In the NBA's official power rankings, the San Antonio Spurs had quietly climbed to second place.
They had surpassed the better-recorded Golden State Warriors, trailing only the Memphis Grizzlies, who were in the midst of a fifteen-game winning streak.
Many people were surprised by the result. After all, the Spurs had not generated much buzz this year.
The whole world was waiting to watch Link and Durant trade barbs, waiting to see the Warriors and Grizzlies wage war.
In an era when even James's spotlight had been affected, the Spurs' popularity had plummeted even further.
Therefore, the Spurs appearing second in the power rankings came as something of a surprise to people.
But in truth, the Spurs had been playing well all season. People simply had not paid much attention.
In their season opener, the Spurs had brutally crushed the defending champion Warriors by twenty-nine points, which was enough to show that they were far from weak.
Although the Spurs went quiet for a while afterward and did not produce another such exhilarating blowout, that was understandable.
The Spurs' roster turnover this season had been far greater than people realized.
Besides Duncan's retirement last summer, both Diaw and West had departed in succession. Pau Gasol, David Lee, Dedmon, Bertans, and the others now handling the interior were all new additions.
Under such circumstances, it was perfectly normal for the Spurs to take a little longer to find their rhythm. After all, everyone needed time to build chemistry.
The Spurs had kept winning, but they rarely put together dominant performances. Most of their wins had come by narrow single-digit margins, relying on an extremely high clutch-shot percentage.
But things began to change in December. Since this new Spurs team had found its chemistry, its offensive efficiency had ranked third in the