Photo credit: Associated Press

Before this NBA season started, I expected a few things:

  1. The Golden State Warriors were going to decimate everything and everyone.
  2. The Spurs would still be pretty good, but, barring any major injuries to Golden State they’d be a tier below.
  3. I’d still hate the Houston Rockets with all my heart.

I saw things like Manu Ginobili’s big contract as a sure sign that the Spurs were going to spend the season figuring out how to transition from the Tim Duncan era while sending off the rest of the old guard in comfort.

I saw the Pau Gasol signing as a contingency plan. Hey, crazy things happen in pro sports! What if Kevin Durant and Steph Curry get into a three point shoot-off in practice and both ended up irreparably dislocating their shoulders just three days before the playoffs start? You’d sure be glad San Antonio went out and got Gasol if that path to championship number six opened up!

I saw the drafting of Dejounte Murray as an absolute steal, and hoped that he’d spend the year learning how to take advantage of his raw talent with intensive mentoring from Tony Parker and Ginobili.

Long story short, I saw this year as a rebuilding year, but not your typical rebuilding year. When you’re rebuilding with a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in his prime at small forward, a perennial all-star and midrange mastermind at power forward, and 7 NBA championships between the other 3 starters, you’ve probably got just as good a chance as anyone.

Except it didn’t seem that way given how the landscape of the Association changed in the offseason. When Durant joined the team that was already going to be a major frontrunner for the championship, the odds that San Antonio – a team that struggled mightily on defense against young, athletic squads last year – would be in the mix were long.

So what did the Spurs do to the Warriors on opening night? Walked right into Oracle Arena and kicked off the post-TD era with a 29 point beatdown, completely changing my expectations for the season, for better or worse.

See, going into the season I would have expected some of these dumb losses like Utah and the Rockets at home. I would have expected to lose close games on the road to Chicago. I planned on having thoughts like, “Ah well… new team, transition year, these things are going to happen.”

I wanted to be pleased when the Spurs did well, and I always wanted to be pleased with their development when they lost.

But now? Now I’m livid when they come out flat and throw away games to the Utahs, Chicagos and Orlandos of the world. I want to throw my phone out the window when I check the box score and see San Antonio gave up nearly 40 points in any given quarter.

I’m upset because I don’t feel like the Spurs are a pretty good team that’s risen to the occasion for a few impressive victories. I feel like they’re a great team that’s only playing second fiddle because of their inability to get out of their own way.

It’s a position of luxury to feel that way, but that makes it even more maddening. It might look like San Antonio has an edge on Golden State because of their season opening victory, but you can’t make that statement after just one game. The Spurs and Warriors face off again in San Antonio on March 11 in a game that will be very telling of both teams’ growth.

Will the Spurs evolve into a consistent offensive machine?

Will they find that killer instinct?

Will they start putting together complete games from start to finish?

Or are they going to prove that they are the kind of team that stumbles into wins over bottom-feeders like Dallas, but has the ability to blow out Minnesota?

Setting expectations for San Antonio was incredibly difficult before the season started, but with just over a quarter of the season in the books, it’s somehow even harder to decide what to expect next.

Oh, and I definitely still hate the Rockets.