Spurs' place in NBA Cup's group from hell is exactly what this team needs

Mitch Johnson Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn ImagesOne of the NBA's newest pet projects is the Emirates NBA Cup. The coming season's tournament will be the third year of it, and after some initial hesitance, it's hard to say that the competition hasn't been a massive success. How do you know that? The players actually played hard during those games, and that's exactly what fans want to see—an elevated effort.

As the Spurs have improved from Victor Wembanyama's rookie year to his sophomore campaign, so has their record in the Cup. They went winless the first time, but improved to 2-2 last season. Naturally, fans and I'm sure the entire organization would like…