The Spurs have been on a roll lately, of sorts. They’ve fallen from first to sixth in the West, from a championship team firing on all cylinders to an injury-riddled veteran squad playing .500 ball. After starting the season 17-3, they’re just 11-13 since.
One can only hope that their loss to the Sonics last night is the bottom of the Spurs decline, as bad as things will get this season. The Spurs ended Seattle’s team-record 14-game losing streak and lost to one of the worst teams in the league. The loss also kept the Spurs from making a near-complete sweep of the league’s worst teams, the only teams they’ve been able to beat lately.
Yes, things are even worse than they appear. On paper, the Spurs are 8-8 in the last month. But take a closer look and you’ll see that six of those eight wins came against the worst teams in the league: Minnesota, Miami, Memphis, Los Angeles Clippers, New York and Philadelphia.
I will, however, end this post with some positive news. Pop has decided to sit Tony Parker.
“He was told he was going to get better, but he’s gotten worse,” Popovich said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to be, but he’s going to sit.
“He doesn’t like it, but this is the way it’s going to be.”
“You have to have health to win it,” Popovich said of the NBA title, which he has won four times in 11 seasons leading San Antonio. “If you don’t have all your horses come playoff time, you’ll be planning your vacation (early).”
This puts the trade for Damon Stoudamire into perspective. Pop needs someone to hold the fort while his stars get healthy, and while Stoudamire may be a less than ideal choice, hopefully he’ll do.
