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The San Antonio Spurs own one of the most impressive streaks in the history of professional sports, as they have made the playoffs an incredible 21 years and a row.
During that span, the Spurs have won five titles and have made it to six NBA Finals, and in the first 20 years of that streak, they did not win any less than 50 games in a season that was not shortened by a lockout.
But here we are, in March 2019, and San Antonio is in genuine danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 1997. For reference, the Spurs had not even drafted Tim Duncan yet at that point and ended up selecting him that summer because they earned the No. 1 overall pick.
The Spurs currently own a record of 34-29 and sit in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
They defeated the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, but prior to that, San Antonio had lost seven of its last eight games, with that brutal stretch coming during the Spurs' annual Rodeo Road Trip, a time that is usually marked by success and gelling rather than complete and utter disaster.
Luckily for San Antonio, all it needs to do is hold of two of the three teams competing for the final two playoff spots in the West, and based on how the Los Angeles Lakers have been playing of late, that may not be too difficult of a task.
Still, the fact that the Spurs are fighting for their playoff lives is something we are not accustomed to seeing. But, honestly, judging from San Antonio's roster, this is something that we should have all seen coming.
The Spurs traded their superstar in Kawhi Leonard this past summer, getting DeMar DeRozan from the Toronto Raptors in return. In case you didn't know, DeRozan is no Leonard, and outside of LaMarcus Aldridge, there are no players other than DeRozan on San Antonio that the casual NBA fan would know of. Well, they would know of Pau Gasol, but he hardly even plays anymore.
It doesn't help matter much that Dejounte Murray, the Spurs' ace defensive guard, is out for the year with a torn ACL.
We know that Gregg Popovich is a mastermind, but there is only so much that even he can do with such a limited roster. This San Antonio team just isn't that good, as it features a strange collection of talent that just does not fit. Plus, the Spurs are not all that stout defensively.
San Antonio has some decent role players. Davis Bertans can light it up from three. Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli are fine bench scorers. Rudy Gay can fill it up once in a while. Also, Bryn Forbes, Derrick White and Lonnie Walker are nice young pieces.
But the firepower just isn't there anymore.
I know we all liked to think of the Spurs dynasty as a group of guys who just played good team basketball, but let's be real for a second: that team was absolutely loaded.
It had the best power forward of all-time and possibly the best player of the post-Jordan era in Duncan, an incredibly efficient and explosive 2-guard in Manu Ginobili and an elite floor general in Tony Parker.
If you have a trio that talented, all you need is some solid role players who fit the system, and you'll be just fine.
Sure, that Spurs team was a well-oiled machine that “played the game the right way,” but they were also insanely talented on both ends of the floor and had ridiculous depth up and down the roster.
This current San Antonio squad isn't even in the same stratosphere as those Duncan-led Spurs teams, and I also don't think it's much of a coincidence that the franchise's downturn occurred after Duncan retired during the summer of 2016.
Even if the Spurs make the playoffs, they are a probable first-round exit, especially if they get stuck playing the Golden State Warriors in the opening round yet again.
There was a time when San Antonio was a team that was feared. No one wanted to face the Spurs in the postseason, even in the years where they weren't considered legitimate title contenders. But now? Teams will welcome a playoff matchup with San Antonio, a team that is not even a club of its former self.
If you stopped watching the NBA five years ago and just tuned in for the first time since then today, you wouldn't even recognize this Spurs team. Not just because of the different names, but because their style of play doesn't even bear a minor resemblance to that of their glory days.
We all knew this time was going to come eventually. After all, nothing lasts forever.
But it is definitely a tough pill to swallow.
