After the 2013 Finals, where the Spurs came as close as you can to winning yet fall short, there were probably some basketball heads thinking San Antonio would come out blazing this season, on a mission for revenge and a some blood, like Wyatt, Doc Holliday and the rest of the gang. The Spurs have started out with a statement at 10 and 1, tied with the Pacers for the best record, but statements have never been a motif in San Antonio. Fans will complain that the Spurs are under appreciated, constantly being passed off as too old, with teams like the Warriors, the Thunder, the Clippers, the Rockets and the Grizzlies often being favored over the Spurs, but that is probably how Pop and his team like it. While the Spurs are old, and they know it, they also know that the Clippers and Rockets can't play defense, or half court offense, to save their life. They know the Warriors are young and hungry but can be streaky and still lack experience at the top. The Spurs know that no matter how good Westbrook and Durant are the Thunder have yet to develop any of their young talent to the level of contention and they know that as fearsome as the Grizzlies are, they swept them last year. In a way the less media attention they receive the smaller the bullseye on them is. Every team makes a special point to play 110% against the defending champion Heat or to embarrass Dwight Howard and the Rockets.
The Spurs will hike through the season as they do every year, a top tier team in the west fighting for high seeding while simultaneously squeezing every minute they can stand out of reserves like Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, Aron Baynes, Jeff Ayres and Matt Bonner. Gregg Popovich's ability to manage the minutes of his older players and disperse duties among the role players feels under appreciated at times. This year more than any will be the ultimate tribute to Pop's design as rest for Duncan, Ginobili and Parker (to an extent) becomes more imperative. Watching the Spurs so far this season has really felt like watching a machine, as if any player on the bench could be plugged in among any combination to approximate the same outcome. There are certainly pluses on the team, Parkers ability to create shots for himself as well as others, Kawhi and Tim's defense, but there doesn't seem to be a glaring weakness yet.
Pop takes any opportunity to rest Duncan and play deep into his bench, developing comfort and familiarity for all within the system. During a game against the Warriors in which Stephen Curry sat due to an ankle bone bruise Pop played Baynes, who averaged under 9 minutes last year, almost 16 minutes including crunch time play. In a blowout against the Knicks he played Ayres for 14 minutes and Patty Mills for 23, in which he contributed 15 points. It is not uncommon for Spurs box scores to have seven or eight players all scoring in double figures but none over 20. San Antonio seems capable of being an egalitarian squad when able and then having players like Parker, Duncan or Kawhi step up to shoulder a heavier load when called for. One of Popovich's strongest abilities is to see talent and utilize it. He has not been faced with catering to a roster amalgamated with overlapping talents. Pop has his roles defined and when a player leaves or falls out of favor he finds analogous talent to fill the role, this past offseason with Gary Neal and Marco Belinelli as well as Dejuan Blair and Jeff Ayres.
The emergence of Kawhi during last years playoffs and the franchise's commitment to Tiago Splitter this past offseason has shown some foresight into the future lin a post "big three" era. Kawhi, Danny Green, and Tiago have established themselves as integral parts within the Spurs system and only show signs of further development at their young ages. Kawhi is one of the brightest young talents in the league after showing his ability to defend Lebron, as well as one can, throughout the finals. Pop will look to Leonard this year more often and will provide him more opportunity outside of the spot up corner three Spurs role players have learned to hit with a surgeon's precision. Spurs regular season campaigns for the last 10 seasons have felt like Pop's chance to tweak his sets, develop confidence in his bench to be summoned later at big moments and to see what lineups work and what to throw out. As long as he gets his key players to the playoffs in optimal condition and in decent seeding it seems Pop has done his job.
San Antonio has watched Parker, Ginobili and Duncan grow up together. They are the league's longest tenured trio and by the time it's all said and done will likely surpass Bird, McHale and Parrish as the trio with the most games played ever and the most games won (they need to play 101 more games together and win 76 more games). As the years pass Spurs fans are constantly forced to acknowledge the fact that it's going to end. Parker will be 32 by the end of this season, Duncan 38 and Ginobili 36. All three will be free agents after next season with Parker being the only one expected to have another contract in him. With the recent CBA's stiff tax penalties for teams collecting talent it's very hard to imagine anything like this happening again. With Pop saying he will retire alongside Duncan we watch to see if one the best franchises in professional sports can add another title to their story.
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