Christmas is still two weeks away, but the Spurs gave their fans two early gifts last week: wins over Dallas and Utah without Tim Duncan in uniform.
The gifts don’t stop there. With 20 games in the can, the Spurs are off to a franchise-best start and lead the Western Conference. Early on, we were debating whether the Spurs would win more than 55 games. Now they’re on their way to winning 70. (No, I don’t think they’ll win that many.)
More things to be happy about: we could get that rematch that fans in San Antonio and Phoenix would both welcome. The Suns are in second place, just a game and a half behind the Spurs, followed by New Orleans, Denver, Dallas, Utah, the Lakers and Oakland. The news here, besides the fact that New Orleans looks like a legitimate playoff contender and that Dallas and Utah are struggling (see above), is the Warriors. After losing their first six games without Stephen Jackson, the Warriors have gone on a tear with Jackson back in the lineup — winning 11 of their last 14 games.
So here we are, just 11 shopping days left until Christmas, and the two hottest teams in the West — the Spurs and the Warriors — face off tonight. SpursDynasty will be there in force. Oddsmakers favor the Spurs by only three. Hmm. These teams played twice around this time last year and the scores weren’t that close. In late November, the Warriors beat the Spurs at home, 111-102. Parker and Duncan played well, but Ginobili was out and Finley shot poorly. With the big three back in the lineup a week later, the Spurs won 129-89.
Will tonight be another blowout, another gift from the Spurs?
