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After embarrassing their opponents from last season’s Finals, the Miami Heat, by 24 points Thursday night, the San Antonio Spurs seem to have got their edge back having won five in a row for the first time since mid-January. In doing so the Spurs were able to build some crucial momentum as they make a late season push to grab the top spot in the West.
At the start of the season a bitter taste still lingered from the seven game Finals series loss and the Spurs were determined to make it back to the top. Despite their early season record showcasing their hunger and determination, mid-season injuries and inconsistencies caught up with the team and it didn’t take long before everyone, just as they do every season, were questioning the Spurs’ chances.
However their seasoned Head Coach, Gregg Popovich, kept the team focused each night on the task at hand and has guided them back to a stage where now the team looks like it can make it back to back Finals appearances. Then again there are a lot of teams who look like they can win it all, so what makes the Spurs any different?
There are more reasons than one to believe why the Spurs can repeat their performance from last year’s post season :
Injuries have been a bane for this team
Manu Ginobilii missed three weeks of action from late January and Tony Parker has been dealing with multiple issues as his body recovers from a busy summer helping the French national team win the EuroBasket.
A finger injury kept Danny Green out of action in January and in February Kawhi Leonard sat out on similar grounds. Tiago Splitter has been battling shin, calf and back issues this season. However aged 37, Tim Duncan has had better luck with his health than his teammates, sitting out only 6 games this season.
The San Antonio Spurs are only half a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder after these many injury related concerns; that’s a commendable job and the credit needs to go to the bench. Players like Marco Belinelli, Patty Mills, Boris Diaw and Cory Joseph have answered their coach’s call off the bench and contributed.
Behind the team play designed by Coach Pop, the Spurs were able to hang around at the top of the standings till the key players in the starting line-up returned. Having received a lot of playing time, the role players on the Spurs roster have got their season going and are ready to fire on all cylinders off the bench when the starters take a breather in key moments during the post-season.
Issues and concerns taken care of?
The Spurs are among only four teams who rank in the top 10 in both the offensive and defensive ratings in the league. However, they still had some major issues regarding their play heading into March. To put it bluntly, they were falling apart on the boards and their defense was giving away too many buckets. In spite of such difficulties the team stepped up when it mattered the most in a Finals rematch at home.
Thursday night, the Spurs not only beat the defending champions 45-36 in the rebounding battle, but also restricted their high octane offense to just 87 points. Leonard won them half the game with his defense on LeBron James keeping the reigning MVP to just 33% shooting from the field. Their team defense also deserves much praise as they kept a high 3-point shooting team to just 31% from beyond the arc.
Coach Popovich
Gregg Popovich’s contribution is often taken for granted in the Spurs’ success throughout his time as Head Coach. His leadership and coaching skills are a key reason behind the team recording 50+ game wins and making it to the Playoffs 15 seasons in a row.
A 2-time winner of the Coach of the Year award, Pop perfectly understands the concept of team balance and knows exactly what is team needs and doesn’t. He has led the team and kept them in the race for the top spot in the West despite a number of injuries to number of players on the roster.
Ever since the Big 3 crossed their 30s, he smartly resorted to resting them on not so important games to make sure they can be at the top of their game in May and June. Mind you the team has reaped the benefits of such a strategy.
As Duncan got older, he conveniently switched the team’s style of play that was fundamentally sound on the defensive end to an offense first system which was sparked by the quickness and agility of Parker.
Injuries have not allowed the team to be familiar with a rotation but in the Playoffs it helps the team and Coach to have the same group of guys regularly take the court. It is going to be a tough task establishing the rotation but rest assured you can trust Pop to make it an easy transition for his team.
Guess the Lakers players!
