Should the Spurs be Worried?

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Created on Thursday, 06 January 2011 10:06

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 07:51

Written by Travis Pulver

For some two losses in a row might not be the cause for worry, but having a defense that let 233 points get scored on them is. In San Antonio it just means it is time to get back on track in the next game.

“We’re not satisfied with where we are, and honestly I don’t really care what our record is,” San Antonio forward Tim Duncan said. “(With) the kind of defense we’re playing, we’re definitely not satisfied with where we are right now.

On the season there defense has been middle of the road, currently ranked 15th out of 30 NBA teams, allowing opponents to score close to 98 points a game. That has been sufficient on many nights since offensively they have been one of the best teams in the league (fourth) scoring close to 106 points a night.

There were signs of potential defensive issues in late December when the team had a five game stretch from the 15th to the 23rd when they allowed an average of 112 points a night. However, since they won four out of five of those games it was easy to overlook.

Sometimes no matter how good your defense is when you play quality players; those guys are going to do what they no matter how good a defense a team mounts on some nights. Wednesday night Ray Allen appeared to have one of those for the Celtics. On the night Allen was 13 for 16 for 31 points.

“We all know Ray Allen is a great shooter,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “But 13 for 16 is not easy.”

After getting upset with his team after they let the Knicks score 128 points Tuesday, head coach Greg Popovich took a slightly different tack after the loss to the Celtics.

“It seems like there are portions of the game we’ll have one guy, sometimes two, who are unknowing in how they should react,” Popovich said. “It’s a perseverance thing. We’ll stick with it and try to get better.”

So should fans be worried about their team?

While the team did falter the last two nights they still are the owners of the best record in the NBA (29-6). While the defense missed the mark the previous two games a look at the Oklahoma City game on New Year’s Day. They held the reigning scoring champ Kevin Durant to just 16 points, tied for his lowest night of the season to date, and held the team, who average 103 points a night, to just 74.

The team will look to get back to their winning ways when they take on the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis Friday night.