Resting Easy

It seems like every year the San Antonio Spurs have a decent regular season and then "turn it on" come playoff time. I'm here to tell you that's not the case. The Spurs don't just glide through the regular season and then play ridiculously harder when the playoffs start. At least, no more than any other team would. Obviously, people play harder come playoff time than they would in game 13 of an 82 game season. But that isn't why the Spurs have so much playoff success. There is another reason altogether, one that is so obvious I am amazed no "experts" have looked into it. Here it is...

The San Antonio Spurs are one of the older teams in the league, both in actual age and in style of play. They also rely on two players in Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker who's style of play involves them throwing their bodies around, leading to smaller injuries that can be annoying over the course of an 82 game season. All this leads to one thing. The NBA playoffs take an extremely long time, and that is because there is always a break in between games. During the regular season the Spurs may be forced to play 5+ games in a row, and that is when the small injuries and overall age show up. Give these guys a couple days off between each and every game and they are able to play at their highest level night in and night out.

It's really a simple idea. Anyone that has played some level of basketball in their lives knows that there are small injuries and aches all the time. If you are forced to play multiple days in a row those injuries don't have time to rest, and it affects the way you play. If it's a shoulder injury your shot is off, if it's a sore ankle your lateral movement is off, if it's a knee everything is off. These small aches and pains aren't overly serious though, and given a day to heal, especially with all the modern technology NBA trainers have, these small injuries can go away pretty quickly. That is the real reason the Spurs have playoff success, not the "turning it on" factor.

By the way, don't say no one predicted the Hawks couldn't win in the playoffs...just look right here and you'll see I did exactly that. For what it's worth, I've been on the Hornets bandwagon all year as well, as you probably know by reading one of my many posts on them. I'm sticking with them all the way, and picked them to win it all in the end. Probably in the minority here, but I'll be looking pretty smart when I'm right.

~Aaron Jackson