They hardly blow other teams out.
They are currently on a 10 game winning streak in which their average margin of victory is by 10 points.
They are constantly called a boring team. People say there is nothing flashy about their style of play because they don't have guys that can jump out of the gym and give poster worthy facials. They don't have a fancy dribbler that pounds the ball on the hardwood for 15 out of the 24 seconds on the shot clock, trying to set up a cross over or show off his one on one skills.
C'mon people. You should know what team I am talking about here. In case you are still wondering. Here's another clue for you:
They have won four out of the last 9 NBA championships.
Yeah! That's right. It's the San Antonio Spurs.
Ever since I could remember, I have been hearing guys complain that it would be boring to watch the Spurs in the playoffs and especially in the NBA Finals. I always wondered what was boring about playing the game the right way.
Setting solid screens. Pick and rolls/pops that resulted in easy buckets. Feeding the post and spreading the floor. Dribble drives and kick-outs that resulted in wide open shoots. Playing fundamentally sound man to man or zone defence. Realizing that in the last 3 minutes of every close game, teams should be focused on driving to the basket with the goal of drawing fouls and getting to the line. These are things that a lot of teams do in the league but no team does it as well as the Spurs.
The Spurs have a very good chance to repeat as champions this year but I won't go out on a limb and predict that they will definitely do this. Especially with the way the west is stacked this year, any team could get hot and go far. Look at the surprise job the Golden State Warriors did on the Dallas Mavericks last year. The warriors had the players and the right kind of system to upset the Mavs. If the playoffs were to start today, the Spurs will be playing against those same Warriors. Quite frankly, they just might be able to pull off another upset.
I don't think that will be the case this time though. The Spurs play good enough defence that will disrupt the "chaotic-style" offence that the Warriors like to run. Tim Duncan definitely will not have the bewildered look that Dirk Nowitztki had when he was surrounded by smaller and very feisty guards on defence. Then there is Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and the rest of the fundamentally sound Spurs squad. They will be in the right place and make the right plays to get the job done.
Here's my punctuation point for this blog. I like watching the Spurs play and love it when they win. This is contrary to the thinking of guys in my generation. Guys that grew up during the Jordan era and prefer to watch teams with ultra athletic guards play up to their superstar roles. I myself love to watch these types of teams and players with the run and gun styles. I love the highlight dunks, the killer cross-overs and the fast breaks. I truly do. But I also really find it amusing and very entertaining when the game is slowed down and the right plays are called and executed to near perfection.
Who says that there is no flash in substance and fundamentals. The San Antonio Spurs have proven that there is. They have four "flashy" championship rings and could very well add another this year. Nothing boring about that.
Sportacularly yours,
The Vicarious Athlete
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