Heading into Thursday night's matchup against the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs had prevented eight consecutive opponents from scoring in triple digits. A meaningless three-pointer from Nikola Mirotic on the final possession prevented the streak from continuing, but there was no doubt the San Antonio defense was locked in during the 109-101 victory.
How do you score on a team that has such confidence it can open the game with Kawhi Leonard switched onto Derrick Rose? How do you poke holes in a defense built to withstand any style of offensive basketball?
The Bulls found out, just as so many others have in 2015-16, that you don't.
Entering their latest outing, the Spurs were allowing only 97.7 points per 100 possessions—3.9 fewer than the Atlanta Hawks' No. 2 defensive rating. If we compare that mark to the league average (106), these Spurs have an adjusted defensive efficiency of 108.5, a number surpassed by only eight teams in NBA history.
On the backs of that defense, San Antonio has surged out to a 55-10 start, posting a record unmatched by any of t ...
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Article written by Adam Fromal
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