What's somewhat counter-intuitive to the mindset that the rest of the NBA has passed the Spurs by is the fact that "the Beautiful Game" is what inspired today's style of play. Granted, the Warriors took the Spurs offensive game and modified it to largely focus on perimeter shooting, and that's the final model that's been copied by the rest of the league. But the Spurs laid the groundwork for that. And hidden in that great offense of the Warriors was really good defense, which was always the Spurs staple for success. I think the Spurs haven't been passed by nearly as much as they are handicapped by the limitations of their current roster.
The talent on this team is not that good, and this team's two marque players have no history of winning. The rest of the team is limited in ability and talent. We don't have length. We don't have great shooters. We can't play defense.
When you look at the assembled collection of limited talent, led by two guys who lack that killer instinct needed to win, it's amazing that this team has done as well as it has the last couple of seasons.
Does Pop need to be replaced someone more willing to stroke the fragile egos of today's superstars? Perhaps. Is he too old and out of touch? Maybe...but few thought that a year ago. I think he could still coach a talented group as well as he ever has.
My thought is that most of today's spoiled superstars won't choose San Antonio as a destination anyway, regardless of who's coaching. This team had a lot of coaches before Pop that didn't take the team anywhere, even with a prime Robinson, and with a prime Gervin prior to that. Even with Duncan, we had a great team because we scouted superior talent, primarily overseas, and were ahead of the curve in utilizing international talent. It's not a culture reset we need as much as a talent reset. We've done a terrible job building this roster and it needs to have the slate cleaned.