LaMarcus Aldridge Brilliant as Spurs Cruise Past Andre Drummond, Pistons
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 105-93 on Wednesday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl each posted double-doubles for the 34-29 Spurs, who snapped a three-game losing skid. DeRozan nearly had a triple-double thanks to 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Poeltl had 11 points and 14 boards.
Reggie Jackson scored 22 points for the 29-31 Pistons, whose three-game win streak ended. Andre Drummond contributed 10 points, 17 rebounds and four steals.
Spurs Still in Driver's Seat for Western Conference Playoff Berth
There's no way to sugarcoat the Spurs' 1-7 stretch prior to Wednesday's win, a span that included a loss to the 13-48 New York Knicks. Not to mention, those defeats came by an average of 16.3 points per game.
However, that skid hasn't torpedoed the Spurs, who still control their destiny for a playoff berth.
San Antonio is tied for seventh in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Sacramento Kings are breathing down its neck at two games back.
But there are a few reasons to believe the Spurs won't fall out of the top eight.
First, a winning streak could have them going the other way. The sixth-place Utah Jazz are just 1.5 games ahead of the Spurs. Catching the fifth-place Houston Rockets, who are now four games in front of them, isn't an impossible task either (albeit an improbable one).
Second, San Antonio will play three more home games than road games the rest of the way. That may not seem like a major difference, but the Spurs' home/road splits are severe. Through Wednesday, San Antonio is 23-7 at the AT&T Center and 11-22 elsewhere. Furthermore, the margin of error in the Western Conference is razor-thin and could come down to a single game. The home-court advantage could be beneficial.
Third, the Spurs' remaining schedule is not daunting. Tankathon ranks San Antonio's slate as the 16th-easiest in the league down the stretch; it includes a home game versus the Knicks and two matchups versus the 14-47 Cleveland Cavaliers.
The counterpoint is the Spurs' primary opponents for playoff berths have easy schedules too. The Jazz, Kings and Clippers have the second-, fourth- and eighth-easiest slates, respectively.
But those teams may beat each other up a bit down the stretch. The Kings are at Utah in April and host the Clips on Friday. Utah closes the regular season at the Clippers.
The Spurs have the Kings one more time, but they'll face them at home.
The largest obstacle toward a Spurs playoff berth may be the team's defense, which ranked No. 23 in efficiency entering Wednesday per ESPN.com.
But San Antonio may have figured something out versus a previously hot Detroit team, as the Spurs held the Pistons to just 36.0 percent shooting.
Ultimately, it's hard to bet against one of the sport's all-time head coaches in Gregg Popovich, who has guided San Antonio to the playoffs each year since the 1997-98 season.
It may not be easy, but look for San Antonio to return to the postseason once again.
What's Next?
Both teams play on Saturday.
The Spurs will host the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Detroit Pistons will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers.
