Is San Antonio the best NBA team of the 21st century?

Who's the best since the start of the new millennium?
The Lakers (top)? The Heat (middle)? The Spurs (bottom)?

14.6 points.

That was the average point difference in each of the wins of the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals. That’s the biggest average winning margin in NBA Finals history.

And they did it against the team with the planet’s best basketball player.

Many might contend that the last five games of the 2013-2014 NBA season weren’t really contests in as much as they were clinics. That’s how dominant the Spurs were here, dethroning the Miami Heat in five games and stifling their desires for a rare three-peat. It was a title-clinching run done with such ruthless efficiency that it ended sooner than everyone expected. The defending champs were made to look like chumps, dominated in such unprecedented fashion since the Big Three brought their talents together in 2010.

Nobody should have been able to embarrass the Heat. Not in the Finals, of all places. Not at the American Airlines Arena, where they went unbeaten in the first three rounds of the postseason.

The NBA Roundup: November 18, 2013

The Blazers and Grizzlies are slowly climbing the ladder out West, while someone out of left field is having a surprisingly good start for the Lakers.

Zach Randolph helped power the Grizzlies past the Kings.
(image by Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

The Best:

• Raise your hand if you had Jordan Hill averaging 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 block while shooting 62% from the field through 12 games. No takers? Looks like we now know who benefited greatly with the exit of Dwight Howard.
• How about Nicolas Batum and Damien Lillard combining for 49 points, 8 triples, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, and just 2 turnovers as the Blazers won in Toronto? Don’t sleep on these upstart Blazers, who are now 8-2 and second in the West just behind the Spurs. They also currently hold the second-best win streak so far – 6 games.

The Worst:

• Mike Miller had ZERO points and 3 turnovers in 21 minutes against Sacramento. Yep, I don’t think he’s missed that much in Miami.
• You kinda know you’re in it deep when the three guys who shot the most field goals came off the bench, and, worse, they made just 33% of their shots. Against Memphis, John Salmons, Isaiah Thomas, and Marcus Thornton combined for 14/42 FG shooting. In contrast, the Kings’ entire starting unit took just 32 shots.

The NBA Roundup: November 11, 2013

The Spurs leaned on Danny Green’s hot shooting, OKC rallied past the Wiz, the Suns beat the Pelicans, and the Wolves snapped a losing streak to the Lakers in today’s NBA action.

Gerald Green spiked this one through the rim as
the Suns rose past the Pelicans.
(screencap from the NBA YouTube account)

The Best:

• The Wizards played really well against the Thunder, but Kevin Durant was just too much in the end. KD dropped 33 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and had 6 assists as OKC rallied to beat the upstart Wizards, 106-105 in OT. Washington leaned on young gun Bradley Beal, who finally broke out with 34 points behind 6/8 three-point shooting.
• Ricky Rubio registered the season’s second triple-double as Minnesota beat the Lakers at the Staples Center, 113-90. Rubio scored 12 points, handed out 14 assists, and collared 10 rebounds while also getting 5 steals in a superb quarterbacking effort. The T-Wolves finally beat the Purple & Gold after losing to them in their last 22 meetings.

The Worst:

• JR Smith was horrendous against San Antonio. Smith missed all but one of his shots to end up with just 5 points in 21 minutes. Not enough misery? How about adding 4 turnovers, too?
• Wesley Johnson seems to have cooled off after stroking the nylon against Houston last week. Johnson hit just 2 of 10 shots against the Wolves today, and his overall FG% has now dipped to under 33% for the season. For a guy who launches nearly 10 field goals per game, that is NOT good.

The NBA Roundup: November 8, 2013

On a day when D-Wade, the Beard, and Blake Griff all lit up the board, it was white-man-who-cannot-jump Steve Blake who stole the show with a game-winning three over former teammate Dwight Howard.

