Spurs have secret weapon to crashing the NBA Finals nobody is talking about

With the San Antonio Spurs sporting the third-best record in the NBA, attention now turns to how they will perform come playoff time. The Spurs are one of the NBA's youngest teams, leading some to doubt their playoff chances.

The Spurs are indeed short on experience, as outsiders believe. However, it is worth noting that they have two players with significant playoff and championship experience.

Harrison Barnes is a 15-year NBA vet that has 70 postseason games under his belt. He also won a championship in 2015 as a member of the Golden State Warriors. With plenty of playoff and even championship experience, he is a helpful player to have around.

Meanwhile, center Luke Kornet has played 53 postseason games with the Boston Celtics. He also won a championship in 2021 and should help give the young Spurs a steadying hand.

The Spurs have more playoff experience than given credit

It's true that Barnes and Kornet may not play huge roles come playoff time. Even so, they will be relied upon when the going gets tough. Having two vets that they don't have to worry about in the playoffs is underrated.

Especially when the rest of their rotation is mostly untested in the postseason. De'Aaron Fox has seven games of playoff experience, while the rest of the Spurs did at least cut their teeth in the NBA Cup playoffs.

That'll hopefully translate so the Silver and Black won't be overwhelmed come April. Playoff seeding will also play a big role. They could have the second seed in the Western Conference, which would ensure that they'd have home court for at least two rounds.

Seeding may play a huge role in the Spurs' playoff success

Possible first-round opponents include the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, or L.A. Clippers. Each of those teams would be underdogs against San Antonio.

And while some would be harder to beat than others, having a chance to ease themselves into the playoffs could be huge. The Western Conference is brutal as is. San Antonio building confidence by getting past the first round relatively unscathed would bode well for a potentially long playoff run.

Also, San Antonio may be able to avoid playing the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Western Conference Finals. That would give San Antonio a chance to work their way up to the best team in the West and give them a fighting chance at making the NBA Finals.

That may be the absolute best-case scenario. And while they may be short on playoff experience, they do still have a couple of key players with championship experience who can help a young team make a deep postseason run.