It says something that it’s a “down year” for the San Antonio Spurs. They’ve already won 45 games and will likely earn a middle-of-the-pack seed in the loaded Western Conference. Gregg Popovich has won Coach of the Year three times before, and he deserves consideration again this year.
Granted, Pop probably won’t claim the award this season because Brad Stevens, Quin Snyder, and Nate McMillan are the frontrunners. Nonetheless, he deserves praise for leading the Spurs, sans-Kawhi Leonard, to such a successful season.
With San Antonio’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night, the Spurs’ streak of 50-win seasons came to an end at 18. A Reddit user shared the keen observation.
The Spurs currently hold the West’s No. 5 seed. If the season ended today, they would play the upstart Utah Jazz, and the Jazz would not be an easy matchup. With Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert playing excellent basketball, and Snyder leading the way, Utah is a team full of rising stars.
San Antonio, meanwhile, has been riddled with injuries. Leonard has missed all but nine games this season with a quad injury. Reports have indicated he is healthy and voluntarily choosing not to play.
Reports have also indicated he is unhappy with his role in San Antonio and he may be interested in joining a new team. Leonard’s contract could expire with a player opt-out in 2019.
In his stead, LaMarcus Aldridge has transformed into a top-15 player. Aldridge is averaging 23.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game.
Though Aldridge was also reportedly unhappy with his role in San Antonio at one point, Pop and company stayed committed to him. They were unwilling to part with Aldridge only to receive spare parts in return. Needless to say, that commitment has proven to be wise.
San Antonio has four games remaining on its schedule, and the NBA playoffs will kick off a week from Saturday.
