Are the Golden State Warriors the New Spurs?
The “Mount Rushmore approach” for defining NBA greatness — the narrative that a few dominant players shaped the NBA landscape, carrying their teams to title — has become as antiquated as its academic parallel, Carlyle’s 1840 “Great Man Theory of History,” the idea that a few, highly influential men (think Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, ect.) had the decisive role in shaping the entire historical narrative.
But while Herbert Spencer’s contrasting 1860 theory — that “Great Men” are a product of their societies–has gained widespread support to his day, it corollary has largely not been accepted true for the NBA. Journalists and fans still spend much of their time debating who is the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, and the GOAT; but, as the Spurs’ success has shown, lionizing one player, or even three, is not what leads to sustained success.
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And while the Spurs’ dynasty is defined by its four cornerstones — Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker–much of their prolonged success is due to the influence of their role players, products of their system. It is, as Herbert Spencer said, a product of the society; for Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker have been able to have such sustained success because of their frequent resting (a touchy subject for the league and many fans), a system made possible by their seamless integration of role players.
It is an old joke among NBA fans that the Spurs could take any guy on the street, plop him into their bench, and have him average 10 points per game while shooting 40% from three. The current roster is a perfect exemplification of this: Boris Diaw was picked up off of the waiver wire, and Danny Green was finally put on the team after stints with the Erie Bayhawks and Reno Bighorns, both D-League teams.
Danny Greenand
Boris Diaware big reasons for the Spurs’ success. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
And when the Big Three (Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker) are resting, it is players like Diaw and Green who carry the five-time champs, a testament to Popovich’s greatness as coach and to the ability of the role players. But while the Spurs’ role players have reigned supreme in the league for about a decade, the Warriors, evidenced by this season and culminating in Friday night’s win, have usurped their position as the greatest all-around team in basketball. After years of roster rebuilding, the Warriors have finally unseated the Spurs as the kings of the West.
A quick look at the statistics tells the story: the Warriors dished out more assists, committed less turnovers, and ended up decimating the Spurs 110-99, with a deceptively close box score. The Warriors’ starters dominated their Spurs’ counterparts 76-38, but this season’s more prevailing narrative has been of the Warriors’ reserves domination of the Spurs’ reserves. Andre Igoudala, David Lee, Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, and Justin Holiday have been an infinitely better bench than Marco Belinelli, Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, and Ginobili, and that has been what has accounted for much of the Warriors’ ascent into the NBA’s elite.
The old cliché, that a team is only “as good as its weakest link,” actually has a lot of truth to it, for in an 82-game season with seven-game playoff series, it is ill-advised to rely on just a couple of players.
This year the Warriors’ system has simply been better, and it hasn’t been close. Their reserves have been by far the best in the league, allowing the team to win even when the stars don’t come out to shine. It’s the old Spurs system, and the Warriors have upgraded to a newer, better model.
And, ironically enough, even if we compared the teams using the “Mount Rushmore Theory” or Carlyle’s “Great Man Theory,” Stephen Curry was clearly the best player on the floor, scoring 25 points with a ridiculous +22 plus/minus.
Stephen Curry was the best player on the floor Friday night. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Meanwhile, Tony Parker scored 2 points on 0-4 shooting, Tim Duncan had 8 points on 3-8 shooting, and Ginobili finished with 8 on 4-7 shooting.
Thomas Carlyle and Herbert Spencer may be rolling over in their graves debating how to view history, but Friday even they would have agreed that the Warriors were clearly the better team on the court.