Now having been a San Antonio Spurs fan for some time, I have noticed that the Spurs have always started out slow on the road early in the year, particularly during the first month of the season.

As much of a heartbreak as it was to see the Spurs squander a 20-point, second-half lead to Toronto on Sunday, allow me to shed a little light on the subject for some of you Spurs fans who may be panicking a bit, as well as some of you Spurs skeptics who are now licking your chops and grinning maniacally.

Between 1999-2004, the Spurs are 5-5 in their first 2 road games of the regular season. Between the same time period, they're 14-19 on the road in the month of November.

Their best road record since 1999 during the first month of the regular season has been 5-3 ('99-'00). The Spurs have had losing records the other three seasons.

So far this month, they're 4-2 with three more road games to go. Not too shabby.

Since '99, the Spurs overall record against Toronto is 7-3. The Spurs lost by an average of five points in those three losses, which was the difference in Sunday's game. When they play the Raptors at home in March, expect about a 15 point Spurs win, they're average margin of victory in their wins.

Now if those stats don't begin to set the record straight, this sure as hell will.

Over the last five seasons, San Antonio has played a total of 33 road games during the month of November, holding their opponents to an average of 92.3 ppg.

After their first six road games of the 2004-05 campaign, would anybody venture to guess their opponents' ppg average so far?

92.8 ppg.

Call me crazy, but for the Men In Black, so far it seems like business as usual.