The San Antonio Spurs are up to their old tricks. They enter the playoffs hitting their stride (what else is new) and have the look of a team ready to defend their title. The Spurs resurgence is something that has been brewing since late February and I will let this blurb I wrote about Tony Parker on March 11th speak for itself.
[pullquote]“Uh oh.” That has to be what every team in the West is saying after seeing Tony Parker’s numbers during this 6 game winning streak. In my opinion Parker has been the key cog in the Spurs system since the 2007 title. We all know Duncan keeps putting up the same numbers year in and year out but it is pretty easy to see the way he gets those numbers changes.
His age shows, his play gets older each year. Ginobili has always broken down and that is no secret at all. So what has kept this Spurs train rolling? Parker. He comes in each year and looks the same, he runs the Pick-and-Roll the same, and he plays defense the same. This year he came in and looked old (12.8-3.8 in December, 11.0-4.0 in January, and 12.5-5.0 in February) and don’t lie the “Many this is finally the year the Spurs are too old” thought crept in your head. But this month Parker is averaging 25.0-4.0 APG and is averaging only 1 TO in those games.
Repeat after me team in the West “Gulp”. This was all confirmed to me when I watched Parker slice and dice my beloved Bulls apart on Sunday to the tune of 32 points on 13-19 shooting, which he then followed up with a 22-9 performance with only 1 TO last night. Is he back for real or is this just a short hot streak? I am not sure but all I know is if my team was fighting for the 2 or 3 seed in the West I would want them to get whichever one doesn’t play the Spurs in Round 1 if Parker keeps playing like this.”[/pullquote]
Well Parker kept improving, putting up 18.2 points per game and 5.3 assists per game in March, and the Spurs stock kept rising. Remember when I said if you were the 2 or 3 seed in the West you wouldn’t want to be playing the Spurs? Well congratulations to the Los Angeles Clippers you get to play the team nobody in the West wanted to play.
The Spurs have looked like the reincarnation of every Spurs team the past decade or so. They rest throughout the season because they know that playoff time is their time. Once again they look healthy and enter the postseason going 9-1 in their last 10 games. With Parker (23.7 Minutes per Game in March/28.7 MPG in 2014-15), Tim Duncan (23.9 MPG in March/28.9 MPG in 2014-15), and Manu Ginobili (19.1 MPG in March/22.7 MPG in 2014-15) each getting some extra rest in March look for the Spurs to look refreshed and hitting on all cylinders this weekend when the playoffs begin. Even though the Spurs are the 6 seed they have to be the favorites in the West until someone beats them.