San Antonio Spurs: Pros and Cons of reaching the 2020 NBA Playoffs

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 25: (L-R) Manu Ginobili #20, Tim Duncan #21, and Tony Parker #9 of the San Antonio Spurs watch from the sidelines against the Lakers at the Staples Center in 2009. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

While maintaining the playoff streak is crucial to the San Antonio Spurs’ legacy, letting go of the past and accepting the team’s fate has upside.

For the first time this Millenium, the San Antonio Spurs are on track to miss the NBA Playoffs. With no Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, David Robinson or Tony Parker to lead the way, San Antonio is missing some of that star power and togetherness that made them a perennial title contender in the 2000s through the mid-2010s.

As currently constructed, the Spurs are a somewhat outdated team that relies on two mid-range stars in a league that encourages opponents to take those. It works in short spurts and quite frankly, could be a viable long-term strategy if the team wasn’t terrible at defense. But alas, shooting mid-range jumpers and failing to contain opponents on the other side is a recipe for disaster.

Despite the odds being stacked against them, San Antonio remains one of the 22 teams competing in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble with a shot at making the playoffs once more. Considering the league’s new play-in strategy between the eighth and ninth-seeded teams, San Antonio could end up facing the Memphis Grizzlies to snatch their playoff spot in late-August.

But is that what’s best for the franchise? There’s certainly a financial upside for the organization when it comes to making the playoffs. However, it may not be worth all that comes with being a playoff team. Today, we’ll compare and contrast the positive and negative side of the playoffs.

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