Every matchup for the remainder of San Antonio’s regular-season schedule holds significant weight in determining where they finish in the standings. And arguably no matchup influences their fate more than their Saturday night showdown with the Pelicans, who trail them by just a handful of games in the Western Conference playoff race.
Not only would a loss bring New Orleans closer to catching the Spurs, but it would drop them to tenth place, effectively giving the Golden State Warriors home-court advantage in the single-elimination play-in. And with just three opponents below .500 the rest of the way, the Silver and Black need every win they can get if they want to avoid an early vacation.