The Spurs Are Being Overlooked... Again
(photo vis nba.com)
For decades (literally), we’ve witnessed the San Antonio Spurs be overlooked left and right, which seems ridiculous considering they tied the record for the most playoff appearances in a row at 22. That is unheard of for any sport other than hockey where a few teams have more playoff appearances in a row. They won five championships (probably should have won six if they didn’t choke against the Heat in 2013) and were constantly a top seed in the western conference.
Even with one of the best big 3’s in NBA history in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili -- this unit was underrated. Fast forward to 2021 where there is no big 3 anymore, and the Spurs are being overlooked yet again even though if the season ended today they’d be in the playoffs.
The Spurs would be the only playoff team in the western conference without a player who made the all-star team. Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story as the Spurs have a lot of good players. The best player on their team is Demar Derozan, who is averaging 20 points per game on 49% shooting. I think he felt a little insulted when ESPN had him ranked as the 82nd best player in the league.
It’s one of the reasons pre-season player rankings are a joke and a reason they shouldn’t be trusted because anyone in their right mind knows Demar is far and away better than the 82nd position in the league.
The Spurs have other players on their team making significant impact as well. Dejounte Murray is playing tremendous basketball averaging around 16 points per game on 45% shooting. Though he isn’t the Spurs go-to scorer, he’s averaging seven rebounds a game as a point guard(insane) and averaging 1.5 steals a game, which is tied for fourth best in the league. Keldon Johnson is emerging as a talented small forward averaging 14 points a game shooting 47% from the field. Johnson is a name to remember, the kid’s a stud.
The Spurs have been doing this without all-star caliber power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who we learned will be traded at some point this season. Considering he’s missed a decent amount of games, this can only help the Spurs assuming they can trade him. One can argue this is some of Greg Popovich’s best work as head coach.
A team without an all-star has a good chance to make the playoffs in the west no less. Obviously this could all blow up in my face and I’ll end up looking like an idiot if they miss the playoffs, but they’re in a good position to secure a spot and potentially upset a team if they get a good game plan on whoever they’re playing. They have in my opinion the greatest coach of all time, so it’s possible they make some noise come playoffs this year.