With the San Antonio Spurs’ 2017-18 season ending in an abrupt 4-1 fashion in the first round of the playoffs, it’s time to take a look at the season that was.
There are roller coaster rides and then there is the 2017-18 season for the San Antonio Spurs. It started with an unhappy LaMarcus Aldridge. No sooner was that situation fixed before Spurs fans were dealing with their other star, Kawhi Leonard, being out with a quad injury.
Add to this the Tony Parker quad injury for the first month or so of the season, and things looked bleak. Fortunately for the Spurs, Aldridge was unleashed and the rest of the NBA took notice. He led the Spurs while Parker was out with the help of Dejounte Murray and Danny Green at the start of the year.
Then Parker came back and the Spurs got a little more experience on the bench. He and Manu Ginobili used their nous to help the Spurs win games. Weeks and months passed by, and the Spurs somehow kept their playoff hopes alive without Leonard.
The Spurs would only get nine games out of Kawhi for the year. There has been speculation surrounding why he has not played, that he is not happy. The Spurs played through all of this and still managed to make the playoffs.
Despite the efforts of Aldridge, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills, the Spurs were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the first round. Here are five takeaways from the season.