It’s easy to dramatize tonight Hornets/Spurs game as following: New Orleans are the new blood, the next movement storming the gates. The Spurs, they’re the establishment, a semi-dynasty whose time will one day come.↵
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Win or Lose Tonight, Spurs Will Be Just Fine
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↵Hence, the following thinking in The New York Sun:↵↵⇥Get a good look at the Spurs if they lose — next year’s team is likely to be substantially different. Most of the Spurs’ key complementary players are ancient by NBA standards and in the final year of their contracts. For instance, Horry (who richly deserves the name “cheap shot Bob” after his hit on David West in Thursday’s game) is 37. Starting guard Michael Finley is 35. Starting forward Fabricio Oberto is 33. The Spurs will have to start a major retooling of the franchise.
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↵⇥As long as their big three are together, the Spurs will always be a force, but in the rapidly changing Western Conference, they may be making a Dallas-like move from championship contender to playoff perennial.↵↵That’s a blatantly wrong take on Dallas, but whatever. The main point here is that calling the Spurs -- specifically, their bench -- “old” is hardly a condemnation that spells imminent doom. All of this team transcends age. There’s always another random vet willing to sign up for a season, and there’s little to suggest that this team is worried about Oberto turning 33. That’s the genius of this team: Until Duncan, Parker, and Manu are tapped out, the team just needs to tweak the supporting cast.
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↵Popovich’s coaching will find a way to effectively use his three All-Stars until they’re utterly expired; in the same way, the shifts in the Spurs roster are always going to be subtle. If they stayed steady as they weathered the loss of Robinson and the emergence of Parker and Manu, why would a few more years of wear dramatically change this team? It’s not like they’re the Suns or something.
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↵It’s a stretch to call the Spurs invincible, but this franchise is like one of those cars that runs forever if you just change the spark plugs, or let up on the accelerator a little. There’s something there, and it’s just a matter of maintaining it.↵
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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