MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs reacts against the Miami Heat (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
After a hot start, the San Antonio Spurs are on their first losing streak of the season. Who is to blame for the recent struggles?
It hasn’t been an easy run for the Spurs. After dropping back-to-back games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, San Antonio has dropped to the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
Even so, the margin of separation between the top five teams in the West is small and the season is young. There’s plenty of time to put together a run but it’ll take a concerted effort from the whole roster. With a balanced offense and smart defensive game plan, the sky’s the limit for the new-look Spurs.
Each of the last two losses came by a margin of seven points in spite of major leads by both opponents earlier. San Antonio made runs late in both games to close the margin of defeat but failed to complete the comeback twice in a row. To put things simply, they haven’t been efficient on either end of the floor.
Losses against Eastern Conference teams can come back to bite teams battling for position in the West, so the Spurs will need to step up their game if they truly want to compete with the league’s elite.
It’ll take added effort to snap the losing streak against Houston on Saturday, but certain players in particular have made costly mistakes over their recent stretch of games. Head coach Gregg Popovich was quoted as calling his team’s efforts “soft” after the loss to a Miami team without their backcourt duo of Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade.
To change Pop’s mind and get back to playing winning basketball, these players need to start playing more efficiently.