The Best:

• Steve Blake. Three-pointer. For the win. 1.3 seconds to go. Over maybe the whiniest big man in Los Angeles history. Lakers 1. Dwight Howard 0. As a team, the Lakers made 16 triples, with Jodi Meeks netting 5 and Blake canning 4.
• How about Wade turning back the clock as the Heat rallied from a halftime deficit to upend the visiting Clippers. D-Wade pumped in 29 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals to go along with 13/22 FG shooting.

Steve Blake's shot that will haunt Dwight Howard till
the next time Houston plays the Lakers.
(image Bill Baptist/Getty Images)

The Worst:

• It’s a good thing the Lakers won, because Pau Gasol was crap against the Rockets. I love every one of his 12 rebounds, but he shot just 1/10 from the floor, had zero blocks, and turned the ball over thrice. He could’ve been the goat, but thanks to Blake’s heroics, his crap performance is now forgiven (not forgotten).
• Can someone tell Patrick Beverley he isn’t the top PG in Houston? Beverley sot 1/10 from the floor on his way to 3 points in 34 minutes. Kevin McHale, what are you doing playing him that much?

The NBA Roundup: November 6, 2013

Indiana continued its unmolested run to open the season, earning a road win over an improved Detroit squad for win #4. In the meantime, New York was ambushed by the unheralded Bobcats, while Houston rebounded from a blowout loss by overcoming Portland.

The Best:

• LeBron James recorded his 500^th straight double-digit scoring game by unloading 35 points on top of 8 rebounds and 8 assists on the Toronto Raptors, who actually led by double-digits at one point in the game.
• Paul George continues his phenomenal growth as one of the top small forwards in the league (the other two are, you know, LBJ and KD – Melo is right behind PG24 right now), scoring 31 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. More importantly, though, his Pacers are 4-0.
• Monta Ellis probably won’t be one of the top ten players this season, but he’s certainly one of the top guys on the Mavs’ roster. Ellis shot 11/14 from the field and finished with 30 points to go along with 9 assists. He also shot a perfect 8/8 from the line as Dallas blew out the Lakers.

PG24 led the Pacers to a 4-0 start in the NBA's new season.
(image by Allen Einstein/Getty Images)

The Worst:

• I love what Josh Smith brings to the Detroit Pistons, but in their game against the Pacers. J-Smoove finished 16 points, yes, but he shot just 5/16 from the field and turned the ball over four times. Had he played more efficiently, MAYBE they wouldn’t have lost by just 8 points.
• Someday soon, Enes Kanter should become a really good big man for Utah, but that’s only if he cuts down on his turnovers. The young Turkish slotman coughed the ball up 7 times against the Nets, and that is just too high a number for anyone who primarily plays under the basket.

The NBA Roundup: November 4, 2013

Three Kevins hogged the limelight in today’s NBA action. Kevin Love and Kevin Martin combined to hit 7 triples as the T-Wolves remained unbeaten in three games, while Kevin Durant welcomed running mate Russell Westbrook back by scoring 33 points in OKC’s comeback win over PHX.

The Best:

• Kevin Love and Kevin Martin were clicking for Minnesota as the Wolves took on New York’s finest. Love rattled in 34 points on 10/19 FG shooting on top of 15 rebounds and 5 assists to give the Twin Cities a superb 3-0 start to the season. Former OKC and HOU player Martin also continued to sizzle for Wolves, hitting all 5 of his rainbow attempts to finish with 30 points.
• KD laid out the red carpet for the return of Jet Zero to the hardwood, unloading a 33-point and 10-rebound double-double for the Thunder, who had to claw back in the second half to avoid the upset axe against Phoenix. Westbrook, for his part, delivered 21 points and 7 assists in his first game back from a leg injury he sustained in last season’s Playoffs.
• Another guy whose stroke was pure was ATL’s Kyle Korver, who shot a flawless 6/6 from long range. Korver ended up with 22 points, but his Hawks fell short against the Lakers, 103-105.

Kevin Martin waxed hot as the Wolves upended the Knicks.
(image by Noah K. Murray/USA Today)