The San Antonio Spurs’ franchise man, or hand, in forward Kawhi Leonard has only played nine games this season due to an ankle and quadriceps injury. He was listed as “out indefinitely” last January 17th and there are no signs if he can come back for the playoffs or not.

kawhi leonard
Tony Gutierrez/The Associated Press

As something that’s almost unheard of from the organization, Leonard is reportedly having differences with the Spurs management with regards to the treatment of his injury.

2018 All-Star reserve LaMarcus Aldridge also had this response when asked about his teammate’s possible return this season:

In Leonard’s absence, Aldridge has stepped in as the new primary option on offense. Though he’s more comfortable than in years past and easily having his best season with the team (22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game), it is apparent that the big man is not fully able to assume the Spurs’ heavy mantle – at least not at this point.

In fact, it might be arguable that this is the first time in a long while that the Spurs are not looking like serious contenders for an NBA title. They are third in the Western Conference standings but have a shaky 35-24 record — a bit off when compared to the high standards given to the Spurs.

The usual Spurs-type defense is there, which is pretty much a norm on any Gregg Popovich-coached squads. Through their hustle and a lot of help defense, the team is top three in points allowed, blocks, and in Basketball-Reference.com's defensive ratings.

Much of the struggles come on the offensive side, though. With no real threat outside of Aldridge, especially in a fast-paced, 3-point-loving era, the Spurs are only 27th in scoring and 17th in offensive rating. Rudy Gay and Pau Gasol are the only two men on the team to average double-digit points, both only net below 12 points per game.