For the first time since before Tim Duncan arrived 22 years ago, the Spurs struggled to get stops last season. The reasons for their porousness aren’t particularly surprising. A lack of roster continuity combined with an overall talent shift to more offensive-minded players led to a disjointed effort from a group with limited upside on that end.
Their 20th ranked defense gave up 110.5 points per 100 possessions, a number that somehow still fails to capture just how easily opponents were able to score. The team’s poor performance on that end led to some rare sights at the NBA level, including a triangle and two defense that ultimately didn’t work.