Spurs received help from unlikeliest of rivals in heated Western Conference

The Spurs are second in the Western Conference with a 20-7 record, but they couldn't have gotten there without Houston putting an end to Denver's winning streak last night. The reason this is important now is that it puts San Antonio in the driver's seat of their playoff destiny.

The Nuggets were the last piece that needed to fall after their win over the Rockets just a few days prior gave SA a step over their I-10 rivals. Victor Wembanyama and co. have beaten every single team in the West's top five, earning them the tiebreaker over everyone but the Lakers. LA is nobody to be afraid of, though.

It's unlikely anyone will catch OKC, but landing the next spot guarantees you won't have to face the Thunder until the Western Conference Finals. That's a best-case scenario for the Silver and Black. As good as this team has been, they haven't even had time to gel yet. Let them take as much time as they can get to make that happen before trying to climb Mt. Everest.

The Spurs have themselves to thank but can't let up

San Antonio wasn't done any favors with their schedule. They've been on the road a ton, and their injury situation had been dramatic as hell until recently. Still, they've won games, making no excuses about who is or isn't in the lineup. They've played all of the best teams in the league, minus Detroit and Boston, and come up with victories nearly every single time. They deserve to be where they are in the standings.

I'm just going to say it: I think this team can win a championship this year. While I don't believe it's the likely outcome, it's most definitely a possibility that warrants consideration. Playoff intensity isn't a myth. The level of basketball ratchets up to unreal heights, and the pressure levels can be immense. That's why you generally need a young team to go through it before they can win multiple seven-game series.

My counterpoint to that is De'Aaron Fox is not some spring chicken, and neither is Harrison Barnes nor Luke Kornet. All three of them have playoff experience. Keldon Johnson is in his seventh season, and he played on the 2020 Olympic team that won a gold medal. Victor Wembanyama helped lead Team France to the final in the 2024 Olympics, and he stood tall in the face of pressure from his entire country.

The loss to New York in the Emirates NBA Cup Final also has a bit of weight to it, and they felt that together. It all adds up to a reasonable question of whether we should actually expect these guys to be overwhelmed by playoff intensity. It'll likely be the opposite. The Spurs have accumulated enough experience in their own ways to be ready for that moment, and if they are, they can do anything.