NBA Rumors: Spurs Need to Be Cautious and Save Tiago Splitter for Round 2

Since winning their last NBA championship in 2007, the San Antonio Spurs continued to be Western Conference contenders in making the postseason each of the five seasons since then.

However, each of the previous four seasons has ended with disappointment as the Spurs bowed out before the NBA Finals despite being a top three seed in three of the four years.

This season though, San Antonio won the No. 1 seed of the Western Conference and already lead the Utah Jazz 2-0 in Round 1. That said, center Tiago Splitter has a bruised bone in his hand from Game 1 against the Jazz and his production could potentially be limited down the road, provided that the Spurs advance.

As for Game 3, it remains to be seen whether Splitter will participate, but Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich has optimism. According to Tim Griffin of Spurs Nation at the San Antonio Express-News, Splitter's Game 2 absence has him probable for Game 3:

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Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that Tiago Splitter’s injured left wrist is improving and he should be able to play in Game 3 Saturday night in Salt Lake City. 

Splitter suffered a bone bruise on his left wrist in the first half of Game 1. He did not play in the second half or in Game 2.

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To that end, despite the chances of Splitter playing in Game 3, let's take a look at why San Antonio must save him for Round 2 and beyond.

Recent Playoff History

As previously mentioned, the Spurs have been postseason qualifiers on a yearly basis but have failed to get the job done in the Western Conference.

After winning it all in 2007, the Spurs lost the 2008 Western Finals to the Lakers 4-1, Round 1 in 2009 to Dallas 4-1, Round 2 of 2010 to Phoenix 4-0 and Round 1 to Memphis 4-2, last season. Looking at their current postseason position of this year, San Antonio needs Splitter for the long-run to prevent an early playoff exit.

With a 2-0 lead on the Jazz right now, the Spurs won without Splitter in Game 2 114-83 by dominating at defensive rebounding and hitting shots from all over the field (57.3 percent). Now, obviously those two go hand-in-hand with Utah not getting as many defensive rebound opportunities, but provided that San Antonio keeps that pace up in Games 3 and 4, it's going to be a sweep.

Then, Splitter's full return for Round 2 matches the Spurs better against either the Grizzlies or Clippers. Save Splitter to be stronger later, and that only improves his health as well.

Health

Regardless of sport, too many times we have seen athletes try to return from injuries sooner than they should have. Now, Splitter's wrist injury isn't nowhere near as extreme as that of Derrick Rose or Caron Butler, but it never hurts to be safe than sorry.

Now include how physical it can get in the paint, as well as the size of Al Jefferson and Enes Kanter (both bigger than Splitter and Tim Duncan), and Splitter already has his work cut out for him when fully healthy.

Provided that the Spurs move on to Round 2, both the Grizzlies and Clippers present tough paint players in the frontcourt that match-up with Splitter (namely Marc Gasol for Memphis and Blake Griffin for L.A.).

And if he's not 100 percent to take on either of their defenses, Splitter's production at defensive rebounding and field goal percentage will be affected.

Then, San Antonio will have to rely even more on the 36-year-old Tim Duncan. Not that relying on Duncan is a bad thing at any point during a game, but Splitter averaged 19 minutes per game during the regular season and those minutes are extremely vital to Duncan's late-game effectiveness for a deep run.

Stronger Youth for Depth

As part of San Antonio's frontcourt rotation, after Duncan, solid players in Boris Diaw and DeJuan Blair exists and have picked up the slack quite well in Games 1 (second half) and 2 with Splitter's absence.

So without him, the Spurs do have a sound rotation to give Duncan a breather and to hold up the fort for coach Popovich.

Still, Splitter remains drastically more important to San Antonio's depth for a deep playoff run, as the Spurs aren't young when you include Stephen Jackson (34), Manu Ginobili (34), Boris Diaw (30), Matt Bonner (32) and the aforementioned Duncan at age 36.

Obviously with Jackson and Ginobili being backcourt players, Splitter's health isn't a direct effect in terms of depth, but it helps the overall rotation and game plan for each situation.

Splitter already presents an issue for opponents when driving to the lane or boxing out inside the post. That can become even more difficult as the postseason continues if San Antonio saves him for Round 2 and beyond.

John Rozum on Twitter.