The current iteration of the San Antonio Spurs has been one of the most successful professional sports franchises of late. Not only do they rattle off 50-win seasons year after year, they also make deep runs in the playoffs. Four of those runs resulted in them hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
(Amy Sancetta/Associated Press)
However, some experts say that the Spurs don’t have much left in the tank. They’re looking more at teams like the Heat and the Thunder to win the title this year. It’s not a bad guess, since those were the final two teams standing last season. Also, it’s tough to bet against LeBron James and Kevin Durant. They’re the two best players in the league. They also have Dwayne Wade and Russell Westbrook as running mates.
Does that mean that the Spurs cannot compete? Not exactly. They may not have the firepower those teams have, but they also have something that those teams do not. Here, we’ll talk about why the Spurs could be lifting that 5th banner.
Coach Pop
Pop is easily one of the most intriguing figures in the NBA. He commonly slays members of the media and demands excellence out of anyone wearing a Spurs uniform. To say the man is respected is nothing short of an understatement: he’s an institution at this point. He makes some incredible in-game adjustments. Pop’s teams have been known to absolutely cripple opposing offenses and de-fang defenses. You don’t win as often as the Spurs do unless your coach is smarter than the coaches that you’re competing against.
Pop is also winning with one of the older rosters in the NBA. While Scott Brooks and Erik Spoelstra are fantastic coaches in their own right, they’re not Coach Popovich. How well would either of them do if they had to coach the Bobcats? Does anyone think that either would do as well as Coach Pop if he were somehow exiled to Charlotte?
Leadership
Sure, all teams have leadership. Rosters generally have veterans who show the young guys how to get things done on the hardwood. However, there aren’t too many teams that have three veteran leaders like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. These three have been doing some major things in the NBA for quite some time. While they may not be as spry as their competition, they definitely can outsmart most of them. Tim Duncan is having a very efficient year, shooting over 50 percent at the age of 37. Ginobili has been efficient, too, even in very limited minutes. Tony Parker was on the short list for the MVP.
Desperation
The Spurs know that they don’t have a lot of time to win a trophy with their current roster. Coach Pop knows that he’ll soon lose his leader and future Hall of Fame inductee Tim Duncan. The Spurs also understand that some teams have better athletes at many positions, but they also know that they have what it takes. A cornered animal is a dangerous animal. The Spurs are that animal. When you factor in the above and the meticulous planning that Coach Pop does on a regular basis, you have a team that can beat any team in the league.
There are a litany of other things one could say about the Spurs and their chances of winning the title. Undoubtedly, they will have a tough road to the trophy. Pop has to manage minutes unlike any other coach with a real title chance. LeBron James can play 40 minutes a game. The same could be said about Kevin Durant.
The Spurs may not be as quick, strong, or able as the other teams in the running, but they have Coach Pop, leadership and desperation on their side.
Lamar Hull is a former basketball player for Davidson College who now is a Senior Editor for Direct2TV. He loves to research and write about sports and entertainment. Follow Lamar Hull on Twitter @lamarhull20. Lamar is also the publisher of Inspirational Basketball. Learn more at InspirationalBasketball.com.
