HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Marc Narducci

When the San Antonio Spurs got off to a 2-5 start and were hobbled with some key injuries, it was open game for the skeptics. One nitwit even suggested that if things didn’t improve that the Spurs faced the real prospect of missing the postseason for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

Sadly, the person who wrote that forgettable sentence was yours truly in an article for HoopsHype.com during the second week of November.

Fast forward to the post NBA all-star break portion of the season and the Spurs are in their accustomed position of challenging for an NBA title.

Two points should be made of the situation.

One, you shouldn’t believe everything you read. And second, it’s both unwise and premature to begin doubting the capability of San Antonio.

In fairness to the skeptics (i.e. me) Manu Ginobili still hadn’t played early in the season while recovering from ankle surgery. Adding to the Spurs woes, Tony Parker had just suffered a sprained ankle on Nov. 7 in a 99-83 loss to Miami that dropped their record to 1-4.

So the Spurs faced the prospect of competing without two of the Big Three, while the third member of that trio, Tim Duncan was forced to play extended minutes early in the season.

Of course doom didn’t appear on the Spurs’ doorstep. Ginobili’s return provided the expected major spark. In his first 38 games back, the Spurs were 29-9.

Parker missed nine games and the Spurs still managed to go 7-2 in those contests.

Duncan, who was averaging nearly 40 minutes per game early in the season, now has his season average to a manageable 35.3 per game. Look for that total to drop over the final 31 games of the season.

Nobody does a better job of getting his team ready for the postseason than coach Gregg Popovich.

So what happened?

The Spurs have received better than expected production from Roger Mason, who is averaging 11.9 points per game and shooting 44.9 percent from beyond the arc. Plus, as the Phoenix Suns will attest to, Mason has shown a penchant for hitting one big shot after another.

Duncan has in his own quiet way continued to be a 20 and 10 machine. When Parker and Ginobili were both out of the lineup, he carried the team.

Both before and after his injury, Parker has been a dominant point guard and a deserving all-star selection and Ginobili remains as one of the top clutch performers in the NBA.

It has all added up to earning the Spurs the second best record in the Western Conference at the all-star break (35-16).

The Spurs have answered the question of being an NBA title contender. The bigger question is can they win with the team intact or do they have to make a move by the trade deadline?

Good question.

The Spurs can no doubt contend, but contending and winning it all are two different things.

It would appear as if the Spurs would have to add an extra piece if they have designs of winning their fifth NBA title since 1999.

Of course the Spurs have been among the teams rumored to have interest in New Jersey’s Vince Carter. And there is no doubt that adding Carter would move the Spurs right into Laker territory.

However, from this vantage point, it would be a surprise if the Spurs would be able to pull this off.

The Nets would seem to want a potential starter and a possible huge expiring contract and the Spurs don’t seem like a fit here.

Of course there could be other additions that are less expensive that could help the Spurs. For instance Sacramento’s John Salmons has been mentioned as being available and somebody like that who plays good defense and is quietly averaging 18.3 points per game, would be a welcome addition.

Of course, Salmons is scoring a lot of points on a bad Kings team, but the fact remains that he would provide the Spurs with the type of depth they need.

One problem is that the Spurs don’t have a lot to offer other teams. Dangling a player like Bruce Bowen isn’t going to bring a hefty return.

If San Antonio could add a piece, then the Spurs would be awfully dangerous. As it is now, they still will be a difficult team in the playoffs.

Still, one would have to worry about the Spurs depth unless players such as Michael Finley and Kurt Thomas suddenly find the fountain of youth.

And Duncan has carried such a big load this year, that one has to wonder if a player who turns 33 in April will wear down at all when the postseason rolls along.

Keep in mind that there are other teams that would like to have the Spurs so-called problems. With three players who are as dangerous as any trio in the Western Conference, the Spurs have the capability to beat anybody.

Whether changes are made or not, one sure bet is that nobody will relish facing the Spurs in the postseason.

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During his tenure as San Antonio Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich has shown a great ability to navigate his team through the rigors of a grinding 82-game regular season schedule. Popovich wouldn’t burn out players just for the sake of winning a few extra games. What was important was having his team ready to go for the postseason.

And the results have certainly validated Popovich’s strategy with four NBA championships and two more trips to the Western Conference finals since 1999.

Popovich has adeptly used the regular season as a five and a half month postseason tuneup.

This year things are different.

Due to some key injuries to an already aging roster, the Spurs could find themselves in the fight for their lives just to earn one of the eight Western Conference playoff spots.

While nobody can minimize injuries to Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs have some serious questions.

First the injuries.

Ginobili isn’t expected to return until next month in his recovery from ankle surgery. The ability of Gnobili to generate instant offense has been sorely missed.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Parker is expected to miss four weeks after spraining his ankle in a 99-83 loss on Nov. 7 against the visiting Miami Heat.

Parker was off to his best start, averaging 27 points in the first five games, and that included just four points in 10 minutes before he got hurt against the Heat.

Remember, with Parker, the Spurs had gotten off to a 1-4 start. And the win was a 129-125 double overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In that game Parker torched the Wolves for 55 points.

Think about that.

The Spurs, with Parker providing a career-best effort, still needed two overtimes to dispose of the lowly Wolves.

Without Parker, the point guards on the roster are rookie George Hill and old-timer Jacque Vaughn.

Assuming that the injury is only four weeks and not longer, the fact remains that neither Vaughn nor Hill appear to be a suitable replacement. .

So expect the Spurs to explore some sort of trade and it doesn’t have to just for a point guard.

San Antonio is deficient in several areas.

Of course Tim Duncan should be exempt from any criticism. In the first five games, Duncan was averaging 26 points and 11.6 rebounds. A more telling statistic is that he was averaging 39 minutes.

Popovich has had no other choice but to ride his 10-time all-star. Duncan, however hasn’t carried such a heavy workload in recent seasons. During each of the previous four regular seasons, he averaged fewer than 35 minutes per game.

These extended minutes Duncan is playing now could be felt by March, when the Spurs hope to be making a mad dash for a Western Conference playoff berth.

Duncan will turn 33 on April 25 and there is a legitimate question as to whether his team will still be playing on that date.

Even if Parker and Ginobili return to form, the rest of the roster must become more productive.

One positive has been the play of former Washington Wizard guard Roger Mason, who was averaging more than 16 points and 34 minutes per game. Mason is somebody with a career average under six points.

It’s true that Mason was never was given this much playing time in the past, but could he hold up for an entire season with extended minutes and heightened expectations?

Michael Finley has averaged six points in just under 30 minutes per game. At 35, Finley is a liability if he isn’t able to shoot with better accuracy. And Finley has struggled from the perimeter, shooting under 27 percent from the field. .

The fact that he’s averaging so many minutes speaks to the lack of depth for San Antonio.

Bruce Bowen, 37, has seen his time decline. He is known as a defensive stopper, but in all fairness, isn’t quite the player he has been in recent past. And when the Spurs are on offense, it’s like playing four against five.

Center-forward Kurt Thomas is 36 and one wonders if he has gotten off to a slow start, or if he is among many Spurs who are showing their age.

Swingman Ime Udoka, forward Matt Bonner and forward-center Fabricio Oberto must step up their game and one wonders if that is possible.

For many years the trio of Ginobili, Duncan and Parker have been able to blend with role players to make the Spurs a championship contender.

This season the role players have provided diminished production. Which is why even when the Big Three are healthy together - and one can’t be sure when that will be – the Spurs are going to have to acquire a dependable player or two off the bench.

If not, the Spurs face the real prospect of missing the postseason for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

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