San Antonio better prep parade routes if stunning Spurs prediction is legit

What kind of magical carpet ride is this? It seems unfathomable that the Spurs are in a position to win a championship after everything that happened last year. Gregg Popovich's stroke, Victor Wembanyama's blood clot, and De'Aaron Fox's surgery a mere month after acquiring him were a lot to deal with. Most fans would have been happy just seeing the team keep it together for 6 months.

They've done much much more than that, though. San Antonio entered the season seemingly with vengeance on their minds. The adversity they faced last season robbed them of the opportunity for growth in a controlled environment that would have allowed them to succeed and fail without the added weight of a heavy heart to deal with.

It felt unfair as a fan, but it was even more personal for the players in that building. They turned those experiences into fortitude. Now they're about to enter the playoffs with the second-best record in the NBA and a championship in their sights. And winning it all is actually realistic.

Spurs have the overall talent to take the first two rounds

Let's look at the path that Zach laid out for San Antonio, starting with a first-round matchup with Phoenix. He predicts a sweep for the Silver and Black. That should be the prevailing prediction for most people. The Suns are not a great team. They're the definition of average. Over their last 20 games of the season, they went 10-10. This isn't a squad that should get a single game off the Spurs.

Styles make fights, but talent can supersede the rigors that can arise from a stylistic match. Mitch Johnson has his team humming, while Phoenix seems to still be unsure of who they are as a ball club. This should be a quick 4-and-out.

The Nuggets would take much more effort to dispatch. They have the greatest offensive center we've ever seen, and their team has a ton of experience. But they'll lose for the same reason the Suns will lose (it will just take longer): the Spurs have the more talented team. As awesome as their offense is, San Antonio's is just as elite.

Victor Wembanyama is possibly the best defender of all time. Over a seven-game series, everyone knows what the other wants to do. It becomes a matter of whether or not you can stop it. But only one of these teams has a top-five defense. The other is the Nuggets, and they're not great on that side of the floor. That will be the difference. Zach is calling it in six games. I think seven gets it done.

OKC won't be able to solve the Wembanyama problem

OKC in the Western Conference Finals is the matchup everyone wants to see. A rivalry series between two similarly built teams and organizations for the right to play in the NBA Finals. That brings me to my favorite part of the ESPN piece Kram penned so articulately:

"For the Thunder, the most frightening feature of their regular-season meetings against the Spurs was Wembanyama's game-by-game plus-minus rating:
• Plus-21 in 21 minutes
• Plus-13 in 23 minutes
• Plus-13 in 26 minutes
• Minus-14 in 28 minutes
• Plus-17 in 28 minutes" - Zach Kram

The Thunder only had success against Victor Wembanyama once and it came during a stretch when the entire Spurs team was struggling with consistency. January was, by far, San Antonio's worst month. They took off again as soon as it was over and have looked like the best team in the NBA ever since.

OKC will have to prove they can solve the problems he poses for them four times. I don't think they can. Spurs in six.

Beating the Celtics would take everything the Spurs had

Now, I have Boston making it out of the Eastern Conference, too. How exhilarating would it be to have Derrick White on the other side, Luke Kornet's former team, competing with the Silver and Black with the title on the line? San Antonio can win this series in six games, but I think it's more likely this one goes seven, too.

The Celtics are the only other team in the league other than the Spurs ranked in the top five on both ends of the court. They make threes at the third-highest rate in the league, and that's one of the few weaknesses in San Antonio's defense. Not to mention, Boston is one of the toughest places to play in the NBA.

With Jaylen Brown at the peak of his powers and Jayson Tatum rounding into form, beating this team would take everything the Spurs' tank. Good thing they'd have homecourt advantage, and a Game 7 in the NBA Finals at the Frost Bank Center would be an unwinnable environment for anyone.

We all know that nothing is given, and predictions are wrong all the time. It doesn't matter if you're a casual fan or an "expert." Sports are popular because of the uncertainty that comes along with high-level competition. But the Spurs certainly have the tools to get it done, and it's nice to know that San Antonio fans aren't the only ones who see it.

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