The San Antonio Spurs are picking up steam and suddenly looking like the most dangerous team in the entire league.
Pretty good timing considering we are in the middle of the 2012 NBA playoffs.
After Monday night’s 87-81 road win to complete the sweep of the Utah Jazz, the Spurs did exactly what they wanted to do. With a cumulative victory margin of 65 points, no team was on cruise control quite like the Spurs.
Unlike the Miami Heat, they were able to close out their first-round opponent without wasting any time. They don’t need to play an extra 48 minutes, and the only other team to claim this feat is the much younger Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC don’t need time off, the elder statesmen of the league do. It’s no secret that the 36-year-old Tim Duncan is on his last legs, and preserving him is essential. He only averaged 30 minutes a game in the Jazz series, so mission accomplished.
With Tony Parker registering his best season of his career, and Manu Ginobili back to his old self, the “big three” of the Spurs are looking just fine heading into Round 2.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies are in an absolute dogfight that will likely go seven, meaning San Antonio is going to have roughly a week off for rest before suiting up again.
The sweep proves last year’s first-round loss to the Grizzlies was a fluke, and that this has been by far the most consistent team this season (and the last decade).
They have more experience than any other team, the NBA Coach of the Year in Gregg Popovich, but also young guys that have bought into “Spurs ball” as well.
Rookie Kawhi Leonard provided outstanding defense in addition to seven points and 3.3 rebounds against the Jazz. Do you know who Daniel Green is? No? Well he’s averaging 8.5 points and four boards in the playoffs.
That’s the genius of this team.
They are able to get every player to buy into the system and fill a role. Ego is something that is checked at the door (just ask Stephen Jackson), and sacrifice becomes the state of mind. They pass the ball beautifully, don’t take dumb shots, and communicate very well on defense.
In other words, they are every basketball coach’s dream.
While defending Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder would certainly pose a challenge (as it would for every team), the momentum and cohesiveness that the Spurs have played with for the last two months or so make them just as dangerous.
They earned the No. 1 seed, the sweep, and the subsequent rest for a reason. They are much more experienced than the Thunder, deeper and more rested than the L.A. Lakers, and without the insane baggage and crunch-time woes of the Heat.
With the pressure levels down and the intelligence level high…give me a good reason not to handicap the Spurs as the favorites to take the 2012 NBA Finals heading into the conference semis.
Right now, I can’t think of one.
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