Right after completing the slam dunk, Hansen knew why the Spurs he knew from "history" were defeated by the Grizzlies in a monumental upset.
It couldn't simply be explained away by the restraint. Wasn't Parker and Duncan's pick-and-roll specifically effective against Randolph?
Every other time the Spurs and the Grizzlies met in the playoffs after that, didn't the Spurs thrash the Grizzlies?
In the end, it was because Duncan wasn't up to par that year.
Some Spurs fans loved to praise Popovich, even calling him "Zhuge Vich" as if he was the soul of the team.
But the truth was, as soon as Duncan retired, Popovich lost his edge, and his command became especially rigid on the FIBA court.
To put it plainly, Duncan was the true core of the Spurs. If your core has issues, it would be surprising if the Spurs remained dominant.
