HOOPSAHOLIC

The San Antonio Spurs are the definition of basketball excellence, and they showed us that last season when they made the Heat look like a JV team while on the way to an NBA Championship. Head coach Greg Popovich is widely considered the best in the business, and his no-nonsense approach to this team is the reason this franchise has been so successful since the late nineties. For years people have waited for the Spurs to fall off into irrelevancy, but it hasn't happened. San Antonio continues to get better every season and I fully expect that to happen again this year as they attempt to defend the franchises fifth NBA Title. 

The Spurs franchise owes most of the team's success to the "Big Fundamental". Tim Duncan is the best power-forward to ever play the game of basketball, and last season he averaged 15 points and 9.7 rebounds in his 16th year as a pro. He's a team player who's reputation shines brighter than his incredible nightly stat line. He's shown he knows how to win in any era, and has even taken a back seat to do so. Duncan has taken less money on more than one occasion to prove he's all about winning over money. What more could you want out of the face of your franchise? He continues to get older, but I still believe he's a force in this league and I won't expect anything else until I'm shown otherwise. 

Duncan's wing-man for most of his run has been point guard Tony Parker. The Frenchman is one of the more elusive guards in the game and is an excellent facilitator for this Spurs offense. Last season Parker averaged 16.7 points and 5.7 assists while leading the Spurs to the best record in the NBA. He's the motor for this Spurs team and when he's in a rhythm, it's tough to slow Parker down. Parker is always in the all-star discussion so I assume that will continue this season even though the league is filled with great point guards.  

To call Duncan and Parker the "Dominant Duo" would be doing an injustice to Manu Ginobli. Those three players have been the backbone to this team for years now, and Ginobli seems to have a little bit left in his tank for another run. Last year he averaged 12.3 points to go along with 4.3 assists, which are both low compared to his career averages. It's no secret that Ginobli has been dealing with numerous injuries over the last few years, and the Argentinian has cut back on his minutes played. Popovich will find the right way to use the shooting guard, and I believe he will still be a viable scoring punch off the bench for this Spurs team. 

Remember when the Spurs traded George Hill to the Pacers for a draft pick? Well that pick turned out to be Kawhi Leonard, and it's safe to say the Spurs won that trade. Leonard was the NBA Finals MVP after averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. He's a soft spoken assassin who can lock down any offensive player you put in front of him. As long as you can pass and defend, you'll fit in perfectly on a Greg Popovich team. Leonard will miss some time due to injury, but he should return and have the best year of his young career. 

The Spurs could go either way when choosing a starting center. Pop has both Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter to choose from, and either player could start on most teams in the league. The Spurs also have a nice mixture of role players that will play a part in the team's success. Danny Green will start at shooting guard and will be the knock down shooter for this team. Last year Green shot 41.5% from behind the arc, and he isn't the only shooter on the roster. The Spurs also have Marco Belinelli coming off the bench who can knock down the money ball at a high rate. Players such as Patty Mills and Kyle Anderson will also fill in nicely as bench players. The bench gets a lot of love from Pop, with no one from last years team averaging more than 30 minutes per game. Pop trusts his roster from the starters on down. The Spurs will once again be one of the league's elite, and in no way would I be surprised if they won back to back titles.