Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expected the team to come together quicker after a few offseason tweaks.
Newcomers Antonio McDyess and Richard Jefferson are off to slow starts in San Antonio.
"What I'm learning is we lost more corporate knowledge than I thought," said Popovich. "It's taken a little bit more time than I thought to get everybody on the same page."
The Spurs are 13-10 entering Friday's action.
"It's a new team, a new system, and I'm already a slow starter anyway," McDyess said. "You add that together, and it's super slow right now."