Spurs Staying Hot!

Written by Randy Watson

With just over two weeks left in the NBA's regular season, the San Antonio Spurs are looking to position themselves for a deep run into the postseason. . .if last week's play is any indication, it could be a deep run indeed.

It's hard to find a team that's as hot as the Spurs right now.  They've won nine out of the last ten games, and the loss was a one point loss at Indiana. Perhaps as telling as the number of victories is the manner in which they have come.  In the game against Seattle, the Spurs featured a well-balanced attack, with no player playing more than 30 minutes. a key for a veteran team, and also one looking to get a few players healthy before the playoffs.  With that 110-91 win, the Spurs swept the season series from the Sonics, and were led by Bruce Bowen's 18 points off of 6-6 three point shooting.

Later in the week, the Spurs went up against the Phoenix Suns, who currently are in possession of the second seed in the Western Conference.  While, catching the league-leading Mavericks is out of the question with just over two weeks left, catching up to the Suns is a very real possibility—and the Spurs came one step closer with their 92-85 victory on Thursday.  Tony Parker was the ringleader, setting a personal season-high with 35 points.  Tim Duncan put up 22 points and pulled down 10 boards.  The Spurs defense, though, was what won the game as they thoroughly shut down the Suns’ high-powered offense.  The Suns’ were held to just 18% from beyond the arc, and 38% field goal shooting.  If this game is a preview of a possible playoffs matchup, the Spurs’ defense seems to be already at post-season level, and San Antonio should be feeling quite confident.

Finally, on Saturday, San Antonio topped off the week with a 112-99 thumping of the Golden State Warriors, once again playing great defense against one of the more offensively powerful teams in the league.  Duncan was the man again in this one, leading the team with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks.  Golden State was hoping to keep a 4 game winning streak and a possible playoff berth alive, but the Spurs had other ideas.  With that win, the Spurs have now won 19 in a row at home against the Warriors.  Since the All-Star break, San Antonio are 20-3 overall.

There are a few concerns for the Spurs, however.  Robert Horry has missed four games in a row, and Brent Barry has missed three.  The way the rest of the team has been playing, though, those two should be able to rest and get back to full strength before the playoffs roll around.