For the first time this season, I'm nervous about the upcoming stretch of games that the Spurs are going to have to work their way through. [It's the injuries, man](https://airalamo.com/bill-simmons-already-asking-ridiculously-unfair-victor-wembanyama-questions). There have been so many of them; it's like constant hits to an armored car. Eventually, the protection is compromised, and things go awry. San Antonio's loss to Phoenix could just be the first real hit to penetrate, with more to come.
They've played most of their opening schedule at home, and that's afforded them a benefit they took advantage of. Going out on road trips requires a little more fortitude. You don't have the crowd to back you up, energizing you through the tough times of a ballgame.
The Western Conference is just as fierce as ever. OKC looks to be ahead of everyone else by a significant margin, but after that, six teams are bunched together. Seeds two through seven are separated by a grand total of two games. So, the Spurs can't afford to slip in the standings too much if they make the playoffs outright.
The Western Conference will be unforgiving this season
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When you look at the Eastern Conference standings, you can easily see that several teams are tanking. It's way too obvious. However, they aren't the only ones doing it. There are a few teams in the West who are sneakily on the same mission. That means a bunch of bad teams are going to give easy wins to the teams who are playing for something.
It makes sense for the 2026 NBA Draft, though. There are a few extremely talented players at the top of the incoming class, and if the right franchise lands one, they'll transform their future for the better. It doesn't stop there, though. There are plenty of highly skilled prospects who will make teams better even if they aren't selected in the top five.
The Spurs are one of those teams playing for something, though, and as a younger team, they're more susceptible to dropping games they shouldn't than some of the veteran groups. They've weathered the injuries so far, but going on the road and facing stiffer competition will make those successes come with less certainty and less consistency.
They already lost their first [one of four on this road trip](https://airalamo.com/predicting-spurs-win-loss-record-on-grueling-upcoming-road-trip), and they didn't look good while dropping that game. You can't deny that this team has grown, so they'll put up a fight every night. But they've been forced to play too many games without their best players in the lineup. It's nobody's fault, but the strain it's putting on them is a reality.