Nine Things the San Antonio Spurs Must Do To Right Their Season

At 10-9, the Spurs have stumbled out of the gates like drunken sumo wrestlers trying to run a night marathon down Lombard Street in San Francisco.

Heavy on talent but often low on the good judgment and crunch-time execution scales, the team must escape the doldrums in the next few weeks if it hopes to contend for a fifth title.

San Antonio has trudged into December with a .500 record, the worst in the Tim Duncan era. It has also never entered the month with as much talent. Not with George Gervin and not with David Robinson.

The game changed when the Spurs front office commissioned the costliest renovation in franchise history. Now, it must pick up before the final buzzer—coming sooner than you think—eliminates them from a classic title race.

No longer just the old fogies on the block, the Spurs at times look too young and versatile for their own good.

The challenge for Gregg Popovich will be integrating the new veteran acquisitions and the established core without siphoning minutes from rookie Dejuan Blair or sophomore standout George Hill.

More disconcerting: the team’s worst month is traditionally January, not November or December.

A 118-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings, long on offensive production and short on defense, nudged the squad in the right direction.

With five more underwhelming, losing-record units on the slate in the next two weeks, the Spurs must dispatch these weaklings. 

Continuing with tonight’s home date with the Charlotte Bobcats, here are nine things the Spurs must do to reach their enormous potential.

1. Get Roger Mason Jr. Untracked

The surprise deadeye, summer 2008 acquisition has been anything but in 2009. Shooting 31 percent from three-point land and struggling to adapt to an altered role, a more productive Mason would give the offense a huge boost. He shed 16 pounds in the offseason to become a quicker defender and a better playmaker and slasher.

After one month of inconsistency, it is clear he best serves the Spurs as a long-range bomber, not a backup point guard. Richard Jefferson’s arrival does not make what Mason does less important.

In fact, if Jefferson ever gels with his All-Star teammates, the wealth of talent on the floor will routinely force opponents to double at least one of them. The versatility of the makeshift “Big Four” will force defenses to leave someone wide open. If that someone is Mason, he must be ready to make them pay.

Popovich should consider re-inserting Mason into the starting lineup. He flourished in that role last year, and maybe a return to action right at tip-off would give him better opportunities for early offense.

Keith Bogans earned a starting spot with his stingy perimeter defense, but it says here that Jefferson and the other three starters are giving the Spurs more than enough on the uphill end of the court to make this switch.

If Hill continues to impress as Parker’s backup and Ginobili to returns to his pre-injury level, Popovich will not need to continue his Mason-at-the-point experiment, thus freeing the guard to do what he does best—shoot.

2. Cut Down on the Turnovers

Nineteen turnovers against the Denver Nuggets and 20 against the Boston Celtics, both at home. Two single-digit losses. You do the math.

Observers should attribute some of the miscues to newbies learning one of the toughest systems in the association. But, six turnovers for Tony Parker vs. the Celts? Inexcusable.

Listen to Manu Ginobili. He speaks the truth. 

3. Create Turnovers and Run

Popovich wants the Spurs to run more than in past years to take advantage of Jefferson's athleticism and Parker's speed. With Hill, Ginobili, and a few others who can sprint from end to end, some transition offense would beef up the attack.

The Spurs rank in the bottom half of the league in creating turnovers, but several plays in the Sacramento win showed promise.

4. Richard Jefferson…uh…’Nuff Said

Wednesday’s win showcased why and how Jefferson can make the Spurs as dangerous as ever. He caught his second alley-oop pass of the season, and his first from Tony Parker.

He dunked four times in the contest and put together an efficient 11-18 performance. He scored both in transition and in the halfcourt.

Unfortunately, the Spurs play the lowly Kings four times, not 82. The key is getting Jefferson to impact contests against contenders and solid playoff squads, the way he could not versus Boston, Denver, and Utah.

He managed 11 against the Celtics. After two clever drives to the hoop in the first quarter of that one, he hit one jumper late in the fourth quarter.

He will not reach his previous averages in Milwaukee and New Jersey by virtue of the incredible talent surrounding him, but the Spurs should look to him as a go-to option in certain matchups.

He has yet to utilize his size advantage in the post, and his free throw shooting of late has been abysmal. Between the Denver and Utah jousts, he combined to miss all eight of his foul shot attempts.

His defense merits a toast. It’s hard to complain when he checks Paul Pierce, one of the game’s elite closers, and Pierce manages to connect on two of nine field goals.

5. Stop Watching Tim

The Spurs started the season 0-4 when Duncan topped the 20-point plateau. Lost in that odd stat is what the other four players were usually doing while he was doing work in the post—standing around.

When Duncan’s teammates resolve to become spectators to his brilliance instead of active participants, the Spurs lose in so many ways.

Playing through Duncan remains the best offense in most matchups, but it cannot be the only offense. Leave stargazing to the fans.

6. Win on the Road

With four losses at the AT&T Center already in the books, the Spurs can forget the dream of a 41-0 home mark. The Spurs were one of six teams to win 26-plus road games last year. They must approach and then obliterate that mark in the coming months.

With a paltry 1-5 road record to start, success on the annual Rodeo Road Trip becomes all the more vital.

7. Lessen the Mental Mistakes

A blown rotation here, a missed assignment there, it all adds up to trouble. Mental miscues have negated some terrific defensive efforts in the last two weeks.

Blair often shows his youth with untimely and silly fouls. He scored an unintentional bucket for the Celtics, too. McDyess and Jefferson frequently misjudge routes and degrees of rotation.

McDyess should bookmark the team’s first game in Utah, in which he allowed a layup drill at the rim, and vow to cease such nonsense. Stupid teams don’t win championships. With that in mind, the Spurs need to get smart.

8. Make  Game-Winning Plays

Nothing boosts a slumped team’s confidence quite like the thrill of pulling out a nail biter. While closing out the Kings at home is a start (Sacramento closed to within 100-103 in the fourth quarter), this bunch has a long way to go before it will ever reprise the exhilaration of playoff road victories past.

9. Build on and Keep Leads Against Winning Teams

It is appropriate that the last key builds on the previous eight. Only after the Spurs fix the above problem areas can they begin to hold and expand leads against above average teams, especially on the road.

The squad led by as many as 15 points in Salt Lake City Monday night before a 37-19 third quarter in favor of the Jazz destroyed momentum for the fellas in black.

The Spurs boasted the talent to win that contest by 20, but a combination of mental errors, stagnant possessions that led to low-percentage looks, turnovers, and Jefferson’s offensive struggles allowed Utah to hang around and eventually seal the victory.

The Spurs cannot expect to rout anyone in the championship hunt. Those games will be close and won in the final minutes. The tilts against Utah, Chicago, New Orleans and other mid-major squads, however, should be put on ice whenever possible.