San Antonio Spurs Power Rankings: Rating Every Spur Near Season's Halfway Point

The San Antonio Spurs are nearly halfway through the 2014-15 season, and their ride to a 21-14 start has been eventful to say the least.

Gregg Popovich's coaching skills have been strained to overcome injuries to a pair of the team's best talents. However, a couple of role players who ordinarily stay in the background have stepped up and eased that challenge.

The rankings are not based on an individual's talent; rather, they are focused on each player's value specifically during the 2014-15 season.

Expect the order to change in future months, especially when players currently held back by injuries return to full strength. For now, though, those setbacks have opened the door for a few unsung Spurs to shine.

15. Jeff Ayres to 11. Kyle Anderson

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15. Jeff Ayres, Power Forward

Despite being available for each outing, Jeff Ayres has only logged 182 total minutes this season. A strong majority of his game action has come when Tim Duncan was given a night off, so Ayres has value—it's just when Duncan isn't playing.

14. Austin Daye, Power Forward

The idea of Austin Daye sounds awesome: A 6'11" reserve who loves to shoot and actually has decent range. The team-worst 98.1 offensive rating, negative-9.3 on-court split and negative 15.0 on-off total difference say otherwise.

13. Patty Mills, Shooting Guard

After missing 31 games due to shoulder surgery, Patty Mills has returned to his sharpshooting role. Since his debut, the Spurs have beaten the Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards, and a portion of each victory can be attributed to Mills' mere presence providing spacing on the offensive end.

12. Matt Bonner, Center

In what could be his final season with San Antonio, Matt Bonner has been nothing more than average. The 34-year-old has knocked down 38.4 percent from three-point land, the third-lowest mark of his career. His rebounding has trailed off, too, though his availability helped the Spurs survive an injury to Tiago Splitter.

11. Kyle Anderson, Small Forward

Kyle Anderson has filled in for Kawhi Leonard, making eight starts during his rookie campaign and tallying 14.3 minutes per game—with a D-League appearance included. Anderson has struggled defensively, but that's to be expected while he adjusts to the NBA's speed.

10. Aron Baynes, Power Forward

Aron Baynes is not a perfect substitute, but the Spurs couldn't ask for much more out of Splitter's main replacement.

The third-year power forward contributed 17.0 minutes per night when San Antonio was without its starter for a 20-game stretch. Baynes tallied 7.2 points and 4.9 boards during that time, though his defense was admittedly not similar to Splitter's ability.

His minutes have dipped significantly with Splitter as a starter, dropping to an average of 9.6 minutes in those contests. However, Baynes will continue seeing consistent action over Ayres and Daye down the stretch—and deservedly so.

9. Marco Belinelli, Small Forward

The Spurs are slightly more efficient offensively when Marco Belinelli is in the game, but the Italian sharpshooter doesn't play much defense.

Belinelli has earned the team's third-best offensive rating (108.5), but San Antonio's defense allows 10.9 points fewer when he's on the bench. That's not a small number, and it's easily the squad's worst clip.

His long-range firepower, however, has yet to emerge. Belinelli has connected on a mediocre 38.2 percent from distance, a stiff drop from his 43.0 percent clip in 2013-14.

Granted, the Mills-Ginobili-Belinelli-Diaw lineup hasn't been available until very recently, and that ball-movement-focused unit can thrive once again. They'll soon get more chances to launch from three-point land, and Belinelli's value should rise—yes, in spite of his defense.

8. Tiago Splitter, Center

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Splitter will be moving up the team rankings shortly, but he's only played 13 games and has been eased back into the rotation throughout his limited appearances.

The fifth-year center has managed 18.5 minutes per night, which is lower than the 2011-12 season—his final year as a full-time reserve.

San Antonio lacked a productive interior post presence alongside Duncan without Splitter, and he still hasn't quite regained that form. But once Splitter is fully integrated back into the lineup—and that time might arrive shortly—the Brazilian should show the defensive ability that earned him a sizable contract in July 2013.

7. Cory Joseph, Point Guard

Cory Joseph is the most difficult player to rank. The fourth-year guard has been phenomenal as a replacement, but has he been more valuable than Tony Parker?

Joseph has reached double digits in 13 of his last 19 outings, which is undeniably impressive. His 53.9 percent shooting mark is the third-best clip on the team. He's committed a meager 1.2 turnovers per game, which is half as many as Manu Ginobili in practically the same amount of minutes.

Perhaps looking at it from this viewpoint helps: While Joseph has occupied the starting role and performed surprisingly well—particularly on defense—he's not a complete offensive threat.

Opponents simply do not have to respect him as a three-point shooter, which is where Mills is an upgrade. Joseph is a reliable ball-handler yet isn't an all-around weapon in the paint like Parker.

But this isn't a knock on Joseph. He's started 14 games, registering 25.8 minutes, 10.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 33 appearances. The depth he provides is undoubtedly important.

Joseph can't carry a team, but he's kept San Antonio afloat.

