SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs (3-8) open a four-game stretch at the Frost Bank Center on Friday with the Sacramento Kings, who are atop the Pacific Division standings, followed by the 2-9 Memphis Grizzlies, before the Clippers visit the Alamo City for a back-to-back Nov. 20th and 22nd.
San Antonio, who possess the youngest average age on its roster in the NBA, has had a rough start to the month of November, going 1-3 on the road and 0-3 at home.
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The greatest challenges the Spurs need to overcome to turn around its current six-game losing streak are the lack of composure on offense and limiting turnovers.
Despite owning a 1-4 home record, the Spurs have consistently played their best basketball at home. Looking back, the Spurs played the Dallas Mavericks close in their home opener but fell 126-119, then that same week, San Antonio defeated Houston in overtime 126-122.
Most recently, the Spurs hosted the surging Minnesota Timberwolves, who are on a seven-game win streak, and the Miami Heat, on a six-game win stint of their own.
San Antonio built leads in both games but can attribute the losses to a lack of consistency in every quarter.
Luckily for San Antonio, the club has a winnable stretch in front of it. Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings haven’t had an ideal start to the season, largely due to a notable injury to point guard De’Aaron Fox, who missed five games with an ankle sprain.
Fox is expected to return to the lineup when the Kings visit the Lakers on Wednesday. His return will pose challenges for the Spurs, but their match-up comes at a time when Sacramento has struggled to play on the road with a 1-3 record.
Beyond that match-up, the Clippers and Grizzlies are going through rough patches for different reasons. Los Angeles recently welcomed James Harden into its franchise but has yet to win with him in the mix. It takes time for lineups to see success when introducing a new player or players, and the Clippers are no strangers to that challenge right now. The 3-7 Clippers are currently winless in their last six games.
The back-to-back with Memphis is arguably the best opportunity for the Spurs to right their ship. The 2-9 Grizzlies are missing key additions to their lineup, like center Steven Adams, who suffered a season-ending injury, and point guard Ja Morant, who is serving a 25-game suspension. Memphis is led by Desmond Bane, averaging 25.5 points per game, as well as Jaren Jackson Jr., last year’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The sooner San Antonio can reintroduce offensive threats Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones, a great on-ball defender for the silver and black, to the lineup, the better. But the Spurs may see a rough stretch come to an end in front of their home fans.
San Antonio tips off against the Kings at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the Frost Bank Center.
