If there was any logic in the numbers, we could say the Spurs would be
the champions this season, as this season will end in 2009 and they
were champions in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. However, their challenge
this season will be huge and surely the task for them to keep the team
on the top is getting harder every season.
We are talking about the oldest team on the league and looking at
their starting team, Tony Parker is the only player with less than 30
years old. Surely, this is also an advantage, as there is no
experienced team on the league like them, but with the West getting
more competitive every season and with 82 games and 17 back to backs on
the regular season, the challenge for this veteran team is huge.
Greg Popovich is one of the best coaches on the league and he knows
the most important is how the team will finish the season and it will
be decisive that the Spurs get to April in good shape and he won't be
concerned in which Playoff position the Spurs end up having. Remember
the last two times the Spurs won the league, they weren't the best team
on the West during the regular season.
If the physical condition will be essential for the team, the
season isn't starting well for them, as Manu Ginobili will be out until
mid-December, missing the first 15/20 games of the team. His importance
as a starter or as a 6th man (he won the best 6th man award last
season) is huge and Manu is the type of player any team wants to have
for the last seconds of a ballgame. He comes from his best season ever,
with 19.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 4.5 apg and it will be important to know not
only when he will return to the team, but also he will be immediately
at 100% when he comes back.
With Ginobili out, some other players will need to step it up and
take responsibilities and one of these players will have to be Tony
Parker, who even though isn't referred as one of the league's best PG
(like Nash, Paul or Deron), is still a very good PG and clearly the
best on the league in driving to the basket. With him being the only
starter on the team with less than 30 years old, Parker will need to
average more than 20 ppg for the first time on his career, while at the
same time average 5 to 6 assists per game.
Tim Duncan will be like always the reference and the heart of the
Spurs, but with the years passing (he is already 32 years old), it's
getting more important than never to save him, in order for him to be
at 100% at the end of the season. 20 ppg and 10 rpg have been the
natural numbers of Duncan on a season and this should happen once again
this season, however it will be curious to see how Pop will manage
Duncan's minutes during the season.
The rest of the roster will basically be the same from last season,
but with the difference of being one year older. Bruce Bowen is already
37 years old, but his defensive skills on the perimeter make him still
a very important player on the Spurs organization. The way he has been
keeping himself healthy season after season has been amazing and once
again this season, he will see Bowen putting his hands on the face of
Nash, Kobe and Lebron.
Oberto, Thomas and Finley will be the other players who will have a
lot of minutes on the team and all of them count with a lot of
experience on the league and know exactly what Popovich wants for the
tam. The only new face on the Spurs roster for this season is Roger
Mason Jr, who came from the Wizards. He had a good season in a role in
Washington, which will be basically the role he will have this season
in San Antonio: 9.1 ppg in 21 minutes per game.
Until when will the Spurs be capable of being a dominant force on
the league? The oldest team of the league will have a lot of rivals
this season and it will be interesting to watch how they can live
without Ginobili, who will out until mid-December. They will play 10 of
their first 13 games against conference rivals and their first three
games won't be easy, as they will be against Phoenix, Portland and
Dallas.
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