San Antonio Spurs: 3 big questions heading into 2019-20
The San Antonio Spurs have solidified their roster for the 2019-20 season. Now, what do we need to find out about the team this year?
The 2019-2020 season presents a whole new set of challenges for the San Antonio Spurs. Last season, the team got to 48 wins, good for the seventh seed in the West, and lost in seven games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
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They were quiet for much of the season, never really reaching a legit contender position. It was another transition year between the Tim Duncan/Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili era and the next, uncertain era.
The offseason looked beneficial for the Spurs, who added more than they lost, added Tim Duncan to the coaching staff, re-signed Rudy Gay, and drafted some interesting prospects. The team has created a solid young core and has solidified a roster that has the potential to contend in the west.
A big change from last year to this year is health. The Spurs made the best of a bad situation last year with young guards Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker IV. Both players suffered injuries in the preseason, with Walker tearing his meniscus and Murray tearing his ACL.
Murray was poised to have a breakout season and his possible ascension into the next tier of players was postponed.
Walker was the Spurs’ highest draft pick since Tim Duncan in 1997 (the notion that the Spurs didn’t draft below No. 18 for two decades is insane by itself) and his rookie year was squandered by injuries. He only played 17 games last season.
Now Murray will take back control of the starting point guard role and play heavy minutes. He will be tested along with the player who had the breakout season last year that Murray was supposed to have, Derrick White. White and Murray haven’t played much together.
If they can mesh well, the backcourt will be exciting.