The San Antonio Spurs have always been more than the sum of their parts, but some parts seem to be proving more essential than others.
Reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard's 9.75-inch-long hands are one of those parts.Unfortunately, he tore a ligament in his right paw during a Dec. 9 loss to the Utah Jazz, dealing the franchise a significant blow amid what's almost certainly its most difficult month of competition. Friday night's 97-90 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans marked the eighth game Leonard has missed on account of the injury.
Though the 23-year-old initially tried to make a go of it in back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month (after sitting two contests out), the ailment appears to be more serious than initially believed.
In turn, San Antonio has lost six of its last eight games without Leonard and six of its last seven overall.With Tony Parker seeing limited action this month (hamstring injury) and reserve point guard Patty Mills only recently cleared by doctors to return from offseason shoulder surgery, Leonard's predicament comes at a particularly bad time. The Spurs are just 6-9 so far in December and 18-13 for the season.
They find themselves clinging to seventh place in the Western Conference standings and in danger of sinking further given the severity of Leonard's condition.
"It's a pain thing," head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters on Thursday. "He can't move his hand. He can't catch and dribble and that kind of stuff. Medically, they don't think he can hurt it any more, so that's good. So it's just a matter of can he get used to the hand. It's stiff and doesn't work like your hand works."At the moment, there's no timetable for the fourth-year pro's return. Nor has there been any news that could be construed as particularly good.
"One of the doctors said he's been doing hands for 40 years and it's the first time he's ever seen this injury," Popovich told media earlier this month. "It's a little bit unique."
Unique stuff is usually a good thing, but probably not when it comes to injuries.This season was supposed to be a continuation of June's coming-out party, proof the young swingman could maintain an elite level of play over the course of an entire season. After totaling a combined 71 points and 28 rebounds through the last three Finals meetings with the Miami Heat, heightened expectations were inevitable.
The only real question entering the 2014-15 campaign was whether the two-way talent could carry this team with greater regularity. Even the teams that eschew hero-ball the most need a little superstardom from time to time.
"I'm probably going to talk to him more about consistency now," Popovich told reporters at the team's media day on Sept. 26. "He's reached a certain level, and if you look at those last three games [of the Finals] he played, they were pretty special.
"But to be in that top echelon of players in our league, it's a huge responsibility to have to come and do that every night. The Duncans, the Durants, the Jameses and all those kinds of guys do it night after night after night, and it's a huge responsibility."So it should come as no surprise that these Spurs are woefully incomplete at the moment.
This organization isn't one to panic, but that might change if Leonard's pain becomes a long-term problem. Heralded for its depth and unselfish play, San Antonio's roster can probably tread water without getting squeezed from the playoff conversation.
Repeating last season's historically successful finish is an entirely different story. The Spurs' next postseason march will be a short one unless Leonard is back in the fold.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2311261-san-antonio-spurs-title-defense-rests-in-kawhi-leonards-injured-hand
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