It's that time of the year againthe San Antonio Spurs, fresh off an NBA championship, are being excluded from lists of contenders.The only difference this time is that the team's fanbase has seemingly joined in on the action.The Spurs are currently in the midst of a rapid decline. Signs of struggle have been apparent throughout the season. The problems peaked in December, when a number of playersheadlined by Kawhi Leonard (hand) and Tony Parker (hamstring)missed extended time.However, the team has hardly rebounded as expected. The Rodeo Road Tripusually an opportunity for the squad to make a run at the top seedhas been a disaster, with the Spurs currently on a four-game losing streak during which they've fallen to both contenders and lottery-bound teams.With the postseason rapidly approaching, the Spurs seem nowhere near ready to defend their title. While various reasons exist for their struggles, the downward spiral of Parker tops the list.At one point, Parker was the team's undisputed best player. Through last year's regular season, he challenged Chris Paul as the best guard in the league. An efficient scorer and distributor, Parker had a spot among the NBA elite; few would deny it.The Parker on display this season, though, hardly looks like the player who had previously been elected to three-consecutive All-Star Games.A simple glance at him in action suggests that he's lost a step, either due to his injury or some other inexplicable reason. A quick look at his stats suggests the same conclusion.Not only have Parker's scoring and assist averages dropped since his 2012 peak, butaccording to Basketball-Reference.comhisoverall plus-minus and win shares have also fallen.The question is this: Without Parker playing elite basketball, do the Spurs have a shot at the title'Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recently weighed in with his opinion, viaJeff McDonald of theSan Antonio Express-News:His aggressiveness is a huge key for us, because of his ability to penetrate and get to the rim, and he hasnt done that like he has in the past. Its because of a lack of confidence in that leg and a lack of conditioning, a combination of those two things.I dont know, but hes serious about it and thats good. Hes the main part of our game as far as pace and scoring. He makes a lot happen when hes getting 18, 20, 26 points.Generally speaking, Pop's right. Though the Spurs have relied on a balanced scoring attack in the past, Parker was the team's go-to guy when they needed a quick score. Though far from embodying the superstar prototype, he was the closest thing the team had to a LeBron James- or Kevin Durant-esque frontman.With San Antonio struggling to get easy looks, the squad desperately needs him to take over and snap any teamwide slumps.Not only has Parker been unable to rescue the team from rough patches on offense, but he's also been the root cause. Taking just 24 percent of his field-goal attempts at the rim, Parker has been less explosive than in year's past. And while the obvious consequence is lower-percentage shots from his end, his inability to attack the rim has hurt San Antonio's overall ability to space the floor.Shooters aren't getting the same space they had in previous seasons, and the team's post presences haven'tbenefitedfrom the same drive-and-dish tactic that once led to easy buckets and bountiful Parker assists.Parker is, without question, bringing the team down. He's playing at a level so far from that we are accustomed to that it's difficult to processandeven more difficult to imagine the consequences.And despite the presence of the strongest backup point guard rotation in the league, it's silly to expect San Antonio to compete at the highest level with Parker in such a slump.His recovery doesn't have to be sweeping. As last year's playoffs showed, Parker doesn't have to be at his absolute best for the team to produce big results.But the rest of the roster hasn't lived up to last season's standards, either, making it difficult to completely mask Parker's struggles.Still, Tim Duncan is playing at aninconceivablyhigh level, while Leonard's 2014 postseasoncampaignsolidified the notion that he could shoulder a star's burden on the big stage.However, Parker isn't playing at a level where he's making even a minimal impact. He isn't even playing at a level where he is only hurting himself.The former superstar's problems have taken a toll on the rest of the team, and unless the leader of its offense can take a few steps in the right direction before the playoffs arrive, San Antoniocurrently lost in the middle of what seems like the deepest Western Conference in a long timeis undoubtedly headed for an early exit.Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
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