Spur of the Moment: What San Antonio Must Do to Make the NBA Finals
At 57-15, the San Antonio Spurs sit atop the Western Conference with just 10 games to go before the start of the NBA playoffs.
Barring a last-minute collapse, the Spurs will look to ride their regular-season success all the way to the Finals, so let's look at five things the Spurs must continue to do as they roll into the postseason.
Game on.
Consistency Beyond the Paint
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The Spurs continue to outperform their opponents in perimeter shooting. Their excellent .402 three-point percentage on the season shows no signs of regressing down the stretch.
In the NBA playoffs, perimeter shooting is everything, and will be a must should the Spurs wish to prevent constant double-teams on Tim Duncan.
It will be up to Manu Ginobili and the Spurs' bench to keep the pressure off Duncan if they hope to make it past the Lakers' bigs. Keeping opposing defenses on guard outside will open things up for Duncan in the paint.
Paint the Town
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The Spurs can shoot, but what makes them such a scoring threat is the presence of Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair down low.
Duncan's experience and size makes him a viable threat anywhere in the paint. Unlike some NBA big men, Duncan can and will take the shot just outside the post, while the youthful Blair provides much-needed relief for the aging Duncan.
Duncan and Blair must continue to be a force in the paint to open up the floor for San Antonio's perimeter shooters.
Shining Glass: Rebounds Keep the Spurs in the Game
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The Spurs are not the biggest team in the West, yet they remain a force in the paint.
Credit Centers Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair with consistently banging the boards for San Antonio; the pair account for nearly half of the team's per-game rebounding statistics.
In many games this season the Spurs kept it close, buying time for the offense to finish strong.
Stick to the Fundamentals
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One of the biggest reasons the Spurs are the best in the West is that they are a team; indeed, the antithesis of the current NBA team.
There is no one player who is solely responsible for San Antonio's success. The Spurs are based on fundamentals and team ball.
While the Heat look to LeBron and Wade and the Lakers to Kobe and Gasol, the Spurs continues to find success even when Tim Duncan goes down with an ankle sprain.
Coach Gregg Popovich will make sure this trend continues all the way through the postseason.
Beat L.A.
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The 57-15 Spurs have raced to the best record in the league with their high-scoring offense. They're built to run the floor, yet play stingy defense when necessary.
This led to a 30-point throttling of the Heat, as the Spurs shut down Miami's Big Three on the way to a 125-95 win.
In three meetings with the Lakers, the Spurs edged them out by a combined six points, but in both of their wins the Spurs were held under 100 points.
That cannot happen in a seven-game series against L.A.
Still, with a 2-1 season edge over the Lakers, the Spurs continue to hold court. Averaging 103 points per game, San Antonio is lunging head-first into a showdown with Los Angeles for Western Conference supremacy.
The Road to the NBA Finals Runs Through San Antonio
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The Spurs boast the league's best home record, at 33-3, and are on pace to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West.
They continue to hold off the Lakers, who are just behind them in the standings. It seems inevitable that San Antonio and Los Angeles will meet to determine the Western Conference champion and the right to advance to the NBA Finals.
If the Spurs can continue to play at a high level and follow Coach Popovich's road map for success, the road to the Finals will run through San Antonio this season.
