Which San Antonio Spurs Can Serve as Catalysts for Late-Season Turnaround?
Having won six consecutive outings and holding an excellent chance to extend the streak to at least 11 games, the San Antonio Spurs appear to be in the midst of a late-season turnaround.
But once the competition level increases—as it will starting with a March 22 matchup against the Atlanta Hawks—Gregg Popovich's team must prove the rediscovered effectiveness is more than an outlier.
Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili are keys to a potential title run, but a few players who have struggled during the 2014-15 season are potential catalysts for the defending champions.
Boris Diaw, Power Forward
San Antonio rewarded Boris Diaw with a three-year, $22 million contract following a terrific season with the team. But unlike Duncan's career path suggests despite his age, it was unlikely Diaw would maintain his outstanding production.
The key was for Diaw, however, was to remain an efficient piece of the second unit. To this point, that hasn't happened.
According to HoopsStats, San Antonio's bench knocked down 39.6 percent of its triples in 2013-14, but that number has tumbled to 35.6 this year. Diaw struggling as a shooter is major reason for that decline.
The 6'8" power forward has attempted 29.0 percent of his total shots from long distance but has only converted on 31.8 percent of them. Comparatively, that's a massive change from 19.3 and 40.2 marks, respectively, last season.
What all those numbers mean is simple: Diaw has spent more time roaming the perimeter. He's hoisted more deep attempts yet buried fewer, while straying from post-ups—which he was so dangerous out of because he could pass or shoot effectively.
Consequently, opponents haven't been required to respect the spacing and three-point threat he provided in 2013-14.
Diaw could spark a second-unit revival if he starts draining trifectas again. Plus, defenders chasing him out to the three-point line would help San Antonio's trademark ball movement since he's such a cerebral passer.
And it would benefit a fellow reserve, too.
Patty Mills, Point Guard
Patty Mills lost some weight before the 2013-14 campaign, joined the rotation and solidified a sharpshooting role. The Australian point guard was a critical bench piece, particularly when he contributed 13 three-pointers on a 56.5 percent clip during the NBA Finals.
But a shoulder injury kept him sidelined until late December, and Mills hasn't been the same weapon.
He received additional playing time and contributed 11.5 points per outing while Tony Parker, Leonard and Marco Belinelli were sporadically unavailable. However, Mills reached that mark largely because of an increased volume of attempts.
Mills has settled back into his off-the-bench role, but he hasn't settled down beyond the arc. The streaky shooter has netted just 14 of his last 51 triples, which has resulted in a career-low 35.2 percent mark.
The following heat maps show the difference between Mills' scoring contributions in the 2013-14 campaign and current season.
Note via Basketball-Reference: "The coloring is based on points scored, so areas with fewer points scored will have a blue shade while areas with more points scored will have a red shade."
The overriding question is if Mills should even keep his spot in the rotation. He flies around the court at a league-leading 4.8 miles per hour, per NBA.com—but so does Cory Joseph (4.7), who plays better on-ball defense and has drilled a practically even 34.2 percent of his threes.
San Antonio would lose a volume-focused three-point option if Mills hit the bench, but it would gain a terrific defender if Joseph occupied more minutes.
Nevertheless, Gregg Popovich has stuck with Mills for the time being. As long as that continues, the inconsistent shooter will have an opportunity to find his range and bolster the second unit's effectiveness.
Tony Parker, Point Guard
Not only is Parker a catalyst for a late-season turnaround, he's the force that drives San Antonio's potentially dominant attack.
However, the point guard sustained a hamstring injury during the early third of the season that limited his elite pick-and-roll ability. Parker is typically able to manipulate post defenders to create open jumpers or easy layups, but he hasn't shown that prowess consistently—until recently.
Parker underwent a horrific three-game stretch against the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers where he shot just 3-of-21 from the field, tallied nine points, 14 assists and committed 10 turnovers.
Since that struggle, however, Parker has tallied 20.5 points on 51.5 shooting and just four turnovers during the last six outings. Though the competition was lacking, the 6'2", 180-pounder looked like his shifty self near the rim against the Chicago Bulls, as seen in the accompanying video.
Parker is officially back on track, but he needs to perform the same way against the league's premier clubs. And if he can do that, he'll be the most important catalyst of a late-season turnaround.
Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference and are accurate as of March 11.
Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.
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