Loss to Pelicans revealed sobering truth about Spurs' season

The San Antonio Spurs fell at home to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night, 104-95. After the dust had settled following the loss, it began to become even clearer that this Spurs team is still learning how to consistently earn wins against less talented teams. And all things considered, that's normal.

It's been an interesting year for this team. The Spurs came into the year with expectations that they could be a strong contender to reach the play-in in the Western Conference. Instead, they vaulted up the standings from the start of the season, finding themselves among the league's elite record-wise from very early on.

This changed the perception of the team for some. Many began to think San Antonio could actually have a real chance to make a deep run in the playoffs not down the road, but in this current season. The problem is, that thinking overlooked one crucial detail: How this team is still set up.

The Spurs are learning how to win as a team

The fact is that the Spurs are set up to operate on two timelines at once right now: A winning one, and a developmental one. That doesn't mean that the two can't coexist, but it does mean that sometimes things are going to look strange to those who don't see exactly what's going on here.

San Antonio is talented enough to beat the best teams in the league consistently. But at the same time, they're a young group. They're going to make some mistakes, show inconsistency, and sometimes be a different team on Thursday than they were on Monday. That's just the reality of having a bunch of somewhat raw talent you're trying to make mesh.

And the natural outcome of this being the case is that you're going to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder multiple times while also being able to collapse on your home floor against the New Orleans Pelicans. It's just the nature of having a team set up like the Spurs currently are right now. Sometimes, taking care of business against a lesser team is something that escapes a group of young guys. That doesn't mean they're incompetent at all.

But the good thing is, none of this is unexpected. There were some that were expecting this group to just be an anomaly and be able to skip the step where you struggle before achieving big success. In reality, that was never likely. The Spurs aren't frauds, they're simply exactly who they should be at this stage of the game. Soon enough, losses like these will disappear, and the wins will come more consistently.