The Spurs as we know them are in serious trouble.
It hasn’t been a great season for San Antonio, who were once considered live betting heavyweights and adored by online gambling fans. They were the gold standard of how to build a winning franchise—something that other teams could only dream of.
That time, however, seems to be nearing its end. No thanks to a slew of injuries and some off-court drama with their All-star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Betting odds have quickly shifted away to the once admired franchise that just dropped to eighth in the Western Conference standings, tied with the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets.
San Antonio’s latest defeat to the Houston Rockets can be forgiven. After all, they were without LaMarcus Aldridge, Manu Ginobili and Leonard when they played the best team in the NBA. However, their performance all season long makes one realise that this is no longer the same Spurs team that we all know.
Their loss to Oklahoma City two days ago marked the first time since the 1996-97 season that they’ll end the season with a losing road record.
Now, their 18 consecutive campaigns with at least 50 wins seem to be over while their record of 20 straight playoff appearances is in serious danger.
Gregg Popovich still has time to turn things around and stage a late surge to make the postseason, but with the way they are playing, fans shouldn’t expect too much.
Dame and defence blazing the way for Portland
While the Spurs continue to fall, the Blazers are doing the exact opposite.
Portland have now won 10 straight games and are up to third in the West standings (hello, Pops!). Their latest win came against the Miami Heat, with Damian Lillard scoring 32 points and dishing out 10 assists to go along with five rebounds.
Lillard, who is averaging 32.7 points per game in their the streak, has even pushed his name to the MVP conversation.
Defence, however, has been the main reason for their recent success as advanced statistics show they are the second-best team in that department since the All-Star break—all that after ranking 22nd defensively last January!
Injury bug hits Boston
The Boston Celtics were dealt a blow yesterday after centre Daniel Theis and guard Marcus Smart sustained injuries.
Theis will likely miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee, while Smart suffered from a torn thumb tendon and is reportedly out indefinitely—with the severity of his injury still uncertain.
All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, didn’t play in the second half of their game against Indiana due to knee soreness. Reports said that he “will not need to miss significant time,” but Brad Stevens and the Celts will surely be cautious of his health especially with the playoffs nearing.
Jaylen Brown is also out due to concussion, while Al Horford is a game-time decision due to illness.
Truly, the injury bug bit the Celtics in a bad time.
10-day contract man
For everyone’s information, a 10-day contract is exactly what it is: 10 days, not 10 games. So when Brandon Jennings returned to the Milwaukee Bucks with a 10-day contract, he knew what he needed to do.
And indeed, Jennings played like a guy who has a limited time, notching a near triple-double of 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in 24 minutes of action!
Jennings still needs to prove himself when the Bucks fight Orlando, Atlanta, Cleveland and LA, but there’s no doubt he’s off to a great start!
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