The start to the Spurs’ season has been far from ideal, if not downright shocking, given the foundation that was seemingly in place over last season’s 48-win campaign that ended with a Game 7 loss to the 2nd seeded Nuggets.
The 2018-19 season was solidified by a single stretch (that lastled roughly a month), during which the Spurs were the titans of the NBA, going 13-3 on the back of a league-best net rating of 15.1. Without that stretch, the Spurs were 35-31 — still enough to eke into the playoffs due to the late-season flame-out of the 9th seeded Kings, among other teams, but the overall picture isn’t as rosy.