Two things about this playoff series that I like.
1) There isn't one expert that has given the Spurs a chance to win anything in the playoffs this year. If they do beat the Nuggets in this series, which I totally expect them to do now, nobody will give them a chance against Portland or OKC. It's always sweet to win when nobody expects it. Personally I think they have as good a shot as any to make it to the Western Conference finals. They match up pretty well against Portland. In many ways this has seemed like a disappointing, down year for the Spurs and yet they have put themselves in a position to make a playoff run.
2) This actually give me great hope for the future. Derrick White is having a breakout series and showed signs all year of being a star. If he can stay healthy next year this team improves tremendously, especially on the road. He and other young players like Poeltl and Bryn have stepped it up in the playoffs and that is a good sign. All signs point to Dejounte coming back healthy and when he does the Spurs have an extremely good defensive backcourt which is extremely valuable in this guard driven league. Demar should be even better next year having a year under Pop. The team defense improved as the year went on and it should be even better next year.
The one wildcard is Lonnie Walker. If he makes strides in his second year like other young players have, he and Bryn coming off the bench could make a formidable offensive threat for teams to deal with. I think Pop has plans for Danatas as well. Add Davis, Marco and Patty and you've got a pretty strong bench.
It will be interesting to see how the offseason goes and how they use their 2 first round draft picks.
