I'm not sure if you heard, but the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets [each have a record](https://airalamo.com/teams-spurs-fans-should-invested-in-hate-watching-season) of 0-2. The Spurs, on the other hand, are 2-0, getting off to their best start in five years. Cooler heads will tell you to be patient with any outlandish proclamations, but they won't prevail today. San Antonio is showing the signs of a great team, and they're just getting started.
The Spurs may already be the best team in the Southwest Division
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Before the season started, much was made about the jumbo lineups that their Texas rivals wanted to deploy, but neither strategy has resulted in winning any games. The Rockets are sabotaged by the reality that their not-so-secret weapon is actually a necessity due to the lack of a true point guard. Fred VanVleet's injury really hurt them, and because of cap restrictions, they can't really do anything about that.
It feels like it should be impossible for the Rockets to be worse than they were last year. They added Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun has gotten better, and their young core gets another year together under Ime Udoka. But not having someone to initiate the offense reliably is the kind of thing that will hurt in big moments and take its toll on the team as the season wanes.
They'll still be a good team, but finishing in the top 2 will be out of the question. Meanwhile, the Mavericks' best point guard is D'Angelo Russell, and he just put up an elementary stat line of one point, two rebounds, and three assists. Just straight-up embarrassing stuff from D-Lo.
They've been having Cooper Flagg run the point, but that's not his position. He's an outlet and a connector, not an initiator, though he can do it in small spurts. [Spurs fans saw firsthand](https://airalamo.com/underrated-spurs-takeaways-buried-beneath-wembanyama-monstrous-return) how much of a struggle it was for Flagg when Stephon Castle was standing across from him. The poor guy couldn't do a thing, but that's Jason Kidd's fault for putting him in that position in the first place.
After their recent loss to the Wizards, Kidd spoke about how he wishes PJ Washington could play more minutes after he had just played 40. They're in a bad way and need help. Their best hope is Kyrie Irving, but he's not due back until January, and even then, you're talking about relying on a 33-year-old point guard fresh off an ACL tear to make you relevant. Those aren't great odds.
San Antonio's offense has been solid, and their defense looks fantastic. They'll be getting De'Aaron Fox back in another week or so. Kelly Olynyk and Jeremy Sochan should be back by then as well. This team will be adding key pieces shortly, and who knows how good they'll be then? This is the way it should always be between these teams, though. Texas is better for it.