5 Reasons the Explosive San Antonio Offense Will Continue in the Playoffs

The playoffs is the time when the NBA loses its "no defense league" moniker, as every team amps up their defensive pressure and performance in the hopes of winning an NBA title.

While there will be teams that will struggle to maintain their regular season offensive production as the playoffs continue, one team that will have no trouble maintaining their high-powered offense is the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs, led by head coach Gregg Popovich, have the second-highest scoring offense in the NBA, averaging 103.7 points per game, and their high-octane offense will certainly be at the foundation of their postseason success.

Ahead are five reasons why the Spurs will have no problem maintaining their explosive offense throughout the 2012 NBA playoffs, much like they did when they dropped 106 points on the Jazz in Game 1 of their first-round series.   

Proven Playoff Experience

The San Antonio Spurs have made the Western Conference playoffs in 22 out of the past 23 seasons, and while the players on the Spurs' roster haven't been around for all those seasons, they've been around for the last seven or eight, and that's going to help them exponentially this year.

Young playoff teams often times find themselves overwhelmed by the increased defensive pressure in the playoffs, which results in a decreased efficiency from the field and a decreased offensive production overall.

Luckily for the Spurs, they won't fall into that category, as they are one of the most experienced teams in the 2012 NBA playoffs.

The amount of playoff experience between Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker will be at the foundation of the Spurs' playoff success and their ability to maintain their explosive offensive performance from the regular season.

Manu Ginobili Is Finally Back to 100 Percent Health

Manu Ginobili struggled with injuries for the majority of the 2011-12 season, but fortunately for the Spurs, he's finally back to 100 percent as they head into the playoffs.

While Ginobili hasn't been nearly as productive this season as he has been in the past, with averages of just 12.9 points and 4.4 assists per game, there's no doubt that he brings an impressive level of offensive consistency to the Spurs' offense.

The Spurs' bench is significantly more productive when Ginobili is the first man off the bench, and that's the kind of rotation that Popovich will use to solidify the play of his second unit in the playoffs.

A major piece of the Spurs' postseason success will be the production they receive from the second unit, and with Ginobili anchoring that unit there's no doubt that it will be able to carry its explosive offensive production well into the heart of the playoffs.

As long as Ginobili doesn't miss too many more wide-open dunks like this one, he should be able to help the Spurs maintain their dominant offense throughout the playoffs. 

Greg Popovich Is One of the Smartest Coaches in the Game

Gregg Popovich is a four-time NBA champion as a head coach, and the intelligence and coaching aptitude that guided him to those championships is the exact same intelligence that has helped him lead the Spurs to 15-straight playoff appearances.

The way that Popovich has managed his star players' minutes down the stretch of the regular season, while also figuring out how to still win games with limited talent on the court, is impressive to say the least.

The Spurs success is deeply rooted in the abilities of their hall-of-fame-caliber head coach, and his coaching abilities will certainly be at the forefront of the Spurs carrying their explosive offense well into the postseason.

Better than any head coach in the NBA, Popovich knows how to create roster rotations that not only ensure offensive productivity but also efficiency.

Popovich could make any group of any nine NBA players look like a polished and productive team—yes, even the Charlotte Bobcats—and that kind of coaching ability is going to be one of the main reasons why the Spurs will maintain their explosive offensive performance in the postseason.  

Stephen Jackson Solidifes the Bench Production

The San Antonio Spurs made a surprising trade just minutes before the trade deadline this year that sent Richard Jefferson and their 2012 first-round draft pick to the Golden State Warriors for Stephen Jackson.

While I wasn't sure whether or not that trade would work out down the stretch for the Spurs, there's no doubt that it certainly has, as Jackson has helped solidify the Spurs' bench among the ranks of the best in the NBA.

There's no doubt that Jackson could be better, as he's averaging just 9.8 points per game on 37.4 percent shooting, but when he's playing at the high level we all know he can, he's a dangerous player coming off the bench.

If Jackson can play at an increased level of efficiency in the playoffs, focusing on taking high-percentage shots instead of just taking any offensive opportunity that comes his way, he can help the Spurs maintain their explosive offensive production in the playoffs.

Tony Parker Is Running the Point and Playing Like the 2012 NBA MVP

With season averages of 18.3 points. 7.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, Tony Parker quietly led the San Antonio Spurs to the best record in the Western Conference.

While the Spurs struggled with injuries to Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter throughout the regular season, Parker played productively, consistently and, most of all, efficiently, with an impressive PER of 22.04.

Parker knows how to run Gregg Popovich's offense, half-court sets and transition plays, and he knows how to progress through the offense with efficiency and confidence unlike most other point guards in the league.

While Parker doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves as being one of the best point guards in the NBA, he certainly knows how to lead an explosive offense, and he will continue to do just that well into the playoffs.

What Parker does best is protect the ball, as he averaged just 2.6 turnovers per game this past season. Parker's ability to run the Spurs' high-power offense while protecting the ball is a major reason why the Spurs' explosive offense will find its way into the 2012 NBA playoffs and beyond.