It is difficult to rebuild a fallen empire. The San Antonio Spurs (4-25) continue to learn this lesson the hard way after losing yet again on Tuesday night to further their cement their place in the nadir of the Western Conference.

In what was a winnable matchup at home against the Utah Jazz (13-18), San Antonio lost its early 15-point advantage and fell, 130-118. Keldon Johnson scored a team-high 26 points, while Jeremy Sochan added 19 more on 7-of-10 shooting, but the banged-up Victor Wembanyama was largely held in check (15 points and seven rebounds).

Team defense remains the biggest issue, however. Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen torched the Spurs for 31 points and 12 boards. The bench could also not be ignored, scoring 63 points of its own. Legendary head coach Gregg Popovich touched on the endless struggles San Antonio is enduring and even alluded to possible changes.

“I need to demand from certain people, it’s time they have to be more consistent or I make changes,” he said at the postgame press conference, via ClutchPoints' Hector Ledesma.

Spurs' Gregg Popovich has played his part in these tough times, too

It is not clear who Popovich is referring to, but that is an ominous statement to make. Though, no one can expect there to be much optimism during a five-game losing streak, which comes right after the team snapped an 18-game drought. But the blame cannot fall on the players alone.

Gregg Popovich is simply not getting positive results over these past few years. Despite being one of the greatest NBA head coaches of all-time, the Spurs are failing to adapt to the current style of play. They are a bottom-tier shooting team that commits a bunch of turnovers and fails to mount much resistance on the other end of the floor. The one true ray of light comes in the form of Victor Wembanyama.

And yet, even his impressive rookie campaign has done nothing to improve this rebuilding franchise this year. In fact, San Antonio is reaching new depths. Popovich's demeanor has mirrored this deterioration. He scolded the fans in the Frost Bank Center for booing Kawhi Leonard in a game versus the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 22.

He and the Spurs have just one win since that incident. Lecturing the fans has not changed the basketball product, and who knows if it will have an affect on the players, either.