Veteran NBA insider has insight Spurs fans want to hear heading into the playoffs

You've heard the talk about the Spurs and their potential playoff pitfall. Their experience is supposed to be the thing that holds them back, but what about actual basketball shortcomings as a team? You don't hear much about that. Well, that's because nobody is really doubting any other part of their game, according to NBA lifer Marc Stein.

"When I'm talking to people, that's the only critique of the Spurs that I hear anybody throw out there because they really have built something here," Stein replied. The seasoned reporter was responding to a question from Adam Mares on the All-NBA Podcast about what negatives he's gathered in conversations around the league outside of a lack of experience.

That's as good as we could hope for. As fans, we have our own opinions and hopes for the team, but it's nice to get insight from the perspective of those on the outside looking in. They're usually more objective than those who make a point to watch every single dribble of San Antonio basketball.

The Spurs fans got the confirmation bias they were seeking

Nobody thought this team had a chance to win a championship in Victor Wembanyama's third season in the NBA, but here we are. Fans would have been fine with a Play-In Tournament win and a first-round exit had the season been an up-and-down mess fueled by an alleged mismatched roster that didn't play into the strengths of their superstar.

However, this campaign has been more exciting than that. There's nothing more energizing than winning. This team has done a lot of it, and it's turned Spurs Nation all the way up, so expectations have changed. You go from hoping the team just doesn't get blasted in round one to demanding they make it to the Western Conference Finals or further.

That's a natural jump when you unexpectedly win 70% of your games, but it's still been more than half a decade since the Silver and Black have made it to the postseason. So, while the confidence hasn't been higher in ages, there's still some doubt in the back of your mind. The playoffs have always been a different animal, but this team feels ready to meet the challenge.

They haven't backed down to physical opponents, and teams have outright tried to bully them. It generally doesn't work, and I don't know how much more aggressive than the Detroit Pistons a team could get without Mitch Johnson having to call for a police presence.

The lack of experience concern is a fair one. There hasn't been a team to make the playoffs together for the first time and win a championship since Bill Walton did it in the 70s, but to me, that just means that someone is overdue. Things never happen until they do, and then we all get excited about the rarity of excellence.