San Antonio Spurs: Gregg Popovich is keeping the team afloat
The San Antonio Spurs are just eight wins from having another winning season. This year it is thanks to the coaching of Gregg Popovich.
The San Antonio Spurs are an incredible organization. In 51 years of their history, the Spurs have failed to make the playoffs just five times. Taking only their NBA seasons into account, in their 42 years in the league, they have not made the playoffs just four times.
In the 20 full seasons that Gregg Popovich has been the head coach, the Spurs have never missed the playoffs. With the exception of the shortened 1998-99 NBA season, the Spurs have never won fewer than 50 games with Popovich at the helm.
This season, however, the injury toll was surely going to test this record. Was Popovich’s 21st season going to be the one where his record would be blemished? With 27 games left in the season, the answer appears to be no.
The Spurs have a 34-21 record, just eight games shy of securing another winning record. They also still sit third in the Western Conference despite the huge number of injuries. These injuries have cost the Spurs a large number of games to key players.
The injury toll
Tony Parker, who had to be carried off court during last year’s playoffs thanks to a quad injury, missed the first 19 games of the season. Since coming back, he has missed seven more games. This means he has played a total of only 29 of the possible 55 games.
Kawhi Leonard has played even less, thanks to his own quad injury as well as a shoulder issue. Leonard has played only nine of the possible 55 games and is out indefinitely again.
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Those two injuries would be bad enough for any franchise to overcome. However it does not end there. Rudy Gay has missed 21 games, Danny Green has missed 11 games and Kyle Anderson has missed eight games.
Of the bench players, Joffrey Lauvergne has missed 21 games, although 11 of them are due to not being played by the coach. Brandon Paul has missed seven games, with the most recent games being due to back spasms.
In true Popovich style, he has also rested his veterans. Manu Ginobili has missed 14 games while Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge have both missed three games.
This means the Spurs have lost more than 130 games from their regular players thanks to injury or rest. The only players who have appeared in all 55 games are Patty Mills, Dejounte Murray and Bryn Forbes.
How the San Antonio Spurs have overcome this
The answer to this is quite simple. Popovich is managing the minutes of his players. Only one player is playing more than 30 minutes per game, LaMarcus Aldridge (34.1). Anderson is second with just 27.5 minutes per game.
In fact, there are nine players who are averaging more than 20 minutes per game and less than 30. Compare that to a team such as the Golden State Warriors who have four players averaging more than 32.6 minutes per game. Likewise, the Oklahoma City Thunder have four players averaging more than 32.3 minutes per game
However, it is what the Spurs players are doing in their time on court time that is having a huge impact. The Spurs are a system-driven team, where everyone knows their place. This means they can have multiple players missing and still succeed.
The Spurs have eight players averaging 7.8 to 11.5 points per game. Leonard is averaging 16.2 point in nine games and Aldridge is averaging a team-leading 22.4 points per game.
Likewise, in rebounding six players are averaging between 4.7 and 8.4 rebounds per game. In assists, eight players are averaging 2.0 to 4.1 assists per game. It does not matter who is out there, everyone is pitching in and as a result the Spurs are still dangerous.
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Every Popovich-coached team that I have seen has had the mentality of playing for each other and playing for the coach. In a league where loyalty and playing for the team are coming second to checks or championship-chasing, it is refreshing to see.