost on both sides of the ball, with Vassell giving them more scoring punch, Sochan scrapping for offensive rebounds and catching lobs from Wembanyama, and also providing versatility on defense. Lastly, Jones will hopefully help stabilize the bench, which has been a problem this season.

All in all, if the Spurs can manage a winning record in January, it could give their playoff hopes a shot in the arm. If they can't, then they may be back in the draft lottery.