It’s never a good idea to doubt Gregg Popovich’s ability to build a good defense, even with subpar personnel. He’s done it before. But this year, he really has his work cut out for him.
The roster is clearly flawed. In a lot of ways, it’s eerily reminiscent of the 2011 squad. There’s a notorious lack of length on the perimeter, older big men will have share the court with undersized power forwards, and there’s a young foreign center who might be able to help but probably doesn’t have Pop’s trust yet.
The 2011 team won a lot, but it ranked 11th in defensive rating.