*FAN SUBMISSION by Damien Akao of El Dorado, KS. Follow him on Twitter @DameAkao.*
One free throw, one rebound, one hustle play. That’s how close the San Antonio Spurs were to winning the franchise’s fifth championship. The Spurs are arguably the closest, in any sport, to not win a championship. The Larry O’Brien championship trophy was on its way to the court, security was preparing for the trophy presentation, even some of the Miami Heat players believed the game was over. After such a heartbreaking ending to the season, including a game seven that wasn’t decided until the final minute, do the Spurs have what it takes to make it back to the finals?
Courtesy: CBS Sports
Last year many people said the Spurs were “too old” to compete in the playoffs, but they proved everyone wrong by making it to the NBA finals. The same label will be put on the Spurs again this year. The Spurs didn’t make too much noise in the offseason. They were able to resign Tiago Splitter who signed a big 4-year 36 million contract, and two time All-Star and sixth man Manu Ginobili. They lost a key piece in last year’s playoff run with Gary Neal signing a 2-year 6.5 million dollar contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. They also lost big man Dejuan Blair who signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
However, San Antonio was able to sign Marco Belinelli, who will likely replace Neal in the rotation. The Spurs also signed power forward Jeff Pendergraph, who played limited minutes for the Indiana Pacers in their playoff run last year, but he probably won’t see big minutes for the Spurs.
In the past, regular season records haven’t really been too important for coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, as long as they make the playoffs they feel like they can beat anyone. Last season San Antonio was able to finish 58-24 which was good enough for the second seed in the Western Conference. Popovich will continue to limit Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker’s minutes during the regular season to reduce the wear and tear on their bodies to be fresh for the playoffs. This means more pressure will be put on Kawhi Leonard, who many predict will have a breakout season. Leonard had a great series against the Heat averaging 14.6 points and 11.1 rebounds, including solid defense on both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
The Spurs success starts (and probably ends) with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. Parker is coming off of a great year putting himself back into the discussion as an elite player. Parker would have been the Finals MVP if the Spurs would have won. 37 year old Tim Duncan made it seem like age isn’t affecting him at all with his performance last season. He was able to average a double-double in the playoffs, and was one tenth off of averaging one in the regular season.
Age and injuries are slowing down Ginobili who did not have a good playoffs and regular season compared to what we are accustomed to seeing from him. As he nears the end of his career, sharp-shooting Danny Green will look to continue his high level of play and take some of the pressure off of Ginobili.
If the Spurs are able to remain healthy they will have an opportunity to go far in the playoffs once again. However, it may be hard for them to make it back to the finals with an improved Western Conference, which includes a healthy Thunder team, also an improved Rockets, Warriors, and Clipper teams. Last year could have been the last run title run for the Spurs, but never count out future Hall of Famers, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
