Just in case the NBA world forgot, the San Antonio Spurs would like to remind you that they’re still championship contenders. Favorites? Probably not. Golden State and the Atlanta Hawks (?) have been the best teams in the NBA by far this season, and have shown very few signs of weakness.
But the Spurs are still hanging around. Just like Jason from the Friday the 13th movies, just when you think they’re dead, they pop out of the lake to start killing teenagers again. Or something like that.
After a disappointing December, in which they went 8-10, they have started January 9-3 and seem to be rounding into form. In their last 10 games, they are 8-2, which puts them behind only Golden State and Atlanta for the best current 10 game stretch in the NBA. Much of this has to do with the return of Kawhi Leonard.
The budding star has dealt with an injury-plagued season, causing him to miss 18 out of San Antonio’s first 46 games.
Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, Leonard showed exactly why the Spurs need him in the lineup on a more regular basis. He scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory. He also brought his typically stout defense to the table, and was aggressive in getting to the rim, which resulted in 12 free throw attempts.
His 15.5 points per game leads the Spurs in scoring and he is quickly turning into their primary scoring option.
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The Spurs are 5-1 since his return and that is no coincidence. Call him a “glue guy” or call him “the straw that stirs the drink.” Whatever you call him, just know that he is a vital part of this team’s identity. He may not be the kind of superstar that can carry a team, like LeBron James or Kevin Durant, but he is a perfect fit on this balanced team and a much needed defensive anchor.
There is one Spur who has not quite gotten his groove back. Tony Parker’s return to the lineup has not been quite as successful. For the season, the 32 year old point guard is averaging 14.4 points and 4.7 assists per game with a PER of 15.07, which would be the lowest of his career.
He’s still shooting an impressive 54.8 percent from three-point range, but he is only taking 1.3 a game. Parker has never been a dynamo on defense, so when his scoring and playmaking is not at it’s usual high level, he loses what makes him special.
He’s not playing terribly; it just feels like something is not quite right with Parker. It’s possible the mileage of deep playoff runs is catching up with him, or he could be saving himself for the postseason.
As long as the Spurs win enough to make the postseason, Parker’s regular season performance won’t matter one bit as long as “Playoff Parker” comes to play when the lights shine the brightest.
Then there is Tim Duncan. He has been remarkably healthy this season, playing 41 of 46 games. I already wrote about his defensive prowess, and his strong case for defensive player of the year, but the Big Fundamental is still strong offensively as well.
His steady 14.8 points 10 rebounds a night have been the one constant for the Spurs this season. He has shown that 16-foot bank shots and great footwork in the post never go out of style.
This successful January run has helped the Spurs close the gap between themselves and some of the Western Conference elite. They now find themselves 1.5 games back of the Dallas Mavericks for the sixth seed, and only four games back of Memphis for the second seed.
At the beginning of January concerns were being raised that this Spurs era of dominance may be coming to an end, even I was questioning their reign. Eventually this era is going to end, but every time I bury them in my mind, they make me look foolish.
I thought Ray Allen killed them for good in the 2013 NBA Finals, but one year later, they exacted their revenge on the Miami Heat in one of the most dominating championship performances we have ever witnessed.
They may not be what they used to be, but I won’t count them out until they lose four games in the playoffs.
However, there are some legitimate causes for concern. Hoops Habit’s Shane Young recently pointed out that the key to winning an NBA championship could be having both a top-10 offense, and a top-10 defense. That tends to separate the contenders from the pretenders.
Currently the Spurs have the fifth-best defensive rating in the NBA at 102.3, but only the 13th-best offensive rating at 106.5. If they can keep their defense strong while also rediscovering that offensive magic that has been a hallmark of the last two San Antonio teams, then history could repeat itself.
With the possible retirements of Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, and maybe even Gregg Popovich they may need to make this year’s run count.