San Antonio Spurs: 2008 NBA World Champions?

Every year as teams start to battle for playoff positions and analyst argue on who should be the leagues most valuable player, the San Antonio Spurs quietly prepare and eye the biggest trophy, the NBA Championship.

The Spurs have never been able to win championships back-to-back, but this team is different than previous teams, in the sense that they have the desire, team bond and passion that make champions.

A look at the current standings (as of March 1, 2008) puts the Spurs one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers. Many analyst have really brought into the idea the Lakers are the team to beat in the Western Conference, because of the addition of Pau Gasol. I don't think the Lakers are serious contenders. The Lakers will most definitely make the playoffs, but they will lose to a team who should not beat them. Similar to the way the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Golden State Warriors last year. The Lakers still lack size and experience to go far and win in the playoffs. Kobe Bryant will not be able to carry the team all the way and beat the Spurs or beat a team like Detroit or Boston in the Finals. Kobe has a bad pinky finger and has not been able to carry the team all the way, since Shaq left the Lakers.

The Spurs acquired Kurt Thomas who is 6-9; 235 pounds and can easily get you 10 points and 10 rebounds a night. Thomas will help Tim Duncan and Fabricio Oberto in the paint by providing good defense, rebounding and toughness. The Spurs had to give up Brent Barry, one of the leagues best shooters, in order to acquire Thomas. However, Seattle, who traded Thomas for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, and 2009 First round pick, released Barry. Recently, Barry has stated he will re-sign with Spurs again, but he must wait the league 30-day minimum before he can re-sign with the Spurs. Barry will continue to help the bench by providing experience, good defense, and one of the leagues best shooters. The Spurs have no weaknesses in the current roster. The current roster consist of the following players: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas, Damon Stoudeamire, Michael Finley, Robert Horry, Jacque Vaughn, Ime Udoka, Matt Bonner, and soon Brent Barry should re-join the roster.

A look at the other contenders will show that there are good teams who will challenge the Spurs, but none have solid all around teams to dethrone the Champions. The Houston Rockets were looking good, until Yao Ming suffered a season ending injury. Tracy McGrady is an awesome player, but offense alone will not win you a Championship. The Dallas Mavericks are the greatest threat to the Spurs, but the Spurs seem to know how to beat them. The addition of Jason Kidd has not had an immediate impact on the team. The problem with the Mavericks is that Mark Cuban tries to get the beat players who are available. The strategy is good if you are playing fantasy basketball, but this strategy doesn't always lead to success in the NBA.