CBS power rankings. M Moore giving props to Spurs

[Brazil]

Power Rankings: Spurs using time this season to their advantage

By Matt Moore (http://www.cbssports.com/columns/writers/moore) | CBSSports.com Senior NBA Blogger


http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/basketball/nba/img18269694.jpg The Spurs' top scorers, Parker, Duncan and Ginobili, are averaging just 28.8 minutes per game. (Getty Images)
Updated April 3
I've described this season frequently as "the season without reason." The lockout screwed everything up. Teams didn't have long enough training camps to get any rhythm or cohesion. Guys came in out of shape. The schedule walloped players about a month in and really dragged the stats down. Injuries have been out of control, coaches have been fired and every losing streak is exacerbated because you're playing so many games in such a short span.







So we thought things would look bonkers at the end of the year.
Instead? Look what we've got.


The Thunder are at the top, riding high on their momentum. Reigning MVP Derrick Rose is out, but you can bet the Bulls will be right back at the top when he returns. A team with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is near the top, but consistently disappointing.


Then look what else is there.
The San Antonio Spurs have been a force in this league for 13 years, a constant championship contender. This was supposed to be the year the Spurs weren't for real, that they would fade gently back. Instead, this team looks significantly better than any Spurs team since 2005, including their 2007 championship team. The Spurs' long-term success is either a reinforcement of the idea that good management will always keep you competitive or proof that you absolutely must get a once-in-a-lifetime player if you want to contend consistently.
The Spurs aren't a defensive juggernaut, but they get the job done. And the offense is out of this world. They have the best chance of any team to stop Oklahoma City.


Meanwhile, guess who else decided to show up. The Celtics jump seven spots this week in the rankings and are back to their old unstoppable ways. It remains to be seen if they timed their peak right, but credit needs to go to everyone in that organization for sticking together and weathering the storm.
And idling in melodrama as always, but still one of the fiercest teams in the land, are the Lakers. Where they always are, near the top.
This may be the season without reason, but cold, hard logic continues to dominate discussions about the 2012 NBA Championship.



http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/18270960/power-rankings-nash-may-have-suns-on-verge-of-playoff-berth

[DesignatedT]

Please just stay healthy. I just want the regular season to end before something terrible happens.

[Brazil]

Please just stay healthy. I just want the regular season to end before something terrible happens.

http://www.guzer.com/pictures/boy_dog_pray.jpg
(http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=861&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=Fks-GkAImVbwDM:&imgrefurl=http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/84518-animal-of-pray&docid=5ub0pJATKk2pHM&imgurl=http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2008/01/dogprayEPA_450x400.jpg&w=450&h=400&ei=RkV7T5SiEoOc9gSY74CPBQ&zoom=1)

[Mel_13]

Please just stay healthy. I just want the regular season to end before something terrible happens.

Yes.

We haven't had a healthy postseason roster since 2007. I'd really like to see this team go at it full strength.

[JRHernandez88]

I don't know if what we're seeing from the celtics is going to be consistent but they look like they're going to start coming together right about now. The Heat have been slumping as of late though so let's see what happens when we play them tomorow.

[spursince#99]

Yeah at this point the longer the season goes on, the more I fear injury

[Seventyniner]

Is this team really better than 2007? I guess time will tell, but that's a bold statement to make.

[SpursRock20]

Is this team really better than 2007? I guess time will tell, but that's a bold statement to make.

I think it was bolder to say 2005. Yeah, we have a much deeper team since then, but Manu and Tim were 7 years younger.

[spurs1990]

The San Antonio Spurs have been a force in this league for 13 years, a constant championship contender.




The Spurs were pretty solid in 1998, 1996, and 1995. The latter they had the best record in the league. Went on a 17 game winning streak in '96 as well.

I think you can say 17 years. Don't know too much about them prior to '95 so if any old timers recall, we may increase the span.

[ViceCity84]

Is this team really better than 2007? I guess time will tell, but that's a bold statement to make.

2007 team far superior- DEFENSE and Duncan much better.

[GSH]

I think he's dead on about the Spurs. (And the Celtics, too, by the way.) Except for the part about this team being better than '07 - but he could still be right about '06.

'06 was more than good enough to win it all, but had some serious depth problems. Nazr and Rasho were pretty limiting in the playoffs. NVE was crap as a backup PG, and Beno was Crap Light. Horry was good, but only in limited minutes. TBH, the biggest reason that team didn't go all the way was because of how thin the rotation got, after the first 6 players.

'07 Finley, Barry, and Bowen were all three still playing at a high level. Bowen shot .446 from 3P in the playoffs, and Finley shot .419) Oberto was fresh, and it was Horry's last good season. That was a good team that played the kind of defense a championship team needs.

'08 was the year that Barry could have made 3 FT's at the end of game 5, to take their series with the Lakers to 3-2, so that they could have won the next two to come back from a 3-1 deficit. That team probably over-achieved as it was.

