Spurs to be welcomed home by more adversity at end of brutal Rodeo Road Trip

While this may be exactly what the Spurs need, it's going to be painful to watch as a fan. They shouldn't be focused too heavily on winning at this point in the season. Honestly, the way they've been playing, it looks like they're on the same page, but their words don't match what's being put on the court. Regardless, the games must go on, and our loyal fan base will be watching.

The Silver and Black have been on the road for nearly a month, and it's almost time to get back to the Frost Bank Center for a real home game. They have one more game on the road against Memphis after a couple of days off. That contest will be the first of another back-to-back. The good news is that the second game is back at home; the bad news is that it's against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

All hope for making the Play-In Tournament should be abandoned

Many Spurs fans have already come around on this, giving up hope of erasing the streak of ending regular seasons without a playoff appearance. It was a long shot when Victor Wembanyama was still in the lineup due to several factors, but now it should be firmly planted in the minds of fans everywhere that it's not happening.

San Antonio still has one of the toughest remaining schedules in the league, so their focus should be on developing Stephon Castle and improving chemistry between Fox and the guys who will be here. This is like beating a dead horse, but Chris Paul only played 21 minutes against the Rockets because the team was getting their doors blown off. Had it been close, he would have likely been closer to 30 minutes.

If Fox isn't going to shut it down early to get surgery on his finger, the Spurs need to be playing him next to Castle. The rest of the season is going to give them test after test, and they'll lose a ton of games, but that's going to happen anyway. At least this way, the rook gets a chance to see valuable starting experience against teams fighting for playoff position, so they'll be bringing it every night.

This team couldn't beat the Pelicans, so even the non-playoff teams will be formidable. If Chris Paul decided to retire after this season, I understand not wanting to spend your last two months on the bench, but that's a bit selfish if it comes at the expense of the promising young rookie who needs more time.

Getting back to San Antonio will be nice for De'Aaron Fox. He hasn't had an opportunity to play a real home game since he's been on the roster. It's hard to imagine that part of his struggles aren't due to his unrest. The team should get more steady play from him once he's settled, but this season is a wash anyway.

The NBA made sure of that with this brutal schedule, and the Spurs didn't help by putting the Austin games in the middle of the road trip. The worst part about having to play OKC on the second night of a back-to-back without Wemby is that it will be broadcast on ESPN, just like last night's Rockets game. They should flex it, but they'll probably just let us get embarrassed on national TV again.