The NBA's Western Conference has changed so much over the offseason that many people don't really give the San Antonio Spurs a chance of being one of the top teams in the conference.

The entire landscape of the conference has changed thanks to the arrival of LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors signing DeMarcus Cousins, and the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder retaining Chris Paul and Paul George respectively.

Not only that, but the Spurs have also lost former two-time Kia Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP winner Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors via trade.

While San Antonio did receive DeMar DeRozan in return in that deal, many people still don't give them a chance in the West because of how much talent has arrived in the conference this summer.

However, Rudy Gay of the Spurs believes people are underestimating what the team can do on the court next season as they've already proven quite recently that they can travel down the road of adversity and succeed.

During a recent interview with Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News, Gay said that people should expect more from San Antonio this season because even last year without Kawhi they were still able to make the playoffs and keep up with the pack.

He said: "Why were we expected to be so much better last year? Because Kawhi may have come back? He didn’t, and we were still a playoff team, really a couple of wins away from being a third or fourth seed in the West.

"They don’t have many expectations for us. But the Spurs always exceed the expectations. Don’t expect anything less this year."

Recent over/under odds by Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas have the Spurs at 43.5 wins, which, if accomplished, would likely keep them out of the playoff spots next season.

Obviously, Gay doesn't believe this will happen, as he thinks the Spurs will exceed expectations. However, with how competitive the Western Conference has become thanks to this summer alone, you can see why some people don't think they will be in the postseason next year.

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