(Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports)
The 2015-2016 season has been kind to our boys in silver and black, who – thus far – have played a relatively easy schedule. That won’t last forever. In fact, this week we’ll get a chance to see the Spurs match up against multiple playoff teams, both at home and on the road. I, for one, am really excited to see how the Spurs play through it.
What can we expect from San Antonio for the rest of January? Will they remain perfect at the AT&T Center? Will they end Golden State’s equally epic streak of games won at home? Will I pony up $200+ for a ticket to see it in person? (Nope!!)
Let’s take this game-by-game, and see where we (I) think the Spurs will find themselves come February.
Note: I’m glossing over the lesser matchups because, well, neither you nor I want this article approaching 2,000 words. Trust me.
Monday, January 11
Spurs (32-6) at Nets
Coming in at 4-0 on the month and with two days rest, it’s pretty unlikely the Spurs blow this one.
Prediction: Spurs win by 15+ and I forget that Joe Johnson plays for the Nets at least four times during the contest.
Tuesday, January 12
Spurs (33-6) at Pistons
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Spurs travel to Detroit to take on the playoff-bound Pistons. Look for this one to be competitive throughout, and brace yourself for Hack-a-Drummond if things aren’t going the Spurs’ way.
Speaking of Andre Drummond, who sports a abhorrent 36% made free throw rate, it’ll be fun to see him go against Tim Duncan in the paint. Drummond is averaging just more than 18 points a game right now, while Duncan is having one of the best defensive seasons of his storied career. Who’s going to win that battle?
Prediction: Going into the 4th quarter, the score will be within 3-4 points, but San Antonio pulls ahead and finishes with a 10-point victory.
Thursday, January 14
Spurs (34-6) vs. Cavaliers
Here we go, the Spurs’ first BIG matchup of the season, a home game against the Eastern Conference leaders, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have finally found themselves with a healthy squad. The timing couldn’t be better. The Spurs’ 22-game home winning streak will be put to the test by LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and “hot or not” J.R. Smith. San Antonio has struggled against the better teams in the East, though those struggles have come on the road.
As of this writing, the Cavs are riding a seven-game winning streak. What I’m looking forward to seeing most in this contest is how the Spurs’ defense stacks up against a healthy Cavaliers offense. Kawhi Leonard on James is always spectacular, and so far this year, Leonard has done a pretty good job of making a teams’ #1 scoring threat disappear. The problem with Cleveland is that their second, third, and fourth scoring options happen to be pretty good at making baskets too.
Last season, Irving dropped 57 points in San Antonio en route to a 128-125 OT win for Cleveland. Something tells me if Irving scores 57 again, the Spurs are probably going to lose this one, too. San Antonio has to figure out how to defend Cleveland’s star point guard if they plan on pulling this one out.
Prediction: The contest is tight throughout, but the Spurs move to 23-0 at home behind an outstanding two-way effort from both Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Sunday, January 17
Spurs (35-6) vs. Mavericks
On the night before Thanksgiving, the Spurs won an ugly game 88-83 against the Mavericks, and this one might be just as ugly. Dallas is a team I can’t quite figure out. They became only the second team to beat the Warriors this season, and then promptly went and lost their next two games to the Heat and Pelicans, before narrowly winning an overtime game against the Kings at home.
Don’t sleep on this team or they can hurt you. So long as the Spurs have their health, this is a game they should win, especially at home with two days rest.
Prediction: San Antonio puts this game away behind a huge third quarter run, and we get to see meaningful Boban Marjanovich/Jonathon Simmons minutes.
Thursday, January 21
Spurs (36-6) at Suns
*Yawn* The Spurs on three days rest against a bad Phoenix team? Good luck, Suns. On the other hand, this game is airing on TNT in prime time, so the Spurs are totally eligible to blow it.
Prediction: San Antonio cruises to victory #37.
Friday, January 22
Spurs (37-6) at Lakers
Even on the second night of a back-to-back on the road, you’ve got to like San Antonio’s odds. I doubt the Phoenix game forces the old guys to play enough minutes to make them unavailable for this game. And even if they are, I’d take this bench over the Lakers any day.
Prediction: None of the Big 3 play more than 24 minutes, Spurs win by double-digits.
Monday, January 25
Spurs (38-6) at Warriors
This is the matchup we’ve all been waiting for, and we had to wait until the end of January to get it. The Spurs take their second fiddle act into Warriors Ground for the first round of the clash of titans.
The questions going into this one are all going to focus on who is or isn’t healthy, as Golden State has experienced a few bites from the injury bug this season. Injuries haven’t totally derailed the Warriors’ season, however, as the only game they’ve lost in which Steph Curry didn’t play was a road loss against Dallas.
Still, being fully healthy for a game against the likes of the Spurs is much different than being fully healthy for a game against, say, the Houston Rockets. If nagging injuries cause Curry to sit against San Antonio, I give the Spurs the edge, even on the road. If Curry plays, Golden State most likely wins at home.
All said, it’s tough to pick a clear favorite. Let’s just try to enjoy what will likely be a terrific basketball game.
Prediction: Curry hits a 3-point jumper as time expires to beat the Spurs by one stupid point, and I spend the better part of the following 30 minutes cursing under my breath and refusing to answer text messages.
Wednesday, January 27
Spurs (38-7) vs. Rockets
The Spurs are physically incapable of losing two games in a row. And the Rockets suck.
Prediction: San Antonio wins by 20+ points; Dwight Howard gets a dunk attempt blocked by Leonard and draws a technical foul immediately afterward for throwing a temper-tantrum about how unfair it is that Kawhi is good at basketball.
Saturday, January 30
Spurs (39-7) at Cavaliers
Just two weeks removed from their first matchup of the season, the Spurs and Cavs are back at it for round two, this time in Cleveland. This time, the Cavs find themselves on the second night of a back-to-back, having played Detroit at home the night before. So far, Cleveland is 2-3 on the second night of back-to-backs this season, but all three losses have come on the road.
The Cavaliers have only lost at home once this season, and the Spurs haven’t done great against top-tier Eastern Conference teams on the road, but they’ll have two days of rest to prepare for the game. I’m obviously biased, but I think a well-rested Spurs team against a team playing its second game against playoff-bound opponents in two days is a good bet.
Prediction: The Spurs finish January with 40 wins, Leonard shuts down James and holds him to fewer than 12 points.
San Antonio plays 13 games this month, and they’ll probably be favored in all but two of them. I have to admit, I’ll be a little bummed if they win less than 11 of them, but the Spurs are finally matching up against some really solid basketball teams within a relatively short time span, so 10 wins might be more realistic. And you know what? That’s still pretty great. That means they finish the month 10-3!
The most important prediction I could actually make about the next three weeks of basketball is that we’re going to learn how this Spurs team responds to being in high-pressure situations on the road, against teams that have a lot to play for come April.
Get ready for some quality basketball, folks.