'09 was the first round exit to the Mavs. That team featured the corpse of Micheal Finley, Zombie Udoka, and a chronically-injured Manu. The Spurs brought in Drew Gooden at the end, in an attempt to improve.

'10 was the first RJ year. I should probably leave it at that. But don't forget Bogans, The Disappearing Roger Mason, Theo Ratliff, and an under-performing Ian Mahinmi.

'11 - let's just skip 11, and say that they weren't as good as this season.

[sandman]

The Spurs were pretty solid in 1998, 1996, and 1995. The latter they had the best record in the league. Went on a 17 game winning streak in '96 as well.

I think you can say 17 years. Don't know too much about them prior to '95 so if any old timers recall, we may increase the span.

This is the 23rd year since DRob came on board.

22 winning seasons (including current year)
20 seasons of 50+ wins/equivalent winning % (including current year)
(other two seasons were 47 and 49 wins)
22 playoff appearances
22 1st or 2nd place in division
16 of 22 playoffs made it out of first round
7 Conference or League Finals appearances

The first 7 years of DRob's career the Spurs may have been been the team that could not make the big playoff jump into the finals, but there is supporting evidence that this team has been a force in the league since he entered. Being a dominant team may not have started until Duncan came, but they were a legitimate 50-win/second round playoff team.

[spurs1990]

I think he's dead on about the Spurs. (And the Celtics, too, by the way.) Except for the part about this team being better than '07 - but he could still be right about '06.

'06 was more than good enough to win it all, but had some serious depth problems. Nazr and Rasho were pretty limiting in the playoffs. NVE was crap as a backup PG, and Beno was Crap Light. Horry was good, but only in limited minutes. TBH, the biggest reason that team didn't go all the way was because of how thin the rotation got, after the first 6 players.

'07 Finley, Barry, and Bowen were all three still playing at a high level. Bowen shot .446 from 3P in the playoffs, and Finley shot .419) Oberto was fresh, and it was Horry's last good season. That was a good team that played the kind of defense a championship team needs.

'08 was the year that Barry could have made 3 FT's at the end of game 5, to take their series with the Lakers to 3-2, so that they could have won the next two to come back from a 3-1 deficit. That team probably over-achieved as it was.

'09 was the first round exit to the Mavs. That team featured the corpse of Micheal Finley, Zombie Udoka, and a chronically-injured Manu. The Spurs brought in Drew Gooden at the end, in an attempt to improve.

'10 was the first RJ year. I should probably leave it at that. But don't forget Bogans, The Disappearing Roger Mason, Theo Ratliff, and an under-performing Ian Mahinmi.

'11 - let's just skip 11, and say that they weren't as good as this season.

Your recap is depressing and, for me, instantly dispells the notion that the FO has been singularly unblemished in compiling rosters. What a damn waste.

[gambit1990]

Yeah at this point the longer the season goes on, the more I fear injury

especially with what, 16 games in 23 days?
:(

[TampaDude]

Please just stay healthy. I just want the regular season to end before something terrible happens.

^ this :toast

[timvp]

There's no way this team could be as good as the 2007 Spurs. That team still had Duncan in his prime (the last year of his prime but still his prime). That trumps everything else.

In fact, there's a decent argument that the 2007 Spurs were the best Spurs team of all-time. It was the closest year to having the Big 3 all in their primes.

[spurs10]

Yes.

We haven't had a healthy postseason roster since 2007. I'd really like to see this team go at it full strength.
Man, that would be nice!
:ihit

[housious]

We will fucking dominate the Celtics tomorrow as long as Pop doesn't randomly rest the Big 3.

The only teams that can beat this team healthy in the playoffs are LA and Chicago.

Miami is an absolute fucking joke.

[phyzik]

There's no way this team could be as good as the 2007 Spurs. That team still had Duncan in his prime (the last year of his prime but still his prime). That trumps everything else.

In fact, there's a decent argument that the 2007 Spurs were the best Spurs team of all-time. It was the closest year to having the Big 3 all in their primes.

I agree with you in regards to the big 3, but with the bench we have, considering they play the way they have since the trade deadline, the arguement could be made that this is the most "balanced" team the Spurs have ever had, thus making them better not having to rely on the big 3 as much.

[Sean Cagney]

Best team with no clear cut superstar SIDES TONY who has tore it up this year, still after that? Balanced team from top to bottom! This team is very deep this year and I hope they can do something with it.

[Splits]

We will fucking dominate the Celtics tomorrow as long as Pop doesn't randomly rest the Big 3.

The only teams that can beat this team healthy in the playoffs are LA and Chicago.

Miami is an absolute fucking joke.

The Fakers cannot beat this team. Not in 100 series, they would lose every single one of them. They're a joke.