It's the little things that can matter most

With only two games remaining until a much-needed break, the Spurs must continue to show resiliency in weakened state.

The week or so prior to the All-Star break has typically been a stretch of the season during which Gregg Popovich’s teams have maintained a sort of tunnel vision as a brief vacation looms on the horizon. It’s only human nature to look forward to a little time off from work, but the Spurs have long made it a priority to stay in the present while other teams in the mix around them might be peeking a bit too often at their upcoming itineraries.

One quick look at the standings is all you need to understand the importance of even a game or two in the win column, so finding the little nooks and crannies within the schedule that may offer even the slightest opportunity to gain an edge can prove invaluable.

But right now San Antonio has to be looking at that five-day break like it’s a gushing river in the middle of a desert. The Spurs have been through the ringer this year — injuries, roster fluctuation, health-and-safety issues and personal matters have all taken their toll — and while one of the youngest teams in the NBA somehow still sits sixth in the brutal Western Conference with a 17-13 record, the effort and energy it’s expended in all the scrapping and clawing along the way has even been exhausting to watch from the couch at times. But they sure are managing.

“I thought they were great. They really worked hard,” Popovich said after San Antonio’s 124-113 overtime loss to the Nets on Monday. “You know, they’ve dug down deep all year. They never give in, and (Monday) was another good example.”

Popovich isn’t one to pop champagne bottles over moral victories or dish out platitudes, but he’s right: San Antonio has lived in these types of games this season, and with all the extra opportunity for playing time the team’s state of flux has provided younger players, there’s plenty of experience being gained along the way — experience that’s going to be much-needed given what’s ahead.

The need for rest right now can be viewed from vantage points on both sides of the All-Star break, because this “vacation” will be just as much a time to prepare as it will be a chance to breathe. Reinforcements will arrive sooner rather than later as the five players dealing with health-and-safety measures (Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Rudy Gay, Devin Vassell and Quinndary Weatherspoon) should return in the near future, just in time for a post-break schedule that’s just about as daunting as it can possibly get.

In case you’ve missed it along the way, San Antonio will kick off a stretch of 40 games in 68 days beginning March 10, featuring 11 back-to-backs and no more than one full day off in between any games the rest of the season.

And you thought the first 30 games sufficiently tested the Spurs’ mettle.

But, as Popovich mentioned, this team has been resilient. It has encountered plenty of danger zones so far this season and has more often than not come out the other side in better-than-expected situations in the eyes of much of the team’s following. For now, the Spurs just need to hang on as tightly as possible over the next two games. A strong finish to the first “half” of the season would make it at least a little easier to take advantage of the time off that’s ahead.

Sometimes it’s the small sections and moments of the season that can make unexpectedly large impacts somewhere down the line, even if said moments involve merely treading water.

After all, that’s often the best way to survive a storm.