Thinking about the playoffs
Trade DeRozan, send Aldridge away, and the second elder Guy and Mills on the bench also go their separate ways, but the story of the San Antonio Spurs has not ended. Popovich successfully won the great record of the first victory in history this season, and many people feel that the old man should be satisfied, and the next step is to swing it up, let the latter fight for a high-ranking draft pick, and then complete the task perfectly and retire to the lake. However, if you look at the results, you will find that the Spurs are still worried about the playoffs!
So far this season, the Spurs are in eleventh place in the West, and only the top ten teams in the West are eligible to enter the playoffs to compete for a playoff spot. So, as long as the Spurs go further, they can qualify for the play-offs. The Spurs are currently only 1.5 wins behind the New Orleans Pelicans, who are tenth in the West, and are just 1.5 wins away.
The Spurs face the Pelicans
It is worth mentioning that the opponent of the San Antonio Spurs in the next game is the New Orleans Pelicans, and if the Spurs can win, the gap between the two teams is only 0.5 wins. You know, the Spurs still have 12 games this season, and the probability of qualifying for the play-offs is really huge. And pelicans star Ingram, the Pelicans' lead player, will be absent for the next game. During Ingram's absence, the Pelicans had a 1-5 record, which was terrible.
The Spurs are most afraid of the three-point fierce team, but the Pelicans' three-point shooting and shooting percentage are at the bottom of the league. Of course, the Pelicans also have excellent places, that is, rebounding in the frontcourt, ranking fifth in the league, after all, Varan is there. The Spurs' frontcourt rebounds weren't bad either, also in seventh place in the league. If the Spurs want to win this game, the most crucial point is the bench. As the second-highest team in the league to average points per game, the Spurs' bench can average 7.7 points per game than the Pelicans' bench.
McCollum is indeed a great player, but spurs Murray has been named an All-Star, and you know, McCollum has never been an All-Star in so many years. In addition, Kelden Johnson and Lonnie Walker have been in excellent form recently, and as long as they play normally, the chances of the Spurs winning the game are very high.
It is expected to surpass the Lakers
What the San Antonio Spurs can do is not only to overtake the New Orleans Pelicans and get a play-off position, but also have the opportunity to overtake the Los Angeles Lakers and come to ninth in the West. At present, the Spurs are 2.5 wins behind the Lakers, although the Spurs state is more losses and less wins, but after the All-Star, the Spurs have won 4 games, one of which is against the Lakers. As for the Lakers, the All-Stars have only won 2 games, and in these two games, James scored 50 points in one game and 56 points in one game, and all at home.
The Los Angeles Lakers' recent form has indeed been terrible, and there is no accurate news on Anthony Davis' comeback. Before Davis returned, the Spurs still had a good chance of overtaking the Lakers and coming to the ninth place in the West. Lonnie Walker, the top scorer on the Spurs bench, said we need a resentful attitude against the rest of the game, that our team has only one goal, to try to win the game, and I think we are ready. In the 10 games since the All-Star, Walker has scored more than 20 points in seven of his games.
Kelden Johnson is also in good shape, playing in 9 games after the All-Star, scoring 30+ in 3 games, and Murray in two reverse spots, supporting the Spurs' half of the sky. It must be admitted that Popovich is indeed unique in the cultivation of players.