Why does the Spurs’ dominance bore the general public?

The San Antonio Spurs are 21-5 with a higher point differential than the Warriors. As we detailed Wednesday, they are routing teams by making tactical tweaks to carry out the same strategy as ever. But for what feels like the 20th year in a row, their success has been overshadowed by other stories around the league. We’re using the same cliches to describe how they’ve quietly surged to the top of the league.

In this week’s podcast, we wrestle with the boredom that often seems to result when the Spurs rise. It certainly isn’t the basketball itself, because San Antonio plays as beautifully as anyone. Could it be that they make success look so routine? Are they too perfect? Is it because they wear black uniforms? We parse our own tendency to shrug about the Spurs while getting excited about the Warriors.

We also ask how Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks are hanging in the playoff picture, whether the Thunder can actually win the title and how it all went wrong in New Orleans.