Are the San Antonio Spurs Done?

The saying goes that death and taxes are the only certainties in life.

I'd say the San Antonio Spurs making the playoffs is a close third. Love 'em or hate 'em, you absolutely MUST respect the Spurs franchise. In this day and age of egomaniac athletes and teams, the Spurs seem to be stuck in the gentlemanly old days of winning graciously.

In recent memory, the only time a Spurs player has made headlines during the off season was just over a year ago when Tony Parker wed Hollywood sizzler, Eva Longoria.

It wasn't enough that Tony had just been named as NBA Finals MVP after his team had won the NBA championship, he then went and rubbed every red-blooded man's nose in it even further by taking the hottest chick in the world off the market.

Geez Tony, leave something for the rest of us will ya !

But maybe, just maybe, the Spurs best days have just slipped past.

When the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated San Antonio from last seasons playoffs, it ended the Spurs quest to win back-to-back NBA championships. Despite winning the title in four of the last nine seasons, they have never been able to replicate their success in consecutive seasons.

The Spurs have been the league’s most dominant and consistent franchise over the last decade. They have been to the finals four times, winning it on each trip (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007). They have advanced to the Western Conference Finals on three other occasions (2001, 2006 and 2008), giving them seven appearances in the last 10 years. The three years that they didn’t make it that far, they at the very least qualified for the playoffs (2000, 2002 and 2004), a record any franchise would be proud of.

Yet, while Spurs fans have had lots to celebrate over the last decade, there is evidence to suggest that the sun might be setting on what’s been a golden era in southern Texas.

Firstly, they are aging. Of their core, Tim Duncan is 32-years-old, Manu Ginobili is 31, Bruce Bowen is 37 and Michael Finley is 35. The only good news on that front is that Tony Parker is only 26.

Head Coach Gregg Popovich refused to use age as an excuse for his team’s demise in the playoffs, but even he must realize that his team will require an injection of youth if they want to continue to challenge for the NBA crown.

The Western Conference was by far the deeper and stronger of the two conferences last year and it figures to get even tougher this season. Teams like the Portland Trailblazers, New Orleans Hornets, and Utah Jazz (among others) have promising young teams, and the Spurs will struggle to keep pace with their current roster.

The only problem San Antonio’s continued success has given them over the last decade, is that they have never been able to rely on a high draft pick to keep their roster strong. Instead, they have been forced to do their homework on lesser-known players and to trust their very reliable scouting staff.

Since selecting Tim Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 draft, the Spurs have never had a pick higher than 24th in any draft, yet they have still managed to draft Tony Parker (28th, 2001), Manu Ginobili (57th, 1999), Luis Scola (56th, 2002) and Beno Udrih (28th, 2004).

Scola and Udrih of course are no longer with San Antonio, after they were basically given away. It’s not that San Antonio gave up on them, they just didn’t have space for them in the rotation. Scola and Udrih both excelled so vastly with their new teams, that San Antonio might now regret giving them away so cheaply.

Secondly, at some point it’s reasonable to expect that the desire to keep on winning might start to fade for some of these players. Several guys from 2007's triumph returned for a shot at repeating and while everyone likes to win, for players heading towards the end of their career, once a championship is secured, the burning flame to compete can sometimes diminish.

However, Duncan’s hunger appears to still be as great as it’s ever been. He is the ultimate professional and has won pretty much every major team and individual accolade a player can, most on more than one occasion. He doesn’t need to prove anything more to anyone. Regardless of what happens from here, he’ll be considered one of the best to ever play the game.

What makes Duncan’s achievements even more amazing is that he’s done it all while playing for one team and he’s only played for one coach. It's hard to imagine Popovich without Duncan. There is an easy, respectful rapport between them and you wonder if they have ever had a bad word to say to one another.

While Duncan is still the leader of this team, Tony Parker has proved that he is ready to take over the reigns.

Thirdly, they say that familiarity breeds contempt. That may be true, but in San Antonio’s case, that’s not such a bad thing—they are only familiar with winning.

You only need to look at the first round of last season's playoffs when they dispatched the Phoenix Suns in five games. Then again, San Antonio always beats Phoenix in the playoffs. Upon reflection, that first round series probably said more about the direction the Suns were heading in rather than the Spurs.

In San Antonio’s second round matchup with New Orleans, the Spurs had to rely on all their playoff experience to beat the younger Hornets. The signs were there though, as the Spurs looked tired at times during the series. In hindsight, it was probably only the Hornets’ lack of playoff experience that prevented them from defeating the Spurs.

When the Spurs and the Lakers met in the conference finals, it was billed as a classic rematch of their earlier playoff battles. It wasn’t to be though, as the Lakers comfortably defeated the Spurs in five games. Much of the credit went directly to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, but it’s possible that L.A. beat up a weary opponent.

One of the major reasons why San Antonio has been so successful over the last decade has been their adaptability—they’ve changed, yet remained the same.

Several players have come and gone and most have abided by a code which trades ego for the chance to win. They only true constants throughout the decade have been Popovich and Duncan.

It would be foolish to write the Spurs off completely, but it would be equally foolish to think that they can continue winning forever.

We know San Antonio will make the playoffs again this season, just as they'll be a tough matchup for whoever they meet.

If the sun is setting on this current Spurs’ dynasty, at least they’ve got one helluva tan to show for it.