The Spurs' championship odds just skyrocketed if Stephen A Smith is right

OKC is compromised. They'll hope to get all of their players back healthy in time for a postseason run, but I was already questioning the odds something like that would happen on my social media page before the All-Star break. Interestingly enough, Stephen A. Smith had a similar thought and shared it on the nation's airwaves not a day later.

"He's missed 30 games already this season. I find it hard to believe that he's ever going to be healthy for this year." - Stephen A. Smith via First Take

It's just not the way professional sports work—at least not in the NBA and NFL. Usually, if a player enters the season dealing late for one reason or another and ends up with a soft tissue injury, that issue continues to rear its ugly head until they get extended rest time.

If that age-old trend continues, the Thunder won't be nearly the same level of threat as they were last postseason, and the Western Conference will be wide open.

The Spurs can take advantage of the NBA's injury bug

There has been nonstop parity in the league over the past 6-7 seasons. There hasn't been a repeat champion since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. OKC looked poised to be the first to change that, but you can't overlook J. Dub's importance to that team.

He didn't even always have his best last postseason, and he still averaged 21 points per game. He's the secondary ball-handler for that team, and as Spurs fans know, having multiple guys who can attack the defense in different ways is crucial to establishing a balanced attack that's difficult to counter.

SGA and Williams have a similar enough archetype that they don't have to change much around them based on who is initiating, but their differences make game planning for the two simultaneously a nightmare. Not to mention, he's a terrific defender and made the All-Defensive Team last season.

They can't win a championship without him, and the Thunder fan base shouldn't feel good about the idea that he'll get healthy and stay that way for an entire postseason run.

OKC and Denver are the top dogs the Spurs have to worry about if they can get through the early rounds, but the Nuggets are facing a similar issue with Aaron Gordon. He's been in and out of the lineup all season. They should be worried about his playoff availability to the exact same degree as the Thunder with Williams.

Nothing is guaranteed. The Spurs have had some injury issues of their own, and they're hoping those are behind them. Victor Wembanyama and company have mostly been healthy over the past month. If they can continue that streak of good fortune, the postseason could line up nicely for them to win a championship for the first time since 2014. Wouldn't that be grand?