With two weeks remaining in the NBA regular season, teams are starting to make preparations for their playoff run. A few weeks ago I wrote about the Oklahoma City Thunder and why they are primed to make a big push out of the West. In the East, the Heat and Bulls continue to battle for the #1 overall seed.
One team that gets overlooked is that familiar face atop the Southwest Division – the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are the team that just won’t die. Every season we expect this to be the year there is a drop off in San Antonio, whether it be because Father Time is catching up with them or that the teams around them in the West have just gotten a lot better. So how does a team that has seemingly gone over a decade without a top 20 pick in the NBA draft continue to be contenders?
“It’s gotta be the shoes…” No. It’s gotta be the coach, Greg Popovich. Show of hands if you know “Coach Pop” is the longest tenured coach with the same team among the 122 NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB franchises. Did you remember he’s won four NBA Championships and is the only active coach with multiple titles in his sport? Think about that, he has four rings yet whenever people toss around “best coaches in sports” Popovich’s name is seemingly left out or at the very least comes after names like Phil Jackson and Coach K, Bill Bellicheck, Tony LaRussa etc…
The San Antonio Spurs might be the most under-appreciated dynasty in the history of sports. Which makes Greg Popovich one of the most underrated legendary coaches in sports history. Why? Is it because San Antonio is one of the smallest markets in the NBA? Probably so. San Antonio is a great NBA town. It’s the only pro game in town. If you took the Spurs and dropped them in New York or Philadelphia (cities starving for an NBA title), they would be legendary. They would be talked about with the Lakers, Celtics and Bulls.
Perhaps its because their franchise player over the past 15 years is Tim Duncan, “the big fundamental” as coined by Shaquille O’Neil. Duncan isn’t exactly a SportsCenter hightlight in waiting. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that kids on the playground today don’t simulate their buzzer beater play by knocking down a bank shot from 12 feet out on the elbow.
The Spurs have kept their core group in tact: Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker. These three guys are no spring chickens, yet this team is 3rd in the NBA in offense at 101 ppg. They are a fairly pedestrian team on defense, ranking 12th overall. Like most elite teams in the NBA, they are a tough out at home. 25-5 to date at AT&T Center.
With the season being so condensed and the playoffs around the corner, Coach Popovich has strategically begun to rest his starters more minutes on certain nights as the regular season winds down. Duncan and Coach Pop will begin their quest for a 5th NBA Title. “One for the thumb” as many call it when players look to get that fifth ring. This quest by the Spurs isn’t about earning respect from historians. It’s about being crowned champion in the 2011-12 season. Nothing more, nothing less. One season at a time. Years from now, when Popovich and Duncan are out of the game, perhaps then, we will all look back and finally appreciate what these two guys have accomplished.