Harrison Barnes describes the ‘habits’ San Antonio needs to overcome

Victor Vembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are in the middle of a stretch where they play four straight games against teams expected to make the playoffs – several of which could go on long runs.

Harrison Barnes see games with the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder as a preview what his team can expect in the second season.

“At this point, I think it’s ‘How do we instill the habits that we want to learn from them,'” the forward said.

Barnes then went beyond the aforementioned four-game stretch. San Antonio lost to the New York Knicks for the NBA Cup in mid-December earlier avenge the loss on New Year’s Eve.

“We went through that in the Knicks game. Both Knicks games we played were extremely physical. The first game they won, they were a more physical team. The last time we came here, it was an extremely physical game,” the 33-year-old veteran shared following his the team’s last contest, a 104-103 loss in Minneapolis.

“The OKC games we played were extremely physical games,” Barnes noted, alluding to the three meetings with the Thunder, all of which took place in the 12 days leading up to Christmas.

“So at this point the guys were in that, quote, unquote, ‘playoff-style atmosphere,'” the North Carolina alum continued.

“But I think the question for us is that we can’t make the same mistakes again? If we’re going to lose a game, it’s going to have to be because we dictated on our terms that they do what we want them to do, not that it was just a breakdown or it was just a forgotten box-out or a forgotten x-out or things like that.”

Spurs in extended period against NBA playoff teams

Two games after playing the Thunder for the fourth time since Dec. 13, the Spurs will host the same Wolves team that just beat them for the second time this season.

Two games after that, San Antonio will face the Houston Rockets in the first of two four-game battles.

All in all, silver and black will face Oklahoma City (1st in the West)New York (second in the East), LA Lakers (just one loss to the Spurs), Boston (third in the East), Minnesota (fourth in the West) and Houston (two losses to the Spurs) combined 11 times in a month and a half.

“That’s where we’re at right now. Is this same lesson going to keep coming back to us? And, if we don’t pass the test, that’s going to be the result,” Barnes revealed.

“Boston we win, (Minnesota), we lose. I think we take away the positives and negatives of both games,” added the former Golden State Warrior, Dallas Maverick and Sacramento King.

At 27-12, San Antonio is second in the West, although it is lost five of their last nine games as they continue through a stretch that features some of the best in the league. It’s a sign Barnes hasn’t lost.

“I think we can be better in controlling.