The San Antonio Spurs (32-9) have the best record in the Western Conference, but they’re not entirely happy with the state of things. Manu Ginobili admits the Spurs are concerned about their poor play against the NBA’s elite. Per the Express-News:

The Spurs’ first loss to the Portland Trail Blazers: A 115-105 defeat in Portland. Then a 94-88 loss in Oklahoma City in November, followed by a 112-106 loss to the Houston Rockets; a 111-100 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

“When it happens the first three times, four times, five times,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said, “then you say, ‘Okay, things happen. The schedule and…’ Now it’s eight (losses), so there has to be a tendency now.”

The eight losses Ginobili is referring to: The Spurs’ 1-8 record against the NBA’s elite teams; 1-7 against the Western Conference’s best.

The one victory (116-92) was against a Chris Paul-less Los Angeles Clippers team last month, which Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said doesn’t count.

Asked about their struggles against the good teams, Ginobili said: “I guess at the moment we’re not ready to beat them. They’re very talented; everybody is more athletic than us. To beat these types of teams, we’ve got to be even sharper, more precise, and at this point, we are not.”