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The Spurs dropped games to Oklahoma City and Houston last week but remain tied for first in the Western Conference with a 14-3 record.
Just as the experts were somewhat hesitant to vault the Spurs to the top with their early victories, they didn't penalize San Antonio too much for losing a pair of games in one week. The Silver and Black still sit between 2nd and 5th in most power rankings, and there are few doubting their place in the NBA's upper echelon of teams.
The good guys will be able to measure themselves against the league's current top team, the Indiana Pacers, later this week. For now, let's look at where minds around the interwebs rank them as of Monday, December 2.
Marc Stein from ESPN, (Spurs rank: 5, last week's rank: 1)
Asked one of the committee's most trusted confidantes if it's time to start worrying about Tim Duncan's pedestrian production. My guy is convinced it's merely a product of Pop managing Timmy's PT with even more caution than usual. I'd say those two have earned the benefit of the doubt.
Marc J. Spears from Yahoo! Sports (Spurs rank: 4, last week's rank: 2)
Tim Duncan went 19 straight games (dating to last season) without reaching 20 points until he scored 20 in a loss to Houston on Saturday.
Jason Patt from SBNation NBA (Spurs rank: 2, last week's rank: 1)
Two losses in one week?! The sky is falling! But in all seriousness, the Spurs were bound to lose a few games sometime, and they were to two of the best teams in the league in the Thunder and Rockets. Nothing to be ashamed of.
USA Today (Spurs rank: 3, last week's rank: 2)
The Rockets proved that with 17 more free throws and 21 more boards, you might win in San Antonio.
John Schuhmann from NBA.com (Spurs rank: 4, last week's rank: 1)
The Spurs had been cruising through a relatively easy schedule, but went 0-2 against fellow Western Conference contenders - OKC and Houston - last week. Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili combined to shoot 4-for-29 from 3-point range in the two games. The league's top two defenses meet for the first time at the AT&T Center on Saturday. Both teams will be rested.
Matt Moore from CBSSports.com (Spurs rank: 5, last week's rank 2)
They were cruising, then they caught a flat tire. Then they slammed into a cactus.
Consensus Track:
