The old power! The future is here! When can we return to the playoffs?

The night in San Antonio may finally be getting brighter.

When Popovich steps down as coach, French genius Benyama returns healthy, and Fox signs a maximum salary, the trend in the Holy City may really start to change.

But the question also arises:

After years of decline and missing the playoffs for many seasons, are the young Spurs really ready to return to the playoffs? Or are they still just an expected team?

The past six years have been difficult for the Spurs. Since bidding farewell to the playoffs in 2019, this team has fallen into a trough. Who can accept that a giant team that has won five championships and dominated the Western Conference has been blocked from the playoffs for six consecutive years.

Going back to last season, I thought that the rise of Wenban would ignite the clarion call for counterattack, but fate played another joke. Venous thrombosis caused this unicorn to bid farewell to the season early. But what is really surprising is that under acting coach Mickey Johnson, the Spurs improved from 22 wins to 34 wins. This is a period of real growth.

And if Wenban is the engine of this battleship, then a series of operations during the offseason directly set sail for this ship.

Let's first look at the lineup. The team offered 229 million for four years to lock Fox. This signal is enough to show the Spurs' thinking. Speed ​​breakthrough and stable field control are the soul of the Spurs' offensive and defensive transformation. Re-signing McLaughlin also provides an insurance option for the backcourt rotation.

After the contract extension, the Spurs took Dylan Harper second overall in the draft and Carter Bryant with the 14th overall pick; in the free market, they signed Cornet and veteran Olynyk. Although the two are not well-known, they can at least support the defensive bottom line during the team's rotation.

As for other people leaving the team, Branham, Paul, and Wesley are all candidates for the transition period. The Spurs no longer need trial and error. What they want now is results.

For most young teams, if they want to stabilize their system, defense is the first step. In a sense, the Spurs' defense is basically a system that revolves around Wen Ban. When he played last season, the Spurs' defensive efficiency ranked among the top eight in the league. During this period, he personally averaged 3.8 blocks per game, leading the league. What's even more frightening is that this was his performance before the injury.

Of course, outside of Wenban, the Spurs' perimeter defense is still a shortcoming.

Sohan can indeed defend positions one to four, but the young Harper and Castle still need to learn how to deal with top ball-holders.

To borrow from coach Mickey Johnson:

"Peripheral defensive stability is the last piece of the puzzle for us to strive for 50 wins."

In addition to defense is offense. The Spurs' offensive efficiency last season only ranked 19th in the league. Judging from this trend, if the Spurs want to make a qualitative change, they must change something in the new season.

The joining of Fox has already set up a tactical engine for the Spurs. As the core ball-handler, coupled with Wenban's outside rolls and rolls, the duo's pick-and-roll power is naturally threatening enough. But apart from that, the Spurs' first problem is still the outside three-pointer.

Harper, Castle, Fox and others are not qualified shooters. If the outside shooting cannot be opened, it will naturally be difficult for Wenban to open up the inside offensive space.

Borrowing from Coach Mickey's interview, the Spurs in the new season focus on fast pace, speeding up offense and defense, increasing the proportion of transitions, allowing Wenban to catch the ball and attack more on the move, and reduce the passive situation of the young team after falling into a half-court battle.

Some reporters reported that the Spurs have made special adjustments to Wenban's shot structure in the new season. In the new season, he will reduce long-distance shooting and focus more on finishing at the basket. Considering that his shooting percentage at the basket was as high as 80.9% last season, this change is fully capable of taking Wenban's offense to the next level.

In addition to the players, the Spurs management also finally began to face the team during the offseason, sending away unqualified young players one after another, using Olynyk to fill the experience gap, and offering maximum salary to the core of the team. The subtext behind this series of operations is obvious:

The Spurs are going to start winning in the new season.

In addition to high-quality operations, the Spurs also hold one of the best draft assets in the league, and the Spurs can initiate transactions to strengthen at any time. As for new coach Mickey Johnson, he finally has his new opportunity. In the past, he was a student under Popovich, but in the new season, he will officially take over the team's banner and become the helmsman of the Spurs' new era.

From the perspective of the new season, there are three problems that the Spurs need to solve:

The positioning of the three backcourt players: Fox is responsible for the main point, how will Castle and Harper share the ball?

Team defensive discipline: Can the defensive slogan emphasized by the new coach be translated into actual game content?

Tactical system innovation: The Spurs' offense was already mediocre last season, and new content is needed in the new season.

If Mitch can solve the above problems and successfully lead the team back to the playoffs, even if he is only marginally eighth, he can still maintain his position in San Antonio.

In addition to the team, Wenbanyama also needs to be specially mentioned.

Since entering the league, Wenban has averaged 3.6 blocks and 3.8 blocks per game in the two seasons respectively. The last time the league averaged 3.5 blocks per game was Whiteside ten years ago. What's even more noteworthy is that the league has not seen an inside man who averaged 4 blocks per game for 40 years, and the one who reached this level before was the Hall of Fame-level Mutombo.

If Bunyama can stay healthy in the new season, he has every chance to refresh this historical record in the new season.

More importantly, Bunyama's upper limit may not be just this. He is fully capable of hitting the regular season MVP on the offensive end after taking over the team's ace card, and looking forward to DPOY on the defensive end..

Just imagine, for a 21-year-old young center, if he can win two awards at the same time in the new season, this will also be a historical level picture.

For the Spurs, this team's basketball culture has always pursued process, and now, this process seems to be finally bearing fruit.

If Wenban remains healthy and Fox can maintain stability in the pick-and-roll, the team's outside shooting percentage can improve in the new season. The Spurs have every opportunity to make great progress in the new season, and returning to the playoffs is also a goal worth looking forward to.

By then, the Spurs we are familiar with will really be back.