Why were the Spurs unable to win a championship between 2008-2013?

[keep-itreal]

Was it because they didn't have any good center/pf to help Tim Duncan?

They had a undersized pf dujuan blair and matt boner who only shoots 3

[navy]

1) Getting beat by better teams
2) Choking

[COnDEMnED]

Celtics, Lakers, Mavericks, Collusion.

[RagaZ]

Injuries.

2009 and 2011 were there for the taking with a healthy Manu Ginobili. Damn.

[daprunus]

Because Kawhi

[RagaZ]

And awful luck with refs in 2008(foul on Brent Barry) and 2012.

[daprunus]

And awful luck with refs in 2008(foul on Brent Barry) and 2012.

It wasn't foul on Brent Barry at all.

[SCdac]

2012-2013 .. we should give the Spurs some credit in this season. They didn't win but they were damn close.

Prior to that, there was a number of things:

- Bruce Bowen got old(er) & Spurs traded him for an under-performing/ill-fit Richard Jefferson. RJ was horrible in playoff losses against the Suns (10 ppg @ .42%) and Grizzlies (7 ppg @ .39 FG%). Spurs started getting better the moment he left.

- Spurs relied too heavily on Matt Bonner (67 starts in 08-09), who generally shrunk in the playoffs, and Antonio McDyess on his last legs (though to his credit he guarded Dirk excellently in 09-10 first round). The moment Spurs began starting Tiago Splitter they became even better defensively and offensively.

- DeJuan Blair was undersized, weak on D, and got into pop's doghouse. Has the skillset of a center (solid post moves ala Luis Scola) but is too short, jump shot not really solid enough to be full time PF.

- George Hill was awesome at times, a fan favorite, but didn't pan out and Spurs managed to upgrade, trading him for Kawhi Leonard on draft day (a player who was projected to go higher).

- Ginobili missed the playoffs in 09 and played through a broken arm in 11 loss to the Grizzlies.

- Adding Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, and Belinelli and bringing them off the bench made Spurs one of if not the deepest team in the league. Diaw - who won MIP on the Phoenix Suns mind you - is unique in that he can pass, shoot, defend, and play like a guard or a big. He thrives in SA's system.

- Duncan's resurgence (should have won DPOY in 2013) made Spurs lethal again, he trimmed down his weight and never went away from his mid-range jump shot, allowing Tiago (a natural center) room to maneuver and do his thing. TD's longevity can't be overstated.

- Spurs coaching staff reevaluated their offense as Timmy aged and begane integrating more fast breaks, uptempo style while retaining a focus on defense.

there are other reasons and I probably forgot some but those are biggest ones to me

[jcyrus10]

Celtics, Lakers, Mavericks, Collusion.

Memphis too

[HOoopCityJones]

Lakers, Mavs and Memphis.

[Heavincent]

- Kobe happened in 08

- Simply weren't as good in 09 and 10. Their defense fell off a bit if I remember correctly. Duncan wasn't the same.

- I remember them struggling with injuries toward the end of the 2011 season, which kind of carried over into the playoffs. Got beat by a really good Memphis team.

- Came really close in 2012 and 13.

[dubeta]

Colluding is a long process, not something that can happen spontaneously

[Spurs5Rings2014]

Colluding is a long process, not something that can happen spontaneously

[thefatmiral]

choking. and stacked healthy thunder. could have had three in a row now if those werent the case. werent good enough before those with RJ and hill getting so many mins.

[Collie]

2012-2013 .. we should give the Spurs some credit in this season. They didn't win but they were damn close.

Prior to that, there was a number of things:

- Bruce Bowen got old(er) & Spurs traded him for an under-performing/ill-fit Richard Jefferson. RJ was horrible in playoff losses against the Suns (10 ppg @ .42%) and Grizzlies (7 ppg @ .39 FG%). Spurs started getting better the moment he left.

- Spurs relied too heavily on Matt Bonner (67 starts in 08-09), who generally shrunk in the playoffs, and Antonio McDyess on his last legs (though to his credit he guarded Dirk excellently in 09-10 first round). The moment Spurs began starting Tiago Splitter they became even better defensively and offensively.

- DeJuan Blair was undersized, weak on D, and got into pop's doghouse. Has the skillset of a center (solid post moves ala Luis Scola) but is too short, jump shot not really solid enough to be full time PF.

- George Hill was awesome at times, a fan favorite, but didn't pan out and Spurs managed to upgrade, trading him for Kawhi Leonard on draft day (a player who was projected to go higher).

- Ginobili missed the playoffs in 09 and played through a broken arm in 11 loss to the Grizzlies.

- Adding Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, and Belinelli and bringing them off the bench made Spurs one of if not the deepest team in the league. Diaw - who won MIP on the Phoenix Suns mind you - is unique in that he can pass, shoot, defend, and play like a guard or a big. He thrives in SA's system.

- Duncan's resurgence (should have won DPOY in 2013) made Spurs lethal again, he trimmed down his weight and never went away from his mid-range jump shot, allowing Tiago (a natural center) room to maneuver and do his thing. TD's longevity can't be overstated.

- Spurs coaching staff reevaluated their offense as Timmy aged and begane integrating more fast breaks, uptempo style while retaining a focus on defense.

there are other reasons and I probably forgot some but those are biggest ones to me

Great points. Especially regarding TD becoming a defensive force again. I think somewhere around 2009-2011, he slipped a bit defensively.