Remember the Alamo.

By Migs

While Lebron and the Heat have been the number one show on daytime TV drama, while the Lakers have been floundering a little bit, and while the Celtics have won the East by finding the fountain of youth, the San Antonio Spurs have once again snuck up on us.

It looks like the original Big 3 from the past decade still has one title run left in them.

Everything begins and ends with Tim Duncan. Duncan's averging 14.2 points and 9.5 boards per game this season, definite career lows, but experience has shown that the 6,11" Virgin Islands native is the Spurs leader and emotional rock. His calm demeanor exists in stark contrast to his playing style which works on cutting-edge precision and unrelenting efficiency. Without Timmy, the Spurs lose the maturity and sensibility that has made them stalwarts in the Western Conference for years.

Tony Parker has been going through marital troubles as of late, but his solid point guard play (16.8 points and 7 assists per outing) has helped propel the Spurs into 4th in the NBA in scoring (106.6 points per game) and 4th in offensive efficiency overall (109.00 ppg). They vaunted Spurs defense has not wilted all that much, either, as the boys from the Alamo still rank in the top ten in defensive efficiency (100.7 ppg).

Manu Ginobili, to me, has always been one of the most underrated stars in the game. His 21.7 points per outing leads the team, and his toughness and clutch play has pulled the Spurs out of many a tight spot. I remember a story I read a few years ago on the steel-willed Ginobili, one which involved a reporter commenting on how his body was "full of bruises" after a tough playoff game- evidence of the Argentinian's "devil may care" playing style. I don't know what it is about those guys from Argentina, but yeah, most- if not all- of them are tough customers.

I think that beyond the Spurs' top dogs, the team's young guns have provided a measure of oomph that had been missing from previous Spurs teams. Young "budget" pickups like Gary Neal (who makes a "meager" $525,000), the electric George Hill (who makes $854,389), and center of the future DeJuan Blair (his rookie contract nets him $910,000 for now), have critics raving about why the San Antonio front office could be the most shrewd in the entire NBA. Recent acquisition Tiago Splitter (a hoops star from Brazil) is no slouch, either, as he is touted to be their power forward of the future and could end up being one of those "out of the ballpark" acquisitions for the Spurs, ala-Manu Ginobili. All in all, the past was stellar, the present is radiant, and the future, quite auspicious.

Can the Spurs compete with the likes of Boston and the Lakers come April, May, and June? Perhaps, assuming they can stay healthy. Passion and intensity has never been a problem for this talented bunch (unlike say the veteran Pistons of a few seasons ago). How close to glory these guys reach is incumbent on whether their knees will hold- or buckle- under the physical strain which comes with playing basketball day in and day out. Drama/hysterics, making excuses, and pressure have never been issues in San Antonio. Age, and durability, however, have.

Either way, one would be remiss not to remember the Alamo, lest they find themselves on early flights home in 2011.

-MC-