Spurs Seek 'Mental Toughness' on Road Trip

The San Antonio Spurs are looking to flex their mental muscles away from the Frost Bank Center.

Spurs Seek 'Mental Toughness' on Road Trip

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs won just a single game out of the nine they played on their "Rodeo Road Trip" in February. Immediately following their long trip, they won the two games they played at home, but when they went back on the road last night against the Houston Rockets, they couldn't keep the streak going in a 114-101 loss.

Coach Gregg Popovich says that the team has to come out with a different mindset for road games than they do at home.

"A young group needs understand the road is a lot different than at home and it requires a little bit more mental toughness, and we didn't have this time," Popovich said postgame. "So we'll move on. Try to play better at Sac (Sacramento)."

Out of the Spurs' 13 wins this season, only six of them come on the road. The Spurs are one of just eight teams that haven't won double-digit games on the road this season. All of those teams are outside of the Play-In picture, which is a sign of which teams are playoff-ready and which teams aren't.

Spurs Lose Scuffle With Rockets

This is simply another growing pain and lesson the Spurs have to deal with on their road towards rebuilding, but each game away from San Antonio provides an opportunity to develop.

The Spurs' road trip continues tomorrow night against the Sacramento Kings. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. CT.

Published Mar 6, 2024

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.