The San Antonio Spurs have had a change of identity of sorts this season. They've had more controversies this season than any others put together during the Tim Duncan era.
They sent their main stars home for a nationally televised game and got fined, there was a photo that leaked with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker with a fake Joey Crawford, and most recently Stephen Jackson having some "words of advice" for Serge Ibaka that resulted in a fine.
Are we seeing a developing trend in attitude for San Antonio?
During Parker's French radio show, "The Tony Parker Show," (h/t MVPTexas.com's forum Spurs Report) TP took some questions and was asked about this subject. He jokingly responded to the controversies, "the Spurs want to become the new 'bad boys' like the Detroit Pistons."
Is he right that the Spurs are building a new identity of being less "soft" as they once were known during their championship years?
When the team had the likes of Robert Horry on the team, he was usually the only one with that mentality. Now that the Spurs have Jackson for a full season, it seems his tough attitude is rubbing off on the team.
This is going to be very interesting to see how the Spurs' identity evolves during the season. They're playing a quicker style than past years with tough attitudes and also playing better defense than last season.
They seem to be developing the best of both types of styles in the NBA.
