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Despite all of the offseason change the San Antonio Spurs have undergone, don’t fall victim to the rumors that they’ll fall short of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

It’s been a long last few months for the San Antonio Spurs, a team that has battled through the departure of their superstar as well as two franchise legends. Amidst all of that turmoil, fans are starting to wonder if they’ve really got it in them to make a 22nd-straight playoff appearance.

It’s a fair point to ponder. With Kawhi Leonard gone and the roster looking far different than it did a year ago, there’s going to be some skepticism. Luckily for the Spurs, they’ve got a fearless head coach in Gregg Popovich who could care less what people think about his team.

Realistically, there’s still plenty of talent for Pop to work with. Leonard may be gone, but the Spurs now have DeMar DeRozan to ruffle the opponent’s feathers for 48 minutes. Sure, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are no longer in town. At their ages, though, there’s only so much they were going to be able to do to propel this club forward.

Yes, it’s going to be extremely difficult to compete in the Western Conference. Heck, it was a year ago when the difference between the third seed and missing the playoffs altogether was a whopping three games. Don’t think for a second that’ll phase one of the NBA’s most resilient franchises, though.

With that in mind, let’s look at a few reasons why the Spurs will book themselves a trip to the 2019 NBA Playoffs. You probably didn’t hear it here first, but it’s still worth acknowledging.