Looking for that Championship D

The 2009/10 season is in full swing. The favorites in each conference are leading the way. Phoenix and Atlanta has surprised most with their 10-2 and 9-2 starts respectively and the young trendsetter, Brandon Jennings, who skipped college to play professionally oversees is shocking the league as the clear frontrunner for ROY. Early on, every team is working tirelessly to develop it’s identity for what will be a very long season. For some teams like the Spurs, that identity is synonymous with their 4 championships; Defense. Uncharacteristically, the caliber of defense that we are accustomed to seeing from the Spurs has only manifested itself once out of the team’s first 8 games. The good news is that it occurred against their intrastate rival, the Dallas Mavericks whom they will be squaring off against for the second time this evening.

The Spurs defense is currently allowing just a tad under 100 points per opponent but managed to hold the Mavericks offense to a meager 83 in their first meeting. How? What was the key to that defensive performance and how can the Spurs replicate that effort going forward? The Spurs challenged Nowitzki with multiple defenders but it was the effort of Antonio McDyess that proved to be most effective. On the perimeter the Spurs matched George Hill against Jason Terry exclusively, deferring to play bigger guards against the point guard tandem of Kidd and Barea. Hill’s length and lateral quickness was key in holding the explosive Jet to 17 points.

Additionally, the Spurs were crisp on their rotations and help defenders performed at an exceptional level throughout the game. On one such play it was the help defender, Keith Bogans coming from the weak side to block Shawn Marion at the rim as he attempted a two handed dunk. In another instance, we saw the rookie Dejuan Blair igniting a fast break when he blocked Dirk Nowitzki's shot off the backboard. As the Spurs develop defensive continuity and find more playing time for George Hill who clearly their best perimeter defender at this point in the season, they will move that defensive gauge from 100 ppg., closer to the number (90) we’ve come to expect from the San Antonio Spurs.

Tonight’s game will no doubt take on a different feel. Once again it will be the host team, the Dallas Mavericks playing shorthanded and the visiting team taking the court with its full arsenal of players. With Josh Howard and possibly Shawn Marion sidelined and with the return of Duncan and Parker to the Spurs lineup, it seems like a Spurs victory should be a formality. However, at the end of the game, Spurs fans will be looking beyond the final score to see if the true identity, namely defense is finally starting to come into focus.