Thirty-two games into the season, the San Antonio Spurs have already shown they are one of the best teams in the league.
With the impressive integration of Pau Gasol, among five other new players, and the consistent contribution of Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs comfortably sit in second place in the West, a game and a half behind the Golden State Warriors. Two and a half games ahead of the third seed Rockets, the Spurs are in great position at this point in the season.
With all the strides they’ve managed, only one team has proven to be a cause for concern for the Spurs – the Los Angeles Clippers. The only team the Spurs have lost to more than once this season, the Clippers, currently in 4th place in the West, have been the Spurs’ Kryptonite early on this season.
In both of their matchups, the Clippers held the Spurs to 40.5% and 40.2% shooting respectively from the field. On the season, the Spurs shoot 47.3% from the floor. It’s no doubt the Clippers’ 6th ranked Defense has something to do with that stat. The Spurs have two more meetings with the Clippers this season.
Aside from their struggles against the Clippers, the Spurs have continued to fight on. After a stretch of close games toward the end of November into early December, San Antonio has been able to get into a groove scoring wise and they’ve won 6 of their last 9 games with double-digit deficits.
One of the games the Spurs were unable to win by more than 10 points came against the Rockets, who have also given the Spurs a run for their money. The Rockets have won one of three games against the Spurs so far. San Antonio pulled out a 102-100 win against the Rockets during their latest meeting on December 20th.
The Spurs will try to go for four wins in a row as they take on the Portland Trailblazers, Friday, December 30th at 7:30pm.
