You can either look at Friday’s New Orleans loss as concerning, or you can shrug, tip your cap and accept that some teams match up well against the Spurs and are poise to steal a game here and there (note: I missed the game, so I can’t do either).
Another team that raises its level of play against the Spurs are Rick Carlisle’s Mavs, who have given San Antonio two close calls this season despite being among the West’s bottom-feeders. Dirk Nowitzki has played only 20 games this year (and is expected to sit out this evening), and Carlisle has dealt with injuries up and down the roster.