Spurs’ path to a championship just became a lot clearer

The red-hot San Antonio Spurs have been the best team in the NBA over the last six weeks, going to an impressive 23-2.

Even so, they may not have enough time to catch the Oklahoma City Thunder for the number one overall seed in the Western Conference. Securing the best record in the West would have been nice, but they could still have the second-best record in the NBA.

That might not seem like a huge deal, but if they want to make the NBA Finals, it could be a massive advantage. The Detroit Pistons had a better record than the Spurs for most of the season.

But with them dealing with injuries, specifically to star Cade Cunningham, that has flipped. In fact, they now seem unlikely to catch the Spurs for the second-best record in the NBA.

San Antonio's path to a championship just got much easier

That means that if both the Pistons and the Spurs face each other in the NBA Finals, San Antonio would have home court. Moreover, the Silver and Black would have home court over any team from the Eastern Conference.

For a young team that doesn't have much playoff experience, playing most of their postseason games at home can't be understated.

Getting past the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals might end up being the biggest challenge the Spurs face in the playoffs. It's no guarantee they even make it that far, but if they do, that could be the defacto NBA Finals.

The Spurs are set up perfectly to make a deep playoff run

To the Spurs' credit, they have already beaten OKC four times this season with Wembanyama on a minute restriction for three of those games. If he's healthy and can play big minutes, that could be the deciding factor in any series, especially against the Thunder.

Should San Antonio actually make the NBA Finals, they would likely face either the Pistons, the Boston Celtics, or the New York Knicks. No matter who they face, they should be favored. After all, they are 4-0 against the Pistons and Celtics but are just 1-2 against the Knicks.

The Knicks have have had the Spurs' number this season, but they did lose in San Antonio, which only goes to show how important having home court advantage is to this team.

Fortunately, San Antonio securing home court for every team save for the Thunder means that they'd have a distinct advantage by clinching home court.

It's something the the Spurs have all but locked up heading into the final few weeks of the regular season. If they hope to make a deep playoff run, that is a crucial first step.