Does San Antonio Spurs' Latest Loss Mean Title Window Is Finally Closing?

For years now, it has seemed that the San Antonio Spurs' window was closing. With aging superstars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and, to a lesser extent, Tony Parker, one of the best franchises of the modern era defied expectations each and every year.

Just as many NBA experts would claim it was time to move on from considering the Spurs a legitimate title contender, the old guard would find a second wind, and head coach Gregg Popovich would turn an unheralded player into a potential NBA Finals MVP.

But with Wednesday’s dismantling by the Portland Trail Blazers, a game San Antonio wasn’t really in after halftime, the inevitable might finally be upon us.

The Spurs' time, which has lasted an unprecedented 15 years between their first title and the most recent, is finally up.

On Wednesday night, San Antonio kept things close heading into halftime, only trailing by one, but the Trail Blazers took control from there. Behind a 31-point night from Wesley Matthews, Portland handed the Spurs a 16-point defeat. It was San Antonio's fourth consecutive loss.

Looking at the standings in the West right now, the Spurs are in seventh place and seemingly in a comfortable position to make the playoffs this year. But with a healthy Oklahoma City hot on their heels in eighth place, and the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans getting Anthony Davis back in the next couple of weeks, that spot isn’t as comfortable as it has been in recent years.

Usually looking at a top-two seed at this point, San Antonio is going to be the underdog against whoever it faces in the first round of the playoffs. Whether it's the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies or Houston Rockets, it would be an uphill battle to even advance to the second round, let alone push for a title run.

Don’t get me wrong on this: If I had to choose any coach, possibly in history, to lead a team to a win in a seven-game series, it would be Popovich. The things that Pop has managed to do in the past few seasons have been nothing short of miraculous, and they put him on the short list of greatest NBA coaches of all time.

But there is only so much magic a coach can work, and while Kawhi Leonard is a burgeoning superstar and Danny Green is a viable second option, the rest of the team is fraying at the edges.

Duncan is in his 18th season in the league. He's is 38 years old and averaging 14.7 points per game, his second-lowest career total. Parker is in his 14th year; Ginobili is in his 13th and nearly as old as Duncan is.

As the season approaches its stretch run, Pop usually would have the option of resting some of his veterans in order to keep their legs fresh for a deep run in the playoffs, with a top seed already well in hand. But with a battle to even make the playoffs still going on, there won't be much rest for the weary, which could prove yet another issue for the team.

Last season was magical, with the Spurs waltzing through the playoffs after a seven-game battle in the first round with the Dallas Mavericks, but this time around things look different.

San Antonio doesn’t look like the same team that has made the Finals in each of the last three years, and with an even stronger Western Conference (as impossible as that sounds) this year, a playoff run is hard to imagine.

Then again, this is the Spurs. For all of this talk, would anyone be shocked if Pop managed to rally the team come April, the Spurs went on a magical run to the Finals and Duncan retired after being named Finals MVP for the fourth time?

This could be the end for the magical run San Antonio has put together over the past 15 years, but we declare this team is too old to win it all every season. Could this just be another one of those seasons?