The Spurs are scorching hot, but is their early success a double-edged sword? Discover why their winning streak raises questions about playoff readiness.
The San Antonio Spurs are in a great spot right now, as they are just 3.5 games back from the No. 1-seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference standings.
But is there such a thing as peaking too early in this case?
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In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, in which he gives one glaring weakness for each team down the stretch, that is what he says about the Spurs. He gives specific needs and things to work on for other teams, but for San Antonio, it's the fact that they're doing too well, too early.
If that's even a thing.
"The San Antonio Spurs have been the hottest NBA team over the past month-and-a-half, going 16-1 since the end of January. There aren't many weaknesses here to diagnose, but rather a cautious warning about peaking too early," Swartz writes. "The NBA runs on hot and cold streaks... Chasing the No. 1 seed is an admirable goal, although it's more important that the Spurs experience getting kicked in the teeth now rather than in late April and May."
But here's the thing. Why do they have to get "kicked in the teeth" at all?
While many did not expect the Spurs to be in this position at the beginning of the season, that absolutely does not mean that they do not deserve to be here. They are playing some absolutely incredible basketball, and they are doing so against some great teams.
Getting hot at the right time is absolutely a thing that an NBA team wants to do when it comes to the playoffs. But just because the Spurs have done well in the regular season does not mean that they cannot once again get hot in the postseason.
San Antonio has won 16 of their last 18 games, and their only two losses in that span are to the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, two teams who are almost definitely going to be fighting tooth and nail in the playoffs.
And Wemby didn't even suit up against the Nuggets, and the Spurs still only lost by five.
So while it is fair to say that the Spurs would rather have gotten scorching hot like this in the playoffs, who's to say that they can only do it once in a season?