NBA Playoffs 2012: How Tony Parker and Spurs Big 3 Will Shock the NBA World

When the NBA lockout ended in September, not many people expected Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs to be sitting with the best record in the Western Conference with only three games remaining in the season.

Sure the Spurs were going to be good, but this good? Absolutely no chance. The Big Three are way too old to have any kind of success, especially in a shortened season with as many as four or five games a week at a time.

That was simply going to be way too much wear and tear for these old guys and the rebuilding process would likely begin soon after the season.

Instead, Parker has played at an MVP level, we've seen a vintage Tim Duncan at times and Gregg Popovich has quite possibly done his best coaching job in his 16 years on the San Antonio bench.

As the NBA playoffs are set to begin this week, the Spurs are ready to shock the world and quite possibly bring home their fifth title in franchise history.

Parker is certainly one reason why.

His steady play all season long should draw some MVP consideration and in any other season where LeBron James and Kevin Durant weren't having such monster seasons, he may have a realistic shot of winning it.

Yet that doesn't matter much to anyone wearing a Spurs uniform, which is the precise thing that makes them ever so dangerous in the postseason.

No team in the NBA plays as unselfishly as the Spurs do on a nightly basis.

They've turned into an offensive juggernaut this season, averaging 103.2 PPG (second in NBA), but it's the way they score the ball that gives teams fits. In almost every game, Popovich's club puts on a clinic on how to share the ball and get the open shot.

Opposing teams just can't plan on taking an option or two out of a game, because the Spurs average 22.7 APG and don't have an ounce of selfishness in their game.

Nine different Spurs average over 8.0 PPG, which means their depth is outstanding.

Role players such as Gary Neal (9.9 PPG), Stephen Jackson (9.8), DeJuan Blair (9.4), Tiago Splitter (9.1), Danny Green (9.0) and Kawhi Leonard (8.0) produce on a regular basis.

A starting lineup that features Leonard, Green and Blair shouldn't scare anyone, but when the Spurs get on average 55.2 points per night from their role players, it means that people step up and get the job done when their numbers are called.

With Manu Ginobili (13.2 PPG) fresh and coming off the bench, Duncan (15.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG) showing very little sign that the end is near and Parker putting up a solid line (18.3 PPG, 7.7 APG), the Spurs have almost everything it takes to make a lengthy playoff run.

They have shown this year that they have the talent to shock the world and have the perfect mix between youthful energy and veteran leadership.

What's tough for the rest of the NBA is that they never know where it's going to come from on a nightly basis. Almost everyone in a San Antonio uniform is capable of stepping up and playing the role of hero when they are asked to do so.