(Note: Please welcome Project Spurs newest writer Mr. Jake Faunce. Jake is an avid Spurs fan and will be bringing a fresh look at the Spurs. Enjoy his debut post.)
By Jake Faunce, Project Spurs
NBA fans and pundits alike seem to be surprised at the hot of the San Antonio Spurs. Why they are, I have no idea.
I consider myself a sports Republican. If an owner wants to spend the money to keep his team competitive he should be free to do so. Small market teams would have to do better in the draft
and managing resources. To me its sink or swim. The Spurs fall into the small market category.
What have they done to remain competitive despite drafting low every year? Well, they have drafted better then any team in North American sports. They have drafted late first and second round picks and turned them into rotation players and cornerstones of championship teams. Players like Tony Parker (28th overall), Manu Ginobili (57th overall), George Hill (26th overall) , Dejuan Blair (37th overall), Tiago Splitter (28th overall) and a promising young rookie in James Anderson at 20th overall in this past NBA Draft. It’s amazing really and unheard of in sports.
So for a team to have an off year by Spurs standards, you would expect a franchise this smart, savvy and diligent to come back with guns blazing, and they did.
Richard Jefferson worked all off season with coach Gregg Popovich on fundamentals and really studying the ins and outs of this complex offensive scheme. The team itself made an inevitable change from the focus of the offense being Tim Duncan, to handing the keys to the offense to their dynamic backcourt. There was also a team wide focus of starting out better, don’t lose early games you shouldn’t, to put themselves in a better position come playoff time. The result is a fast paced cohesive offense, solid defense and the best start in franchise history.
If anyone is surprised by the Spurs hot start, they haven’t been following this team closely. All the Spurs player movement done the past 12 years, maintaining a level of excellence starting from Popovich to Duncan and others within the Spurs franchise, is an amazing achievement in every way possible.
The Spurs will keep ”surprising” everyone, but Spurs fans won’t be surprised.
