5 Reasons for the San Antonio Spurs to Avoid Complacency in 2014-15
Last season, the San Antonio Spurs did it.
They rebounded from one of the most deflating ends to an NBA Finals and knocked off the same opponent who engineered the devastating loss.
They earned championship No. 5 for the franchise. They provided Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, names synonymous with San Antonio greatness, with the perfect career-capping accomplishment.
Now the Spurs have to do it again?
Per Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) in mid-September, head coach Gregg Popovich expressed concern about his team getting complacent.
"I'm worried for one reason," Popovich said. "They are human beings. They are going to feel satisfied."
Beyond the obvious desire to win another title, however, the Spurs have a few other motivators to stimulate a push for their second consecutive title.
Winning in 2015 Would Be More Impressive
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The dominance San Antonio displayed during its postseason run—and especially the Finals—is not to be overlooked or discounted. But 2015 is a-whole-nother animal.
From the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, to the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, the Western Conference is deeper than ever and is expected to be insanely competitive.
B/R's Zach Buckley believes the conference's best teams each improved, and second-tier squads like Dallas and the Portland Trail Blazers added immediate impact pieces.
"There are pitfalls at every step of the West's playoff picture," Buckley said. "I mean, OKC might wind up as a seventh or eighth seed. The Spurs could easily be tested in every round. Think about having to mow down the Thunder, Warriors and Clippers in consecutive rounds."
Topping Dallas, Portland and a temporarily Serge Ibaka-less Thunder team during the 2014 postseason was undeniably respectable. But knocking out Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, then Blake Griffin and Chris Paul merely to reach the Finals?
Now that would be an impressive accomplishment.
Earn a Rare Milestone for Parker and Ginobili
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Only seven players in NBA history have logged 200 career postseason appearances, one being Duncan. Tony Parker (196) and Ginobili (180), however, are quickly closing the gap on that unique feat.
Considering Parker doesn't appear close to retirement, it's basically a foregone conclusion the point guard will attain that mark.
For Ginobili to reach 200, however, it would almost certainly entail a run to the NBA Finals. And the eventual 2015 playoffs might be his final chance.
As the regular season approached, Ginobili told an Argentinian newspaper that he was "98 percent" certain he wouldn't return to international competition.
What that exactly means for his NBA future is uncertain, but Ginobili's outstanding professional basketball career in the States appears to be winding down.
Give Pop the Third-Most Rings as a Coach
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The Spurs could've won a championship or two during the Twin Towers era of Duncan and David Robinson, no matter who was at the helm.
But with Popovich as the engineer and overseer throughout the former's career, San Antonio has earned five titles—something only four other coaches in NBA history have achieved.
Currently, Pop is tied with Pat Riley and John Kundla with five rings, but a sixth would move the Spurs legend into third place by himself.
Placing the basketball genius one step higher on the coaching pedestal would be a deserved honor, even if Pop brushed aside the recognition.
Secure a Franchise First
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San Antonio won titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, covering three decades, beating five different opponents and amassing the necessary 20 wins.
But the Spurs have never achieved two consecutive championships.
Then again, according to B/R's Ethan Skolnick, neither Matt Bonner nor Boris Diaw is particularly energized at the thought.
"I think just winning a championship, whether it's a repeat or not, is all the motivation you need," Bonner said. "You know, it's the ultimate. You dedicate so much of your life to achieving that goal, you sacrifice so much, that you never know how many chances you're gonna get."
"What if they already did it?" Diaw said. "We wouldn't want to do it again? We'd try to do it again anyway, even if they did it in the past."
But as the playoffs approach, maybe those same Spurs will realize how close they are to cementing a powerful three-year legacy. With another Finals victory, San Antonio could progress from heartbreak, to redemption, to dominant.
How Fun Would It Be?
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Duncan has been done since 2007. Ginobili was finished after a couple injury-plagued seasons and an abysmal 2013 Finals performance. Parker can't keep this up forever. Popovich's reign is ending.
And then the 2014 championship happened.
How fun would it be to watch the wily veterans win another title?
San Antonio has continued to defy the commonly accepted theories, earning 50-plus wins and a top-three seed in the West every season but one since the millennium began.
"You worry about complacency with a defending champ, but it helps having Pop at the reins," Buckley said. "And you have obvious concerns about this roster staying healthy, but again, the Spurs are safeguarded against injury about as well as any team in the league.
Perhaps when the aged Duncan, Ginobili and Popovich ride into the sunset, they'll look back and laugh at the final impossible thing the franchise proved capable of accomplishing: becoming the 2014-15 NBA champions.
And that seems like the perfect motivation for a repeat title.
All quotes obtained firsthand, and all stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.
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