DeMar DeRozan might be a free throw line choke-artist, and LaMarcus Aldridge may be a slow loafer with an attitude, but Patty Mills is still in San Antonio, showing the rest of the team some of the magic from the glory days of the Spurs, hitting a game-winner nearly as time expired in overtime.
The Spurs haven’t been looking at all like the Spurs of yesteryear. Not even close. This seems to be the season where the magic runs out, where Popovich’s wizardry is no longer able to hold everything together. Personally, I’m happy about that, because Spurs fans have been enjoying championships and playoff runs for so long that they need a little break to let their heads shrink down to normal sizes. But it’s also kind of sad, in a way, like a part of my childhood is slipping away, never to return. And it gets even sadder when you see a mop-headed Tim Duncan sitting on the bench (and not the part of the bench for the players, even though he could totally still play).
If they ever get rid of Mills, that would be it. All ties to the glory days would be severed (Marco Belinelli doesn’t count), and San Antonio would become just another basketball team. Screw Popovich. He didn’t make the Spurs. The players made the Spurs. Mills made the Spurs. I think they realize that, and are going to keep him around for as long as he wants to be kept around, but you never know.