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After falling in the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs come into this season with the same veteran team that came within two wins of their fifth NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
1. What significant moves were made in the off-season?
The Spurs just kept their own free agents. The Spurs brought Tim Duncan back on a three-year $30 million. Danny Green signed a three-year $11.3 million contract and Boris Diaw two-year $9 million. One thing to keep an eye on are the Spurs’ training camp invites. I’ m the most intrigued by Derrick Brown because I see him as a great fit for that team.
Also, keep an eye on Eddy Curry. He has for sure tons of red flags but he is an amazing talent that has produced a lot at the NBA level, is still relatively young and is in great shape for his standards.
2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?
The Spurs can score and they are efficient at doing it. They finished second in the league in points scored and assist ratio. Any team with Stephen Jackson and Manu Ginobili coming off the bench is loaded.
The Spurs are the deepest team in the league and like to wear down their opponents by essentially playing two starting fives. All of different options on the roster afford Gregg Popovich tons of flexibility to mix and match different lineups. This is a team that will not only win lots of regular season games, they will win them by large margins.
3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?
They don’t have many glaring needs, with the bulk of the roster on track to return. Age is the obvious one. Duncan will be 37 by the start of this year’s postseason. Ginobili is 36 and Tony Parker turned 30. This team could also use more athleticism in the front-court. None of the big-men on the Spurs’ roster play above the rim, which could become problematic when matching up with a big-man who likes to face up.
4. Will there be a trade during the season?
It’s not likely, but if the of all the championship contenders, the Spurs come into this season with the most flexibility to make a move if they have to. DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal can be valuable pieces on other teams. However, there is a good chance that they won’t be Popovich’s rotation this year. Stephen Jackson’s $10 million expiring contract can be a valuable trade chip if the Spurs feel that they have to shake up the roster.
5. What needs to happen for the Spurs to win the West?
To be honest, plenty of things have to go in the Spurs favor. First, they have to stay healthy, this should less of daunting task as previous seasons due to the depth and Pop’s knack for managing his players minutes. Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter need to have big years to off-set the further decline of Duncan and Ginobili.
Prediction: This team is built to win a ton of regular season games because of their amazing depth and the Spurs will be in the hunt once again this year. But they will fall short of an NBA Title this year as they won’t have enough youth to win the western conference.
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