With addition of Aldridge, Spurs look like West’s best bet
Aside from coach Gregg Popovich’s shaggy white beard, obvious signs of old age are showing in the San Antonio Spurs. Of course, that doomsday theme has been overplayed by the media for several years.
Ignore the end-of-the-road lies. The true story is the Spurs are getting stronger and looking a little younger without the help of Botox, hair dye, plastic surgery or Viagra.
What they needed was the addition of LaMarcus Aldridge, the most valuable prize in NBA free agency, and they got even more. For several reasons, my money is on San Antonio to win the Western Conference next season.
“I don’t know if the Spurs are clear favorites,” said Nick Bogdanovich, William Hill sports book director. “There are a lot of good teams in the West. The West is so good, it’s insane.”
Also insane was the free-agent frenzy that tipped off July 1. In the past week, a billionaire owner was left at the altar, the Los Angeles Lakers were fully exposed for fools and the Cleveland Cavaliers slightly improved.
The Spurs are the biggest winners. Aldridge, a 6-foot-11-inch power forward, is an All-Star coming off arguably his best season with Portland. He averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range.
In Aldridge, 29, and Kawhi Leonard, 24, San Antonio has two of the league’s top young stars to bridge the gap between old-timers Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“I think the Spurs are as good as anybody, and they know how to play together,” Sportsmemo.com handicapper Erin Rynning said. “Golden State and San Antonio are a little notch above the Clippers and Oklahoma City.”
At the Westgate sports book, the Spurs, Thunder and Warriors are each posted at 9-4 odds to win the West. But those teams are not equals, and Popovich is the superior coach.
The Spurs were put to sleep in the first round of the playoffs in May — in a classic seven-game series against the Clippers — but a championship team tends to lose its edge, and the Spurs lost it last season. San Antonio won five NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014) without repeating.
The Warriors will face the same challenge. Golden State’s title team returns mostly intact, but after dealing with few injuries and a paved road in the postseason against depleted opponents, next year’s trip is not going to be so smooth.
In a head-to-head matchup, the Spurs will have size and strength advantages. The front line of Aldridge, Duncan and David West, a veteran forward who was a free-agent steal for San Antonio, should be too much for the Warriors to handle. Duncan, 39, still can play, and he will probably play center.
The Spurs are solid in the backcourt with Parker and Patty Mills at the point and Danny Green and Ginobili at shooting guard. Leonard, a 6-7 small forward, is a shutdown defender who can blanket the Warriors’ shooters.
The Thunder remain a threat, yet Kevin Durant is heading into his free-agent year, and he and Russell Westbrook have had issues with staying healthy. A college coach will lead them. Billy Donovan was lured away from Florida and must adjust to the NBA.
“I have a lot of reservations about that Oklahoma City team,” Rynning said. “I don’t like the Durant free-agent situation where he might leave next year, and I’m not a big fan of Donovan being able to flip the switch.”
Houston and Memphis will contend. But the Clippers are the wild card in the West, dealing for Lance Stephenson, signing veteran Paul Pierce and coercing free-agent center DeAndre Jordan to back out of his oral agreement with Dallas to re-sign in Los Angeles. Jordan’s soap opera flip-flop makes him look almost as bad as Donald Trump.
“I think the Clippers are going to be the most hated team in the NBA,” Rynning said. “On paper, the Clippers should be really good, but they haven’t been able to fully put it together and show they can win three or four series in the playoffs.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, dumped by Jordan, is left with a terrible team and a lottery ticket. Still, the title for the biggest losers in free agency goes to the Lakers, who botched their meetings with Aldridge and got turned down for a dance with every free-agent star for two years.
“The Lakers treat free agency like the high school quarterback does his 15-year reunion. They have yet to realize their peers are no longer operating on an outdated belief. There is now more than one way to be cool and desirable,” ESPN anchor Doug Kezirian said. “Yet, the Lakers and their fans are stunted and living in the past. The glory days are over. Time to accept that.”
LeBron James and the Cavaliers are 2-1 favorites to win the NBA championship because they still face little competition in the East.
“It has been a wild offseason in the NBA, to say the least,” Bogdanovich said.
The Spurs, who entered free agency at 12-1 odds and exited this week at 9-2, accomplished the most and will get my bet to win the West.
■ BOTTOM LINES — NBA wagering is not limited to the futures board. Lines on summer league games in Las Vegas will be posted at several books, including William Hill and the Westgate. … This is tough to predict — and not an easy task for oddsmakers — but, based on rosters, look for Boston, Minnesota, Utah and the Lakers to be among the top teams.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.
