Spurs news and notes: Celtics fans keeping track of Spurs, Heat-Spurs matchup of two opposite styles

• It looks like the Celtics fans are preparing for the playoffs already and any potential matchups Boston will face:

It’s March, and its time to start focusing on the playoffs and our potential roadblocks to Banner 18.  Every day we’ll bring you what’s making news in enemy territory.  This way we know what they’re up to when it comes time to take ’em out.

Project Spurs: “Right now the San Antonio Spurs are at 50-11 for the 2010-11 season, and are 18 games ahead of the two teams tied for the ninth seed (Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz). The magic number for the Spurs is now just three, meaning three Spurs wins, or a combination of Spurs wins and the other two teams posting losses, would clinch a playoff spot for San Antonio.”

Project Spurs: “I understand the Lakers are the defending champs and own the crown but shall I remind Nowitzki and Terry the Spurs are 2-0 against Los Angeles. Also, it’s the Spurs the Mavericks are chasing for the number one seed and not the Lakers.” (redsarmy.com)

• With the Spurs new offensive system implemented this season and the Celtics making trades to get more production offensively, one has to wonder if there is an elite defensive team anymore:

The Spurs and Celtics were the last of the old guard, but in the last four months both have chosen to merge with the league’s offensive trend. San Antonio is defending less vigorously than in any of its four championship years, yet the 50-11 Spurs have dominated the standings by running whenever possible and attacking from the perimeter. Coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t always like what he sees, but he is embracing the evolution of his team because it is working. His Spurs are winning. (SI.com)

•  Miami Heat shooting guard Dwayne Wade discusses some his teams issues and why his team isn’t clicking yet, at the level of a team like San Antonio:

“In 05-06, we made that change and said, ‘OK, if we can get an extra rebound, if we can make some extra free throws, if we can do things differently down the stretch, we’ll be able to pull those games out,’ because we were in so many,” Wade said. “That’s the difference between us being like the San Antonio Spurs, and having the same record as them, and us being 43-17. Eventually you figure it out and you’re able to change it.(bellinghamherald.com)

• Tonight’s Spurs-Heat game is a tale of two totally different teams who have major contrasting identities, yet still winning:

It’s yin and yang, hot and cold, bungee jumping and reading a book. For form against function, it might as well be Brooklyn Decker vs. Black & Decker.

After all, what do Miami and San Antonio really have in common except salsa? Even then, one dances to it and the other puts it on chips. (nba.com)

• The Lakers are gearing up for a rough week in which they’ll play some of the elite western and eastern conference teams:

After hosting the Bobcats in Hollywood, the Lakers, who are 21-8 in the City of Angels and seeded third in the West, will hit the road for four tough games against San Antonio, Atlanta, Miami and Dallas. (wusa9.com)

• On Wednesday, the Spurs showed why they almost have an undefeated record against the lower tier teams in the league:

Once the Spurs decided that they wanted to play with the same passion and intensity that the Cavaliers were working with, Cleveland just couldn’t hang.

This wasn’t the big bounce-back game that the Spurs and their fans were likely hoping for, with the team roaring out of the gate following that trouncing by Memphis and sticking it to a lesser team. San Antonio didn’t defend well, and it was caught looking several times in the first half as the Cavs made the tougher play around the rim. Cleveland couldn’t check these Spurs on the other end, though, and the Spurs piled on in that second half. (Ball Don’t Lie)

• Real Salt Lake is taking major strides in their soccer program, though they cannot yet be compared to the San Antonio Spurs:

You can’t call Real Salt Lake the San Antonio Spurs of Major League Soccer — not yet, anyway. The Spurs keep needing to expand their trophy case, with four NBA titles since 1998. RSL has nothing like that. (SI.com)

• The Spurs have a chance at locking in a playoff seed withing the next few games, but the team must remember not to get complacent as the Dallas Mavericks are right behind them:

There is still much work left to figure out their seeding, as the Dallas Mavericks still are on their tails for the Southwest Division lead.

But nailing down a playoff berth would be a big start. (Tim Griffin)