Tactics

The head coach of the San Antonio Spurs is Gregg Popovich, and he is arguably the greatest basketball coach of all time. He has been coach of the Spurs since 1996 and is a five-time NBA champion. Popovich is renowned for helping his players win by aiming to capitalise on strengths and minimise the exposure of individual weaknesses. The Spurs utilise DeRozan and Aldridge as the two offensive weapons, with DeRozan using his dribbling speed to drive to the basket. Aldridge can act as an outlet, and can either post-up or hit the signature fadeaway to tally points. Dejounte Murray is an effective three-point shooter, which complements Aldridge’s inside ability and DeRozan’s lethal midrange. With Rudy Gay and Demare Carroll on the court, the Spurs have impressive length to protect the inside, and forces the opposition to shoot from the perimeter or deeper to score consistent points - something teams exploited last season. The Spurs need to close down the three-point shooters quickly in 2019-20; last season, San Antonio went 2-15 when they allowed at least 45% shooting from the three-point line.

Potential 2019-20 Record: 46-36

I think, in terms of record anyways, the Spurs will take a hit from last season. The Western Conference is insanely strong, but the Spurs are a well-coached franchise - Popovich is the best coach in the league. With a star duo of DeRozan and Aldridge, the Spurs have enough quality to win games and advance to the playoffs as I expect them to do.