Subscribe
Follow Us
San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge isn't quite ready to declare his team a winner despite an NBA-second-best nine-game winning streak.
While a perfect 10-0 on the road thus far in the season, the team isn't quite satisfied with having a middle-of-the-pack defense after years of illustrious defensive performances.
“We're still not playing to the level we want to,” Aldridge told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “Defensively, we've had a lot of breakdowns. Offensively, we're not running certain plays right. We're still learning. We don't feel good yet.”
Aldridge has quietly adapted his head coach's glass-half empty mentality and it's bound to pay dividends if the Spurs can get it right.
The addition of Pau Gasol in replacement of recently-retired Tim Duncan has not been the smoothest, as his playing time often varies and at 36-years-old, he's not the defensive presence he used to be in his prime.
Superstar Kawhi Leonard has carried the burden at both ends, but it's practically impossible to expect him to singlehandedly carry this team to the promised land without some rim protection from his teammates.
“I think our advantage so far has been we've got good players with a high basketball IQ and we know each other very well,” said sixth man Manu Ginobili. “But I feel like we've got a huge margin for improvement. That's a good thing — we can get better.”
As any team with seven new players in the roster, there's bound to be some growing pains. Luckily for the Spurs (14-3), they've been able to slowly sharpen the rough edges while winning games and staying near the top of the Western Conference.
