The San Antonio Spurs start the post All-Star Break leg with the second best record in the NBA's Western Conference standings. As one of the few veterans in the team's rotation, De'Aaron Fox makes no bones about the path to the playoffs for the Silver and Black.

“Every game counts a little bit more, especially when you're talking about seeding and how close the West is. It's going to be fun.”

Coming off his second career All-Star Game, Fox is one of the few Spurs who has qualified for the NBA playoffs before.

“It's definitely going to be an adjustment. And, even with that, they say that they don't, but the games are officiated a little differently, especially once you get closer to the playoffs,” Fox said. “It will be an adjustment. I think our coaching staff has put us in a great position to not let that kind of falter the way that we play because we want to be able to be that physical team and continue to play fast and play through the whistle.”

De'Aaron Fox likes the way Spurs went into All-Star Weekend

The Spurs pick up play following the break on their longest actual winning streak of the season. Though they're credited with winning eight consecutive games in December, that stretch included a loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Final, which does not count toward the participating teams' record. That setback to New York fell in between three- and five-game winning streaks.

The Spurs won their last six before the league's mid-February tradition.

Article Continues Below

“That was a stretch that we felt was really important, being able to go into All-Star break with some momentum and we did a good job at that,” Fox said.

“We did eight games,” the ninth-year veteran added. “We talked about an eight game season. Last eight games, we went 7-1, so going into the break with that type of momentum, it's the first time that a lot of our guys are playing meaningful basketball after the break. So, all these games mean a little bit more.”

Fox and former Sacramento Kings teammate Harrison Barnes, who won a championship with the Golden State Warriors and is now his 14th NBA season, are the only rotation players on the team with more than six seasons in the league.

“The mental part of the game has to be there because everybody's going through it physically. But if you can continue to keep your head in the game and stay focused throughout such a long season, that gets you through it more than just being physically ready for it,” Fox said.

At 38-16 for the year, the Spurs are closer to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the standings than they are to the Denver Nuggets, who sit third in the West. It's an unmistakable reality of the opportunity in front of Fox and the Spurs.

“For us, I think guys are ready and I think guys are excited for it, for sure.”