For many NBA champions that are looking to repeat the following year, the hard part is finding the motivation to play at such a high level for a full season. Could that be why the San Antonio Spurs are struggling this season?
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Last season, the Spurs were driven to overcome their championship failing in 2013, when they were just seconds away from a title before blowing a five-point lead in the final minute of the game. They achieved their revenge in an NBA Finals beatdown of the Miami Heat.
Now, however, the team finds themselves stuck in the middle of the Western Conference standings. They are currently in seventh place, and there are multiple teams that are playing terrific basketball in ahead of them. Missing the playoffs entirely is not out of the question for the team, especially if the surging Oklahoma City Thunder continue playing well.
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The team is playing better lately now that they have Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup, but they still have a lot of work left to make the playoffs. Coach Gregg Popovich is the best coach in the league, and he is famously great at managing his players' minutes to keep them fresh for the postseason, but according to Bleacher Report, even he acknowledges that the team cannot keep winning indefinitely.
"At some point the run will end, but I don't know when that is," Popovich said. "Everybody said that it was years ago. I don't know what's going on here, but it can't last forever. That's for sure."
The team obviously wants to repeat, but they have had some uncharacteristic no-shows, like when they recently lost by 23 to a Chicago Bulls team playing without Joakim Noah. "Our play was humiliating and embarrassing," Popovich said afterward, "because of the Bulls' tenacity and sense of purpose."
Duncan sounded a little complacent after the game. "Nights like that happen sometimes," he said. He did quickly add, "Too often this year."
Star bench player Manu Ginobili also expressed some concerns about the team's play. "We have to be concerned about the things that we do well that we just are not doing," Ginobili said. "We need to be reliable and consistent."
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