San Antonio Spurs basketball comes back next Wednesday and this will turn out to be one of the most interesting and important seasons in franchise history. The race to the NBA championship is open and the Spurs will be a team running until the very end, with a good chance of taking it as well
That being said, this may be the last race the Spurs have a chance at taking the lead in. As much as I wish for Tim Duncan to continue reversing his aging process, it’ll have stop eventually… right? Manu Ginobili’s not the All-Star he used to be and who knows if Tony Parker will want to stick around for the long haul when those two are gone.
Nonetheless, the Spurs still have a great chance at the championship this season. There are a few keys to make it a reality, and they’re not unreasonable. I’m excited to see them get back at it and look to continue their business they left unfinished in June. It won’t be easy though.
1. Danny Green’s Offensive Game
Green has made his reputation as one of the deadliest shooters in the league, especially after the clinic he put on during the NBA Finals. He doesn’t do much of anything else though on offense. It’s not every day that you see a player’s percentages decrease the closer he gets to the basket, but that’s exactly the case with Green.
Danny Green isn’t accustomed to shooting near the basket, and this graphic clearly reflects that. (NBA.com photo)
In addition to that, his ballhandling skills have always been questioned and many wonder if he can do more than be a spot-up three-point shooter. If he can bring his percentages around the rim up to just average, that’s already another asset for the team compared to last year.
2. The Addition of Marco Belinelli
Among the players that had the interest in Spurs fans this summer, Marco Belinelli was absent. Not that he isn’t a good player, but the Spurs have a knack for adding players no one thought of and that not one rumor beforehand mentioned (Jeff Ayres says hi, too). Essentially, he’s an upgraded Gary Neal.
As the main summer acquisition, Marco Belinelli is expected to take some of the scoring pressure off Manu Ginobili. (NBA.com photo)
He’s expected to be a shooter from outside, his numbers are expected to increase with the better looks he’ll get in San Antonio, and he’ll also do some ballhandling as well. The Gary-Neal-at-point-guard experiment failed miserably and should be left to those with the skill set to pull it off. So far in preseason play, he’s averaging 9.5 points per game on 52.6 percent from 3-point land. It’ll be fun to see how he meshes with Manu Ginobili and how many times he’ll make Gregg Popovich’s face turn red.
3. Manu Ginobili’s Health
No, he won’t have 20-point games often anymore. In fact, that number is more like what he’ll average in minutes per game this season. But Manu Ginobili is still needed for a championship. Luckily for him, he won’t have as much pressure on him this season as others such as Green, Belinelli and Kawhi Leonard are expected to up their scoring load. Albeit it’s only preseason play, Ginobili has also made quite the bounce back so far in these games from the awful series against the Miami Heat in the Finals.
Can Manu Ginobili rebound from the Finals and live up to the two-year, $14 million contract he signed this summer?(NBA.com photo)
With 12.2 points and 3.8 assists in 18.3 minutes per game, it’s a great start to what will hopefully be a great season for him. I doubt anyone took the loss to Miami as hard as Ginobili did. After having his psyche totally racked after Game 6 and contemplating retirement in the summer, he’s back for at least two more years to redeem himself. So far, he’s got the right attitude and looks ready to do so.
4. Kawhi Leonard’s Role
It’s about time people recognize who the real third member of the Big Three is. Kawhi Leonard already has relentless demeanor, swarming defense and a consistent 3-point shot. He’s basically Coach Pop in player form when dealing with the media. Will he actually smile (or show any emotion for that matter) in his H-E-B commercials?
There’s a little grin there, right? Hopefully it’s because Kawhi Leonard is about to unleash some new offensive moves. (NBA.com photo)
Aside from that, the main emphasis this offseason for Leonard has been expanding on his offense. He’s already a crucial part of the rotation and was, at times, the best player on the floor for San Antonio. They want him to be the whole package though. Pop expects him to be the future, so they want all they can get from him. He’s working more in the post on offense, which will work magnificently when placed as a big man in smallball rotations.
Ballhandling and creating shots remain as the two biggest parts of his game he still needs to work out. However, the team is pressing him to continue shooting and learn from his mistakes. They want his mistakes to be that he shoots too much rather than too little. Though the Spurs are expected to be his team in a couple of years, they want him to start showing those traits now.
5. Tony Parker’s and Tim Duncan’s MVP season
Finally, there are the two All-Stars on the team. The two All-NBA players. The two Finals MVPs.
Parker still has a lot left in his tank and his performance last year, including the freak shot from Game 1 of the Finals, was utterly missed when he suffered a hamstring strain midway through the Finals series that hampered his play. However, he’s only 31 years old and there’s no sign that he won’t put up similar numbers this season.
Expect the same desire from Tony Parker to have an All-NBA year as he had when he played big minutes for France this summer, against the Spurs’ wishes. (NBA.com photo)
For Duncan, he’ll have to hope there’s more magic left in the fountain of youth. Proper health treatment and diet are what you can credit to Duncan’s amazing run last season. After improving nearly all his numbers, including his free throw percentage by 10 points, can he keep up that level of play for one more year? At this point, the Spurs don’t really have any other choice to hope for. While they’ve improved in other areas on the team, Duncan is still truly the anchor of the Spurs. The gap between him and the rest of the team may not be as wide as before, but essentially the Spurs go as far as Duncan takes them.
He’s been hard at work since the 1997-98 season, but the Spurs need one more high-level performance from Tim Duncan. (NBA.com photo)
With Parker’s abilities in the Spurs system, as well as speed and scoring ability in the paint, and Duncan bringing the solid fundamentals as he has all his career, the championship is right there for the taking. It will most likely be even more difficult than last season, but they’re capable. Have we not learned yet to never count out the Spurs?