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DeMar DeRozan Calls Spurs' Recent Struggles 'Extremely Frustrating'
February 27, 2020
The San Antonio Spurs keep losing, and DeMar DeRozan is fed up.
"It's beyond frustrating," he said following Wednesday's 109-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. "Just losing period is frustrating. Extremely frustrating. That's all I can say about it."
San Antonio is an ugly 2-7 in its last nine games and just 24-33 on the season.
"Nobody in this locker room enjoys losing," DeRozan continued, per Orsborn. "We go out there and fight. When the outcome is a loss, it's tough, especially with the amount of games we have left and the opportunity to try to make a playoff push. Every single game is critical."
DeRozan did what he could Wednesday, finishing just shy of a triple-double with 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. It still wasn't enough, especially with LaMarcus Aldridge sidelined with a shoulder injury.
San Antonio is now in 12th place in the Western Conference and 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed.
The Spurs have made the playoffs for 22 straight years under head coach Gregg Popovich, but that streak appears to be in danger at the moment.
"They are 100 percent obsessed with getting that eighth seed," a league executive said of the Spurs earlier this month, per Jabari Young of CNBC.
The losing is clearly wearing on the team given DeRozan's comments, and the chances of landing that No. 8 seed are fading with every defeat.
The Spurs do have a chance to bounce back, though, as they play teams with losing records in four of their next five games. If they can't take advantage of the opportunity, they may be staring at their first playoff-less season since the 1996-97 campaign.