Twenty-five games into the 2014-15 season, the Spurs are just
three games off of last year's record at 17-8. As usual, Pop is preparing the
team for the long haul with the playoffs in the back of his mind. While a sidelined
Tim (38-year-old rest), Tony (hamstring), and Manu (lower back) watched the
bench keep pace with Portland on Monday, the loss was somewhat encouraging. The
rookie Kyle “SloMo” Anderson scored a season high 15 points and Kawhi was
looking more comfortable than ever in the drivers seat. He recorded 21 points,
9 reb and 4 ast before re-injuring his bruised left hand late in the 4th
quarter. The X-rays came back
negative, but he will sit out tonight against the Grizzlies because of the
soreness. On top of that, Tony’s hamstring will keep him out of tonight’s
contest.
It’s still very early to make playoff predictions, but if Golden State and Memphis continue to emerge as top contenders, the 2015 post-season
could be a little more interesting than last year. Oklahoma City might finish
as a six or seven seed because of their early season woes, and that is one team San Antonio would not like to see in the first round. Keeping in mind the Spurs delivered
one of Golden State’s three losses, the Western Conference is bound to cool off
a little bit. The top three teams are all on pace for 70+ wins, and I don’t
even think that’s possible. For the Spurs, it’s always been about pace.
Pop usually pushes the gas pedal a little harder around
mid-season. Our Rotations will finally have some sort of consistency when Patty
Mills jumps back in the lineup. If the Spurs can get relatively healthy by that time, San Antonio might be able to start eyeing a repeat.
