Name another team in the league with a superstar tandem that
has played together as long as Tony Parker and Tim Duncan have played with the
San Antonio Spurs. It’s rare these days to find a team with one superstar that
has played ten or more years with the same team, much less two.
Duncan and Parker however are in their eleventh year as teammates
in San Antonio. They’ve won three championships together and neither has played
for any coach besides Greg Popovich who took over the coaching duties after
firing ex-coach Bob Hill 18 games into the 1996-1997 season.
In an era where superstars use their star status to force
their way into “super tandems” or “super trios,” we probably won’t witness
another superstar tandem with this lengthy of a tenure anytime soon. It does
help that both were drafted by the Spurs and that the Spurs haven’t had a
losing season during the time Parker and Duncan have played together.
As a matter of fact the Spurs have won no less than 50 games
during the ten full seasons both have been with the organization. With that kind
of consistency and the stability of playing with the same coach, neither player
has really had a reason to want to leave San Antonio.
That stability has served them well over the years as the
Spurs are usually in the running each year for the best record in the league
and that hasn’t changed this season. The Spurs are currently 25-9 and are
sitting only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference
standings.
Many thought that the Spurs would take a step back this
season. Duncan is advanced in age and is nowhere near the dominant player he
used to be. Shooting guard Manu Ginobili has been injured all season and
neither he nor Parker are spring chickens themselves. Surely this old squad
would have problems with the rigorous lockout-shortened schedule wearing on
their old bodies, right?
But credit Popovich for having his team ready to play night
in and night out. Popovich has always been among the best game-managing coaches
in terms of situational adjustments and player rotations. He knows what his
players are capable of and how to use them most effectively.
And he has always preached that his players play
disciplined, team basketball. That means keeping turnovers down, working the
clock and making the extra pass in order to get the best shot available.
Whether on offense or defense, players must fulfill their assignments if they
expect Popovich to give them playing time.
Which is why the Spurs continue to rack up wins. The older
players have played for Popovich long enough to know what to expect and have
been instrumental in helping him to incorporate the younger players into the
Spurs way of playing basketball. Popovich has kept the younger players’
assignments simple making it easier for them to contribute valuable minutes for
the team.
And their numbers show how well they are playing. The Spurs
are top five in scoring, top five in scoring differential, top five in assists
allowed and they are ranked second in the least amount of turnovers committed.
They are playing well getting solid contributions from young players like Tiago
Splitter, Gary Neal, DeJuan Blair, and rookie Kawhi Leonard.
So for those who were hoping that the Spurs would fall off
this year, keep dreaming. As the younger stars around the league look for
situations where they can pair up with other superstars the Spurs continue to their
winning ways with their “aged” superstar tandem. If those young stars paid
attention when they face the Spurs they would see that there is no substitute
for experience.
Roosevelt Hall is an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2 and also writes for Shatter The Backboard. He can be contacted at RHall@shatterthebackboard.com. Follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist and add him on Facebook Roosevelt Hall Thesportmentalist.
No comments:
Post a Comment