TrueHoop TV: Haberstroh doesn’t like the Spurs this year

Mar. 27, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard/forward Danny Green (4) and forward (33) Boris Diaw during game against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. The Spurs defeated the Suns 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

In response to ESPN’s NBA Forecast, Tom Haberstroh of Heat Index and Beckley Mason of TrueHoop released another edition of TrueHoop TV to cover the teams they feel are due for regression this season.

Haberstroh and Mason concurred on the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers as solid regression candidates but their opinions differed on the San Antonio Spurs, who Haberstroh believes will regress because of the “human condition.”

(For the record: The Spurs were projected to win 54 games this season, good for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.)

“I’m not sold on them because of the human condition,” Haberstroh said. “Basically, I don’t think a team that has Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker less so — they are going to have to fall of the rails at some point.

“I know we can’t keep doubting this team and expect them to just roll over but at some point, just like with the Boston Celtics, when you are going all in with guys that are 35 and above at some point it’s going to fall apart. If I was a betting man, I would not bet on the San Antonio Spurs to duplicate what they did last year.”

Mason fired back with a couple of key points that contradict Haberstroh’s belief — i.e: a full training camp will benefit Boris Diaw and Danny Green (Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills, too) and their ability to take good shots and subsequently force bad shots defensively makes them the optimal regular season machine.

Of course, as Mason noted, this doesn’t make the Spurs a bigger threat to the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder than they were last year. It just makes them a solid regular season team that could advance to the Finals with the benefit of luck and circumstance.

The full video is below: