NBA Playoffs 2012: San Antonio Spurs' Depth Is Key to Championship Run

Few have noticed, but the San Antonio Spurs now have the best record in the NBA and will soon be holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

The team has been on an incredible run to end the season, and are peaking at the right time with the playoffs just around the corner.

San Antonio has won nine straight games and 20 of their past 22 contests. This includes winning three straight road games in three days last week.

In fact, following a 12-9 start, the Spurs have won over 84 percent of their games.

The reason the team has been so successful for so long is because of the depth that has not been found on the roster for quite some time.

With the lockout-shortened season, most expected some of the older teams to falter down the stretch due to the short turnaround between games and the physical demand. However, the Spurs did not fall into this trap.

Even with the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili starting to get up there in age, the younger players have stepped up to provide quality minutes.

DeJuan Blair, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green are all averaging over 20 minutes per game and filling up the box scores despite not being high draft picks.

The team is even getting production out of veterans Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw after being cast away by other teams. 

Gregg Popovich has done a great job this season of resting his key players. This not only allows everyone to be fresh for the playoffs, but the younger guys have confidence they can succeed when called upon.

Every Western Conference team has questions, but the home-court advantage of the Spurs should be enough to put them over the top as Duncan gets his fifth NBA championship.