The Spurs Are Coming For You! San Antonio Unleashes ‘Maniacal’ Focus Putting NBA on Notice
The San Antonio Spurs will head into the All-Star Break with 23 wins under their belt. They still have a losing record, but after winning only 11 games up until this point last season, it’s hard to call this year anything other than a success.
After adding De’Aaron Fox, the Spurs’ title window is officially open, although early struggles this year have made going on a deep run this year an improbability, despite the newly added talent. The Spurs are 2-3 since adding Fox, but the expectations will continue to rise after the All-Star Break.
The Spurs, for now, are outside of both the playoff and Play-In picture and are continuing to focus on long-term success, although that doesn’t mean they will embrace a tank.
“We’re trying to win games, and we’re trying to get people better, and we’re trying to learn about our guys and move this thing forward in the right way, and we’re not going to do anything that we don’t feel like is moving towards the right way,” said acting head coach Mitch Johnson, who has come under fire in recent games for continuing the start Chris Paul over Stephon Castle.
Johnson made it clear that he thinks the team has a long way to go still before they can compete with the best teams in the league, but he is excited about the strides the Spurs have made.
“I think the team has made tremendous strides in their consistency and their maturity and trying to play and execute in what we ask, and I think that’s going to be the continued goal,” he continued. “And I think any time you improve, expectations come with that. I think any time you add a good player, expectations come with that. And I think that we will be stubborn and not skipping steps and trusting that we’re going to go about this the right way while also being maniacally about trying to win and compete.”
While the Spurs added Fox, the young players surrounding Wembanyama, it would seem, are not quite ready to compete for titles. Wemby is only in his second season, but by the time he turns 22 next year, the Spurs will be looking to have a competitive resurgence as a winning organization.
The clock is certainly ticking.
