Can Spurs Beat Last Year's Record After Loss vs. Rockets?

The San Antonio Spurs are 14-52 with 16 games left in the season.

Jeremy Brener | Mar 13, 2024

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have 52 tallies in the loss column after falling to the Houston Rockets 103-101 on Tuesday night at the Frost Bank Center.

This puts the Spurs on pace for their worst record in franchise history with a 17-65 mark. Going into the All-Star Break, the Spurs built a goal to try and have a better record than they did last year at 22-60.

Jeremy Sochan San Antonio Spurs Jabari Smith Jr Houston Rockets — © Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

In order to beat that mark this season, the Spurs have to go 9-7 in their final 16 games.

"It's our job, and this is what we're here for: to win as soon as possible but also in the long run," Victor Wembanyama said after Tuesday's loss.

Can the Spurs get it done? They've been competitive in each of their last four games despite going 1-3. They nearly beat the Sacramento Kings on the road and dropped close games against the Golden State Warriors and Rockets at home.

However, the Spurs have the fifth-toughest schedule remaining in the NBA with 11 of their final 16 contests coming against teams that are better than .500.

While that is an obstacle, the last three Spurs' wins come against teams that are projected to reach the playoffs. The Spurs have proven they can beat talented teams, but the question remains whether they will be able to finish the season strong against them.

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Their next test comes on Friday night when the Spurs travel to Austin to face Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT from the Moody Center.

Published Mar 13, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.