Alarming defensive regression exposed by Spurs power rankings dip

Defense is supposed to be the staple of the Spurs organization. It's the side of the ball that they've hung their hats on for decades and an identity they've been working to reestablish for years now. The roster is composed of players who were almost all projected to be good defenders, from Devin Vassell to Charles Bassey.

Part of the criticism from fans has been their focus on drafting players who can't shoot in favor of defensive guys. Apparently, the hope was that they'd improve their offensive production over time, but if they already had a strong foundation of defense, that was a plus. None of those things are working out right now, and the latest power rankings update put that on full display.

Spurs have been the 4th-worst defensive team in the NBA in January

That's right, folks. After such a pleasantly surprising start to the season, where they not only showed improvement but had stretches as a top-five defense in the league, they've completely collapsed on that side of the floor. There had been ups and downs all year long, but generally, San Antonio kept scores relatively low—enough to be ranked the 13th-highest defense in the league on December 31.

Just 21 days later, they're ranked 18th in the season. That's a significant drop in such a short time, telling us that they've not only been bad, but they've been horrific on that end. When you isolate the eight games played in January, San Antonio shakes out as the 27th-ranked defensive team over that span.

Now, to be as fair as possible, Jeremy Sochan has missed the majority of these games, but that can't be the excuse for such a large swing with so many alleged defenders on this roster.

Even Keldon Johnson was forecast as a "serviceable defender." Tre Jones was supposed to be the "best defensive guard in the draft." Go down the list, and almost every single player was touted as a defender. It hasn't translated, and that's alarming because that's too many picks who aren't shaping up to be what we hoped.

We hoped Devin Vassell would be an elite two-way player and number two option to Victor Wembanyama, but he may just be a third or fourth choice. Keldon spent time as the number one, but we knew he wasn't that. We still hoped he could be a third option, but he's an energy bench player at best.

As far as Vassell and Johnson go, they are the longest-tenured Spurs in their fifth and sixth year, respectively. If they were going to be stars, we would see more flashes of that. But they're both inconsistent on offense, and they're not the defenders San Antonio hoped for.

The front office brought in veterans to help this team learn how to win, but they can't do everything for this ball club. If the Silver and Black want to take the next step, these are the two guys who need to set the tone, and it starts on defense.