San Antonio Spurs: The Curious Case of Duncopovich

The San Antonio Spurs seem to collapse when their father figures are absent–from each other.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was announced to be missing two road games while he tended to a family medical issue. Unfortunately for the team, this didn’t translate well to their first away game, as they allowed the Indiana Pacers to get a solid win at home, 99-91.

The Spurs played scattered and had more turnovers than a bakery. They redeemed themselves the next night with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the damage was done. One could chalk this up to one of two theories:

1. Lead assistant coach Ettore Messina somehow was unable to spark the proper level of play in the team, which would bring up questions (as these things tend to do) of “losing” the locker room, or whatever.

2. The Spurs are, oddly enough, not mature enough to function in the absence of any father figure (either Popovich or team captain Tim Duncan).

The first theory can be thrown out, as Messina has coached before in Popovich’s absence and has led the team to wins. So, that doesn’t make sense in this case.

The second theory, though … it’s an Occam’s Razor scenario, even with Duncan around.

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We’ve seen it before this season, when Duncan sat eight games due to a sore right knee. The Spurs did not play like themselves. which was culminated by two (count ’em) blowout losses to the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers (Duncan did not travel with the team for either game).

And Monday night’s ineptitude against the Pacers, with no Pop, just adds more fuel to the fire.

For some reason, the Spurs lack an assumed self-sufficiency when there is no one around to make them be grown-ups.

While it is mentioned that Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are team co-captains (at least, on paper), their absences have not had nearly as bad an effect on the team as Duncan’s. In fact, the team collectively stepped up to try and temporarily replace the intangible skills that both bring to the table. That was the easy part, and they still had Popovich as coach.

The mental part, though? That’s Duncan’s forte (and Pop’s), and that’s where the Spurs suffer when either of those two is absent for any reason.

As well as the Spurs have been playing this season, it’s hard to remember that there is a significant age schism on the team. On one side you have the old heads: Duncan (39), Ginobili (38), Matt Bonner (35), newcomers Andre Miller (39) and David West (35); and also Tony Parker (33), Boris Diaw (33), and newly minted Spur Kevin Martin (33) to a lesser degree.

Mar 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) cheers from the bench during a game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats San Antonio 99-91. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

On the other side you have the (relatively) young’uns: Kyle Anderson (22), Kawhi Leonard (24), LaMarcus Aldridge (30), Jonathon Simmons (26), Danny Green (28), Patty Mills (27), and Boban Marjanovic (27).

Most days, these sides balance each other out and produce “the beautiful game” for which the Spurs are known. On days such as Monday night’s loss to Indiana, the balance is tilted … and not in a good way.

West and Miller (and Bonner) provide an additional veteran presence in the locker room. However, they don’t carry the same weight as Ginobili and Parker, and none of them have the command presence of Duncan.

And nobody tops Pop.

I’ve noticed that when Duncan was out and Popovich was around, the Spurs still handled their business and mostly got wins (though those wins came when Duncan was actually present on the bench in street clothes). When Duncan was around (whether on the court or the bench) and Pop was out (e.g., in Indiana), chaos ensued.

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Let’s talk about that.

Duncan is the team captain, so team chemistry and maintenance thereof mainly falls on him. Perhaps he has gotten to the point where he feels that this team has been together for a significant amount of time and even the newcomers have played in the league long enough to have a clue, so he shouldn’t have to tell them how and when to lock in.

He may also be thinking about the two children he’s raising at home, and thus doesn’t have the time nor desire to raise grown men to play the game for which they are all receiving very large paychecks.

Duncan is about to turn 40 and is in his 19th season as a player. Like Pop, has zero effs to give.

Which leads to a third reason of why things seem to fall apart when either member of Duncopovich (because all power couples have a blended name) is missing.

From the moment Duncan set foot in the Alamo City in 1997, he and Popovich have had this weird chemistry and synergy, to the point where it was widely assumed that Pop would be right behind Duncan whenever Duncan walked out the door toward retirement. They are like the Wonder Twins.

Perhaps this synergy is why the absence of one negates the presence of the other. They feed off each other in a symbiotic relationship. Duncan without Pop, or vice versa, is like corn flakes without the milk. While this is understandable, the Spurs need to be able to eat a less palatable meal and use it to fuel wins.

The Spurs have gotten compliments about their ability to coach themselves when needed.

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But in order for this franchise to successfully transition into the Big Three 2.0 (Leonard/Aldridge/Green), they have to do a better job of rising to the occasion when neither Duncan nor Popovich are available. And they need to do it now.

In case one has forgotten, Duncan’s time in silver and black is drawing to a fast close. That could mean he hangs them up this summer, or in another few years (no one but Duncan knows for sure–maybe–and he ain’t telling). Popovich committed to coaching out the remainder of the five-year extension he signed two years ago, in order to bag Aldridge.

Which means the the Duncopovich Era will probably be over by the time a new decade rolls around in 2020.

Given the hyperspeed development of today’s NBA, that doesn’t give the remaining Spurs a lot of time, relatively speaking, to get it together. If this indeed Duncan’s last season, what better way to honor the man that has helped hold this team together for the past 19 seasons by showing that it can make its way without him at the helm?

What better way to show the man who has routinely helped turn another team’s trash into NBA treasure by showing that the culture he instilled is more than lip service?

More hoops habit: NBA: 20 Players Turning Their Seasons Around

It’s your time, young’uns. Step up or step off.

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