GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE
Spurs (34-21) vs. Phoenix Suns (18-37)
When, where: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m., Phoenix
Season series: Spurs lead 3-0
Last meeting: Spurs 103, Suns 89, Jan. 5, AT&T Center
Spurs’ last game: Lost to Jazz 120-111, Saturday, AT&T Center
Suns’ last game: Lost to Lakers 112-93, Tuesday, Los Angeles
Spurs’ last 10 games, streak: 5-5, lost two
Suns’ last 10 games, streak: 2-8, lost three
Spurs’ injury report: Spurs Rudy Gay (right heel bursitis) and Kawhi Leonard (rehabbing quad injury) are out for Wednesday’s game.
Notable: LaMarcus Aldridge has twice as many games with 30+ points this season (10) as he did in his first two seasons with the Spurs combined (5) . . . The Silver and Black (34-21) didn't lose their 21st game last season until their finale.
GAMEDAY PREVIEW
Back on the practice floor after losing consecutive home games for the first time this season, the up-and-down Spurs regrouped Monday before starting their annual Rodeo Road Trip in Phoenix on Wednesday.
It had been so long since their last workout -- outside of a game-day shootaround -- that nobody could remember the last time coach Gregg Popovich put the Silver and Black through their paces at the team's practice facility.
"It was great," Popovich said after the workout. "We did things today in practice that we've not practiced for a couple of months, very honestly, and it's shown in our last few games. Defense has dissipated. So, it's fun to have some time today to be able to do a little bit of execution and a little muscle memory."
Hampered by injuries since the preseason, the Spurs have had to use so many different lineups that it's been difficult for them to mesh. With 27 games left in their regular season, the Silver and Black are still very much a work in progress.
"It feels like we have played 10 games, not 60, or whatever we have played," veteran guard Manu Ginobili said. "We've got a feeling that we are still building and finding our identity, trying to get players back on, rotations on, who's in and who's out. It's a very unusual situation."
Sidelined by a lingering quad injury, All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard has played in only nine games this season. Veteran reserve forward Rudy Gay, the Spurs' big offseason acquisition, has missed the team's last 19 games with bursitis in his right heel.
The Spurs have gone 15-13 since their last full-scale workout Dec. 11, and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Coming off a 120-111 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday, the Silver and Black went 2-3 in a homestand they were hoping to use as a momentum builder before they left town to play six consecutive road games.
The Spurs vacate the AT&T Center every February to make way for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which begins Thursday and ends Feb. 25. The Silver and Black won't play at home until they face the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 28.
To hear the Spurs tell it, they couldn't get back to their practice facility soon enough after having a rough go of things recently.
"It was good to go over some things, especially for some of the young guys who weren't able to go through in detail early on as much as we would like to," guard Danny Green said. "It's hard to tell because you don't know what mistakes you're going to make and what our weaknesses are until you start playing games against other teams.
"You play against Houston and Utah, obvioiuslyk, two really good offensive teams that have been playing well, you find some mistakes to fix, and (make) tweaks. I think we covered that. We got some stuff cleared up, which should help hopefully as we move forward."
Backup guard Patty Mills also welcomed the opportunity to get back on the practice floor.
"First time in a while," he said. "It was good. I think the more important thing is to freshen up the bodies, rehab, get everyone fresh. It was good to get on the floor and talk about some stuff that we haven't focused on in a while. Today was money in the bank for sure."
Up next for the Spurs after Wednesday's game: at Golden State, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Next Spurs home game: vs. New Orleans, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.
