30 biggest answers for the 2017-18 NBA season

22. Do the San Antonio Spurs finally take a step back?

What I Said Then: I think the Spurs finally take a step back. And by that, I mean they use the regular season as a dress rehearsal, rest their top players, make the playoffs as a four seed, and still make it to the second round.

What I’m Saying Now: They rested their top player for the entire season. That counts for something, right? No one could have predicted the mess Kawhi Leonard would cause by not playing, then playing, and then not playing again. Without Leonard, the Spurs were an average team in a brutal Western Conference. LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up when he needed to, but if he doesn’t go nuts in the final month of the season, they probably don’t make the playoffs.

The future is murky in San Antonio. Can Aldridge be the best player on a championship team? Probably not. Dejounte Murray and Kyle Anderson are solid players who may grow into All-Stars, but they’ll need to mature fast if San Antonio hopes to keep up out West.

A lot hinges on Leonard. If he returns to the team next season, hungry and committed, things will be fine under Popovich. But if the Spurs don’t feel the same level of trust or Leonard says with no uncertainties that he wants out, they’ll need to re-tool the roster without him.

There’s always a chance that Leonard returns to the scene of the crime and the Spurs upset a Steph-less Warriors in the first round. There’s also a chance that the Phoenix Suns win the NBA title in 2019.