Why the San Antonio Spurs could be in trouble this year

Eshan Mehere
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

The San Antonio Spurs have been a lock in the NBA playoffs for the last twenty years. Come preseason time they are usually at/near the top of all power rankings and fans already start making reminders to buy WCF tickets. However, this season it may be a different story.

Yes, I know Kawhi Leonard is a top 10/top 5 NBA player. The man can do almost everything on both sides of the floor and is a great teammate. The rest of the roster has issues.

Point Guard:

Tony Parker is out until January with the injury he suffered in the Western Conference Finals of Last season. In his absence Patty Mills will take over the starting role. Mills is a fine player that can shoot the ball and play some defense. The only problem i have is that Mills is not a playmaker. He has never averaged more than 4 assists per game in his career. The real reason this is an issue is Kawhi Leonard isn’t much of a playmaker either. With no real passers much of San Antonio’s offense is screwed. Mills can drive to the rack and get easy baskets. Danny Green is a spot up shooter. Kawhi Leonard is Kawhi Leonard. Their bigs are shooters and post up players that need to be set up. With no viable playmaker San Antonio might have trouble creating shots on the first unit. Beside for that Mills should be just fine. He has plenty of NBA experience and can do most things you need to do. Once Parker returns San Antonio will get a little bit more playmaking which will help shooters on their team. Overall, the PG situation should be good enough, but with guys like Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry as opposition the Spurs stand no chance.

Shooting Guard:

Danny Green is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. This combined with the fact that Green has a career 40% 3 point average, confirms he is the perfect player next to Kawhi. The second unit could be a huge success or a huge issue. They did lose all around player Jonathon Simmons this offseason, but this gives way for 2016 1st round pick Dejounte Murray to get heavy minutes. In 17–23 minutes, Murray could be a very productive scorer, slasher, and playmaker. He would be perfect at the two next to Kawhi as well. However, in his first season Murray didn’t show much. Although the potential seems there there is also a chance that Murray becomes a nobody in the NBA. If this plan with Murray fails, then SA would have to play 1st round pick Derrick White heavy minutes which is taking a huge risk as well. While Green and Mills may be good enough players there is a high chance that San Antonio has a significant hole at both backup guard positions.

Small Forward: Kawhi Leonard

I don’t think there is much I have to say about Kawhi. The man can shoot from everywhere, attack the rim effectively, rebound the ball, and defend anyone in the league. He is the perfect star you want to lead the team. Off the bench, Rudy Gay will be a perfect sixth man. He can get buckets which will help the team score when their main offensive threats are off the floor. San ANtonio also has athletic big man Davis Bertans. He showed some signs last season and if he can even close to a mini Draymond Green then SA is set.

Power Forward:

This is where I start to see a problem. LaMarcus Aldridge is no longer an all star. He is getting old and no longer has any defensive game. The modern power forward can dominate Aldridge and LaMarcus isn’t as great of a scorer anymore and overall he can’t create for himself well. Aldridge’s best bet is getting a bunch of easy mid range buckets, because I don’t think he is athletic enough to back down and bully other players in the paint. The spurs have a 2016–17 Carmelo Anthony type of player in LaMarcus Aldridge. He is an aging star that has a little bit of gas left on only one side of the court.

Center:

Similar story here with Pau Gasol. The spurs lost DeWayne DedMon; a proficient rim protecter this offseason and now Gasol has to share the center duties with Joffrey Lauvergne. Lauvergne is a solid player but nothing close to what DedMon was for SA last season. Gasol is running out of years and is no longer a good enough scorer, passer, rebounder, or defender compared to the elite centers/bigs in the nba.

Verdict: Kawhi will carry this team. They have a lot of veteran washed up talent to surround him but Gregg Popovich will take the Spurs from a 7 seed to a top 5 seed. They will most likely get bounced in the first round and it might be the end of an era for SA.

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