San Antonio Spurs: Five reasons they’ll win the NBA title
The San Antonio Spurs are the best team in the NBA and no one seems to be talking much about them. Perhaps they aren’t as flashy as the Miami Heat or the Oklahoma City Thunder, but much like the Spurs teams we’ve seen over the last several years, they are slowly and methodically positioning themselves as the team to beat in this year’s NBA Playoffs.
Fresh off a four game sweep of the Utah Jazz in which they won by an average of 16 ppg in round one of the playoffs, they still are not getting the attention they deserve–most seem to think that Miami winning it all is a foregone conclusion. Nonetheless, here are five reasons that they San Antonio Spurs will play the role of spoiler to LeBron James and Company en route to their fifth NBA championship.
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1. Coaching
This year’s NBA Coach of the Year and the longest tenured coach in any of the four major professional sports leagues,
Greg Popovich, is quite simply the best coach in the league. In his 14 years with the Spurs, he has led the franchise to four titles. There is not a coach in the league that will out coach Pop in a seven game series. His teams have always been well-disciplined both on and off the court, and this year isn’t any different.
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2. Experience
After being labeled as “too old” last season, the Spurs have added just the right mix of youth into their incredibly experienced core. Since 1998, the Spurs have won four NBA titles and since their reign began, the heart of those teams, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Popovich, has remained the same. There is not a more polished team in the NBA, and that experience will come a long way in helping them through the rough stretches of the playoffs this year, especially when facing some of the less experienced teams in the league such as the Los Angeles Clippers and potentially the OKC Thunder.
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3. Offensive System
The San Antonio Spurs run the most efficient offense in the league. Their execution is outstanding–like a well-oiled machine. They lead the NBA in offensive efficiency (which measures they number of points a team scores in 100 possessions)and in field goal percentage (52.8%). They are 2nd in the league in true shooting percentage (which also takes into account free throws and three-pointers).
It also helps that Tony Parker, the leader of the Spurs offense, is having the best year of his career.
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4. Depth
The Spurs have the deepest and most offensively and defensively efficient bench in the league this year. During the regular season, their reserves led the NBA in points off the bench (42.1 ppg), ranked 4th in rebounds (17.9 rpg) and were 2nd in assists (9.3 apg).
Because of that depth, they have the personnel to match up well with any other team. Additionally, that depth should keep the veteran players, who aren’t getting any younger, fresh and healthy throughout the playoffs.
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5. Team
Since Popovich took over in San Antonio, if there is just one thing that can be said about the Spurs, it’s that they are the epitome of a true team and this year is no different.
Everyone has a clearly defined role on the team, everyone knows that role, and everyone takes pride in what he brings to the program.
There is a sense of cohesion to them that is unlike that of any other team in the league.
Bottom line–they know what it takes to win as as team.
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The San Antonio Spurs are quietly the best team in the NBA, but for whatever reason, there is not a lot of hoopla surrounding them. They are not the favorites; in fact, not many people are even talking much about them.
Fortunately for them, that isn’t what the Spurs are about. They don’t want attention; they don’t want flash. They just want to quietly play their way to their fifth NBA championship.
