A month into the 2010-11 season, heat is being emitted from a place far from the beaches of Miami: the Southwest Division. Heading into Tuesday's action, the San Antonio Spurs (14-2), Dallas Mavericks (13-4) and New Orleans Hornets (12-5) have opened the season with a combined 39-11 record. To top it off, five of those losses have come at the hands of each other, showing just how dominant these three teams have been against the rest of the league.
The number of analysts who predicted this start by the Spurs is the same as the number of men who would cheat on Eva Longoria: zero. Many experts expected success from San Antonio this season, but no one foresaw the Spurs, known for trudging through the regular season and then finding a new gear come playoff time, coming out of the gates with such gusto.
The early season outburst has a distinct un-Spur-like feel to it, as San Antonio has pushed the tempo and has averaged 107.2 points per game, good for third in the league. The Spurs also have the league's eighth-highest Pace Factor — an estimate of possessions per 48 minutes — the first time they've played at an above-average pace in the Tim Duncan era. The normally robust San Antonio defensive style has slackened a bit, with the team giving up 98.9 points per game, but San Antonio can still conjure up stops when it needs them the most.
Much of the quick start can be attributed to the reinsertion of Manu Ginobili into the starting lineup, a place he hasn't consistently inhabited since 2005-06. The move has paid off for coach Gregg Popovich, as the Argentine has averaged career highs in points, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and minutes.
Also contributing to the lofty start has been Richard Jefferson, who is executing like the player the Spurs thought he was when they traded for him before last season, when he averaged a paltry 12.3 points per game. Jefferson is shooting the lights out — 51 percent from the field and 44 percent from three, both career highs — and appears much more comfortable than a year ago, when he struggled to settle into his role.
Speaking of role-playing, Tim Duncan's minutes are at a new low, while Tony Parker's are at a career high. Parker, averaging over seven assists a game, has managed to steady his point guard play despite off-the-court distractions.
If the Spurs have sped up to an uncharacteristic pace, it's the Mavericks and the Hornets who have managed to copy the blueprint that led to San Antonio's championship success: slowing down the tempo (both teams rank in the bottom third of the league in pace), locking down defensively (both teams rank in the top five in opponents' points per game and field goal percentage) and running an efficient half-court offense (both teams rank in the top half in field goal percentage and turnovers).
While the system has been put in place, it has been the help of some new arrivals that have put both these teams over the top.
For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki is enjoying one of his most efficient seasons ever and merits MVP consideration, but it has been the presence of Tyson Chandler that has provided a much-needed anchor to the Dallas defense. Chandler has proved to be a huge step up from the notoriously lack-luster Erick Dampier and provides the Mavericks with an athletic shot-blocker and rebounder, as well as a dynamic pick-and-roll option for Jason Kidd. The 7-foot-1-inch center runs the floor well and has the league's highest true shooting percentage, which incorporates the respective values of 2s, 3s and free throws.
On paper, the Hornets has by far the least talent of the three teams. Although Chris Paul has re-established himself as a top-flight point guard — and is shooting 47 percent on 3s, to boot — and David West has continued to be a high-level low-post and mid-range scorer, the rest of the roster fills out like a ragtag team of misfits. No one epitomizes that better than Marco Belinelli, an underused backup in Golden State and Toronto, who has responded to his first starting role by nearly doubling his career scoring average and shooting a red-hot 43 percent from 3-point range.
The Hornets have clearly bought in to whatever first-year coach Monty Williams is preaching, and the system he has put in place has worked wonders to jumpstart a team many thought was in line for a rebuilding year.
In a season where the Spurs, the decade's foremost proponents of slow-paced basketball, have picked up the speed to great success, two division rivals, the Hornets and Mavericks, have copied San Antonio's championship blueprint to near-equal results.
The Southwestern Division is as strong as it's ever been, and with the experience gained from regular season battles these three teams will have within their own division, each of them should be ready to make a deep playoff run.
