Kent_in_Atlanta
04-25-2012, 02:40 PM
SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs look awfully impressive right now. The Silver and Black has their swagger back after clinching the top seed in the Western Conference for a second year in a row. As they battle the Chicago Bulls for the league’s best record, the Spurs are winners of 18 of their last 20 contests, winning 5 of their last 6 by a margin of at least 21 points.
One of those two losses during that stretch was the much discussed 1-game road trip to Utah for which Spurs Coach Greg Popovich chose to rest the Big Three (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) by leaving them at home in San Antonio. It was a game the Spurs could easily have placed in the “W” column with the Big Three on the floor, and they very nearly won it without them.
The other defeat was a home loss to a Kobe-less Lakers squad, in which the Spurs may have been guilty of a mental letdown, knowing the (then) league’s leading scorer would not be in uniform. San Antonio avenged that loss, however, downing the Lakers by 20+ points TWICE the following week, once with Kobe on the floor for LA and once without him.
The Spurs are the most efficient, and arguably the best, offensive team in the league. Defensively, this group is well above average and has improved since the start of the season with the development of talented defensive stopper Kawhi Leonard and the mid-season addition of Stephen Jackson.
What’s more, the nucleus of this team most definitely has the experience and championship pedigree to make the most of their ability in the postseason.
Yes, the Spurs appear impressive indeed.
Yet… many dismiss them, expressing doubts about their ability to knock off the Thunder in the playoffs or the likes of the Bulls or Heat in the Finals, should they emerge from the West.
Why the doubt? The most common reason cited by detractors is their first-round exit from the playoffs last year after winning 61 regular season games. They say “Yeah, the Spurs look good, but they looked just as good heading into the playoffs last year, and look what happened.”
Really, did they? Did the Spurs look just as good at the end of last season as they do now?
The record is similar. That much is true. This season, the Spurs boast a 48-16 record (.750 win percentage). Last year, they finished with a 61-21 record (.744 win percentage).
But were the Spurs playing like a 61-win team when the playoff bell rang last season?
While the Spurs are rolling into the playoffs this year, having lost just 2 of their last 20 games, they couldn’t say the same in the final hours of the 2010-11 season. At the conclusion of last season, San Antonio stumbled into the playoffs after losing 8 of their last 12 contests (http://www.nba.com/spurs/schedule/2010). They already looked like an entirely different team than the one that had steamrolled competitors for most of ’11-12 campaign. Then matters went from bad to worse when Manu Ginobili fractured his elbow during the final game of the season in Phoenix.
Last season, the Spurs entered the playoffs as a scuffling team with a fresh critical wound.
This year, as the Spurs prepare for their next-to-last game of the season in Phoenix, they are without question the league’s hottest team. San Antonio’s recent play has been the most impressive display of dominance we’ve seen from any team in this NBA season. They are %100 healthy (this is where Spurs fans knock on wood), rested and intently focused on winning ring No.5.
In stark contrast to where this team stood at a similar point last season, the Spurs are peaking at the right time and most importantly, as of now, they are healthy. Additionally, the supporting cast is stronger and deeper than it was last April. Summertime and mid-season additions, such as Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw have made this team better, while young second-year Spurs like Danny Green and Tiago Splitter have stepped up their game.
Retired Spurs All-Star turned TV analyst, Sean Elliott says this is the deepest team he’s seen in San Antonio. Meanwhile, some other NBA commentators have gone a step further. ESPN’s Jack Ramsay and Skip Bayless, to name a couple, have called this the best team the Spurs have ever assembled. That’s high praise for a franchise that has hoisted 4 Larry O’Brien trophies in the Tim Duncan era.
Of course, the Spurs will face stiff post-season competition this year. There are several other teams with realistic championship aspirations, and anything could happen when the playoffs kick into high gear next month.
As long as they remain healthy, the Spurs are a legitimate threat to capture their 5th NBA championship this year. Will they? Only time will tell. It won’t be easy. But if you think this is same team the Memphis Grizzlies shocked in the first round of ’11 playoffs, think again.
One of those two losses during that stretch was the much discussed 1-game road trip to Utah for which Spurs Coach Greg Popovich chose to rest the Big Three (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) by leaving them at home in San Antonio. It was a game the Spurs could easily have placed in the “W” column with the Big Three on the floor, and they very nearly won it without them.
The other defeat was a home loss to a Kobe-less Lakers squad, in which the Spurs may have been guilty of a mental letdown, knowing the (then) league’s leading scorer would not be in uniform. San Antonio avenged that loss, however, downing the Lakers by 20+ points TWICE the following week, once with Kobe on the floor for LA and once without him.
The Spurs are the most efficient, and arguably the best, offensive team in the league. Defensively, this group is well above average and has improved since the start of the season with the development of talented defensive stopper Kawhi Leonard and the mid-season addition of Stephen Jackson.
What’s more, the nucleus of this team most definitely has the experience and championship pedigree to make the most of their ability in the postseason.
Yes, the Spurs appear impressive indeed.
Yet… many dismiss them, expressing doubts about their ability to knock off the Thunder in the playoffs or the likes of the Bulls or Heat in the Finals, should they emerge from the West.
Why the doubt? The most common reason cited by detractors is their first-round exit from the playoffs last year after winning 61 regular season games. They say “Yeah, the Spurs look good, but they looked just as good heading into the playoffs last year, and look what happened.”
Really, did they? Did the Spurs look just as good at the end of last season as they do now?
The record is similar. That much is true. This season, the Spurs boast a 48-16 record (.750 win percentage). Last year, they finished with a 61-21 record (.744 win percentage).
But were the Spurs playing like a 61-win team when the playoff bell rang last season?
While the Spurs are rolling into the playoffs this year, having lost just 2 of their last 20 games, they couldn’t say the same in the final hours of the 2010-11 season. At the conclusion of last season, San Antonio stumbled into the playoffs after losing 8 of their last 12 contests (http://www.nba.com/spurs/schedule/2010). They already looked like an entirely different team than the one that had steamrolled competitors for most of ’11-12 campaign. Then matters went from bad to worse when Manu Ginobili fractured his elbow during the final game of the season in Phoenix.
Last season, the Spurs entered the playoffs as a scuffling team with a fresh critical wound.
This year, as the Spurs prepare for their next-to-last game of the season in Phoenix, they are without question the league’s hottest team. San Antonio’s recent play has been the most impressive display of dominance we’ve seen from any team in this NBA season. They are %100 healthy (this is where Spurs fans knock on wood), rested and intently focused on winning ring No.5.
In stark contrast to where this team stood at a similar point last season, the Spurs are peaking at the right time and most importantly, as of now, they are healthy. Additionally, the supporting cast is stronger and deeper than it was last April. Summertime and mid-season additions, such as Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw have made this team better, while young second-year Spurs like Danny Green and Tiago Splitter have stepped up their game.
Retired Spurs All-Star turned TV analyst, Sean Elliott says this is the deepest team he’s seen in San Antonio. Meanwhile, some other NBA commentators have gone a step further. ESPN’s Jack Ramsay and Skip Bayless, to name a couple, have called this the best team the Spurs have ever assembled. That’s high praise for a franchise that has hoisted 4 Larry O’Brien trophies in the Tim Duncan era.
Of course, the Spurs will face stiff post-season competition this year. There are several other teams with realistic championship aspirations, and anything could happen when the playoffs kick into high gear next month.
As long as they remain healthy, the Spurs are a legitimate threat to capture their 5th NBA championship this year. Will they? Only time will tell. It won’t be easy. But if you think this is same team the Memphis Grizzlies shocked in the first round of ’11 playoffs, think again.