The San Antonio Spurs (44-16) have won the Southwest Division and clinched a playoff berth. They are now on the verge of becoming the Western Conference's No. 1 seed come playoff time, thanks to an incredible 32-7 mark since the end of January.
San Antonio's success, oddly enough, has been sparked on the offensive end where veteran point guard Tony Parker is playing arguably the best basketball of his career. Parker is averaging a career-best 7.6 assists per game to go along with his team-leading 18.4 points per night.
The Spurs rank third in the league in scoring offense (102.1 PPG) and sixth in the NBA in team assists per game (22.7 APG).
Head coach Gregg Popovich, a four-time NBA champion in his 16th season with the Spurs has been at the head of San Antonio's improbable run back to the West's regular season throne, just one year after leading the Spurs to a 61-21 record.
Still, there is work left to be done for San Antonio if they hope to lock down home-court advantage all the way through the NBA Finals this June.
Despite their brilliant play over the past three months of the season, the Spurs are only one loss up on the Oklahoma City Thunder (44-17), who have one fewer game left to play before the postseason begins.
If the Spurs are to outlast the Thunder for the Western Conference's top seed and enter the playoffs as the team to beat once again, they will need to fare well in a trio of tough remaining matchups.
Check it out.
Los Angeles Lakers (39-23)
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San Antonio will return home from a three-game road trip to tip off its final three-game home stand of the regular season against the Los Angeles Lakers. The matchup will be the two teams' third in nine days.
The Lakers thrashed the Spurs in Texas last week, beating them 98-84, without Kobe Bryant in the lineup. LA's win was keyed on the glass, where it out-rebounded San Antonio 60-33 thanks to Andrew Bynum's 30 boards.
San Antonio's Big Three of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combined for 12-of-34 shooting from the field in the loss, but returned the favor to the Bryant-less Lakers on Tuesday night in Hollywood, winning easy behind a strong outing from Parker.
It is uncertain whether Bryant will play, although there has been speculation he will suit up, but either way the Lakers are 4-1 without him this year and have already topped the Spurs minus the Black Mamba in the rotation.Â
Portland Trail Blazers (28-34)
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The Spurs will host the Portland Trail Blazers in their final home game of the regular season on April 23. San Antonio is 25-5 at the AT&T Center this season, which is the second best home record in the NBA behind the Miami Heat (25-4).
One of those 25 wins came against Portland back in January, but the latest meeting between the two teams in February had fans covering their eyes. The Trail Blazers embarrassed the Spurs in Portland, winning by 40 points.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili did not play in that matchup; however, the loss certainly left a bitter taste in the mouth of Gregg Popovich and the rest of San Antonio's roster.
Phoenix Suns (32-39)
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By far, the toughest remaining regular season road test for San Antonio is their April 25 meeting with the rival Suns in Phoenix.
Although the Spurs have taken three games from the Suns already this seasonâ€"all in convincing fashion by at least seven pointsâ€"this game comes on the final night of Phoenix's regular season and the Suns will surely be vying for one of the Western Conference's final playoff spots.
Phoenix, a Top 10-ranked team offensively behind the strong play of the ageless Steve Nash, has only lost twice at home since the All-Star break last February, and is 18-9 since March 1.
The Suns will have much more to play for without question, and that could prove dangerous for the Spurs as they wind down their regular season on the road.Â
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