San Antonio's Hot Start

[PosImpos]

From Marc Stein's ESPN Power Rankings:

‎"The San Antonio Spurs -- just the fifth team in the past 25 seasons to start 29-4 or better, and sporting a four-game cushion already on their nearest pursuers in the West -- vaulted into the top spot of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings after sandwiching impressive home victories over the Lakers and Oklahoma City around a road win in Dallas over the Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavericks.

Of those past four teams to start 29-4 or better, three of them went on to win the championship: Chicago (30-3) in 1995-96, Boston (29-4) in 2007-08 and Chicago (29-4) again in 1996-97. Only the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns fell short after their 29-4 start ... but don't forget that the Suns were undeniably hurt by the facial injury suffered by Joe Johnson that postseason."


Woah.  What do you think - are the Spurs THAT good?

[nba is the worst]

From Marc Stein's ESPN Power Rankings:

‎"The San Antonio Spurs -- just the fifth team in the past 25 seasons to start 29-4 or better, and sporting a four-game cushion already on their nearest pursuers in the West -- vaulted into the top spot of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings after sandwiching impressive home victories over the Lakers and Oklahoma City around a road win in Dallas over the Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavericks.

Of those past four teams to start 29-4 or better, three of them went on to win the championship: Chicago (30-3) in 1995-96, Boston (29-4) in 2007-08 and Chicago (29-4) again in 1996-97. Only the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns fell short after their 29-4 start ... but don't forget that the Suns were undeniably hurt by the facial injury suffered by Joe Johnson that postseason."


Woah.  What do you think - are the Spurs THAT good?

Deep team, defense coming around, proven title winning coach.

If healthy, yes, they are good enough to win a title.

[Snakehead]

No.  Like I said in another thread they are simply too weak inside.  Duncan is a shadow of his former self.

Great guard play can only make up for weak front court play for so long, especially in the playoffs.  They will be exposed there.

That being said I think they are a good team, probably 2nd best in the West.  They are not a true contender though.  And they are not deep enough, especially in the post (where they are not even strong... Splitter has been a big dissapointment as far as impact).  If they had anywhere near the injury problems we have had they would be in shambles.  I expect some injuries to pop up in the next half of the season for them.

[Chris]

The Spurs are THAT good.  However, they are also in a similar position to the C's in that they have a lot of old and injury prone players who they can't really afford to lose for long stretches of time.  

I think the C's and Spurs are very evenly matched when fully healthy.  The problem is, the chances of them both being fully healthy come playoff time is slim.

[PosImpos]

No.  Like I said in another thread they are simply too weak inside.  Duncan is a shadow of his former self.

Great guard play can only make up for weak front court play for so long, especially in the playoffs.  They will be exposed there.

That being said I think they are a good team, probably 2nd best in the West.  They are not a true contender though.  And they are not deep enough.  If they had anywhere near the injury problems we have had they would be in shambles.  I expect some injuries to pop up in the next half of the season for them.

I don't expect them to finish with 70 wins or anything, but regular season dominance certainly means something, even if it doesn't guarantee post-season dominance. 

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the Spurs to be able to go really far in the post-season despite a seeming lack of strength in the front court or any one dominant superstar.  The trio of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan is proven. 

Duncan is resting and playing far less in the regular season than in the past.  I think he'll seem much less a "shadow of his former self" in the post-season when he's leaving it all on the floor.

[Kwhit10]

THey've done great with the 3rd hardest schedule so far.

[PosImpos]

The Spurs are THAT good.  However, they are also in a similar position to the C's in that they have a lot of old and injury prone players who they can't really afford to lose for long stretches of time. 

I think the C's and Spurs are very evenly matched when fully healthy.  The problem is, the chances of them both being fully healthy come playoff time is slim.

The key difference I see between the Spurs and the Celtics this year, though, is that the Spurs have been able to succeed even when neither of their older stars - Manu and Duncan - contributes much. 

The Spurs have a lot of young, talented players who can contribute at a high level on a regular basis (Parker, Hill, Neal, Blair - plus Richard Jefferson isn't really old).

The Celtics don't really have the same luxury...while they have young players who can contribute if they are healthy (Rondo, West, Robinson, Davis, Perkins), they can't succeed unless they get a significant contribution from at least one of their older players (the Big 3 mostly).

[Snakehead]

No.  Like I said in another thread they are simply too weak inside.  Duncan is a shadow of his former self.

Great guard play can only make up for weak front court play for so long, especially in the playoffs.  They will be exposed there.

That being said I think they are a good team, probably 2nd best in the West.  They are not a true contender though.  And they are not deep enough.  If they had anywhere near the injury problems we have had they would be in shambles.  I expect some injuries to pop up in the next half of the season for them.

