The San Antonio Spurs will do anything to fly under the radar. First, they bribed The Athletic to rank them lower than anyone expected them to finish.
Then they lost their opening game of the season at home to further throw us off the scent.
The Spurs have grown accustomed to being the snake in the grass. They just hang around until you look up and they’ve consumed all the wild rodents and they’re a juggernaut. That was a strategy that worked to perfection in the aughts and earl ‘10s. They spent all season just mind their own business until the Rodeo Road Trip, where they would go on a run (always against subpar Eastern Conference teams) and ramp up in anticipation of the playoffs.
The problem is that the league wants the Spurs front and center. This isn’t your “Pop never says anything and Tim Duncan makes Sydney Sweeney look like someone who can emote” Spurs. This is Victor Wembanyama! This is Dylan Harper! This is Stephon Castle! They can’t hide because everyone wants to see them.
So no, they are not and cannot fly under the radar. Barring health issues for Wemby, they’re going to be a popular preseason pick to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the next ten years. At +300, they’re the second-biggest favorites to win it all this season, at what amounts to a 25% chance. OKC is sitting at just under 30%, for reference. Except the Spurs got better and the Thunder traded away three key pieces. And the Spurs beat OKC last season, including Game 7 in OKC. So anyway, here’s “Wonderwall” they’re my pick to win it all next June.
Tip-off
8:30pm CT
How To Watch
Amazon Prime Video
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: GTD
Reed Sheppard: GTD
Spurs
De’Aaron Fox: GTD
Keldon Johnson: GTD
Tobias Harris: OUT
The Line (as of this post)
SA -5.5
Check here for updates
Schedule Advantage Counter
Rockets: 0
Opponents: 1
Looking ahead because we can
Tomorrow night in Atlanta against the Hawks
