I have been rooting for the San Antonio Spurs for 25 years and in that time I have seen a lot of history made, but never did I think I would see the franchise record losing streak unfold in front of me. That is where we stand as the Spurs have lost 14 straight- which is as many games as they have won all season- heading into the All Star Break.
In their latest attempt to halt the slide, they face Luka Doncic and Kyrie Iriving, which is not particularly encouraging. The Mavericks duo may not have had a lot of time to build on court chemistry, but either one of them would be the Spurs best player by some distance.
San Antonio Spurs (14-45) vs Dallas Mavericks (31-29)
February 23rd, 2023 | 7:30pm CT
Watch: KENS/BSSW | Listen: WOAI/KXTN
Spurs injuries: Devin Vassell- Out, Jeremy Sochan- Out, Tre Jones- Doubtful, Romeo Langford- Out, Isaiah Roby- Out, Khem Birch- Out, Julian Champagnie- Out
Mavericks injuries: Max Kleber- Out, Davis Bertans- Out
What to watch for:
- I maintain the belief that, when fully healthy, this Spurs roster is not nearly as bad as their record suggests. However, as you can see, above, they are nowhere close to healthy. Keep an eye on Malaki Branham, who has been a revelation in the month of February, scoring over ten points in all but one appearance this month and breaking the twenty point mark four times.
- The chemistry between the big two in Dallas. If that team is going to go anywhere in the postseason, their two all-stars need to have a strong rhythm together, and both of them like to have the ball in their hands. Doncic will undoubtedly play the lead role, but keeping Irving happy is an unreasonably delicate balance and they will be working very hard to avoid another mental meltdown from him before the end of the season.
- The Spurs defense is the worst in the NBA, and for some reason that is harder for me to adjust to than the terrible record. It seems to bother Gregg Popovich as well, so let’s see if any adjustments to the scheme have been made over the All Star break. They only have three more games before they can finally play in San Antonio, again.
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