San Antonio Spurs' Tough Road Back to Top of Western Conference Just Beginning
SAN ANTONIO — Perhaps the San Antonio Spurs decided they had made enough history for one month.
After becoming the first team since 1951 to play in consecutive triple-double overtimes last week (heartbreaking losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers), the last thing this team needed was what would have been just the second five-game losing streak of Tim Duncan's career—and first since 2011.
Tony Parker returned from a hamstring injury and led San Antonio with 26 points en route to a much-needed 125-118 win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Though an unequivocal success amid a month in which the Spurs have thus far gone just 6-7, the reigning champions are hardly out of the woods just yet.
With a roster that's not yet back to full strength and facing a conference that's seemingly stronger by the day, this club may well endure further hardship before turning a corner in earnest.
Monday was just a start, albeit an important one. The worst may largely be over, but that's really not saying a whole lot. Things have gotten pretty bad, at least by a perennial contender's standards.
"It was very painful to watch the last five games," Parker told media after the contest. "I don't even know if we have ever lost four games in a row. It was hard to watch, and I had a tough time. I just tried to bring energy and be aggressive.
"I was just happy to be out there because I came back a little early, but I wanted to help my team. As a competitor, you always want to try to come back fast, but this time I tried to take a little more time to make sure I was 100 percent."
Parker was well worth the wait. He made 11 of his 18 field-goal attempts, while tallying four assists and two steals in 34 minutes of action.
"It is huge for us," sixth man Manu Ginobili said of Parker's return. "He handles the ball a lot for us and makes a lot of things happen. He had a way better game than we all expected after missing a few games and not practicing or playing. It is hard to get rhythm right away, and he was rolling. It was a great relief for everybody, and he made us play better and with more confidence."
Parker may not cure all the Spurs' ills overnight, but there's little doubt his presence has precisely the kind of force-multiplying effect Ginobili described—this time evidence by 63 combined points from Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw. San Antonio's 125 points were also a season-high, as were the 37 assists that helped put them on the board.
"It's what we have to do to win," head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after the game. "We don't do much one-on-one stuff, because that is just the kind of players we have. We have to do it as a group, and moving the ball is imperative, or we have a problem. I thought the pace and the ball movement were good. The defense was still average at best, and we are just going to keep working on it."
Keep working.
It's the Spurs' way—the stoic and steady determination that's obviated any need for alarm-sounding around the organization. When the sky falls as it has in December, this collection of professionals still maintains an abiding faith in the system, which is precisely how these players follow a four-game losing streak with their finest offensive display of the season.
Unfortunately, similar displays may be required for San Antonio to build some real momentum in advance of February's All-Star break.
This month alone, San Antonio has contests remaining against a trio of contenders in the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies—to say nothing of two games against the New Orleans Pelicans, who prevailed by a narrow 100-99 against the Spurs on Nov. 8. That's life in the Western Conference, and the Spurs have neither the weapons nor the rhythm to take it in stride at the moment.
Though January offers some respite from the West's stockpile of contenders, games against the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards (who play San Antonio twice next month) should keep things interesting.
Then there's the Kawhi Leonard predicament.
The reigning Finals MVP has already missed seven games this season—most recently on account of a torn ligament in his right hand—and it's unclear when he'll return. ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne reported Monday that "Leonard had an injection in his injured right hand on Sunday, and there is no timetable for his return."
Though Leonard initially downplayed the injury's significance late last week, Popovich sounded far less optimistic prior to Monday's contest.
"I don't think that's accurate," Popovich told Shelburne with respect to Leonard's comments. "He got another injection yesterday. One of the doctors said he's been doing hands for 40 years, and it's the first time he's ever seen this injury. It's a little bit unique."
According to the San Antonio Express-News' Mike Monroe, "Popovich said full recovery from the injury may require surgery in the offseason."
So this could be a problem. The Spurs famously won 19 straight games a season ago after Leonard returned from a 14-game absence. Fans are naturally hoping for a similar feel-good story this time around, but it might take a while.
Leonard's return to the lineup no longer appears imminent. And that means San Antonio's return to form may require a little time as well.
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