2014 NBA Season Preview: Champions San Antonio Spurs
Aftermath of winning NBA title
There is a popular idiom which goes something like this “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and the San Antonio Spurs applied this policy to the team who won the most recent NBA Championship. They re-signed all players Boris Diaw, Patty Mills and Tim Duncan whose contracts were expiring, the players obliged to the offers and thus heading into next season the defending champions will have an unchanged roster from last year.
Last season in a quest to get back to the Finals after losing in the 2013 Finals to Miami Heat in a heartbreaking fashion (lost series after leading by 5 with a minute left in closeout Game 6), the Spurs redefined consistency registering a 62-20 record with not a single player on the roster averaging more than 30 minutes for the season.
Although they were the defending champions, they were among the least covered teams during the off-season. The only real headline the franchise featured on was their apparent interest to sign NBA veteran and former Heat player Ray Allen, however the sharpshooter hadn’t made up his mind whether to play or retire and hence the deal did not occur.
Projected position in standings at the end of the season: 1st in the West
Predicted Starting line-up:
Point Guard-Tony Parker
Shooting Guard-Danny Green
Small Forward-Kawhi Leonard
Power Forward-Tim Duncan
Center-Tiago Splitter
Being the defending champions, there aren’t any factors that the team hasn’t successfully defeated to end up as the only team standing in June. The Spurs franchise have won five championships since 1999 yet have never won back to back. So to repeat here are the things the team and coaching staff must repeat this season:
Team Work
The Spurs personified team work in their most recent NBA title run. Every player - point guard or big man was more than capable of making the extra pass as and when it was required. The team’s decision to pass or not for a better shot was so flawless during the first half of Game 3 of the Finals that the Spurs shot an incredible 75.8% from the field, beating the previous Finals record by a long margin.
They beat a team which boasts of superstars by simple passing and shooting efficiency.The amount of respect the players have for each other is worth mentioning. Green was removed from the five on the court for a few bad plays and was replaced by Manu Ginobili. Usually a player sits to the side of the bench with a frown on his face, not wanting to take part in the team huddle, but here Green was seen cheering the team on and greeting the team with hi-5’s during a timeout.
Even if the a player from the starting line-up and the number 11 or 12 player are on the court together, the team was always seen in sync with each other. Rather than popular customs of going to their most clutch player or most experienced player followed by many teams in the league, this team simply believed in giving most touches of the ball to the player who is in streaky hot form in that specific game.
Excellent Work by Coaching Staff
The players did a fantastic in bouncing back to a Finals victory from a horrifying Finals loss, but the one man who takes sole credit of leading them through everything was Head Coach Gregg Popovich. He and his coaching staff made sure the players knew they were much capable of making it to the Finals once again and winning it this time.
The Spurs have been among the top teams since Pop and Duncan came together in 1998. Since then they have five titles together but in terms of earning the championship, the 2014 campaign was by far the best. Heading into this season the Spurs had already played two long post-season, once losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Conference Finals in 2012 and losing to the Heat in the Finals in 2013, so going all out for the title would be asking too much from a team which is led by the veteran trio of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.
The strategy that Coach Pop came up with to counter the fatigue factor deserves an award. He instilled a team first system that saw neither their offense or defense depend on a single individual and that is how the Spurs despite combating injuries during the season still had the best record in the league with no player averaging more than 30 minutes.
They are the reigning world champions, but there is one difference - when you are trying to win for the first time and when your trying to repeat. Its the difference between getting to the top and remaining on top. Here’s the one and only factor which could make San Antonio’s season iffy with respect to a championship.
Players’ drive and determination
Many teams who have won back to back titles or a three-peat know how to difficult it is to remain on the top after getting to the top. Once your the champions, your on the watchlist of every team. You get the best games from every team you face and that is what the Spurs will be chasing this season.
They have won four titles in the past but never in consecutive seasons. There was a stretch in the 2000’s where they won 3 titles in 5 years but none in succession. Last season the goal was to win the title which they felt they rightfully deserved from 2013, this season the goal is repeat for the first time in franchise history.
Many might question whether the team has the toughness that is required. The added motivation for the team would be that this coming year would be the last for Future first ballot Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. Can the Spurs repeat?
If they game with the standard of play that they did in the Finals, then definitely the team is a legitimate contender by a long margin for the title this coming season.