San Antonio Spurs: How They Match Up Against the Western Conference

The San Antonio Spurs are en route to potentially capturing another 50-win season despite playing a lockout-shortened 66-game schedule.

The Spurs own the best record in the Western Conference with less than a week to play in the season and have wrapped up home-court advantage through at least the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs.

The sensational play of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and the team's plethora of role players once again has the Spurs ranked among the favorites to claim the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June.

The Western Conference is loaded, though, and San Antonio's desired run to the NBA Finals won't be without some difficult matchups. 

So how does the veteran ballclub stack up against the fierce playoff competition?

Join Bleacher Report as we break down how the surging San Antonio Spurs match up with the rest of the Western Conference in 2012.

Tony Parker and Company Can Score with Anyone

The Spurs boast the second-highest scoring offense (103.2 PPG) in the NBA this season, led by veteran point guard Tony Parker, who is averaging more than 18 points per night for San Antonio.

San Antonio should be wary of the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder come playoff time, however, as both teams rank—along with San Antonio—in the top-three scoring squads in the league.

The Nuggets lead the NBA (103.7 PPG), while the Thunder (102.9 PPG) join Denver and San Antonio as the only three teams averaging more than 100 points per game during this shortened season.

San Antonio's No. 1 advantage on the offensive end lies beyond the arc, as the Spurs rank tops in the league in three-point shooting percentage (39.3 percent). The next best Western Conference playoff team, Oklahoma City ranks 11th (35.6 percent). 

No Spurs player takes more than four three-point attempts per game either, making them a feared long-range shooting team that operates by committee.

Difficult Potential Matchups: Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder

The Spurs Are Solid, but Susceptible on the Boards

The San Antonio Spurs are routinely among the best rebounding teams in the NBA, but this season, their prowess on the glass has been just a tad bit better than their opponents.

San Antonio ranks 11th in the NBA in rebounds per game (42.7 RPG) and only grabs 1.5 more boards than its opponent in a given night during the regular season.

Another concern is that 35-year-old Tim Duncan is the Spurs' best rebounder and leading board-getter this season, averaging exactly nine rebounds per game.

Role players like Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard must step up on the defensive glass, as well as the undersized DeJuan Blair, who will need to have a big postseason on the boards in order for San Antonio to mount a legitimate challenge.

Difficult Potential Matchups: Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers

San Antonio Lacks a Tone-Setting Shot-Blocker

For as talented as the San Antonio Spurs are defensively, only allowing 96.4 points per game on average, their lack of an intimidating presence in the paint outside of an aging Tim Duncan makes them vulnerable to opponents who can or prefer to run their offense down low.

The Spurs rank a measly 25th this season in blocked shots per game, sending away 4.4 per night on average, while their opponents swat nearly five of their shot attempts per game.

Although the aforementioned statistic is not a crushing blow to the club's championship hopes, it does speak to the potential struggles they will experience this spring.

The Oklahoma City Thunder block more shots (8.1 BPG) than any team in the league, while the playoff hopeful Utah Jazz rank fourth, swatting nearly six shots per game as a unit.

All seven other Western Conference playoff teams will boast a more formidable presence inside than the Spurs, and that cannot be overlooked.

Difficult Potential Matchups: Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns

Gregg Popovich's Squad Takes Care of the Ball, Plays Smart

Gregg Popovich's Spurs are the third-best team in the league this season when it comes to not turning the ball over. San Antonio averages just 13.5 turnovers per game as a team.

The Los Angeles Clippers (13.3 TOPG) are the only Western Conference playoff team that hold onto the pumpkin tighter than San Antonio, but not by much.

The efficiency can be traced to the Spurs' backcourt, where point guard Tony Parker has taken great care of the ball like he always does (2.5 TOPG for his career).

Manu Ginobili is also averaging his lowest number of turnovers per game (1.9 TOPG) since the 2005-06 season.

The Spurs also rank third in the NBA in fouls per game, racking up just 17.5 personals per contest and doing well to keep their opponents off the free-throw line. The Los Angeles Lakers are the only Western Conference playoff team better at not fouling (16.9 PFPG).

That underrated characteristic of San Antonio's club will go a long way during the postseason, where a foul shot—one point—can determine who advances and who goes home.

Difficult Potential Matchups: Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers

San Antonio Is Deadly When It Scores 100-Plus

The San Antonio Spurs own the league's second-best record when scoring at least 100 points (35-4). Even more impressive, is when their opponent scores 100-plus points, the Spurs are 15-10.

No other Western Conference playoff team boasts a winning record in games where their opponent reaches triple digits.

San Antonio's ability to consistently score and surpass the 100-point mark will be arguably its greatest attribute come playoff time.

Experts often say that the game slows down and becomes more half court-oriented in the postseason. If that is in fact true, the Spurs should be the favorites to come out of the West.

San Antonio can score in a variety of ways and go point for point with any team in the league.

The Spurs' 47.7 percent shooting from the field as a team is the best in the NBA this season, and San Antonio's plus-6.8 scoring differential is the best in the Western Conference. Only two other Western Conference playoff teams shoot better than 47 percent this season.

Difficult Potential Matchups: Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder

Follow Patrick Clarke on Twitter for more on the NBA and the upcoming NBA playoffs.