Spurs Reloaded!

The Spurs had an unsual offseason, they rolled the dice early getting Richard Jefferson in the process. Then they got lucky on draft night and snatched DeJuan Blair. They didn’t stop there; they tried to steal Rasheed Wallace albeit with no success. But they moved on and added Haislip and McDyess respectively.

Just when everyone think they are done with their offseason makeover, they acquired the services of Ratliff and if that’s not enough just last week they shored up their backcourt with Keith Bogans for good measure. After all those moves, you would think the Spurs are building a roster of 20. But they do this for a purpose.

And the main reason is to win. Plain and simple that’s been their goal in the past and that will never change. This team has valued winning more than any other team in the league. And this coming season is no exception.

In 2008, they had their best shot of repeating but a lot of things happened; Manu not being 100%, the Game 1 collapse against the Lakers in the conference finals and some breaks (Fisher’s Foul on Barry) that didn’t went their way.

The following year they stayed put and added an important piece in Roger Mason. With a healthy ‘Big 3’, they know they can compete. But then again things didn’t go their way; Manu was injured (again!) in the olympics. Tony hurt his ankle and even Duncan had his fair share of time off the court. That hurt the Spurs chances last year.

They couldn’t get in a rhytm, and don’t have enough time to gel. Even the late addition of Gooden didn’t help. In short when the playoffs came last season they weren’t ready, not up to the task…

But it’s NOT because of lack of focus or preparation; and it’s definitely NOT because they don’t have the will or the desire to win. They were just too wounded at the time. As Parker would say it “We don’t have enough firepower to match up with them.” But this coming season? It’s a different story.

The Spurs are definitely better. With the current lineup (yes, with Bonner), barring significant injuries; I like our chances… It could be argued that this might be the most talented Spurs roster during the Duncan era.

Most people or so focused about the RJ or Dice acquisition. Some would even say that Jefferson is not worth it (although he’s overpaid) and is already past his prime, and that McDyess is just too old to produce consistenly. But let me say this, they just don’t get it!

The Spurs doesn’t expect a title by merely adding Jefferson, McDyess or Blair. They are just pieces to the Spurs’ championship puzzle…

They quickly forget that we still have Finley, Mason and Hill. And more importantly we have a great Coach in Gregg Popovich who in my opinion is the best coach in the NBA today (sorry Phil).

I would say that besides the ‘Big 3’ being healthy, the next most important thing going for Spurs is Coach Pop. The way he handles his players amazes me, I mean the guy has great influence to the Spurs team to the point that it nearly takes his own personality.

Now, with so much at stake the Spurs needs to trust him even more. Yes we definitely have upgraded talent wise, but how are you gonna use that talent effectively and efficiently is the next step and it’s a great challenge.

Let me remind you that in San Antonio expections are so high; anything less than a championship is a disappointment. In last year’s playoffs they were wronged or embarassed I guess, and so they’ve reloaded not to impress but to tell everyone that “Hey we’re not done yet, we’re just getting started. Just wait and see“.

We should expect a thrilling and exciting season… It’s about to begin let’s sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride…