If you are in a group of hikers and a bear approaches, you don’t need to run faster than the bear to get away. You only need to run faster than the slowest hiker in the group.
This logic applies to the San Antonio Spurs as they attempt to make the playoffs for the 21st straight year. While the Spurs presently sit in third place in the Western Conference, and have for most of the season, the Spurs’ hold on that spot has become precarious. The “all-important loss column” (the loss column must always preceded by the words “all-important”) reveals that the Spurs’ 24 loss tota is just one less than the fourth place Timberwolves’ 25 losses.