NBA Power Rankings week 14: OKC Thunder among the ‘road warriors’
Previous: 15th. San Antonio Spurs. 15. team. 29. . 20-25
San Antonio Spurs:
Offense: (111.0) 3-way tie for 10th
Defense: (111.7) 22nd
Net: (minus -0.8) 14th
Results Week 14: (2-2): Won vs. Suns: 120-118, Pelicans: 121-117, Lost vs. Suns: 99-103, Raptors: 107-110
Games Week 15: (3 games) Mon at Bulls | Weds vs. Jazz | Sat vs. Hornets
The Spurs got the unenviable task of playing Zion Williamson in his debut but perhaps no other team was better suited for this event given their penchant for playing to their identity.
San Antonio withstood the 17-point Zion explosion and netted the victory necessary which resulted in them moving past the Grizzlies back into eighth (but slipped back to ninth with the losses late in the week to the Suns and Raptors).
Much like they’ve done all season the Spurs defeat elite clubs and struggle every few games and seem to throw in an inexplicable loss to the sub .500 clubs. This week they somewhat reversed that trend splitting the home and home series with the Suns, beating the Pelicans and lost a closely contested battle with the Raptors.
The latter game was the first of the matches on Sunday to honor Kobe Bryant by allowing the 24-second shot clock to expire – a suggestion from Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse. The other teams around the league followed suit as they took to the court.
From his days in Toronto, there is ample evidence of how much Kobe meant to DeMar DeRozan who studied film of Kobe incessantly. When you witness DeMar’s shots and footwork they are all homages to Bryant.
One concerning trend is the Spurs have allowed 113.4 points to the opposition through their last 10 games. At the same time, they are scoring 112.8 which translates into close battles in the clutch.