ace3g
10-08-2013, 11:24 AM
San Antonio Spurs
They're favorites in the Western Conference, given Russell Westbrook's knee issues and the lack of a proven third option on the wing in Oklahoma City. San Antonio could have nabbed big-time cap room by renouncing both Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili, and it surely flirted with a home run free-agent acquisition. But it settled on bringing back last year's group, banking on staying power from the old guard and continued internal development from the young core.
We know what we're getting here: the league's most diligent motion-based offense, with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan as its hubs, and a defense that revived itself based on Duncan's nimbler game, Kawhi Leonard's ascension, and Gregg Popovich's patience in building the Duncan-Splitter pairing. The Spurs were basically co-champs last season, and though we should expect some decline from Duncan and Ginobili, the younger guys are ready to pick up the slack. Leonard especially showed he's ready for more in the Finals. Marco Belinelli provides some Ginobili meltdown insurance; he's bigger than Gary Neal, nearly as good a shooter, and much more polished at all the other stuff — ballhandling, passing, and defense.1 The world is curious to see what the Spurs do with Jeff Ayres (formerly Pendergraph) after using their mini midlevel exception to offer him nearly twice the minimum salary. The Spurs also have some trade flexibility, with two midsize expiring contracts (Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw) and some interesting, seldom-used international prospects.
In a conference filled with teams facing (very intriguing) questions, the Spurs are a known commodity that may still have some upside.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9790038/ranking-nba-tiers-power-2013-14-season
They're favorites in the Western Conference, given Russell Westbrook's knee issues and the lack of a proven third option on the wing in Oklahoma City. San Antonio could have nabbed big-time cap room by renouncing both Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili, and it surely flirted with a home run free-agent acquisition. But it settled on bringing back last year's group, banking on staying power from the old guard and continued internal development from the young core.
We know what we're getting here: the league's most diligent motion-based offense, with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan as its hubs, and a defense that revived itself based on Duncan's nimbler game, Kawhi Leonard's ascension, and Gregg Popovich's patience in building the Duncan-Splitter pairing. The Spurs were basically co-champs last season, and though we should expect some decline from Duncan and Ginobili, the younger guys are ready to pick up the slack. Leonard especially showed he's ready for more in the Finals. Marco Belinelli provides some Ginobili meltdown insurance; he's bigger than Gary Neal, nearly as good a shooter, and much more polished at all the other stuff — ballhandling, passing, and defense.1 The world is curious to see what the Spurs do with Jeff Ayres (formerly Pendergraph) after using their mini midlevel exception to offer him nearly twice the minimum salary. The Spurs also have some trade flexibility, with two midsize expiring contracts (Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw) and some interesting, seldom-used international prospects.
In a conference filled with teams facing (very intriguing) questions, the Spurs are a known commodity that may still have some upside.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9790038/ranking-nba-tiers-power-2013-14-season