The San Antonio Spurs have not been nearly as successful this season as they grew accustomed to being. Despite that fact, their 14-19 record currently has them holding the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings.

There are a variety of areas where the Spurs can improve in order to maximize their odds of holding onto a playoff spot. It mostly depends on their willingness to make a move ahead of the trade deadline.

There are a few main needs the Spurs have that they need to address before taking the next step as a team.

2. A Two-Way Shooter

The Spurs are one of the top 10 most efficient offensive teams on a per-possession basis so far this season, but there is potential for improved results. They are the NBA's lowest volume perimeter shooting team so far this season with an average of 27.0 attempts per game.

The Spurs lost an important shooter when they traded away Davis Bertans to the Washington Wizards in the offseason in order to sign Marcus Morris. San Antonio ended up signing Trey Lyles in free agency, but his volume of attempts has simply not been enough to fill the void left behind by Bertans.

Part of the problem with some of the shooters that the Spurs do have is that they make little impact on the defense. Managing to acquire a shooter who can defend could potentially replace a spot of a defensive liability in their rotation while maximizing shooting.

1. Rim Protection

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While their execution in transition situations is atrocious, San Antonio has displayed a legitimate need for a boost in their ability to protect the rim within the half-court.

With the Spurs' struggles to contain dribble penetration and defend in space at some spots, managing to acquire a rim protector would help to cover up some of these deficiencies. With franchise cornerstones like DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, raising the floor of the defensive impact of the unit with a paint protector is crucial.

At some point, the Spurs will need to improve their rim protection talent, but that will be difficult to get done with a midseason transaction. It's not easy to sign a player who can make an impact in this area in free agency, so pursuing options on the trade market would be best.