The San Antonio Spurs have what it takes to reach the 2017 NBA Finals
On May 11, the San Antonio Spurs made the Houston Rockets look like an embarrassment. In that process, they went on to clinch a much-deserved spot in the Western Conference finals. Though enough fingers were pointed out at the lack of commitment and the dismal performance of the James Harden-led Rockets, one could not ignore the sheer efficiency with which the Spurs carved their way into the Conference Finals.
In the end, the score read 114-75. The Spurs won by a scarcely imaginable 39 points! What was even more unbelievable was that they made this happen without an MVP candidate, Kawhi Leonard, and a multiple championship-winning playmaker, Tony Parker.
With such tremendous momentum going into the Western Conference Finals against arguably the strongest team in the NBA, one would be naive to think that the Spurs are not capable of stopping the Golden State Warriors from going to the NBA finals. More so, if you are a San Antonio Spurs fan, you know that the under-the-radar, no non-sense team has a bit of history of pulling off these upsets. Remember the 2014 Finals against the Miami Heat? The last time the San Antonio Spurs were NBA champions!
But if one were to make a more in-depth argument, how can the San Antonio Spurs beat the super team? How can the Golden State Warriors be stopped from entering the finals?
Kawhi’s return could make all the difference
The good news is that the ankle injury that kept Kawhi Leonard from playing in Game 6 will not stop him from playing in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. This will raise serious concerns for the Golden State Warriors who have to deal with arguably the best all-round player in the league.
On the defensive end of the floor, Leonard might be the best perimeter defender the NBA has ever seen. With his ridiculous arm span, the 2015/16 Defensive player of the Year is well equipped to slow down Kevin Durant’s offensive presence. Slowing down Kevin Durant is the best chance the Spurs may have to stop the potent Golden State Warriors offence.
The Warriors signed up Kevin Durant at the expense of a lot of bench depth that last year helped them secure a record setting 73 wins. If Leonard can slow down and make scoring tough for Durant, the Warriors do not look as threatening. When Kevin Durant was out in the regular season due to injury, the Warriors started out with a 2-5 win-loss record.
Though they found other ways to win soon, it is fair to say that it was challenging. Challenging enough to allow the unselfish play of the San Antonio Spurs to almost clinch the top seed in the West going into the playoffs.
Kawhi – a force on the offence as well
Kawhi Leonard is posting up big numbers on the offensive end of the floor as well. The MVP candidate is averaging 27.8 points in the playoffs and is shooting 52% from the field. He is also shooting 47% from the beyond the three-point arc. Apart from that, Leonard is very good at drawing the foul and going to free throw line. This makes him an ideal candidate to lead the offence and slow down the fast-paced Warriors system. It will be a game of momentums.
Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to argue in favour of the Spurs by just talking about one player. The unselfish identity of the Spurs itself makes them a more complete team than the Warriors. The Spurs big men, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol stepped up big to ensure a comfortable victory against a Rockets team that, like the Warriors, rely heavily on the three-point shot.
The Popovich led system also allows young players like Jonathan Simmons and Dejounte Murray to be productive and play to their strengths making the Spurs bench quite deep. The bench also contains immense experience in the form of Manu Ginobili. We all remember this epic block in overtime to help the Spurs seal Game 5. He is still the X-factor at age, 39. The Warriors bench, on the other hand do not have as much depth and this will be a crucial factor when both teams bring on their second units.
The Popovich factor
The Spurs are a well-oiled and consistently brilliant team that have minimal chinks in their armour if any. Head coach, Greg Popovich, deserves full credit for that. He is arguably one of the greatest coaches in NBA history and in a series of extremely fine margins, his greatness might be the determining factor.
His consistency in ensuring that a team gets the job done despite the personnel, and his undying hunger to play the highest quality of team basketball, no matter who the opponent, will be a daunting challenge to outwit for the Golden State Warriors.
The pundits say that we are all destined to a repeat of last year’s final. It will be Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers yet again, they say. Despite the cheat code, aka. Kevin Durant, the game of basketball has a funny way of proving the pundits wrong, and if anything, the San Antonio Spurs are as basketball as it can get.
Also read: The legend of the San Antonio Spurs and their unknown players