In years past, San Antonio has exceled as one of the top defensive teams in the NBA and a return to those tenets will be the cornerstone on which the new-look Spurs will build its foundation.
But it's been a struggle so far, as evidenced by the Spurs' battle to just stay above the .500 mark and win consecutive games.
San Antonio accomplished the latter for the first time in a month on Sunday in a victory over Utah, and can get back to the former on Tuesday when it hosts the league's worst team -- the hapless Phoenix Suns -- at the AT&T Center in the Alamo City.