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Monday's Essentials
Tony Mejia
Game of the Night - San Antonio at Sacramento (-1.5, 227), 10:05 ET, NBATV
The Spurs weren’t supposed to be ahead in the Southwest Division when their annual “Rodeo Road Trip” came around this season, so they’ll be living out of their luggage playing with house money.
Don’t call it a free-roll though. There’s plenty at stake as the city’s pro basketball gets out of Dodge to make way for the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. This annual exodus has happened every year since 2003 and doubles as the time where Gregg Popovich likes to see his team truly gel in preparation for the latest title run after his group went 8-1 over the course of the first one, ultimately winning a championship.
With Kawhi Leonard out last season, the Spurs took the step back everyone had been expecting and prematurely counting on for years, so the trip has taken on a different feel. This season has come out of nowhere since not even Pop expected DeMar DeRozan to get so well acclimated immediately and the defensive capacity of Leonard and Danny Green to be adequately replaced.
Last season marked only the second losing “Rodeo trip” out of 18 excursions, producing a 2-4 finish in what was a brutal season by Spurs standards. They finished 47-35 and were swept out by Golden State and weren’t counted on to be among the Western Conference’s top-eight given LeBron James’ arrival and the expected emergence of teams like the Pelicans and Nuggets.
As this season’s eight-game roadie begins, the Spurs have won five consecutive contests and hold a one-game edge on the Rockets in the division. The rest of the division is stuck under .500 and few would expect the Pels, Mavs or Grizzlies to make a run, so it’s entirely conceivable that the Spurs will win the Southwest and potentially even open the playoffs at home. As the week opens, they rank fifth in the West and would play the Trail Blazers if the postseason opened today, but roughly 30 games remain for most and plenty remains to be decided.
With Chris Paul back and James Harden among the frontrunners for MVP, the Rockets will be expected to nose back out in front of San Antonio, which came into the season with 12-to-1 odds to win the Southwest Division according to the Westgate LV Superbook. Houston was a 1/10 favorite, which means you would’ve had to wager $1000 for every buck you wanted to win for it to come through. This would’ve been an awful bet and you’re being punished for making it if you did so.
For the rest of us, the Spurs’ resurgence has been a terrific story. Despite losing projected starting point guard Dejounte Murray in the preseason, Derrick White and Bryn Forbes have stepped up alongside veteran Patty Mills, while Rudy Gay has been incredibly efficient in his starting role alongside DeRozan and All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, doing whatever has been asked of him.
San Antonio is 90-43 on this February roadie since ’03, which is absolutely remarkable considering what a challenge it is to win in opposing an arena. The Spurs’ winning percentage is .677.
For DeRozan, this annual trip will be a new experience, but most have already been through at least one of these roadies that Popovich counts on to improve camaraderie. Despite his team’s winning streak, the veteran head coach hasn’t been a happy camper, calling out his team for disrespecting the Suns with their lack of effort last week despite winning on a Gay jumper at the buzzer. San Antonio comes off a victory over depleted New Orleans, which had a chance to tie the game despite trailing by 22 points with just over five minutes remaining. The Pelicans have been victimized twice by the Spurs on their five-game run, while the team’s other wins have come against the Wizards, Nets and Suns. Only Brooklyn has a winning record among that group.
The level of competition intensifies since all but two of the eight opponents they’ll see before returning home to host the Pistons at the end of the month is currently over .500. After visiting the Kings, San Antonio will play at the Warriors, Trail Blazers, Jazz and Grizzlies prior to the All-Star break. The Spurs will resume action in Toronto on Feb. 22 before facing Brooklyn and New York on consecutive nights prior to returning to South Texas.
Getting off to a strong start in Sacramento is vital considering a back-to-back in Oakland and Portland awaits mid-week. The Spurs will be a heavy underdog in all their games this week with the exception of this one. They’re favored on the road for just the eighth time this season in this one and come in 4-3 SU/3-4 ATS in this situation.
San Antonio’s defense has slipped over the past month due to poor communication, so it’s not ideal that they’ll be without White, the point guard who has stepped up as an x-factor on both sides of the ball while serving as the team’s top on-ball defender. The Spurs have only held two opponents under 100 points over their last dozen games and will need their transition defense to come up a few notches to contain the Kings, who employ a pace faster than most NBA teams and bring a lot of athleticism to the mix, which is something the Spurs have struggled with.
Sacramento opens play this week just one game behind the Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It is a half-game up on the Lakers and look to continue making inroads on a six-game homestand that has opened with wins over the Hawks and 76ers.
The Rockets, Heat and Suns come into town after San Antonio, so this will be a crucial stretch for them as well. Rookie forward Marvin Bagley III has given the team a boost with his productive energy off the bench and is averaging 16.2 points and 10 rebounds over his last five games. After producing three triple-doubles between the start of the season and Jan. 12, Bagley has registered four over his last nine contests. Buddy Hield has also impressed in becoming a more consistent scorer and knocked down seven 3-pointers to help upset Philly on Saturday night, finishing with 34 points. Sacramento is 8-5 when he scored more than 25.
The Kings won the only meeting against the Spurs thus far this season, posting 104-99 win on Nov. 12 to snap a 14-game losing streak against San Antonio. They capitalized off turnovers, using their speed to create issues in overcoming DeRozan’s 23 points and eight boards. Bogdan Bogdanovic led Sacramento with 22 points. The ‘under’ connected in that game and has gone 11-1-1 over the last 13 Kings games. The Spurs have won an unbelievable 42 of 46 meetings between these teams since the last time they lost consecutive games – back in the 2006 first round of the playoffs. They’ll be look to avoid that fate tonight.
Tony Mejia
Game of the Night - San Antonio at Sacramento (-1.5, 227), 10:05 ET, NBATV
The Spurs weren’t supposed to be ahead in the Southwest Division when their annual “Rodeo Road Trip” came around this season, so they’ll be living out of their luggage playing with house money.
Don’t call it a free-roll though. There’s plenty at stake as the city’s pro basketball gets out of Dodge to make way for the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. This annual exodus has happened every year since 2003 and doubles as the time where Gregg Popovich likes to see his team truly gel in preparation for the latest title run after his group went 8-1 over the course of the first one, ultimately winning a championship.
With Kawhi Leonard out last season, the Spurs took the step back everyone had been expecting and prematurely counting on for years, so the trip has taken on a different feel. This season has come out of nowhere since not even Pop expected DeMar DeRozan to get so well acclimated immediately and the defensive capacity of Leonard and Danny Green to be adequately replaced.
Last season marked only the second losing “Rodeo trip” out of 18 excursions, producing a 2-4 finish in what was a brutal season by Spurs standards. They finished 47-35 and were swept out by Golden State and weren’t counted on to be among the Western Conference’s top-eight given LeBron James’ arrival and the expected emergence of teams like the Pelicans and Nuggets.
As this season’s eight-game roadie begins, the Spurs have won five consecutive contests and hold a one-game edge on the Rockets in the division. The rest of the division is stuck under .500 and few would expect the Pels, Mavs or Grizzlies to make a run, so it’s entirely conceivable that the Spurs will win the Southwest and potentially even open the playoffs at home. As the week opens, they rank fifth in the West and would play the Trail Blazers if the postseason opened today, but roughly 30 games remain for most and plenty remains to be decided.
With Chris Paul back and James Harden among the frontrunners for MVP, the Rockets will be expected to nose back out in front of San Antonio, which came into the season with 12-to-1 odds to win the Southwest Division according to the Westgate LV Superbook. Houston was a 1/10 favorite, which means you would’ve had to wager $1000 for every buck you wanted to win for it to come through. This would’ve been an awful bet and you’re being punished for making it if you did so.
For the rest of us, the Spurs’ resurgence has been a terrific story. Despite losing projected starting point guard Dejounte Murray in the preseason, Derrick White and Bryn Forbes have stepped up alongside veteran Patty Mills, while Rudy Gay has been incredibly efficient in his starting role alongside DeRozan and All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, doing whatever has been asked of him.
San Antonio is 90-43 on this February roadie since ’03, which is absolutely remarkable considering what a challenge it is to win in opposing an arena. The Spurs’ winning percentage is .677.
For DeRozan, this annual trip will be a new experience, but most have already been through at least one of these roadies that Popovich counts on to improve camaraderie. Despite his team’s winning streak, the veteran head coach hasn’t been a happy camper, calling out his team for disrespecting the Suns with their lack of effort last week despite winning on a Gay jumper at the buzzer. San Antonio comes off a victory over depleted New Orleans, which had a chance to tie the game despite trailing by 22 points with just over five minutes remaining. The Pelicans have been victimized twice by the Spurs on their five-game run, while the team’s other wins have come against the Wizards, Nets and Suns. Only Brooklyn has a winning record among that group.
The level of competition intensifies since all but two of the eight opponents they’ll see before returning home to host the Pistons at the end of the month is currently over .500. After visiting the Kings, San Antonio will play at the Warriors, Trail Blazers, Jazz and Grizzlies prior to the All-Star break. The Spurs will resume action in Toronto on Feb. 22 before facing Brooklyn and New York on consecutive nights prior to returning to South Texas.
Getting off to a strong start in Sacramento is vital considering a back-to-back in Oakland and Portland awaits mid-week. The Spurs will be a heavy underdog in all their games this week with the exception of this one. They’re favored on the road for just the eighth time this season in this one and come in 4-3 SU/3-4 ATS in this situation.
San Antonio’s defense has slipped over the past month due to poor communication, so it’s not ideal that they’ll be without White, the point guard who has stepped up as an x-factor on both sides of the ball while serving as the team’s top on-ball defender. The Spurs have only held two opponents under 100 points over their last dozen games and will need their transition defense to come up a few notches to contain the Kings, who employ a pace faster than most NBA teams and bring a lot of athleticism to the mix, which is something the Spurs have struggled with.
Sacramento opens play this week just one game behind the Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It is a half-game up on the Lakers and look to continue making inroads on a six-game homestand that has opened with wins over the Hawks and 76ers.
The Rockets, Heat and Suns come into town after San Antonio, so this will be a crucial stretch for them as well. Rookie forward Marvin Bagley III has given the team a boost with his productive energy off the bench and is averaging 16.2 points and 10 rebounds over his last five games. After producing three triple-doubles between the start of the season and Jan. 12, Bagley has registered four over his last nine contests. Buddy Hield has also impressed in becoming a more consistent scorer and knocked down seven 3-pointers to help upset Philly on Saturday night, finishing with 34 points. Sacramento is 8-5 when he scored more than 25.
The Kings won the only meeting against the Spurs thus far this season, posting 104-99 win on Nov. 12 to snap a 14-game losing streak against San Antonio. They capitalized off turnovers, using their speed to create issues in overcoming DeRozan’s 23 points and eight boards. Bogdan Bogdanovic led Sacramento with 22 points. The ‘under’ connected in that game and has gone 11-1-1 over the last 13 Kings games. The Spurs have won an unbelievable 42 of 46 meetings between these teams since the last time they lost consecutive games – back in the 2006 first round of the playoffs. They’ll be look to avoid that fate tonight.
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