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If the Spurs are knocked out of the NBA playoffs, it may be due to their lack of playoff experience, especially in crunch time.
It's rare for such a young, inexperienced team to make it into the NBA Finals on its first deep playoff run.
Chris Mannix, a senior writer who covers the NBA for Sports Illustrated, said there is an NBA formula for reaching and winning the Finals.
"Denver was banging on the door in the second round until they broke through to win a championship," he said. "Boston had years of conference finals runs and an NBA Finals appearance before they won a championship."
He said the current NBA champions may be the best example of that formula.
"Oklahoma City, I think, is a pretty good parallel to San Antonio. Two years ago, they were the number one seed. They made it to the second round. They got beat in large part because they didn't have experienced stars on their roster. A year later, they win the championship. So, it's very difficult to leapfrog steps in the NBA."
However, Mannix said center Victor Wembanyama may have the talent to make up for the Spurs' lack of playoff experience.
He said the entire Spurs roster has played in around 150-160 playoff games, but power forward Harrison Barnes accounts for 71.
"The Spurs, because of the uniqueness of Wembanyama, have a chance to do it. If they don't, it's probably because they just weren't ready for this type of stage," he said.
Mannix said Spurs fans could be in for a long stretch of playoff success, if not now, then soon, with Wembanyama as a cornerstone and players like Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper.
"If this team bows out, it will unquestionably be disappointing for everyone, including Victor Wembanyama, but I would put my money on San Antonio winning a championship in the next three years."
As for Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Mannix expects Wembanyama and the team to shake off some of the nerves and inexperience that showed up in Game 1, when Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards returned after an injury.
The Timberwolves won Game 1, 104-102, to take a 1-0 series lead.
Mannix thinks the Spurs will make the necessary adjustments to get past the Timberwolves and win the second round, but it won't be easy.
"I think they are the more talented team," Mannix said. "Generally speaking, when you have the best player on the floor, that team wins the series more often than not, and Victor Wembanyama is the best player on the floor by a decent margin. But again, experience is the intangible in all of this."
Game 2 tips off at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday 8:30 p.m. It will be televised on ESPN and available on streaming platforms.
