The San Antonio Spurs' quest for their fifth title begins tonight as they open up their season against the Memphis Grizzlies. Of course, before all of this began, there were changes in the offseason. San Antonio made minimal changes to their roster as they signed Marco Belinelli and Jeff Ayres. The coaching staff, many know by now, has some new faces in different places.
With the start of the season looming, there are always your usual division outlooks and whom many feel will reign supreme in their respective divisions. With the San Antonio Spurs returning pretty much their whole team that were just moments, moments away from their fifth title, some have to believe that they are primed to make it back to the Finals.
In the Southwest division, the Houston Rockets made the biggest splash and had everyone talking playoffs, possibly being title contenders. The Rockets picked up Dwight Howard in the offseason and being side-by-side with James Harden, this one-two punch could possibly be what the Rockets need. Right?
The Houston Chronicle came out with their Southwest division rankings and whom will win the division, and lo and behold, they have the San Antonio Spurs at number one. Here is what Jenny Creech had to say about the Spurs:
There wasn’t much roster movement for the Spurs over the summer. Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair are gone, as is a retired Tracy McGrady. Tony Parker will again be the go-to guy, while vets Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will play their usual major roles. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green both made big strides last season, and the Spurs are going to keep doing exactly what they did last year, which sent them into the NBA Finals.
If you are a Houston Rocket fan and you saw this in your newspaper, how would that make you feel? You can't really blame the writer for what is being said. As it was stated, the loss of only Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair does not put the Spurs in any kind of doubt of not finishing atop their division.
The Houston Chronicle was not the only paper that gave kudos to the San Antonio Spurs. The Cleveland Plain Dealer also handed out their NBA preview, and they have the Spurs sitting atop the whole Western Conference.
The San Antonio Spurs have been reminded, and shown what happened just a few months ago by head coach Gregg Popovich, so you better believe that it is still fresh in their minds. All eyes will be on the Miami Heat and the talks of a three-peat.
With the San Antonio Spurs having such a veteran team and the best coach in all the league, they are primed and hungry to get back to center stage.
