This team is ridiculous. They clinch the top speed once again in the West and this time they will probably obliterate the 1st round opponent. What makes this team so damn good. I know they are coached well but lets get down to the specifics. Considering their best player is probably Tony Parker this team has no business being the top seed in the West 2 years in a row.
Tony Parker should be All-NBA first team, right? Can't think of a point guard playing better than him this season.
Experience, depth, Discipline both ends of the floor, Greatest coach in NBA history All mixed together in a giant orgy.
Spurs have the best coach in the NBA, Gregg Popovich, who is one of the greatest of all time (maybe THE greatest). They also have a knack of finding players who will adapt to his coaching and accept the roles he gives them.
1. They have been one of the best defensive team in league since Duncan has been there. This is not just overall. This is per possession, in half court, and especially on pink & rolls. If you do that, you can beat anyone. 2. Players know what their roles are and they do just that. Players are expected to perform to their role. If they do not live up to expectation, or try to supersede their role, they get benched and yelled at by Pop. Everyone knows what their are supposed to do, when, and why. On top of that, everyone's role maximizes their ability by hiding their weaknesses. All of this, allows players to just play and react. Being able to do this allow them respond quicker than other players, play with more "hustle & effort" because they are not second guessing, and trust their teammates. 3. Players are expected to step up. How many coaches would rest their best players in B2B for years no matter who they are playing? How many times has Pop sat his starters, even his stars, when they underperformed to prove a point? You treat players like men and tell them to take charge, and the cream rises to the top. 4. Having a coach on the court. Duncan is like having a 2nd coach on court and, as a result, extremely underrated for the calming effect and poise that can help out younger players and role players. 5. Experience. They have been to and won 4 finals. They have beaten many of the other great teams of the 00's at some point in the decade, even in the playoff's. They don't panic and know when it is winning time. 6. They find role players that match up with specific roles they need in their system. They do this by projecting, as many of those players are still very much up-and-comers or well-travelled players that other teams may not value as highly. Just as impressive, is that many of those players are much better players when they leave the Spurs than when they got there. As in, it is not just maximizing production. They actually develop their players. Myth: That the Spurs are amazing at developing personal relationships with players and do not treat players as assets. In the past decade, they have extended only 3 players. Wanna guess who those are? All their other players, have been a revolving door of free agency and trades. Even players who resign on the cheap because they like San Antonio, like Jefferson, are quickly upgraded if the opportunity presents itself.
^Regarding #4, I don't think Duncan is the only coach on the floor. Each and every one of the five playing on the court are. They huddle after every bad play or any time they see something they should be doing. And regarding the Spurs being a family myth, I think they do treat each other like family during the time they are there. Look at Stephen Jackson and how he feels glad to be back. I'd also like to add that every one of their players are all about business and professionalism. They all take their job seriously. They made a great pick in Leonard as this guy is all about basketball. Here's a good article about the Spurs: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursn...vey-your-nba-executive-of-the-year-popo-ford/
Well, they made a great trade before the deadline ... And they signed the following guy ... Get the picture ...
This is just getting ridiculous. The Spurs play the game the right way. At the very least at least they don't play dirty when they start losing (ahem Lakers)
Right now they have the best bench of the league, and their starting unit is not bad either. I mean Parker is playing mvp bb, duncan is playing great, leonard and danny green defend and shoot the ball, only not so bright spot is blair, but he will probably loose his starting spot to diaw. They are just really deep and good. Pop is also making an incredible job, managing all the guys mins. They will be rested but not rusty for the playoffs. Look at this stat the other night ( lakers vs okc game night): Kobe plays 49 minutes Gasol plays 49 minutes Westbrook plays 47 minutes Durant plays 50 minutes Parker and Ginobili combined play 43 minutes.... Last Night : 39 min combined...
I disagree with your myth part big time. Its not really about the not extending part that's wrong,its treating guys like assets. Remember when rumors were going around about parker for kidd? They squashed that and parker name wasn't brought up for 7 yrs. In fact,it was only brought up when george hill hwas playing well when he was out last yea. Post lockout,they signed parker and traded hill to get leonard. They traded the rockets scola,which was great,but they knew they were drafting splitter and duncan wasn't ready to play center. So they dumped 2 contracts to maintain cap flexibility to sign their players. The spurs are always ahead of the game,but they don't have to talk about it all the time. It was easy getting duncan and winning, but moving guys so they could match ginobilli and drafting the 19yr and watching him grow is pretty damn good. Oh yeah,they brought back the cancerous,ineffecient chucker in captain jack just in time for the playoff run. Big shot taker and maker with size who can defend his position and beat teams.
They are really, really surprising, and it says a ton about Popovich. Duncan turns 36 tomorrow (!), and you watch his MPG over the years, slowly being reeled in to a low of 28 this year. Manu will turn 35 this summer. He's missed a lot of this year. But (aside from his first year) he's a career low in MPG, 23. Somehow, adjusted per-36-minutes, he's above his career averages in points, rebounds, assists, and shooting his best percentage of his career. Parker turns 30 next month, and they haven't started dialing back his minutes yet. At 7.7, he's way over his career average for APG. Having one of his worst shooting years, but clearly finding people who can make shots. You look at the rest of their roster and just kind of shake your head. If the parts fit, more power to Pop. Maybe he's just much better than other coaches in the compressed season format. (And you think of the shortened season championship they won.) But they could also be out by the 2nd round in the playoffs. I just can't see their big three and bit players matching up with OKC for instance.
Danny Green's rise & taking over a starting spot = Ginobili coming off the bench Helps them blow teams out
1. Great scouting department 2. They refuse to overpay for role players. They let them walk and go find another player just as good for one-fifth the salary. 3. They maintain a flexible system that adapts to player strengths and age. Pops doesn't play his guys into the ground. 4. They have a superstar-for-life in Tim Duncan who has great character to go along with hall-of-fame skill set. 5. They took care of their superstar by doing 1-3 and winning so he didn't want to leave.
Popovich.... You need one general to infuse some philosophy on the team and once you establish that, the rest is set in stone...
