Awkward coaching decisions have led to unstable play and this stat proves it

Mitch Johnson was put in an unbelievably difficult position when he was thrust in charge of the Spurs as head coach after Pop suffered a mild stroke. That wasn't supposed to be the plan. The great coach Gregg Popovich was expected to lead the charge for this year's team. While we await his return in hopes of a full recovery, Johnson's impressive start has made a turn for the worst.

The Spurs are 6-12 in 2025

San Antonio was playing .500 ball in 2024. They were impressing NBA observers everywhere as they were ahead of everyone's predictions for the season. The schedule was easier then, but this team struggled to win games against lesser opponents last year, so the progress was apparent. Their defense was much improved, and they closed games but then everything changed.

The opponents got tougher in January and the season cratered. Losing games in a more difficult month was bound to happen, but the eye test told us something was wrong. They would spend the first half of games in close battles with the other team before being blown out in the second half. It was a theme that developed and continued for the entire month.

It was supposed to be time to exhale when February arrived. The Spurs were about to begin the Rodeo Road Trip, but the competition was easing up. The first game was against the Heat, and while the Silver and Black were on the second night of a back-to-back, Miami was in complete disarray due to the Jimmy Butler drama at that time, but it didn't stop them from beating San Antonio.

It hasn't been great from there. They're 2-4 this month and the two wins aren't that impressive. A one-point win against a faltering Atlanta team where you gave up 125 points, and last night's victory against an ailing Wizards squad that still scored 121.

Mitch Johnson should implement one simple philosophy

Chris Paul or De'Aaron Fox should be on the floor at all times. Last year, the Spurs gathered plenty of evidence that this team performs better with a real point guard on the floor. When they picked up Chris Paul, it allowed them to keep one next to Victor Wembanyama, especially between him and Tre Jones.

Now that Fox is here, there is never a reason not to have either him or CP3 on the floor since they're both expected to play significant minutes. Stephon Castle is having a Rookie of the Year-worthy season, but he's also been better when he isn't the only ball handler and playmaker on the perimeter. The team, as a whole, benefits by keeping an elite point guard on the floor.

In this week's Power Rankings, the Spurs dropped one spot from 20 to 21. It was before last night's Wizards game, but I'm not sure that performance would have moved the needle much anyway. One of the takeaways written by NBA writer John Schuhmann highlighted data from the Fox/Paul-less lineups that only reinforce our point.

"...they played 38 minutes over their four games last week with neither on the floor. They were outscored by 14 points, scoring just 102.4 per 100 possessions, in those minutes." - Schuhmann

When considering the fact that San Antonio lost two games in a row by a combined total of two points, 14 points is pretty significant. Johnson has deployed questionable lineups and implemented odd substitution patterns throughout the season. He's taken guys out as soon as they got on a hot streak, put in combinations of players who don't make sense, left guys in too long, etc.

Again, he was put in a difficult situation. He wasn't supposed to be the one in charge. But he is. He's a professional, and he deserves the respect to be criticized like any other coach would as long as it's fair and honest; and the truth is that Johnson must improve quickly for this team to make the playoffs.