Pounding the Rock: Spurs Preview

When it comes to his career in the CSL, GM Myles Nelson has been notoriously patient. Ask any of the GMs who approach him for trades, and they'll say he negotiates at a snail's pace. The Spurs as an organization have adopted this kind of patient approach, seeing that the best way to build an organization is piece by piece. Similarly, winning a championship happens one game at a time, and the Spurs have always been one of the most patient and consistent franchises in the league.

With all that said, there were quite a few changes to the Spurs this year, but one thing remains constant: staying true to the team's identity. Tim Duncan, the legendary Spur who will never be traded, remains as the Spurs main post player. Defensive studs Kawhi Leonard and Ekpe Udoh still keep this team a nightmare to score on. Defense on the whole, from Ty Lawson's maniac style of defense to Danny Green's long arms to the inside duo of Duncan and Udoh, is still the Spurs identity. Let's take a closer look at the roster.

Point Guard
Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor

Lawson is the starting point guard again this year after averaging 16 points, 7 assists and 1 steal per game last year. His ability to drive the lane, play great defense, and hit jumpers is the main reason why he works so well with the Spurs, as his first line of defense sets the tone for the rest of the team. Maynor is a steady hand who makes few mistakes, as he hardly ever turns the ball over or takes bad shots.

Shooting Guard
Danny Green, Kevin Martin, Allen Crabbe

Green is a terrific defender who's long arms both disrupt passing lanes and shot attempts. He's a great shooter who has shot over 41% from 3 each of the last 4 years, and his ability to stretch the floor makes it hard for other teams to pack the paint. Speaking of stretching the floor, Martin makes his living on the perimeter. He's always been a great scorer, both from distance shooting and attacking the basket. He averaged 16 points per game last year and will be counted on to help carry the load offensively again this year.

Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard, Quincy Miller, LaQuinton Ross

Leonard is one of the premier young players in this league, being rated as one of the top players under 25 years old by a sporting news site recently. His defense is possibly the best among all perimeter players, and on top of that, he scores, shoots, and rebounds at a pretty good rate as well. It will likely be put on him to carry the torch for the next generation of Spurs. Miller and Ross are two solid offensive players who will be competing to earn the backup SF minutes, though according to insiders, Ross is the early favorite.

Power Forward
Tim Duncan, Amir Johnson, Juvonte Reddic

Duncan is one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game of basketball, period. His minutes and numbers dropped a bit from last year as Father Time started to catch up to him, but he's still very much a solid basketball player. He won't be the #1 player on the Spurs this year, but as long as he can continue to do what he's always done, the Spurs will be just fine with him as the starter. Amir Johnson is here to relieve a lot of the duties off his back, as Johnson has shown a knack for very efficient scoring and solid rebounding.

Center
Ekpe Udoh, Greg Oden

Udoh established himself as one of the league's best post defenders in the last couple of years, blocking over 3 shots per game in the last two years and working hard to keep his man from scoring. His rebounding isn't the best, but he gets the job done, and he's done a great job of working on his offensive game over the last few years. He averaged 11.6 points per game last year on 48% shooting, and that, coupled with his incredible defense, makes him a solid anchor for the Spurs. Oden is a reclamation project who will likely never reach the ceiling expected of him when he was drafted, but he's possibly found his niche as a backup big man who rebounds, blocks shots, and dunks the ball on occasion.

While the Spurs have struggled out of the gate, Nelson and Head Coach Gregg Popovich remain confident that the Spurs will be an elite team this year. Not much has changed for them since last year's team, and that was a 60 win roster. If Kawhi and Ekpe can continue their improvement, the Spurs could find themselves in the thick of the playoffs again.

Good read. I love that this team is still built in true Spurs fashion.

I like the identity of this team. A tough hard nosed defensive squad.

Good Read. Spurs continue to be among the West elite even with Duncan declining but he is so good he presence on the team alone will get you a couple of wins here and there   

Really love that team!
Would love to build a team that looks nearly like yours in Boston. But we are missing the PG for it. Schröder just wont be the scorer lawson is.

Lawson-Green-Leonhard-Johnson-udoh
Is a really great core moving forward.

It's tough to watch Tim Duncan's career come to an end but this team is still a perennial playoff squad.

I think your reign as one of the top seeds in the west may come to an end this season with Duncan fading into retirement. You might have to end up trading some players if you want to change that.

May sound odd coming from a division opponent but I certainly hope an icon like Tim Duncan has another run or two in him.

Good luck throughout the season.

Amir Johnson was one of the more underrated moves of the offseason, he can spell Duncan and gives you a decent replacement for him moving forward. The team has tremendous defensive upside, I'm curious to see how you fare this season. Duncan is my favourite player of alltime so I'll be rooting for him.