Monday, April 16th, 2012

The San Antonio Spurs will go deep in the playoffs

Published on April 1, 2012 by Anthony Carriuolo   ·   No Comments

A lot of contending teams built around a conglomerate of superstars such as the Miami Heat are entirely reliant upon a supporting cast of aging veterans to provide the hustle they have left and the experience of winning championships. Having multiple stars requires a cut in salary for role players, with the main stars garnering most of the cash and attention. The average age of course is far higher, making this season especially a distinct challenge. Triple sets of games exhaust players and leave vets in disarray at the tail end of their stretch.

The San Antonio Spurs are a unique case. The bulk and most important portion of their talent lie in their veterans. Arguably the greatest power forward of all time in Tim Duncan is reaching the twilight of his career, while SG Manu Ginobili is enduring injury issues all season. The infusion of youth however, along with incredible coaching is what keeps this team in contention.

This could all be a mirage, after the Spurs claimed the top seed and fizzled out early last post-season. However the young core of C’s Thiago Splitter and DeJuan Blair along with rookie F Kawhi Leonard have infused the team with youth. The top three of Duncan, Ginobili and PG Tony Parker who is playing at elite form have insured the future of the Spurs for the time being. There might not be much to look forward to once the retirement of these three commences, but right now with the additional rest the Spurs can contend.

Coach Gregg Popovich has done a masterful job throughout his career. He has never employed a clubhouse cancer and has even neutralized a jerk like SG Stephen Jackson. It’s interesting how Jackson can go from a violent psychopath with Indiana to a team oriented player whose performance is reflective of Popovich’s nature as a coach.

Popovich has a means of managing personalities in a discreet and tactful way that keeps his team consistently in the race despite an older lineup and a void of top shelf talent. Right now, Duncan is not Kevin Love or even Chris Bosh, but Popovich has made it clear throughout his career accomplishments that talent is important in equal parts with chemistry.

The additional rest will have the vets relaxed and ready to lead. The experience will have the youth excited and yearning to succeed. Right now the West runs through Oklahoma City, but never count out the Spurs, as their hard-nosed bruising style of basketball can take a bunch of OKC hotshots and silence them ’til winter.

Share

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Readers Comments (0)

Comments are closed.

NBA

Carter Airballs a finger roll

Vince Carter is one of the best dunkers in the history of the NBA, but for whatever reason ...

Blake Griffin’s incredible show that didn’t count

We are so used to Blake Griffin dunk highlights but his past weekend he made a miracle of ...

Heat and Thunder solidify thoughts that regular season means so little

A few days ago the fans of the Miami Heat were in panic mode. A season that started ...

Blake Griffin Dunks on Pau Gasol twice

It’s not often that you see one player dunk on one player twice in a career but twice ...

Could the Miami Heat shake up their lineup?

Centers are at such a dearth in talent right now in today's NBA that the Miami Heat would ...

The San Antonio Spurs will go deep in the playoffs

A lot of contending teams built around a conglomerate of superstars such as the Miami Heat are entirely ...

Blake Griffin Dunks on Channing Frye : J.R. Smith’s highlight Alley Oop

The Los Angeles Clippers are struggling as a team right now but their star Blake Griffin is still ...

Regardless of record, the Miami Heat will bring it in the post-season

The Miami Heat have not been winning big, and have been losing to contenders as of late. This ...

NBA considering selling advertising space on jerseys

You knew it was just a matter of time before this idea reached the sports world. European soccer ...

Marcus Camby Hits full court shot

Marcus Camby of the Houston Rockets had the shot of the night but unfortunately he shot it after ...