Season 50, Game 17
San Antonio 112, Washington 100
14-3, 3rd in the West

The Spurs finished off their three-game East Coast road trip Saturday by beating the Wizards as normally and routinely as possible.

Outside of some “holy hell!” plays by Jonathon Simmons (particularly that chase down block), I’m having a hard time thinking of any hard-hitting analysis. (Or perhaps it’s time to apply the “too much turkey” joke to the author.) The Wizards played hard enough to linger in the game, but the Spurs just always had an answer for any run they might muster.

In the second quarter, Parker scored in double figures. In the third, it was Kawhi scoring in double figures. Meanwhile, Aldridge quietly scored 24 while Mills and Simmons combined for 28. There was just never a point at which it felt like the Wizards might actually win this game.

The bench continued to shine for San Antonio, while Washington’s bench was a hot mess. Unless your starters are the Warriors, a bench that bad will always come back to haunt you.

With the win, the Spurs remain a perfect 10-0 on the road. That’s kind of crazy. Last season, 6 professional NBA teams didn’t win 10 games on the road all season. At 14-3, the Spurs are quietly floating just beneath the fray. The Warriors and Cavs are the talk of the league and the presumptive Finals favorites, while the Clippers have had the hottest start.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are right there, matching these teams win-for-win. The point differential isn’t spectacular, as the team has had to hold on late to secure some wins. Neither the offense nor the defense stands out, yet the offense is 5th in the league while the defense is 12th in the league (it’s fallen a bit in the last few games).

With the three early home losses, it’s easy to look at the Spurs and think: “Well, they’re not as good as last year”, particularly given last year’s gaudy home record. With the other top-3 teams playing better this year, it’s easy to dismiss the Spurs.

Fine. Do it. That’s the way we all kind of like it, anyway. The truth is, the Spurs probably aren’t as good as they were last season. Yet. But there’s a long way to go, and more than any other season in the past, the Spurs have plenty of room for development and growth.

So when we get to the end of the season and we start to hear pundits say things like “Don’t sleep on the Spurs!” or “Quietly, the Spurs are pushing the Warriors and Clippers for the top seed in the West”, the rest of the NBA will be surprised.

But we won’t.

The Spurs return home to face the Magic on Tuesday.

Go Spurs Go.