The Big(ger) Picture: What Do The San Antonio Spurs Do Now?

Tim Duncan’s continued knee issues point to a big(ger) need for the San Antonio Spurs.

(This is Part Two of a two-part series. ICYMI, Part One is here.)

What a difference a week or so makes.

The San Antonio Spurs seem to be on the road to recovery after two embarrassing losses to the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have since notched decisive, yet expected, wins against the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans. They even set a Western Conference record.

Tony Parker has bounced back from his hip soreness (for now), keeping the rotational status quo intact. However, a recent groin injury sustained by Manu Ginobili during the Pelicans game — which required surgery — will force him to miss 4-6 weeks.  

The pressure on Patty Mills and Danny Green to step up is even more immense, given Parker’s wonky hip and hamstring. Ginobili brings a lot to the table and it needs to be adequately replaced until his return.

Ray McCallum probably won’t be seeing the D-League anytime soon, as everyone hopes that his increased playing time will bear fruit. I still say the Spurs should see if Bryce Cotton is willing to reconsider his relocation, but that’s just me.

Now, let’s talk about the bigger players.

I’ve written previously about Tim Duncan’s mere presence being a significant boost for the team. His lingering knee issues, though, have exposed a more serious problem that the Spurs may want to address before the Feb. 18 trade deadline. Namely, lack of quality rim protection.

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Duncan is still one of the best defenders in the league, even as he approaches the age of 40.

What he lacks in verticality and speed, he more than makes up for in timing and crafty plays. After 19 seasons in the league, there isn’t much that he hasn’t seen and he has a nice bag full of veteran tricks to compensate for his inevitable physical decline. He doesn’t have to drop 30 points a night in order to have a palpable impact on the game; the defensive edge he provides allows his team to hold most opponents below 100 points in a game and limit their three-point shots.

Not having Duncan’s tools at the team’s disposal is a hindrance. It helps that the Spurs have played two sub-.500 teams since they lost to the Cavs in Ohio, and the Rockets are just a smidgen above .500 themselves with a 27-25 record.

While LaMarcus Aldridge was able to neutralize Anthony Davis when they played the Pels, as reported by Mike Monroe of The Rivard Report, it’s a stretch to hope that he can sustain that type of defense until Duncan returns, hopefully after the All-Star Break and just in time for the Spurs’ annual Rodeo Road Trip.  Parker hopes that the Davis-smothering Aldridge shows up every night:

Head coach Gregg Popovich was also pleased by Aldridge’s play against Davis and his fellow Crescent City cohorts. “I thought (Aldridge) was magnificent at both ends,” Popovich told Monroe. “Anthony got three points in the fourth quarter and LaMarcus did a great job on him. I thought he was special.”

If the Spurs are to survive to make another Finals appearance, Aldridge has got to get it together on the defensive end. It’s no secret that he was primarily courted by the Spurs for his scoring prowess (his final stats against the Pelicans reflected his season high of 36 points).

However, his overall lack of production on the glass has not gone unnoticed:

So…what’s a Spur to do?

Kyle Anderson is a second-year player who’s still finding his way. “Slo-Mo” may work against weaker teams, but the higher-caliber squads will exploit his lack of speed and relatively thin frame, which is not sufficient to stop stronger defenders near the basket.

Rookie Boban Marjanovic is the opposite: strong and large, and rather quick for his size. Yet he is still acclimating to the  NBA game (he’s a Eurobasket star).

Another rookie, Jonathon Simmons, is raw talent — emphasis on raw. Pop enjoys his aggressiveness, as displayed during the game against the Magic, but he made some turnovers during the Warriors game that had me l wondering if he thought he was back in the D-League, not to mention some ill-timed fouls against the Cavs.

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While Pop is liking their respective progress as players, he doesn’t consider any of them (plus Rasual Butler) ready for major minutes in crunch situations. They’ve mainly gotten garbage time on the whole, though McCallum has had some starting spots in place of Parker and Anderson started in place of Leonard once when the latter was out with a respiratory infection.

Boris Diaw is a good power forward, who uses his more rounded physique to get what and where he wants on the court. He can score, defend and set up plays, and can brew a mean espresso. But he is not Duncan, a once-in-a-lifetime player. It will be hard for them to replace what he does, even when he’s not doing what he used to do in his prime.

First-time All-Star selectee Leonard was deemed the heir to take over the team this season. For the most part, he’s performed admirably: his stat sheets are bursting at the seams and he averages about 20 points per game. Up until Jan. 25 he was the only player even remotely capable of shutting down Steph Curry, in addition to keeping LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers off his game. But in the Golden State debacle, he came up extremely short and in the Cleveland rematch, James kept Leonard in his place.

It was a classic example of what Pop stated earlier in the season: Leonard has to step up more, and be consistent with it.

"“Just before about every game, I’ll tell him, ‘OK, the thing that makes players great is consistency,’” Popovich explained to ESPN.com. “Go out there every night and do what Timmy’s [Duncan] done in his career or Dirk Nowitzki or Kobe [Bryant]. Most players don’t even know what that’s like to have that kind of standard, that kind of responsibility night after night.”"

To be great, you have to bring it every night. Every game. Every second of every game.

Leonard isn’t quite there yet. He’s almost there, but the losses to two of the other three dominant teams in the league (with the Oklahoma City Thunder being the third) showed he isn’t.

There are rumors that the Spurs are eyeing Adreian Payne, who was selected in the first round of the 2014 draft and has completed stints with the Atlanta Hawks and the Minnesota Timberwolves before being waived and returning to the D-League; he has since been recalled to the T-Wolves.

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Payne is allegedly being looked at by other teams in need of a big and given the Spurs’ general lack of activity during the midseason trade season, it remains to be seen whether this rumor will turn into fact.

Still, it is something to think about as Payne is a solid player who just didn’t get enough playing time on the Hawks or the T-Wolves. Or perhaps it’s time to release the Red Mamba.

Stay tuned.