The San Antonio Spurs have struggled with the frontcourt combination of LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol, as they've been outscored by 25 points in the 113 minutes of floor time they've shared this season.

While neither big man is critically acclaimed by their defense, the two combine only for 15.5 rebounds (only 3.2 of them are offensive rebounds) and two blocks per game.

The fact that they're both perimeter-oriented big men is a blessing and a curse — a blessing if they're hitting shots and a curse if they're not.

While in theory, having a 7-foot center and a 6-foot-11 power forward should net the team a good amount of rebounds and inside presence on defense, that hasn't been the case for San Antonio seven games into the season.

Perhaps the bigger problem is the utter reliance on Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs win when he's having a great overall game, but if he struggles, they go right down with him, as recently evidenced by their loss to the L.A. Clippers.

Gasol is averaging career-low numbers across the board, mostly due to his very-limited playing time on the court (down a whopping 8.7 minutes per game since last season). And when he does end up on the court, he's lured into plays like this one on defense.

Aldridge has never blocked more than 1.2 shots per game in any season throughout his career, and there's no reason to think he will this season, especially under the minutes that he's playing thus far.

Dewayne Dedmon could be a temporary shoehorn at the center position for the meantime, but it'll take more than one player off the bench to fix these defensive woes.

Maybe it's time for Gregg Popovich to borrow a little from the Stan Van Gundy book of basketball initiative.