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Is the 2014-15 Spurs Season Gregg Popovich's Greatest Challenge Yet?

David KenyonFeatured ColumnistFebruary 5, 2015

Gregg Popovich is no stranger to on-court problems, but is 2014-15 his best work?
Gregg Popovich is no stranger to on-court problems, but is 2014-15 his best work?Associated Press

Misfortune has repeatedly struck the San Antonio Spurs' 2014-15 campaign, but Gregg Popovich's brilliance has been on full display as a result.

The 19th-year coach has guided the defending champions through injuries and rotational issues to a 31-18 record while battling an outstanding Western Conference, Pop's greatest challenge yet.

San Antonio is halfway through its quest for a repeat championship, but a second consecutive title isn't the focus here. Instead, the main topic addressed is how the difficulty of the 2014-15 regular season compares to previous years.

What's Happened This Year?

In a word: Injuries.

Between Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli, the Spurs have already lost 108 games due to injury—that includes but a handful of rest nights. So on average, San Antonio has been without at least two main players per outing.

Kawhi Leonard was unavailable due to a hand injury, and San Antonio sputtered without him.
Kawhi Leonard was unavailable due to a hand injury, and San Antonio sputtered without him.USA TODAY Sports

The Spurs endured a 21-game stint from Dec. 5 to Jan. 14 with either Leonard or Parker sidelined—sometimes both—which coincided with the absences of Splitter and Mills, too.

Injuries compounded by a truly brutal stretch of the schedule resulted in a 10-11 slump. To make matters worse, 15 of the 21 contests played were on either side of a back-to-back.

"This year has been a tough one," Popovich recently told Sam Amick of USA Today. "We had an amazing schedule, a very tough November and December and we were very injured. So it knocked the hell out of us, to where we're now just starting."

Although San Antonio merely survived without the key contributors, the reserves kept the Spurs alive in the playoff picture. Popovich was forced to implement role players into the starting lineup, and backups like Cory Joseph and Aron Baynes performed admirably.

Additionally, as noted by David Aldridge of NBA.com, Pop implemented a zone defense—something to which he seldom resorts.

"We've been playing zone and all kinds of things. I don't know what I'm doing. They say 'what are we doing tonight?' 'Two-three.' 'Well, what if -- ' 'Don't ask me any questions. I don't have any answers. Two-three. Go out and do it.' And they've done it pretty well. They did it in college, what the heck."

The rotation was admittedly a mess, but Popovich picked his spots remarkably well, testing lineups he probably never thought would actually log meaningful game action.

Plus, Pop required more minutes from Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Danny Green and even Belinelli before a groin problem flared once again. By that point, though, Mills had returned and occupied the Italian's vacated extra time.

Why Does That Matter?

The first half of the season was quite literally the worst opening of Tim Duncan's career.
The first half of the season was quite literally the worst opening of Tim Duncan's career.Darren Abate/Associated Press/Associated Press

It might come as a surprise that 2014-15 marked the franchise's worst record (20-14) at the end of a calendar year in terms of winning percentage (.588) since the 1996-97 campaign.

One might recall that's the season when San Antonio's general manager named himself the head coach after firing Bob Hill because of a 3-15 (.167) start.

That GM, of course, was Popovich, who finished out the year 17-47, largely due to star center David Robinson being sidelined for the year because of a back injury. The draft lottery ultimately fell in the Spurs' favor, Duncan dropped into San Antonio's lap and the rest, as they say, is history.

San Antonio Spurs @spurs

Duncan earns his 15th All-Star selection. #GoTimmyGo DETAILS: http://t.co/FROUWAWTMd http://t.co/l4oayuzNYo

Since Pop's first full season, in terms of injuries, it has never been this bad. Yes, Parker and Manu Ginobili have missed extended action throughout their respective careers, but never in conjunction with one another. The absences certainly paralleled at times, but it was for short periods.

Though various seasons contain runs where the Spurs weren't completely healthy, each year was a sporadic issue. During their four previous full-schedule championship seasons, the Spurs practically avoided injury pileups completely in three, those being 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2006-07.

San Antonio consistently lost between 30 and 60 games from key contributors those years, but the absences were rarely, if ever, shared and a player's unavailability could be neutralized because the roster had Duncan, Parker and Ginobili in their respective primes.

While the injury-riddled January-February stretch of 2014 is somewhat comparable, it was spread out enough that San Antonio always had most of its top players, excluding one ugly night opposite the Chicago Bulls.

The 110-103 victory over the Orlando Magic on Feb. 4 was the first time this season that the 2014-15 Spurs had their entire roster available. Granted, Splitter didn't appear in the win, so technically it might not even count, but that's beyond the point.

Jeff McDonald @JMcDonald_SAEN

Pop will celebrate Spurs' first #fullsquad game of the season by starting Aron Baynes at center.

A few days into February, San Antonio and its 31-18 record remain in solid position, a sturdy No. 7 ranking in the West and just three games back of the third-seeded Houston Rockets.

Of course, the biggest reason is that Duncan has been absurd, amazing, spectacular and just about every positive adjective imaginable. Despite not being a dominant option or athletic star, Duncan's 2014-15 season defies NBA trends (h/t Matt Moore of CBS Sports) for someone his age.

The overlapping nature of the team's injuries during the first half of the season is unprecedented in Pop's tenure. Combined with a lost-more-than-a-couple steps Duncan shouldering the load, Splitter, Parker and Leonard each ailing while missing two notable backups, the Spurs theoretically shouldn't be where they are.

Plus, when the collective prowess of the Western Conference is also considered, Popovich's coaching ability rises to another level of impressive.

Toughest Conference Yet?

Win percentage is not a perfect metric, but it's indicative of how teams are generally performing. The following table collects the combined records of the top eight franchises in the West at year's end, which, again, 2014-15 brought the Duncan-era futility mark at the conclusion of a calendar year:

Year-End Top 8 Average Win Percentage
YEARWIN %YEARWIN %YEARWIN %
1999-00.6642004-05.6802009-10.646
2000-01.6462005-06.6242010-11.669
2001-02.6542006-07.6602012-13.667
2002-03.6302007-08.6412013-14.680
2003-04.6382008-09.6572014-15.691
shrpsports.com

Note: Table does not include the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season.

The current edition of the Spurs is indeed fighting through the toughest playoff-caliber portion of the Western Conference over the last 15 full-length NBA seasons, perhaps longer. Even today, the winning percentage rests at .682 and is still the highest clip.

Until Feb. 4, San Antonio was a shorthanded unittypically sans a key starter—but survived thanks to their oldest weapons.

"As difficult as the circumstances have made this season for us," Popovich said, per Amick, "without [Duncan] we would be 10th or 11th in the West. There's no doubt in my mind."

A campaign that's amounted to Pop's greatest challenge has also brought forth one of Duncan's premier accomplishments as a veteran. The 18th-year pro carried San Antonio during its worst streak of team injuries and most difficult overall schedule, all while his longtime coach has utilized personally developed reserves.

Winning a second straight championship may or may not ultimately be in the cards for San Antonio, but so far, the 2014-15 regular season has become the foremost display of Popovich's brilliance as a coach.

Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and are accurate as of Feb. 4.

Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.