With a veteran core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, any basketball fan could have told you the Spurs would be a competitive, 50 win playoff team this season. On the other hand, not many would have guessed the Spurs would have a league best 51-12 record through 63 games. The Spurs have all but locked up homecourt advantage throughout the postseason, and the team has pundits and fans talking about another championship parade in San Antonio this summer.
Before this season’s resurgence, many fans believed the Spurs’ window had closed for seriously contending for a championship. In 2009, the team was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. It was the first time in the Tim Duncan era that the team failed to make it out of the first round. Last season, the Spurs were swept by the Suns in the conference semi-finals. It looked as though the Spurs were too old and injury prone to contend for a title anymore.
The team’s 51-12 record this season can partially be attributed to the health of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. More importantly, the team has largely changed its philosophy and strategy for winning games. The team has relied more on offense to win games this season than ever before. This is the highest scoring Spurs team in the Tim Duncan and Greg Popovich era.
The team is currently ranked sixth in the league in point per game, fifth in field goal percentage and first in three point percentage. Conversely, the team is roughly in the middle of the pack when it comes to defense this season. The team is tied for 17th place for points allowed per game. The Celtics, Bulls, Heat, Lakers and Mavericks all allow fewer points per game this season than the Spurs.
The three championships the Spurs have won the past decade were anchored on tough defense and a bland, yet potent offensive scheme. While I certainly admire Greg Popovich’s coaching, and his open mindedness in trying to shake things up after recent playoff failures, it makes me wonder if the Spurs can win a championship relying so much on offense.
While the Spurs’ record speaks for itself, it is very much debatable if this year’s Spurs team is more like the championship teams of 03, 05 and 07, or the seven seconds or less Phoenix Suns teams in which the defensive minded Spurs used to bump from the playoffs every year.
It is hard to imagine the Spurs beating the likes of the Lakers, Mavericks, Celtics and Bulls in the playoffs by simply trying to outrun them. I know it is one of the oldest sports’ cliches in the book, but doesnt’ defense win championships? Up until this season, the Spurs would have probably reminded you of the same thing.
On the other hand, the Spurs are led by a group of grizzled playoff hardened champions in Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Greg Popovich. So, it is certainly a little bit hasty to completely say this year’s Spurs team is built more for the regular season than the playoffs.
However, while the team’s core is certainly playoff proven, the team’s reliance on offense this season is very much the opposite. As history has shown, teams who rely so heavily on offense in the playoffs are often mining for fool’s gold, while the teams who rely on defense are slipping gold on their fingers.
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
