2008 San Antonio Spurs Season Preview & NBA Predictions

Written October 8, 2008 by Luke Knight

Tim Duncan has led the spurs to 9 straight seasons of 50-plus victories. Only one team has done it 10 times in a row and that was Magic Johnson’s Lakers. Many will say that the Spurs are too old and that they are being passed up by the Lakers and Hornets, but the Spurs beat the Hornets in 7-games in the playoffs last year and lost to the Lakers in five games. Gregg Poppovich has the third highest winning percentage in NBA history and has guided his team to six conference finals and four titles (all occurred in odd years). The Spurs are +400 odds to win the Western Conference at BetUS.

Tony Parker is an impressive point guard in a division featuring Chris Paul and Jason Kidd and a conference featuring Steve Nash, Baron Davis, and Deron Williams. Parker still manages to look good and often stands out against his contemporaries. Parker is always in control and seems to come up with the big shot, drive and tough layup in traffic or assist more often than not. Parker also led the Spurs in scoring and assists in last year’s playoffs. Jacque Vaughn, the 11-year veteran out of Kansas, is the backup for Parker, and he plays defense well and does what he is told, although his stats do not reflect that. The Spurs also drafted George Hill out of IUPUI, the first ever draft pick out of the Indiana school, who is a good scorer and defender. Hill was uneven in the summer league so Salim Stoudamire was signed to play some here also. Roger Mason, a veteran addition, can play the point, but is more of a 2-guard.

Manu Ginobili will be out 20-25 games after having off-season ankle surgery. The Spurs think they could’ve beaten the Lakers in the playoffs if Manu hadn’t been out, but they better hope they can make up for his absence or they could find themselves in a huge hole. Roger Mason hit 130 3-pointers of f the bench for the Wizards so he will provide depth, shooting, and defense. Michael Finley came into camp 15 pounds lighter than he left in May, and could get some significant playing time with Ginobili hurt. Brent Barry is gone, so Roger Mason and Michael Finley need to be the answer for at least 20-25 games.

Bruce Bowen is supposed to harass and hopefully shut down the opposition’s best player. Bowen is 37 years old, but he made the All-Defensive First-Team again last season and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season. Bowen had trouble with Kobe Bryant in the playoffs last season, but that doesn’t mean Bowen doesn’t relish the challenge. Ime Udoka will come off the bench. He is a tough defender and actually a better scorer and rebounder than Bowen. The Spurs can also play Udoka at the same time as Bowen, which would allow Udoka to guard the smaller of the dominant players.

Get a 50% Signup Bonus at BetUS!

Tim Duncan is arguably the best power forward of all-time. He is still the top player at his position and still one of the best players in the league at 32 years old. Duncan is a team player first and foremost, but had another strong postseason averaging 20.2 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. Duncan also will benefit from the emergence of guys like Parker and Ginobili. Matt Bonner started out last season strong, but faded later in the season. Kurt Thomas could also get some time behind Duncan here.

Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas put together make a really nice center, and both complement Duncan very well. These two are willing to do the dirty work. Thomas plays physically and can hurt teams with his pick-and-pop game. Oberto is also a physical player that can come up with hustle plays. Oberto won’t wow you with his stats, but is a solid contributor. Ian Mahinmi still needs to grow, but he will be a part of the Spurs’ future, so he could see some minutes.

Final Analysis

While I’m not buying into the odd-years theory, the Spurs are still a top-notch team. I don’t expect their age to show as much as the naysayers are saying, but it could hurt them down the stretch. The Spurs will be competitive in the Southwest Division, but we have them finishing 2nd behind the Hornets and ahead of the Rockets, Mavericks, and Grizzlies. The Spurs finished 3rd in the Western Conference last season, and should finish around the same this season. The Spurs will be competitive in the Western Conference playoff race, but I expect them to fall short of the Hornets and Lakers this season. The Spurs are at +850 odds to win the NBA Championship this season.

Get more of Luke Knights NBA predictions:

Deposit Instantly Using Your Credit Card at Sportsbook.com!

Filed Under NBA