Over the next month, we’ll be talking with a variety of people who cover each NBA team to find out a little bit about their team, and how they expect the season to go. We’ll also find out what they believe will be the most intriguing matchup when the two team’s meet during the regular season. We continue the Southwest Division with a look at the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. Ian Dougherty of PoundingTheRock joins us. You can find Ian on twitter @IanDougherty.
Game Dates
Wednesday, February 4th @ San Antonio
Wednesday, April 1st @ Orlando
Last Season: 62-20; First In Western Conference; Won NBA Finals
November 29th: Orlando 91 San Antonio 109
March 8th: San Antonio 121 Orlando 112
Projected Starters
Point Guard: Tony Parker
Shooting Guard: Danny Green
Small Forward: Kawhi Leonard
Power Forward: Tim Duncan
Center: Tiago Splitter
Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) looks for a call in the second half against the Miami Heat in game five of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Q: We’re looking at the same Spurs team from last season basically. How important has the low turnover rate in the roster been to their long-term success?
A: I believe that roster continuity, besides sheer talent, is the single most important thing for a sports franchise to win. The leaders of this team; Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, have been together for over 10 years. The rest of the team (except for Marco Belinelli) has been together for about three years now. They know how each other play. They obviously have the chemistry to win.You can see it in the speedy ball movement. You can see it on defense with everyone communicating. They know exactly where their teammates will be, and it gives them more of an opportunity to take chances, because if they mess up, someone will be there to help them recover.
Because they all are coming back for yet another year, I believe all they’ll do is get better. The Spurs’ ability to keep this level of talent across the board together for an extended period of time is a one of a kind in the current NBA (except for maybe the Thunder, but I don’t think their supporting cast is as good), and it puts them above everybody else.
Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) speaks during a press conference after game five of the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Q: Kawhi is entering a contract year — assuming he isn’t extended prior to the season. What’s the next step for him in his developmental process, and what would be a fair contract, in your mind, for him?
A: The next step for Kawhi to take is for him to have a higher usage rate on offense, and to be more consistent with his big scoring nights. Leonard has all the talent in the world, and has shown the ability to handle the ball well in small sample sizes. He has dribble moves. He can get to the rim when he wants to be aggressive. He can hit the one dribble pull-up at the free throw line when the defense gives him space. His post game was extremely efficient last year, though it is predictable. He’ll have to gain more post moves at some point. And we all know about his defensive ability.
With all that said, I’m not sure that will come this year. A lot of people got caught up in his MVP performance and think that kind of production will carry over to next year. The same thing happened after the 2013 Finals, when he also performed well against the Heat. That’s just not the way the Spurs’ offense has worked in the past, and unless one of the Big Three take a dive in production, I don’t expect things to shift that much more towards Kawhi. He’ll be a slightly bigger part of the offense, just not to the level a lot of people think he will be.
As far as what an appropriate contract would be for him? He’s 23, a Finals MVP, and Coach Popovich has called him the future face of the Spurs franchise. He sure as hell deserves the max extension. But, as my fellow PtR mate Jesus Gomez explained here, that may not end up being the case. The Spurs front office has a penchant for getting players to stay for less than they’re worth, so this will be an interesting situation to watch.
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Q: What’s one matchup that intrigues you for when the Magic and Spurs meet?
A: I don’t really know if there is one matchup that will be fun to watch when San Antonio and Orlando play each other. The Magic are just too young to compete right now, and the Spurs will probably end up sitting their stars and let the B-team roll over them. Though, if both teams stay similarly constructed,this matchup will present an interesting hypothetical between how the Spurs move the ball versus a young, athletic, long Magic defense. The defensive potential for young Magic players like Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, and Moe Harkless is through the roof, and I can see them using their length and God-given athletic ability to gum up possessions versus teams who base their offense off of ball-movement, similar to what the Oklahoma City Thunder do now. They get in passing lanes, force live-ball turnovers, and cause chaos in transition. It’s going to be fun for me to watch this young Magic team develop.
Q: Is this the year the Spurs finally fall off a little bit? Or do they have another title run in them? If not a title run, how far do they make it in the playoffs?
A: No, the Spurs will not slow down this year. People have been saying the Spurs will slow down since 2005, and although they’ve lost in the playoffs early a few season, people have always considered them a contender for the title at the end of the regular season. I expect that to continue this year. Their biggest threat last year was the Thunder, and the Spurs showed the ability to overcome their athleticism and scoring explosiveness. The Clippers and Rockets haven’t shown the ability to play on the Spurs’ level over the course of a full season yet. In the East, the Bulls defense might be the only defense able to muck up the Spurs’ offense, and they’ve added more shooting this offseason. But, Derrick Rose is still a huge question mark, and I’m not sure they get past Cleveland if they matchup in the playoffs. The Cavaliers seem to be the favorites in the conference, but I don’t expect them to have a good enough team defense to stop the Spurs from getting whatever shot they want. In my mind, at the start of the season, there’s really no clear challenger to the Spurs as the best team in the league.