As regular readers may know, at the start and end of every NBA season, I have continuously predicted the death of the San Antonio Spurs, and I have come to apologize and atone myself, as my rantings about their demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
As of this writing the Spurs are about to begin the Western Conference Finals series, the first time they have made it this far since they won their last NBA title in 2014.
This was not the way I or many other fans would have seen this franchise trending at this same time last year, when the pending retirement of future Hall Of Fame forward Tim Duncan and a partially aging core seemed to point to a couple of lean years while the Spurs retooled and reloaded at least.
However stellar play by all star Kawhi Leonard, smart veteran free agent signings like Pau Gasol and top notch coaching and team culture have kept the ship upright and sailing even at the times that most sports franchises would have found themselves sunk without their retired or aging stars.
Actually, it is interesting how the Spurs have deftly avoided mediocrity and obscurity over the last couple of seasons. After all, I use them as a subject matter for this column regularly because I am a fan, they are my second favorite NBA team next to my beloved Chicago Bulls.
In that frame of mind, these twice yearly columns almost seem to be almost mocking the Spurs, daring them to prove me and conventional sports wisdom dead wrong.
Which the Spurs have continued to do, time and time again.
Basketball is at it’s heart, a simple sport invented so athletes could exercise indoors in the Winter time, escaping the snow and the cold. All simple things however have a complex heart. It is easy to dismiss them because they do indeed seem so very simple, but for every pick and roll or slam dunk, there is a logic there, the following of a plan and play style that should, if working properly, make the game of basketball as easy as it appears on television.
Tracing this back to the source, Coach Greg Popovich and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs staff as well because they have a system that players buy into and a aura of being the team that makes the smart move most of the time, all while staying relevant and competitive while dealing with massive roster shake ups.
Excitement builds however each Spring as the playoffs arrive. From here on out every game means a million times more than its regular season counterpart. Competition gets intense as the winning teams get one step closer to winning an NBA title.
As the story stands as of this writing the Spurs could have their sixth NBA Championship, bucking a trend and proving once again that they are a dynasty and one of the greatest franchises in the NBA…
