Are the Spurs the most unique NBA Finalist in modern league history, tbh?..

Wade and James combined for 44 points. Green and Leonard combined for the same. If Lock n Lock can match points with the Heat's top-two scorers, Miami has no chance.

The roster is ridiculous, tbh, this could be the most versatile team of all-time..

These Spurs are capable of playing any style of basketball, whether it's grind ball vs. teams like Memphis, run&gun, or just straight-up execution basketball against a team like Miami..

It's funny how far the NBA has come, and these Spurs are the best example of the new NBA..just 10ish years ago, everybody was in love and admired Sacramento for their ball movement and passing, because they stood out in a sea of ISO-ball..they don't even compare to these Spurs, tbh..

The Spurs are a team with the same ball-movement and shooting, but mixed it with elite defensive players to allow them to play any type of basketball that is required..

The Spurs' strength lies in the fact that they have four players who elite defenders in multiple categories but who can also score in bunches. Beyond that, three of them (not Duncan) don't have the burden of creating offense for everyone else or even putting up a lot of points in every game. The Medium Three is pretty much like the Pacers "young core" (George, Stephenson and Hibbert) but without the burden of having to carry the load on offense. They can have games like tonight where they score 50 and the Spurs dominate, or they can score only 20 and the Spurs still win because they have three stars who can take over.

We'll probably never see anything like this again, since you won't find three players who each sacrifice money to not only stay together, but also to let the team bring in enough support to keep them relevant into their twilight. The Heat's Big Three make twice as much as the Spurs' Big Three.

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Originally Posted by Malik Hairston

The roster is ridiculous, tbh, this could be the most versatile team of all-time..

These Spurs are capable of playing any style of basketball, whether it's grind ball vs. teams like Memphis, run&gun, or just straight-up execution basketball against a team like Miami.

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It really is astounding.

Robert Horry called the 2005 Spurs team an "amoeba" because of their adaptability, but this group would win a series against that group in 6 games. Incredible.

I don't think any Finalist has been as balanced between a group of 10 key players as this Spurs team is.

That said, this is possible mostly because the league is weak.

I can't help thinking the 2005 Spurs and Pistons would eat both of these Finals teams' lunches 10 times out of 10.

My god, 2003 Tim Duncan would average 37 and 20.

The Splitter-Diaw duo is such a huge help, too..

If you need to defend a big frontcourt or can get away with playing both Splitter/Duncan, Splitter makes a big difference defending the Aldridges and Dirks of the NBA..

If you need to space it out for teams like OKC and Miami, you can sub in one of the most versatile players in the NBA(Diaw)..

It's also essential that all 3 Spurs rotation bigs are great passers, too..most NBA teams have 1 good passing big man, at best..

2003 Tim would get that Quad Double, maybe multiple times in this series

This Spurs team would destroy the 2003 Spurs:lol..

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Originally Posted by Malik Hairston

The roster is ridiculous, tbh, this could be the most versatile team of all-time..

These Spurs are capable of playing any style of basketball, whether it's grind ball vs. teams like Memphis, run&gun, or just straight-up execution basketball against a team like Miami..

It's funny how far the NBA has come, and these Spurs are the best example of the new NBA..just 10ish years ago, everybody was in love and admired Sacramento for their ball movement and passing, because they stood out in a sea of ISO-ball..they don't even compare to these Spurs, tbh..

The Spurs are a team with the same ball-movement and shooting, but mixed it with elite defensive players to allow them to play any type of basketball that is required..

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Yeah, I really think these two teams are the best teams of the last 15 years. Miami plays very similar to the Spurs but just lacks the depth but has a top 5 all-time player, so it balances it out. Spurs have the depth but lack the transcendent superstar. But even with each team's respective flaws, they're the two most balanced and versatile teams in the post-Jordan era.

People will still pimp the '01 Lakers or even the '99 Spurs, but those team's size would get spread the fuck out by either of these teams. Shaq would probably dominate on an individual level, but he'd be targeted defensively, left on island as the Lakers defense gets spread out. Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, and even Kirbs lack the length and footspeed to effectively stop either offense. And Phil never went deep into his bench, which would be a huge liability here.

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Originally Posted by Malik Hairston

This Spurs team would destroy the 2003 Spurs:lol..

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This.

This Spurs team would allow Tim to average 27 and 12 and still run them out of the gym 4 games out of 6. That team had a Parker that hadn't found his shot or his leadership, a rookie Manu that hadn't found his fearlessness, D-Rob on his last legs, Danny Ferry on his last legs, Kevin Willis on his last legs, Steve Kerr on his last legs, Steve Smith on his last legs, a precocious and streaky shooter in S-Jax, and a perpetually overmatched Malik Rose.

Holy shit. Now that I think about it, no way the '03 Spurs last more than 5 games against the current iteration.

The 2003 Spurs were taken to 6 games by a terrible Nets team:lol..

As Steve Kerr has said many times, that team didn't have a system, they just dumped it into Duncan on every play..as we saw in the OKC series, isolation basketball doesn't work anymore, the NBA has changed..

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Originally Posted by midnightpulp

Yeah, I really think these two teams are the best teams of the last 15 years. Miami plays very similar to the Spurs but just lacks the depth but has a top 5 all-time player, so it balances it out. Spurs have the depth but lack the transcendent superstar. But even with each team's respective flaws, they're the two most balanced and versatile teams in the post-Jordan era.

People will still pimp the '01 Lakers or even the '99 Spurs, but those team's size would get spread the fuck out by either of these teams. Shaq would probably dominate on an individual level, but he'd be targeted defensively, left on island as the Lakers defense gets spread out. Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, and even Kirbs lack the length and footspeed to effectively stop either offense. And Phil never went deep into his bench, which would be a huge liability here.

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The 2002 Sacramento Kings were an inferior version of this Spurs team, and their style of play managed to give the Lakers a ton of problems..they pass the ball the same way the Spurs do, but they only had 1 great shooter, and they only had 1 notable perimeter defender(Doug Christie, past his athletic prime)..

Doesn't mean anything unless the Spurs win the title. If they do, they will definitely be the most unique team to ever win it all in modern times. Pop probably wasn't the first to create a championship caliber team without a discernible superstar but he might be the first one in the modern era to win a championship without a superstar carrying the team. A win would be a validation of team first basketball and forever legitimize Pop's "system." This would prove the doubters wrong (including me) who believed a championship team needs star players in their prime. The 2004 Pistons are the closest, but even that team had four all star caliber players. Pop basically pieced together players from the bargain bin with all stars past their prime.

Of course we are getting ahead of ourselves. The Heat have been down 2-1 before in the playoffs and they know how to bounce back strong. Too early for a victory lap.

this swiss army knife team will always be one of my favorite versions of the spurs. i'm partial to the 07 version as well for some reason: big 3, plus stacked role players fin, horry, bowen, barry, and oberto.

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Originally Posted by Malik Hairston

The 2003 Spurs were taken to 6 games by a terrible Nets team:lol..

As Steve Kerr has said many times, that team didn't have a system, they just dumped it into Duncan on every play..as we saw in the OKC series, isolation basketball doesn't work anymore, the NBA has changed..

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In 2003 who would have thought Pop would someday create an incredibly well balanced and fluid offensive system, that would play the most beautiful basketball the NBA has seen in X years? Can't think of a coach who has changed/improved/adapted so much during his career.

Maybe the best team I've ever seen, tbh..

How do you stop a team that has so many weapons and 2-way players?..