Winning teams in the NBA are more talented than their opponent, willing to work harder, or are playing a team tanking for a good lottery pick. On Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards, the Spurs were mostly none of the above.
After LaMarcus Aldridge exited the game late in the second quarter with a knee contusion, the Spurs no longer had the best player on the floor, but the damage had actually already been done. Early in the game, a flurry of dumb turnovers, blown chances, some abysmal shooting from deep, and what seemed like a general lack of spirit all combined to put the Spurs down by 14 by the end of the first half — as a result, they were unable to climb back into the game.