I just took a gander at ESPN's NBA Power Rankings.  I know they are totally made up just to get the knuckleheads that comment over at ESPN.com to rack up the hits.  That being said I was wondering, where would I rank the Spurs at this point in the season?    Tim C. did a bang up job of giving the Spurs a first semester grade here and I think he was on for the most part.

ESPN has the Spurs ranked 11th overall in the NBA.  Teams like Utah, Denver and Houston are ranked ahead of them.  I don't think that I really have a problem with the Spurs ranking at 11th.   I think that 1/4 of the way through the season that this team is fine.  Could they be playing better?  For sure, but I'd much rather be ranked 11th and have a 12-9 record now then be dinged up and exhausted later in the year.

This is what they play for in San Antonio, not for ESPN's approval

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After the Spurs went on a 5 game winning streak and all was right with the world, they have since dropped 2 games in a row and have not looked particularly good in doing so.  This leads me to wonder, "What is going on with all this crappy play and very un-Spurs like basketball?"  Having had the weekend to wonder and think about it I've come up with a theory or two.

How are the Spurs losing with fans like these?

When these Spurs were winning five games in a row, they were playing regularly.  5 games in eight days and 5 wins.  Then the Spurs are off for 5 days and come out extremely sloppy in the next two games.  The Celtics and the Nuggets took advantage of turnovers and poor offense. 

Theory 1

This Spurs team needs to gel.  Therefore when they play games regularly they will mesh more and be more effective.  When having almost a week off there will be more rust than with teams that have been together for many years.  Look for the Spurs to play well despite a couple of SEGABABAs in the month of December.

December	Opponent	Time	Local TV	Nat TV	Radio
Mon 07	@ Utah	8:00pm	My35 HD		WOAI-AM 1200
Wed 09	vs Sacramento	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Fri 11	vs Charlotte	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sun 13	@ LA Clippers	8:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Tue 15	@ Phoenix	8:00pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Wed 16	@ Golden State	9:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sat 19	vs Indiana	7:30pm	My35 HD		WOAI-AM 1200
Mon 21	vs LA Clippers	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Wed 23	vs Portland	7:30pm	My35 HD		WOAI-AM 1200
Sat 26	@ Milwaukee	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sun 27	@ New York	5:00pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Tue 29	vs Minnesota	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Thu 31	vs Miami	6:00pm			WOAI-AM 1200

Who comes up with these schedules?! 

Theory 2

Pop is trying to figure out who to start, who to play and who to finish.  The Boston game was crazy.  The bench played more than the starters and Manu didn't play late in the 4th.  Once this team gets a good rotation down it will help with the continuity of the team.  Knowing your roll makes it easier for you to accomplish what you set out to do, like win.  Look for this team to improve when Pop gets a rotation set.

Maybe it's time for the beard to make a comeback...

The Answer

All in all I like where the team is headed.  The defense is getting better, the rebounding is improving and if they can get the recent free-throw and turnover woes in check this team will look a lot better.  Don't forget, this team was 12-12 at this time last year, with similar injuries and much more team chemistry to rely on.

Two years ago the Spurs started off hot only to struggle later in the year.  This team is more athletic and younger, but mostly they are just new.  This team has a great foundation and just needs to square away a few things.  I look forward to a nice December and an even better 2nd half of the season.  It's early and way to soon to lose faith.

Sometimes we just need a hug...or a slap on the butt

That was a tough game to lose.  There are some really good signs from last nights game, but one thing that is really not good is the loss of Manu Ginobili.  I haven't heard if he's going to be out for an extended period or if everything was just precautionary last night.  Let's just hope that game last night didn't cost us more than a loss. 

On to the game....

The defense was pretty good last night.  You have to give credit to Dirk Nowitzki, he put up 41 points on some of the hardest shots anybody could make him take.  Matt Bonner and Antonio McDyess shared most of the duty guarding the large German.  McDyess seemed to handle Dirk the best.  48 MoH has a table of how it Nowitzki did against Bonner and SAM.  Bonner only gave up one more shot and deed seem to make Dirk work hard for his shots. 

They worked hard, but came up just short

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I am not a numbers guy.  I have a hard time taking all the stats y'all throw around here and making sense of them.  I do however love watching sports.  When my team is involved in a pivotal game I'll be there watching.  Having been a Rangers fan for 15 years or so I have not been this into baseball since the mid to late 90's.  That being said, I've noticed a disturbing trend recently, namely Ron Washington.

via www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

I have my doubts as to how much a manager impacts a team beyond the pitching change here and steal call there.  I could be wrong, but one thing I do know is that Wash seems to doing the one thing he should do well, poorly, at least lately.  When it's time for a pitching change he won't make it until it's to late.

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