NFL Tickets
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the top three teams in the league. And they will hopefully meet the Golden State Warriors at some point during the postseason. But the Spurs have room for improvement. Even though they are still undefeated at home, they can become a better road team in the next month, and that will be crucial if the Warriors earn home court throughout the playoffs.
LaMarcus Aldridge will be the key to San Antonio’s playoff hopes, and they would be wise to focus on him during the stretch run.
The Spurs eked out their 32nd home victory this season on Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and this was a good win for them from a confidence perspective.
Kawhi Leonard is San Antonio’s star at this time, but Aldridge isn’t a bad second option at all. They’ll need him to be at his most comfortable once they play the Warriors, because he is the answer to the Spurs being able to counter small ball. San Antonio can either use Tim Duncan and Aldridge to pound the boards and punish Golden State for their smaller lineup, or the Spurs can utilize Duncan selectively and feature Aldridge as the center. The Thunder are really the only other team in the league that can match up with Golden State in this way, and the Spurs are obviously a lot more playoff tested than Oklahoma City.
Aldridge has certainly come a long way since San Antonio’s season-opening loss to the Thunder, and he helped avenge that defeat with 24 points in the latest victory.
“I didn’t know my role,” he said to CBS Sports about the first match. “I was trying to find shots. I think I took like seven shots that game. It was very uncomfortable. Out there tonight it was night and day for sure. I feel more comfortable out there.”
The Spurs were a great choice by LaMarcus in free agency last summer, and it is now on head coach Gregg Popovich to figure out how to get the best out of this group. Aldridge will be at the center of that, and Duncan could end this season with his sixth championship if all goes well.
Share 
