Kawhi Injures Right Hand Against OKC Thunder

During the January 22 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs wing Kawhi Leonard suffered a broken finger in his right hand and had to be taken out of the game and did not return after coming in contact with the arm of Thunder center Steven Adams in the second quarter of the game.

There is still no timetable for his return. The Spurs are already without two starters as guard Danny Green and center Tiago Splitter have also been out for a while due to injuries. These injuries are unfortunate as the Spurs are just about to enter the tough part of their regular season schedule and are competing with the Thunder and the Trailblazers for the best record in the western conference.

Leonard has been averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds this season. He is the team's premier wing defender who often gets the unenviable assignment of checking an opposing team's best player. With him out for a while, the Spurs defense is certainly going to suffer.

Spurs Continue to Struggle Against Good Teams

Despite their impressive 22-7 record, not everything is going smoothly for the San Antonio Spurs. So far this season, the team has been struggling when playing against the better teams in the league. Here are the teams and the number of losses they have so far this season:

• Trailblazers - 1
• Thunder - 2
• Rockets - 2
• Pacers - 1
• Clippers - 1

Each one of their losses had them being dominated throughout the game.  Why are the Spurs having a hard time against the better teams?

Don't Match Up Well With Athletic Teams

Having watched all their games this season, I have come to realize how poorly the Spurs match up against athletic teams. The team has a hard time stopping penetrations from speedy ball handlers which results to the entire defense being compromised. That is why against teams with an aggressive offensive player, the Spurs struggle to make stops in crucial parts of the games.

This shouldn't have to be a problem if the Spurs don't have a...

Lack of a Go-To Scorer

The lack of a go-to scorer is hurting the Spurs just as bad as the lack of an on-ball defensive stopper at the guard position. When the Spurs offense gets disrupted by the defense, the lack of a player that can create an offense by himself means that the possession is doomed to fail or requires a ton of luck to succeed. In recent years, this has become the responsibility of Tony Parker and his become quite good at it. This season, however, Tony is struggling in such situations and as a direct result, the Spurs are too.

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Player Development Paves the Future for the Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the most successful NBA teams for more than a decade now. The franchise has created a system and a culture that allows them to always stay competitive. The way the team is careful in evaluating and adding players to the team is simply impressive, one big reason for their success over the years. There are many cases I could point out to prove the point. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are just two of the examples that really stand out.

You could argue that they took a risk and got lucky but you have to admit that the team really has the knack in finding rough gems and letting those gems get polished. And they have different ways with the polishing process.

In cases wherein they are dealing with foreign talent, they don't rush things and bring in the player as soon as possible. Just like with the cases of Manu and Tiago Splitter, the team let them gain more experience that helped them mature through international competitions or foreign league.

However, there is also another case wherein the team brought in an unproven players and forged him under the heat of NBA competition. This is what Parker had to go through as the Spurs who were wanting on the point guard position at that time. In an interview, the point guard mentioned how he would often find himself in tears while taking the shower after games or practices.

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