The media world is hung up on the Miami Heat's 22-game winning streak. The San Antonio Spurs were in that territory last season, but had the majority of that streak in the playoffs. The mainstream media wasn't in love with the Spurs' streak as the Heat's longer streak, but that might be a good thing that it may be a forgotten stretch. For Gregg Popovich, it would've probably been best that it never would've happened.
I don't want to win 20 games in a row [again]. Now that might sound … 'Well, who wouldn't want to do that?' [But] it's too much of a grind. I was hoping for a loss [in last season's playoffs]. I thought about doing things to make sure we get a loss here and there, but you can't do that to your team. (ESPN.com/Marc Stein)
The team was used to winning and didn't have to adjust much of their game. When they met the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was difficult for a team to adjust their game in the playoffs especially with the pressure of having to close out the series. The team is currently going through a defensive drought in the past three games, especially allowing 113 points to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers.
The good news is that the Spurs have enough time to fix these problems, unlike last season's playoffs. Pop even had thoughts of putting the team in a situation where they could get a loss and help them in the long term, which tells you how he views streaks like this. The Spurs haven't had a streak close to the 20 the team had last season and that's probably the best for the Spurs in the long term. When they lose complacency, the team can focus on bettering themselves on the situations they may face in the playoffs.
The team felt too secure with winning and withered in the moment when they were faced with adversity. Even with the best record in the Western Conference (for now anyway), the team is playing hard on the court even when they're in a funk on either side of the floor.
It seems like the Spurs forgot about last season's streak and you can bet Gregg Popovich is hoping it becomes a distant memory.
