Can you count them out? Can you ever count out the defending champions San Antonio Spurs?

You may want to, but they won’t allow it.

Every time someone doubts the Spurs, they start playing out of their minds, making critics eat their words.

That’s exactly what’s happening once again in the 2014-2015 NBA season. The Spurs started off slowly as they were plagued by early-season injuries, resulting into a 34-23 start. However, they have won 11 out of the last 14 games and are currently 45-26, sitting sixth in the ultra-tough Western Conference.

The only losses for the Spurs during that stretch were to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and New York Knicks. The Knicks one was extremely dreadful, but the other two losses were forgiving. Actually, the loss to the Cavaliers could count as a moral victory for San Antonio since Kyrie Irving was simply on fire in that game, posting a career-high 57 points and singlehandedly carrying Cleveland to a three-point overtime victory with his hot shooting.

It seems like every year people question the Spurs’ age, but San Antonio continues to shock those pessimists by playing basketball the way it’s supposed to be played – as a team.

For the Spurs, age is just a number. When you play good team ball, it doesn’t matter how old you are because the Spurs find quality shots on offense that even a 50-year-old player could make. It’s only on the defensive end where age shows at times, and that is why Kawhi Leonard is the X-Factor for this team.

Many people forget that Leonard was the Finals MVP last year, mainly for his suffocating defense on LeBron James. Leonard is not going to make the highlight reel every single night, but his ability to contain superstar players on a nightly basis is what matters most for Gregg Popovich’s team.

Leonard, 23, is ranked 14th in defensive win shares (an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense) at 3.5 in only 53 games played this season. He is also number one in steals, averaging 2.26 per game. It’s no surprise that the Spurs play better with Leonard in the lineup.

In fact, in 18 games without Leonard, the Spurs went 9-9. With him, they are 36-17. Despite all the early season losses, the Spurs are only four games behind the second seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the loss column. Thus, they have a strong chance to still climb up in the standings and take a top two or three seed heading into the playoffs.

The Spurs are still sixth in true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage. In addition, they are top five in overall three-point percentage and field goal percentage. Everything for them pinpoints to the defensive end, which only succeeds with a healthy Kawhi Leonard.

Otherwise, the Spurs are in good shape to make another finals run and should still be considered the favorites out West, despite the Golden State Warriors’ excellent play. San Antonio is still a well-oiled machine, and if Wednesday night’s shellacking of the Oklahoma City Thunder proved anything, it’s that the Spurs are back to form, playing like they did late last season.

Please, for the last time, let’s stop counting out the San Antonio Spurs. By now, people should have learned their lesson that the Spurs are never out of it as long as Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan are around.