Last Season: Best team in the NBA until the last night of the season. Signature wins over every contending team. A renaissance year from Manu Ginobili, a return to good for Tony Parker, a quiet vintage year from Tim Duncan. Yes, it was a wonderful year for the Spurs. Right up until the playoffs started. Then it threw itself into the trash can, vomited, and fell asleep in its own wretch. The Spurs were a regular season beast that wilted in the playoffs. It was like the bizarro Spurs. There were signs, though, of the impending collapse. The Spurs’ defense wasn’t their strength, it was their offense that saw them through. And just as San Antonio showed so many teams in their prime, it’s defense that does in those regular season behemoths. The Spurs fell to Memphis in a flurry of interior scoring from Randolph and Gasol, and with Manu Ginobili not at full strength, they couldn’t overcome. Embarrassing, dispiriting, and ominous. So yeah, didn’t exactly end on a high note. [cont'd]