Throughout the season, the San Antonio Spurs have been an injury-riddled team with a few of their key players out of the mix. Much of this is centered around the uncertainty of Kawhi Leonard's return to the court from a quadriceps injury that has cost him all but nine games.

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This has created a huge cloud of doubt that the team can contend for an NBA title with their best player sidelined. However, this is a notion that All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge simply does not understand one bit, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio-Express News.

“How is a lost season third in the West?” he said. “We are going to get guys back and get healthy and hopefully play well down the stretch. We have played well with a hurt team, and getting guys back will help with that.”

The Spurs have been able to stay well above water with Leonard out of the lineup with a 35-24 record heading into the second half of the season. There has been the fair share of struggles, but San Antonio has remained a highly competitive team that is led offensively by Aldridge averaging a team-best 22.4 points on 50.1 percent shooting from the field with 8.4 rebounds per game. He has been the team's leading scorer in 42 games.

The Spurs have been a stout defensive team giving up a league-best 98.5 points per game while leading the NBA with 33 games of holding their opponent to under 100 points.

Lamarcus Aldridge Gregg Poppovich
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It has been a collective on both ends of the court that has made up for Leonard's absence on the floor. But ultimately, the Spurs' championship chances will lie on the shoulders of Leonard being back in the mix. He is a game-changing factor on both ends of the floor.

It isn't a lost season by any means, but if San Antonio holds any shot of winning an NBA title this season it will have to be behind their face of the franchise.