It’s been 26 days since the Spurs last played in their home venue of the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX. Sure, they had a couple of “home” games in Austin to break up the annual Rodeo Road Trip a bit, but that still counts as travel and not sleeping in their own beds, so they’re part of the overall RRT record in my book, which spanned nine games, seven cities and three time zones that saw the Spurs go 8-1 overall.
If that record is triggering some nostalgia, you aren’t alone. Back in the the good
ol’ days, the Stock Show and Rodeo coming to town was a good thing for the Spurs. The extended road trip always acted as bonding time and a successful launching point to get the team out of the January doldrums and into championship contention mode. In 13 of the first 14 years, beginning 2003, they had winning records (and the time they didn’t was when they 4-4 in 2010). However, the tide turned in 2018 when the team went 2-4, just trying to hold on while waiting to hear if Kawhi Leonard would return. While that group and the 2019 squad, who went 1-7, both ultimately turned things around in March and made the playoffs as the 7th seed, the RRT has gone from a defining point of the season to a lost cause ever since. Until now.
With the Spurs going undefeated in the month of February, including a huge win over tonight’s opponent, and sitting comfortably at second in the West, they look like the Spurs of yore. After an inconsistent January, they started clicking as the calendar turned to February, and they’ve been on a roll ever sense (outside of a bad showing in New York that, if their beatdown of the 76ers two nights later was any indication, was a one-off).
Now, after tying 2003 for their best RRT record ever, they head back home to welcomed six-game homestand, but it won’t be that easy. It starts tonight with the top team in the East, and the two “easiest” games will be a couple of play-in teams in the Clippers and Hornets that have been on the rise and are better than their record. It’s officially the home stretch of the season for the Spurs, and for the first time in seven years, there’s a purpose behind it beyond just proving a light at the end of the tunnel while waiting for the season to come to a merciful end.
San Antonio Spurs (44-17) vs. Detroit Pistons (45-15)
March 5, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: FanDuel Sports | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs injuries: Harrison Barnes — out (ankle); Mason Plumlee — out (reconditioning)
Pistons injuries: none
What to watch for
The “return home” trap game
Given the pension the Spurs had for playing down to opponents not to long ago, combined with the return home from a long road trip always being a trap game, it’s probably a good thing that this game is against one of just two teams with a better record than them. The Spurs faced the Pistons a mere ten days ago, and the game was everything it was hyped up to be: physical, chippy, and a match-up of two defensive-minded teams with good but imperfect offenses. While it took some time to adjust, Victor Wembanyama eventually figured how to use his gravitational pull on Detroit’s defense to find his open teammates, and they paid him back in kind by hitting their shots.
On the other end, the Spurs’ defense and physicality gave the Pistons problems. They couldn’t finish around Wemby, and Stephon Castle did an amazing job on Cade Cummingham all night. The Spurs have the blue print to beat the Pistons, but perhaps their biggest challenge will be to stay out of their own heads. Don’t relax just because you’re back home, and don’t think you have this figured out. Cunningham will likely be out of revenge, plus there is one other player that wasn’t there in the first match-up to watch out for…
The return of Beef Stew
The Pistons did not have Isaiah Stewart last week because he was serving a 7-game suspension after leaving the bench and fighting Miles Bridges during a brawl with the Hornets before the All-Star break. He’s back now, and while he may seem like merely a backup center whose stats don’t jump off the page, Spurs fans can attest that stats don’t always tell the entire story. Affectionately called Beef Stew, Stewart is known for his confidence, physical play and willingness to muck it up — basically your classic Detroit Bad Boy — making him a fan favorite who hearkens back memories of underdog Ben Wallace.
Everyone knows that the best hope to beating the Spurs is to make Wemby as uncomfortable as possible. While the Pistons were able to do that to an extend in their first match-up, he still found other ways to contribute. If they again have trouble truly taking him out of the game, don’t be surprised if Stewart is put on Wemby and told to not just out-physical him, but get in his head. Wemby will need to be ready for whatever is thrown at him, and just like last time, his teammates need to be ready to respond if he can’t get it going on offense. As they have shown time and again lately, the best way to do that is hit shots.
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