One of the nice things about being on vacation and only being able to watch Spurs games after the fact is that, unless I’m really disciplined, I already know the outcome of the game before I start to watch. So rather then fretting over a perilous lead, or sweating a hopeful comeback, I can watch the game unfold, and see the individual parts as pieces of a whole and marvel at how they piece together to form the unified picture of the game.
It also makes the games slightly less enjoyable to watch. Part of the pleasure of live sporting events is the not knowing. We scream and we yell and we jump and we swear at the players on the court and we do whatever idiosyncratic tics we’ve picked up over the years, and we believe that in some small way we hold sway over the final outcome of the game. And that rush of excitement gives the games and the viewing a purpose, and connects us to the larger picture of the the event; we are an integral part of the game, the sport.
Of course, with tonight’s game tied 77-77 early in the 4th quarter, a part of me definitely wished I already knew the answer and could just sit back and watch the Spurs inevitable “turning it on” to run the Pistons out of the building, rather than sweating the results with the rest of the Spurs faithful. We certainly didn’t look like we could or should win this game, but surely we weren’t going to lose at home to a toothless Pistons team coming off their 10th straight loss the night before?
Luckily, we did turn it on, and proceeded to outscore Detroit 35 to 15 the rest of the way, turning a tense, closely contested game into somewhat of a rout. We played fairly well throughout the whole game, and perhaps Detroit played a bit over their heads. But in the fourth we came alive both offensively and defensively, and asserted our will unto the game.
Tonight’s game was less remarkable to me for the actual game and more for what it ended: our slate of “We Should Win” games. On the year, we’ve been remarkably consistent at winning these games, and have helped greatly in our current record and seeding in the West. These wins are a mixed bag of sorts. Most devoted Spurs observers know that the team is not playing its best (though certainly much better lately), and that the record is a bit of a paper tiger. However, despite our cupcake schedule, most of the metrics out there still have us in the top of the league in most meaningful statistics, implying in a way that we’re actually undervalued.
Starting with Friday’s game against Dallas, the rest of January presents an opportunity to see who we really are. Take a look at our upcoming schedule: we play Dallas, the Lakers, a really good Thunder team that always gives us fits, a surprisingly good Memphis team twice, New Orleans, Utah (who has already beaten us 3 times this year!), Houston, Atlanta, Chicago (I know they’re struggling, but we owe them some revenge), and Denver. That’s quite a slate of good teams. By the end of January, we should have a much clearer picture of the Spurs.
To me, the 3 biggest games are the ones against Dallas, LA, and Denver. Right now, these are probably the three best teams in the West, and teams we’re very likely to meet in the playoffs. We’ve split two early games with Dallas (with the 4th and final game coming on the last day of the regular season), lost our first meeting with Denver, and have yet to play the Lakers. All 3 games are at home (of note: the Denver game is our last home game before embarking on the Rodeo Road trip, another important marker in the Spurs season).
The season is a gradual build toward the playoffs. And wins and losses don’t necessarily matter as much as how the team is playing and competing. Blah blah blah, I know the rhetoric and I believe it. But we need some good wins. We all know the other storyline–only 2 wins against plus-.500 teams. That needs to change. We need to beat some Western Conference rivals and announce to the rest of the NBA that reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.
I want at least 2 of those 3 games. And I want to have at least 25 wins after the Utah game (the exact midpoint of the regular season). And I want at least 8 or 9 of the next 13 games (getting us through January). I want to see the next gear; I want to see the Spurs.
The ride starts Friday with an old nemesis.
