For the first time in 22 years, the San Antonio Spurs appear to be a fringe playoff contender in the loaded Western Conference.
The
last time the Spurs failed to qualify for the postseason was the
1996-97 season, which saw San Antonio plunge to a 20-62 overall record
as David Robinson and Sean Elliott missed most of the year due to
injuries. The team’s leading scorer during that forgettable campaign was
none other than Dominique Wilkins, but not even “The Human Highlight
Film” could elevate those Spurs into something more than a doormat.
However, that season was the beginning of one of the most successful stretches in the history of professional sports.
Gregg
Popovich, then the general manger, fired Bob Hill and supplanted him as
coach. San Antonio then struck gold when it landed the No. 1 overall
pick that led to Tim Duncan, who was regarded as a can’t-miss prospect
out of Wake Forest and one of the most NBA-ready big men the league has
ever welcomed.
Since
then, the Spurs’ playoff spot has been all but guaranteed — until this
year. San Antonio fell to seventh place in the West after losing to
Toronto in its first game back from the All-Star break and must fend off
LeBron James and the Lakers, and perhaps the hungry Sacramento Kings,
if it hopes to extend its postseason streak to an NBA-best 22
consecutive seasons.
Of course, signs of the Spurs’ current struggles were easy to spot.
With
Duncan long gone, Manu Ginobili retired, Tony Parker in Charlotte and
the tandem of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard shipped to Toronto for DeMar
DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl, San Antonio’s 2018-19 roster must feel
unrecognizable to the casual fan. A questionable situation got even
dicier when promising point guard Dejounte Murray suffered a torn ACL in
the preseason and first-round draft pick Lonnie Walker IV was forced to
miss a large chunk of games with a meniscus tear.
The
Spurs had some trouble out of the gate, but eventually DeRozan,
LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay began to find a rhythm with one another
on the court. Meanwhile, Popovich moved away from veterans Quincy
Pondexter and Dante Cunningham and gave more minutes to youngsters like
Derrick White, Bryn Forbes and Davis Bertans.
White,
a University of Colorado product, has been a revelation in an expanded
role, as he’s shown the confidence to take and make big shots as well as
the size to defend multiple positions.
Forbes
and Bertans are both sharpshooters from the outside, and Bertans even
leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage at .481. With Patty
Mills and Marco Belinelli also on the roster, perimeter shooting
certainly isn’t a weakness.
More
problems arose when White suffered through a heel injury in October,
and he was again forced to miss several games on the Spurs’ annual rodeo
road trip with problems in his other heel. He was able to play against
the Raptors, but with a strict minutes limit attached.
Pau Gasol has also missed multiple weeks after sustaining a stress fracture in his foot.
As
San Antonio heads down the stretch, there are still plenty of lingering
question marks with regard to health and team chemistry.
When
White has missed time, the team’s defense has been absolutely shredded
by opposing guards. There are also instances where Aldridge or DeRozan
go missing in key situations offensively.
And which one will be the go-to scorer in crunch time?
Then
again, the Spurs have been written off multiple times before — even
when Duncan, Ginobili and Parker still had plenty of tread left on the
tires. Under Popovich, a late-season surge certainly isn’t out of the
question, although it seems improbable at this point.
The
most likely scenario is a low playoff seed and a possible first-round
exit against one of the top teams in the West. The other option is the
team’s first trip to the lottery since Timmy D came to town.
Those
two choices are enough to make the San Antonio faithful wonder what in
the name of David Robinson is going on at the AT&T Center.