6. Boris Diaw, Power Forward

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Contract-year Boris Diaw was almost too good to be true. Consequently, noticeable regression from got-my-contract Boris Diaw isn't a surprising situation.

Now, that's not to say the point forward has become a disappointment. After all, his raw per-game numbers have either improved or stayed generally the same.

So what are you getting at, Mr. Writer Man? Here's the thing: Diaw's field-goal percentage has dipped from 52.1 percent to 47.5, and his three-point average has fallen from 40.2 percent to 32.0. The 6'8", 235-pounder hasn't provided that extra boost as a shooter.

With that being said, Diaw is involved in six of the Spurs' eight most-used lineups, per 82games.com. The most points per possession allowed by any Diaw-involved group is 1.01, and his defensive flexibility is a major factor.

Though Diaw isn't performing at last season's level, he remains one of Popovich's most valuable players thanks to his adaptable skill set—even if he moves a bit slowly.

5. Tony Parker, Point Guard

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Wait. Don't freak out. Parker hasn't fallen so drastically that he's being considered the fifth-best player on the roster.

What has happened, on the other hand, is a lingering hamstring injury that's caused Parker to miss 14 of the Spurs' last 19 games. San Antonio is 14-7 with Parker in the lineup but a paltry 7-7 sans the point guard, dearly missing his pick-and-roll prowess.

According to Spurs.com, Parker is listed as questionable for the Jan. 6 matchup against the streaking Detroit Pistons, which would denote his first appearance since Christmas Day.

Joseph has been great, but San Antonio can rely on Parker for a more versatile offensive attack opposite the league's best defenses. Parker still holds a team-leading 16.2 points and 5.2 assists per contest, and the Spurs certainly must be eager for his return.

4. Manu Ginobili, Shooting Guard

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Though Ginobili is still driving Spurs supporters crazy with his bipolar play, the veteran sixth man has stepped up as San Antonio's best facilitator with Parker sidelined.

He's definitely caused some head-scratching, jaw-dropping, eye-rolling moments—evidenced in a few poor late-game decisions on multiple occasions—but the Spurs would be lost without Ginobili.

The 13th-year pro is San Antonio's lone backcourt player with the creativity to attack the paint, generate his own shots and, essentially, invent imaginative ways to score. Popovich has an outstanding system, but it's predicated on someone initiating the offense.

As frustrating as Ginobili can be, his 12.8 points and 5.0 assists per outing have been everything the Spurs need with Parker unavailable. In this case, the production overwhelmingly outweighs the problems of Ginobili's mercurial nature.

3. Kawhi Leonard, Small Forward

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When Leonard is on the court, the fourth-year small forward has consistently shown what drives his future-superstar hype machine. He's managed 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per showing—balanced stats unmatched by anyone in the league.

But his 22 season appearances remains the issue. Leonard has been sidelined for 10 consecutive games and 12 of 14 due to a hand injury, one from which Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) notes there is no firm timetable for a return.

San Antonio's perimeter defense has undoubtedly struggled mightily without Leonard, who boasts a team-best 97.5 defensive rating and an on-off defensive split of 10.4 points—better than any teammate by a not-unsubstantial 6.4.

Unlike Parker, who's watched Joseph offset some shortcomings at point guard, Leonard's defensive production simply cannot be replaced a backup.

2. Danny Green, Shooting Guard

Danny Green is a really good shooter. We knew that. Danny Green is a very solid defender. We knew that. Danny Green is not a ball-handling liability. That is a new development.

After a few seasons of San Antonio fans holding their collective breath when Green simply dribbled, he's no longer a complete disaster when not spotting up. In fact, Green has attempted 24.0 percent of his shots inside the lane compared to 20.8 last season.

Plus, Green has repeatedly come up clutch. He buried game-tying, go-ahead or game-sealing triples against the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers while knocking down four consecutive free throws to ice a victory over the Houston Rockets.

And of course, Green has been called upon to pick up tough defensive assignments in Leonard's absence. Opponents have compiled a 47.5 percent effective field-goal percentage with the shooting guard on the floor, which is the Spurs' best individual mark.

Green has netted 12.4 points per game and hit 40.0 percent of three-pointers while holding career-best averages of 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per outing. Yeah, he's been quite important to the 2014-15 team.

1. Tim Duncan, Power Forward

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A cool 38 years old, Tim Duncan has performed at an absurd level.

The Big Fundamental is one of only 12 NBA players currently averaging a double-double. Yes, his 15.5-point, 10.6-rebound marks are a product of his slightly elevated minutes (see Splitter injury, nine season overtime periods) and probably won't last, but Duncan has been stellar this year.

He's No. 1 in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus, No. 6 in blocks per game and No. 10 in rebounds. Duncan has San Antonio's most total points and fourth-best total on-off split.

One of these days, Duncan will stop blowing our minds. But that day has not come, and it doesn't appear likely to arrive soon.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and are accurate as of Jan. 5.

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