Reply With Quote
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Just seven months ago, the San Antonio Spurs couldn't beat the Phoenix Suns a single time in four tries in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Try as the Spurs might, the Suns' league-best offense was simply too good for them to stop.
Fast-forward to Monday's rematch between the Spurs and Suns, and you'll notice one key difference: The Spurs' offense has become even more unstoppable than Phoenix's. The Suns have led the NBA in offensive efficiency every year since they signed Steve Nash in 2004, but this year the streak may finally end (along with an even more amazing streak -- Nash's team has led the league every year since 2001-02). Believe it or not, it's the Spurs who lead the league in offensive efficiency heading into Monday's games, by nearly a full point per 100 possession over the Suns, who are third.
In doing so, they've completed an impressive transformation. San Antonio's championship teams in 2003, 2005 and 2007 had the same Tim Duncan-Manu Ginobili-Tony Parker nucleus as this year's squad, but those clubs were far better on defense than offense -- they ranked third, first and second, respectively, in defensive efficiency, but never cracked the top four on the offensive end.
That's par for the course for the Duncan Era Spurs. In terms of the league rankings, they were better on defense than offense for the first dozen years of Duncan's career, and often the differences were large -- in 2007-08, for instance, San Antonio was third in defense but a mere 15th in offense.
Last season, we saw the first shift in the Spurs' focus, as the team finished ninth in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Still, one hardly felt like they were selling out their old principles -- not with defensive specialist Keith Bogans starting 49 games and much of the same support crew we'd seen in previous season.
San Antonio offered an inkling of its new leanings, however, during the tail end of the season. Ginobili energized a more guard-oriented attack, and the Spurs played some of their best basketball of the year before meeting their match in the Suns.
This season, they've taken it to a completely different level. The Spurs lead the NBA in offensive efficiency but rank a mere eighth on the defensive end, marking a huge shift in focus for a franchise that had been so remarkably consistent about its strengths and weaknesses. Over the past decade, perhaps only Utah has been more predictable in its approach to the game, yet the Spurs have changed gears despite retaining largely the same personnel.
So what changed?
First and foremost, health. San Antonio has used the same starting lineup for all 26 games this season, and Parker in particular has recovered from last year's agony of da feet to return to his usual high-scoring, high-percentage-shooting ways. Additionally, Ginobili is on pace to set a career high in minutes by more than 300, soaking up a lot more playing time with All-NBA-caliber play.
Second, they have a lot more weapons off the bench. Parker's return has made George Hill one of the league's most potent sixth men, while shooters like Gary Neal and (before his injury) James Anderson fill roles formerly held by defensive specialists. Up front, Tiago Splitter's addition provides a second 7-footer to back up Duncan. Between those moves and Richard Jefferson's improvement in matching up as a small-ball 4, the Spurs have a lot more options for playing big or small, and coach Gregg Popovich has wielded them very effectively.
And finally, they're out-Phoenixing Phoenix. Look at the numbers and one thing that jumps out is that the Spurs have become more extreme, statistically, than the Suns.
Compared to the Nash-led Suns, now the Spurs are the ones who grab fewer offensive rebounds … and draw fewer fouls … and shoot worse on 2-pointers … and make fewer turnovers … and, believe it or not, have assists on a higher percentage of their baskets.
About the only area in which Phoenix remains ahead is 3-point frequency. San Antonio is among the league leaders in this category -- something that would have seemed absurd a few years ago, when the team played almost exclusively through Duncan -- but Phoenix, fourth in the league in 3-point attempts per field goal attempt, is still ahead.
Yet 3-pointers are the Spurs' greatest strength, because they aren't missing any. San Antonio leads Phoenix, and everybody else, in 3-point shooting at a torrid 41.2 percent, accounting for the biggest reason the Spurs are the league's No. 1 offense.
And for that, the Spurs can basically thank three players: Matt Bonner, Neal and Jefferson.
The first two we knew about. Bonner's long-range game has been his calling card ever since he entered the league. Thus, while his 52.0 percent shooting mark is remarkably high even for him and likely destined to return to something in the 40s, the fact remains that he's a 41.2 percent career 3-point shooter benefiting from more open looks than ever because he's playing with so many other talented scorers.
Neal put up great shooting numbers in Europe and in the Vegas Summer League, earning him an NBA contract after he had bounced around overseas for several years, and we shouldn't be surprised to see him hitting 39.1 percent on more than three 3-point tries per game.
But Jefferson? Nobody expected him to be raining 3s like this. Entering this year he'd never made more than 40 percent in a season and was shooting 34.8 percent for his career. Additionally, he'd never taken more than a quarter of his attempts from long range, preferring to focus on diving to the basket.
This season, though, he's turned into a mad bomber. Nearly half of Jefferson's shots have been 3-pointers, and he's shattering his career high by making 46.2 percent. Only Ginobili has taken more attempts on the Spurs, and Jefferson's accuracy has put him in some rather unlikely company. Only one player -- Atlanta guard Mike Bibby -- has both made more 3s and shot more accurately from long distance. (And while we're on the topic, can somebody check what Lute Olson was putting in their water back at Arizona? On the heels of Channing Frye's 3-point eruption a year ago, this is all getting a little su ious.)
Naysayers will point out that Jefferson and Bonner are bound to cool off a bit once a cake-ola early schedule gets more difficult (16 of their first 26 games at home, against the ninth-easiest opposition), but that doesn't significantly alter the big picture: San Antonio looks just as potent an offensive team as it ever did as a defensive club.
The Spurs' league-best 22-3 mark stands as proof, and while the schedule will get more difficult, San Antonio has a great shot at being the West's top seed in the playoffs -- the Spurs have about a 56 percent chance of clinching home court for the first three rounds, according to the playoff odds.
Just remember not be fooled next time you watch them. The names on the jerseys are mostly the same, but defense is no longer their calling card. These Spurs win with a devastating floor-spacing offense that looks like a half-court version of the Phoenix attack, and so far, has been even more effective than the Suns'.
