For the first time in years, the San Antonio Spurs have a positional weakness other teams can exploit.
The San Antonio Spurs have two exceptional big men on their roster. Pau Gasol is the starting 5, while LaMarcus Aldridge starts at the 4. This, however, is where the quality stops. The main reserve who can spell these big men is Joffrey Lauvergne.
Last season, the Spurs had the services of Dewayne Dedmon, a defensive specialist who brings great energy to the court. This was needed when Gasol went down with an injury. Dedmon had to step up and start.
He played so well he continued starting, even when Gasol returned. However, this season, the Spurs do not have that same luxury as Dedmon has moved on. Gasol is now getting towards the end of his career. He is 37 years old and since he turned 30, has only played more than 70 games in a season twice.
What would be worse for the Spurs is if LaMarcus Aldridge were to fall to their 2017-18 season injury curse. Unfortunately, they have already been without the services of a high number of players for a period of time.
Tony Parker missed from the start of the season until late November. Kawhi Leonard missed every game until Dec. 12, and has only played eight games before being shelved again. Others who have missed time are Danny Green, Kyle Anderson and Joffrey Lauvergne.
Why Lauvergne is a problem
Lauvergne can only be described as a solid big man. He has only ever been a bit player on his previous teams. Unfortunately for the Spurs, this is not enough. Currently his level of play does not appear to be an issue. However, looking further down the track, issues will arise.
If one of the starting frontcourt does fall to injury, the Spurs will possibly turn to Rudy Gay, David Bertans or Lauvergne to start. This strategy is fraught with danger.
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If Gay starts at the 4, his lack of size will be exposed, especially against teams with dominant power forwards in their lineups. Bertans is a shooting guard in a power forward’s body. His lack of athleticism allows most larger players in the league to out-position him regularly on defense
However, if Lauvergne starts, he will also be outmatched against most starting 4s and 5s in the league. This will create a hole in the Spurs defense and offense that other teams will be able to exploit. This hole will be smaller than if the other two start.
In his 24 games this season, Lauvergne has averaged only 11.0 minutes per game. In this time he has averaged 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds. Those aren’t bad numbers for a reserve, but if he is asked to step up, his rim protection, among other things, will be a problem.
For his career, Lauvergne has averaged only 0.2 blocks per game. This season he has not registered a single block. In fact, he has only registered six blocks in the last two seasons, all of which came while he was still playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder at the start of last season.
Where this is going to hurt the most
Looking at the current standings, it looks like the San Antonio Spurs are going to finish either first, second or third in the Western Conference. This will be an amazing effort for a team who has been bitten so hard with the injury bug.
However, this puts them in line for potential first round matchups with opponents with imposing frontcourts. The Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz are all fighting for playoff position.
If the Spurs match up with any of these teams, they are going to be in for a battle, where they will potentially be undersized. What is potentially worse for the Spurs, if they are to match up with these teams and one of the starting frontcourt is injured, it is difficult to see them advancing past of the first round.
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This is a hard sentence to type considering the Spurs — when fully healthy — might be set up well enough to knock out the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs. Let’s hope the Spurs have suffered all their injuries for the season, and that their lack of frontcourt depth doesn’t hurt them.