In trying times, I often think of the words of William Shakespeare and the guys at the Delta House.

That said, I come to neither bury the Spurs nor to praise them.

The team’s current two game-win streak doesn’t mean much because it came against a Sacramento team missing its best player, as well as a Phoenix team that is sans pulse.

But at least the team has a pulse.

Rather than be as incendiary as last week, when I suggested that the Spurs were doomed to miss the playoffs or bow out after one round, I’ve got a better idea.

To quote San Antonio’s own Bruce McGill in “Animal House”:

“We have an old saying in Delta House: don’t get mad, get even.”

The Spurs don’t need to get mad. They need to get even with the rest of the league by making those guys pay for this sorry state of affairs.

And yes, there is a sense of urgency here.

As recently as last Monday, most fans and observers weren’t ready to hit the panic button.

That night, however, Utah stomped the Spurs in a game more awful than finding out that Carrot Top is your long-lost brother. That was followed by a loss against Portland.

The last two wins were anomalies. As much as last season was about putting on a clinic every night, this season is about passes going awry and shots not dropping. Defensively, the baseline looks naked, and the perimeter looks lonely.

Lineup changes haven’t worked. Resting stars hasn’t worked.

It’s time to forget the beautiful game. Forget the extra pass. Forget whipping the ball around the floor as if the court was the old Amigo pinball machine.

Drop the surgical knife used to dissect other teams and pick up a hammer to bash them. The Spurs should channel some of the NBA’s most feared squads:

The old Spurs, defensive stalwarts who frustrated other offenses like a little brother jacked up on Mountain Dew. Those guys would gum up passing lanes. They would hip check first and ask questions later. The focus, in other words, should be on defense.

The 2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons, who shortened their bench to six players by the time the Finals rolled around. Depth helped the Spurs last season, but it hasn’t meant squat this season. Pop should sit the guys who aren’t playing well.

The 1984 Boston Celtics, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers into submission in the NBA Finals. After a humiliating loss to the Lakers in Game 3, the Celtics came out like a band of drunken Southies looking for trouble in Harvard Square. The Lakers were finished.

(I would have also accepted the Bad Boy Pistons for this category.)

Spurs players should give Gregg Popovich the “nasty” that he famously called for during a crucial timeout in the 2012 Oklahoma City series.

If the Spurs plan to repeat, they’ll need to change drastically. They need to lay the wood to people.

When the Spurs take the court from now on, heads should roll. Bodies need to fly. Fouls must be administered with extreme prejudice.

The offense should become more blue collar, too. Take the ball to the hole or die trying. If defenders take a charge, make them pay the price.

Maybe I’m crazy. Or maybe I’m crazy like a fox. As Shakespeare wrote: A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.

And yet, in “Animal House,” the Deltas weren’t afraid to fight against commonly held beliefs. They didn’t give up after being expelled. In response, Delta Rush Chairman Eric Stratton, played by Tim Matheson, engineered a massive disruption at Faber College’s homecoming parade. Chaos ensued.

Stratton’s last official act for Delta was to tell McGill, who played D-Day, to crash a souped-up car into the grandstand.

Said Stratton: “Let’s take the cheese.”

It’s time for the Spurs to floor it and take the cheese.