What Happened to the San Antonio Spurs?

The San Antonio Spurs were the top seed in the Western Conference. They won 61 regular season games. However, in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the Spurs were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in six games in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the league. What happened to the San Antonio Spurs? How did they fall so far, so fast?

Injuries
Tim Duncan suffered an ankle injury late in the year. Manu Ginobili was playing with an elbow brace.

Age
Duncan is now 35 years old. Ginobili will be turning 34. Teams get old and that appears to have happened to the Spurs.

Grizzlies
Don’t discount the Grizzlies. They played very well to end the regular season. Against the Spurs, they were flawless for long stretches.

Zach Randolph was just too good (Image: TSN.ca)