Finding Disappointments Is Difficult for San Antonio Spurs This Season

Every NBA team should be able to target weaknesses on its roster, and narrowing in on a select group of players usually exposes the answer.

But the San Antonio Spurs have a problem—it's a good problem, but it's a problem. The Spurs have 10 rotation members who have earned a 12.7 player efficiency rating or higher. For reference, average PER is 15.0.

A handful of players have specific struggles, such as Cory Joseph's slight regression as an outside shooter or Tony Parker's slightly elevated turnover rate. However, those shortcomings are negligible in a complete evaluation.

In fact, San Antonio has been so balanced overall that Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills are tempting choices as disappointments. But that's purely because they have a combined 10 minutes of action, and darn it, the Spurs are excited for their respective returns.

So before this gets too far, no, the intent is not to shame the shelved duo. Injuries happen—they are the result of being extremely active for a living. Still, San Antonio must be disappointed it didn't have Splitter or Mills available for the opening fifth of the season.

Nevertheless, the Spurs have received solid performances from Aron Baynes and Joseph in reserve, looking for that success to continue while Splitter and Mills recover.

Head coach Gregg Popovich artfully dodged a question about Splitter's health, as noted by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

"His calf hurts or it doesn't," Popovich said. "When they tell me he can play, he'll play."

Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images

Consequently, Splitter's return is still unknown, while Mills' most recent update remains an early-October report from McDonald (subscription required) that said he was halfway through his recovery.

Splitter being sidelined does, however, mean Austin Daye will continue logging a handful of sporadic yet meaningful minutes.

Of course, there are mixed reviews about the former first-round pick's contributions. Through 11 appearances, his 68 offensive rating and 25.8 three-point shooting clip are so bad it's almost comical, but tallying 7.5 rebounds per 36 minutes is moderately useful.

All things considered, though, Daye is a temporary fill-in whose weaknesses are offset by a strong surrounding cast when necessary.

After all, other NBA franchises might actually be using Daye in their reserve unit, and San Antonio has the luxury of sending him back to the bench when at full strength. Yes, it could be worse.

While Jeff Ayres has been somewhat disappointing, he's only logged 90 minutes and wasn't expected to produce much barring major injury troubles. For the latter reason, Ayres won't be discussed at length.

Kyle Anderson occupies a similar boat minute-wise, but the rookie hasn't adjusted to the NBA game quite yet. Really, Anderson has been pretty bad. And that's OK.

The rookie has connected on just two of 24 attempts from the field and is still catching up to the increased speed at which the league moves compared to college.

It's not like Anderson has somehow lost all his talent like a character straight out of Space Jam. He wasn't considered an immediate-impression prospect anyway, so the slow learning curve was anticipated.

A one-game stint with the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League showed Anderson still has superb complementary skills, in case anyone was truly concerned. The UCLA product tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals during his single D-League showing.

He was clearly more confident and aggressive as a ball-handler, something San Antonio would like to translate. Anderson maintained his deliberate pace, but it looked much smoother—especially in the paint.

Of course, his shot selection was still iffy, similar to his opening stretch with the Spurs. Anderson isn't necessarily taking bad looks, they're just not high-percentage attempts.

His day in the spotlight is coming, but Anderson's abilities probably won't be mandated until Manu Ginobili hangs up the jersey.

Ultimately, if two injured players, a backup and a future-impact rookie are among the team's most disappointing, that's certainly not a terrible start to any season.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and accurate as of Dec. 1.

Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.