These lowball Spurs projections suggest people haven't been convinced enough

The Spurs are coming off a 62-win season that nobody predicted, so now everyone is going to recognize their talent and forecast another step forward, right?

RIGHT??

Wrong. DraftKings' oddsmakers set San Antonio's over/under win total at 59.5, and FanDuel has it at 60.5. To ESPN's credit, they were a little better but had the Silver and Black stuck at 62, like an elderly person driving on cruise control in the fast lane.

These predictions aren't aggressive enough. Oddsmakers are trying to steal your money, so I won't be so hard on them. However, there's no excuse for the World Wide Leader or any other publication to underrate what we just witnessed, and when you look at the tea leaves in the Western Conference, the Spurs' fortunes should only shine brighter.

The West's contenders got worse but the Spurs got better

Oklahoma City lost real depth pieces in their rotation. Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins played significant roles for this team, and Sam Presti didn't replace them. He's counting on bigger contributions from guys like Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell, and Cason Wallace. Those are all solid players, but losing talent still amounts to getting worse, so we'll see how that goes for them.

Denver didn't need more offense but replaced a good defending two-way player with DeMar DeRozan. Their defense will be even worse than it was. Minnesota substituted size, which was a strength for them, for more shooting and ball-handling, but relying on LaMelo Ball to elevate enough to be the reason your team is now a contender is a lot to ask.

Meanwhile, the Spurs added Tobias Harris and returned their full core. That should mean a lot more than these projections are giving it credit for.

Internal growth alone should be worth a handful of additional Spurs wins

Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper are all still learning. Expecting Wemby to be stagnant would just be foolish, so we don't need to spend a lot of time there. And the Slash Bros are entering natural growth-curve seasons, as second- and third-year leaps are common for high-usage young players.

De'Aaron Fox is still being seriously underrated, too. Not only did he not get a chance to work out during the offseason because of his hamstring injury, but he was also sidelined during much of training camp. Those things matter greatly, so we should be expecting an even better year from Swipa.

Continuity matters. A team that just made an NBA Finals run doesn't have to spend October relearning how to play together, unlike several teams around them retooling their rosters. They'll hit the ground running with more experience, skill, and possibly anger driving them.

So, yes, 62 wins is too low. We're looking at a team that will challenge for 70 wins this season. They have the star power, depth, and chemistry to do it, so why won't they?

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