I don't expect them to finish with 70 wins or anything, but regular season dominance certainly means something, even if it doesn't guarantee post-season dominance. 

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the Spurs to be able to go really far in the post-season despite a seeming lack of strength in the front court or any one dominant superstar.  The trio of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan is proven. 

Duncan is resting and playing far less in the regular season than in the past.  I think he'll seem much less a "shadow of his former self" in the post-season when he's leaving it all on the floor.

I do agree it means something, which is why I think they are the 2nd best team in the West.  However, it doesn't mean much in the post season.  Parker, Ginobili are certainly proven, and Duncan is an automatic HOFer but he is simply not the player he was. The get to the Western Conference Finals but they don't beat LA and they are not as good as Miami or Us in the East, I don't think.


And though I'm sure Duncan is saving some for the Playoffs and Pop is doing the same for him, it looks far more like he has simply fallen off than he is resting.  There is a time when players fall off and Duncan looks like he is there.  

[PosImpos]

THey've done great with the 3rd hardest schedule so far.

Are you sure it isn't the 3rd easiest?  I think they've had a pretty easy schedule.

There is a time when players fall off and Duncan looks like he is there. 

To be fair, though, didn't we all think that KG had reached that point at this time last season?  Granted, Duncan isn't coming off knee surgery, but the point is, you can't count say a guy is cooked - especially not a player of Duncan or KG's caliber - until they step off the court for good.

[Snakehead]

The Spurs are THAT good.  However, they are also in a similar position to the C's in that they have a lot of old and injury prone players who they can't really afford to lose for long stretches of time. 

I think the C's and Spurs are very evenly matched when fully healthy.  The problem is, the chances of them both being fully healthy come playoff time is slim.

The key difference I see between the Spurs and the Celtics this year, though, is that the Spurs have been able to succeed even when neither of their older stars - Manu and Duncan - contributes much. 

Not sure where you get the Manu thing.  He has played extremely well and put the team on his back in every clutch situation while Duncan is no longer a crunch time guy.  He has played VERY well for them.

[PosImpos]

The Spurs are THAT good.  However, they are also in a similar position to the C's in that they have a lot of old and injury prone players who they can't really afford to lose for long stretches of time. 

I think the C's and Spurs are very evenly matched when fully healthy.  The problem is, the chances of them both being fully healthy come playoff time is slim.

The key difference I see between the Spurs and the Celtics this year, though, is that the Spurs have been able to succeed even when neither of their older stars - Manu and Duncan - contributes much. 

Not sure where you get the Manu thing.  He has played extremely well and put the team on his back in every clutch situation while Duncan is no longer a crunch time guy.  He has played VERY well for them.

The Spurs CRUSHED the Lakers when Manu and Duncan both played really badly.

[pearljammer10]

There are only three teams that could win the title this season. Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs... Said this since day one. They play great TEAM ball and Duncan is capable of anything when the moment is on the line.

[Fafnir]

I don't know if the Spurs can win it all in the playoffs with Duncan/Blair/Bonner/Splitter/McDyess at the 4/5 position. Not with the up and down play of Duncan and the overall not very impressive Splitter.

They're outscoring teams right now, but their defense is well below their usual standards. And currently Ducann is being attacked on that end in P&R's and also in the post. Its the most shocking thing to my mind in the last two years, Duncan as a defensive liability at many times.

[Kwhit10]

THey've done great with the 3rd hardest schedule so far.

Are you sure it isn't the 3rd easiest?  I think they've had a pretty easy schedule.

SOrry I looked at the wrong column.  It was the 3rd hardest in their past 10 games.  10th hardest schedule over all.  From sorting on Hollingers ranking page.

[PosImpos]

I don't know if the Spurs can win it all in the playoffs with Duncan/Blair/Bonner/Splitter/McDyess at the 4/5 position. Not with the up and down play of Duncan and the overall not very impressive Splitter.

They're outscoring teams right now, but their defense is well below their usual standards. And currently Ducann is being attacked on that end in P&R's and also in the post. Its the most shocking thing to my mind in the last two years, Duncan as a defensive liability at many times.

This is all true.  However, recall that the Celtics didn't play great defense for most of last year, either - and opposing defenses also attacked KG at times (memories of Rashard blowing by him for a layup...ergh). 

The Spurs have showed at times this season that they are capable of locking down and playing tough defense (as they did against the Lakers).  I think come post-season time they'll be able to defend well, and I expect Duncan to lift his game up and actually be able to sustain his play better after resting a lot during the regular season.