What to Expect from the San Antonio Spurs and Watch for in the NBA Season

Welcome to the Wild West.

Now, there are plenty of gunslingers in town, but only one can be at the top.

Even in the Southwest, there are plenty of Texas Rangers shooting and duking it out with each other. Now the Houston Rockets may be taking off and there may be champion Mavericks down in Dallas, but the real, oldest, most battle-tested Texas titans are the San Antonio Spurs.

This old dog has learned some new tricks.

After being broken by Memphis they look to fix themselves this season with new point guard T.J. Ford and a tried and tested set of old hands that could help their younger players' injury woes.

This veteran team has re-tooled a little but are still so together as these Spurs are really clicking in the association's saloon of contenders.

It all starts with the sheriff. He is the frontier of this franchise. He is the old hand who still knows how to draw...a double team that is.

Sure, there are young shooters that may challenge, but this dead-eye talent and the association's two-time most valuable still rules the roost like Cogburn the West. With one foot on either side of the paint, this man can take it to the rack or bank it in from deep. That's a real rifleman right there.

He keeps his distance but isn't afraid to get up close and personal to get his man...and he always gets his man. Shaq, Kobe and the best of the West and league have been pursued and caught by Duncan.

An admiral before him taught him and now "T.D" is more then just a Cowboys & Aliens esque robot. He's a machine taking the league to school with educated, grown-up basketball.

Just try and stop him.

Still, every sheriff needs his deputies and with Tony Parker and Manu Ginoboli, Duncan has his.

Together they form a tried and tested big three for America that came years before those in New England or Florida. These two former young steeds—came in from out of town—and now wear their Spurs with a hometown pride.

First came Parker. A man with a foreign translation but a game that spoke victories' language and still echoes that to this day beyond Texan borders. Quick to draw, he is this band of brothers' silver bullet, reducing the opponents to teardrops.

Then there is the South American Ginobli, cowboy-wild, tenacious talent. With skill and flair, this talent tears through defenders like his fellow Argentinean sportsmen who kick for a living.

Sure he's no longer young and wet behind the years, but as he seasons over the campaigns, his talent shows no sign of drying up even after hard-fought battles in the Phoenix desert year after year or in international duty. If anyone is a testament to this team's old but far from done ideal, it's Ginobli.

Still this posse isn't just cut there. Sometimes to be at your best you've got to look outside and when the Spurs enlisted the help from a silent assassin from out of town, that's when their boots really shined.

Gunman Richard Jefferson gives this old hand some young palms. This underrated talent is one of San Antonio's most deadly weapons.

Not only does he come with the experience of taking charge in two other states, he is also incredibly underrated. Sure, he goes about his job without a sound, but haven't people learned with Duncan that sometimes silence speaks the loudest? R.J. never leaves a job undone. If you write this man off or disregard him, he'll just go about his business without a word...and finish you.

How about their long-distance ranger Matt Bonner? A red-hot rifleman capable of gunning down opponents from the most unbelievable distance. That's real True Grit right there. Just ask Matt Damon, his beloved Boston Celtics or any town in this civilisation for that matter.

There's also Brazilian Tiago Splitter, a real-big addition at 6'11." He is yet another South American addition for a Southwest team never afraid to seek help from friends afar.

This former Spanish league MVP is well travelled and was on the most wanted list, but San Antonio got their man.

Sure with time not on San An's side they have big Spurs to fill once those veterans retire off into the sunset. A still young backcourt with guns for hire DeJuan Blair, Gary Neal and new kid Corey Joseph are learning from the best, showing promise and gaining a right to wear the team's shield with pride and promise.

As fierce as a coyote, this band of men have their mascot, fans and the whole town behind them.

Led by legendary, lasting, lawmen Greg Popovich and R.C. Buford, these black, silver and whites colour the West, proving that old age is on their side as of right now. These guys ran all their enemies out of town, with no return in sight and had the best record in the league last season, but were then shot down by out-of-towners Memphis like they had a price on their head. Still, this team is still worth a million dollars and the hunt is still alive in them.

Follow the stream of success down the River Walk and you may soon see a parade in this town again.

Even with the lockout halting the start to the season, there will be no asterisk for this team if they win again, just a certified reward. From John Wayne to Jeff Bridges—True Grit isn't just a movie that portrays the classic, timeless, Western tale of American literature—it is also the embodiment of one of basketball's storied, principle and traditionally minded teams, the San Antonio Spurs.

Their legend has already been engraved.

It's time for the tale's next chapter and you know like the Cohens, these brothers will write it the right way—by the book.

Sure, all their promise ended grizzly last year but will these dukes be beaten so badly again?

The hell they will!

Never doubt the Texas ranger.