San Antonio Spurs: 2018-19 NBA season preview
By Luke Swiatek
Best-case scenario
Replacing nine games of Kawhi Leonard with 82 games of DeMar DeRozan proves to be a huge upgrade over last season’s San Antonio Spurs. Dejounte Murray develops into a true star and the veterans on the team experience no significant drop off.
Pop proves that he’s the greatest coach of all time, steering his new Big 3 of DeRozan, Murray and Aldridge to a win total in the high 50s. The Spurs narrowly beat out the Houston Rockets for the second seed, after the Rockets slump due to Carmelo Anthony-related issues.
The Spurs fight hard, but lose in seven games to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
Worst-case scenario
Murray tops out as a thinner André Roberson. His non-shooting clogs the floor, and DeRozan and Aldridge keep running into each other or Murray’s man as they all try to occupy the same spots in the midrange.
Pau Gasol’s legs give out, and he and Rudy Gay spend more games not playing at all than they do in the starting lineup.
The San Antonio Spurs realize that they have essentially the same team as last year, with less veteran savvy and worse role players. Pop refuses to go small, and minimizes the playing time that Derrick White and Lonnie Walker could be getting.
Despite being good, the Spurs slip behind the other ascendant teams in the West, and don’t even make the playoffs.