Can San Antonio go one better this season?

The 2013 NBA Finals were one for the ages.

Two contrasting but indisputably great teams going head-to-head, momentum swinging wildly, road teams winning critical games, the ‘best game ever’, role players channelling their inner legend and then being hit by reality (Danny Green anyone?), the underdogs having the title in their grasp and then choking it away and finally the best player to grace the planet since Michael Jordan closing out Game 7 to cement his legacy.

As a purist and an impartial viewer, this was basketball at its absolute best. Fundamentals on both ends of the floor, superstars playing at a high level and a winner-take-all 48 minutes after which the unbridled joy in South Beach and utter despair at the AT & T Centre was palpable.

Fast forward eight months and with 15-20 games to play, the playoffs are on the horizon again.

Lo and behold, the Spurs are (fractionally) leading the race for the league’s best record, despite being the same ‘old’ team.

The team balance and depth is unrivalled, as the Spurs have depth in every position and have covered injuries fantastically well.

Patty Mills is the only player to appear in all 64 games; Kahwi Leonard has missed 15 games and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili 11 each.

The minutes are spread around in an almost methodical fashion, with nine players averaging between 18-31 minutes per game with Parker only player averaging over 30 minutes.

The Spurs will likely need to win the race for the league’s best record outright as their record against the other best six teams in the league (Oklahoma City, LA Clippers, Houston, Miami, Indiana and Portland) is an unimpressive 5-11.

While this record hurts them in potential tiebreak situations, they are on an eight-game winning streak due in no small part to the fact they have all hands on deck, as Leonard is reintegrating himself into the team after an injury layoff.

Statistically speaking, the Spurs’ offensive and defensive ratings compared to last season are, not surprisingly, consistent.

The Spurs rank seventh in offensive rating (they were seventh last season), second in effective field goal per centage (second) and second in true shooting per cent age (third).

Defensively, they rank fifth in defensive rating (fouth), fifth in opponent field goal per cent age (eighth), sixth in points per game allowed (ninth), and second in points differential (fouth).

Again, more of the same ‘boring’ consistency.

They have noticeably slowed the pace down this season and are still looking to find the balance between those who start the game and those who finish.

It would seem likely Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Green and Leonard will start. This is a flexible, defensively strong starting five and provides offensive firepower off bench in the form of Mills, Marco Bellineli, Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter.

So, numbers and predicted rotations aside, where does that leave the Spurs?

Four teams can win the NBA title this season – two from each conference. Miami and Indiana are playing the Eastern Conference finals against each other (this is hardly a bold prediction, and that is set to be a seven game slog), while the West is amazingly competitive and only two teams can progress to the Finals; forget Houston, the Clippers and Golden State – they have a winning series or two in them at best, but they are not getting past the Spurs or Thunder.

Good old Oklahoma City. In some ways the Thunder are the anti-Spurs. If Gregg Popovich resides in the coaching penthouse, Scott Brooks owns the outhouse.

Their strength is a 1-2-3 punch and the league’s best ‘Big Three’.

In Kevin Durant they have the probable MVP and clearly second best player in the world today.

In Russell Westbrook they have an erratic superstar, but a superstar nonetheless and the most explosive player in the league.

And in Serge Ibaka they have the best third wheel in the league.

For some baffling reason, Brooks continues to give minutes to the carcasses of Derek Fisher and Kendrick Perkins, and that may be due to a lack of confidence in Steven Adams, Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson.

But the system at the Thunder is simple – offensive dominance from two amazingly talented superstars.

Oklahoma City provides all sorts of match-up problems for San Antonio.

Leonard and Duncan are elite defenders, but neither is a fit for Durant or Westbrook. Parker is an amazing offensive player, but defensively isn’t in any way strong.

The Spurs defensive prowess is based on a system that allows a large majority of their rotation to not be exposed in single coverage defensively.

The Spurs are a below average rebounding team and the Thunder are one of the best in the league for opposition rebounding – this means quite simply that San Antonio must hit their shots and be able to run their offense smoothly.

So the numbers tell us this Spurs team is the same as it was last year. We knew that anyway, right?

Logic says Duncan should be in decline, but that just doesn’t seem likely to happen. Parker is playing as well as ever, and he is unlikely to be unlucky enough to injure his calf again in the playoffs.

Ginobili is playing less minutes, which should conserve some energy but if he is regresses it might not be an issue. That’s because Green, Leonard and Mills have all improved and Belenelli is a significant if understated addition.

And Boris Diaw and Splitter fit exactly what the Spurs need in their frontcourt.

San Antonio currently holds a half game lead over the Thunder, but has lost the tiebreak. Those two teams will finish 1-2 in the West, and should they meet in the conference finals, the home court advantage will be huge.

The Spurs let that slip last season and were forced to play Game 7 in enemy territory – they won’t make the same mistake this season and will defeat the Thunder and return to the NBA Finals.

The NBA Finals will go seven games, and the San Antonio Spurs will win a fifth title and defeat Indiana in another series that goes the distance.

And Pop and Timmy will both allow themselves to crack a smile.