The San Antonio Spurs were knocked out of the 2018 NBA Playoffs after a 4-1 first round loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The San Antonio Spurs were one of the surprise teams of the 2017-18 NBA season. They started the season seemingly behind the pack with LaMarcus Aldridge being reportedly unhappy. In true Spurs fashion they managed to sort this situation out, eventually signing Aldridge to a contract extension rather than losing him.
They also had injuries to key players to start the season, Tony Parker missed the first month and Kawhi Leonard missed most of the season due to injury. Again, in true Spurs fashion, several younger players stepped up, working within the system to help the team win.
However, for the first time in over 20 years, the Spurs had a losing road record, going 14-27. However, their home record was incredible going 33-8. Only the top seeds in both conferences had better home records at 34-7.
One constant for the season was the excellence of head coach Gregg Popovich. It was Popovich and his system that kept the Spurs in the playoff race all season. He is still the master at getting his players to buy in and it shows with his results.
However, all good things come to an end. Here are three reasons the season is over sooner than it should’ve been.