For the Spurs to continue their string of odd-year championships, their elderly players have to avoid disastrous injuries. Speaking of injuries, there's a great danger of both Parker and TD playing too many minutes until Manu Ginobili returns to action. Avoiding this scenario will be difficult for Gregg Popovich simply because the Spurs are not a high-scoring team. Last year, they were second in team defense and 28th in team offense.

Matt Bonner is an excellent shooter with great range, so he should be able to put more points on the board than the departed Robert Horry. But Bonner's lateral movement is certainly far from being excellent, so his defense is questionable.

Before and after Ginobili gets back, Ime Udoka will be a significant player. He can shoot threes and play aggressive defense but hasn't shown the necessary consistency. His coming of age would provide a tremendous boost at both ends of the court.

Two newcomers will likewise play important roles: Roger Mason, a tough, defensive-minded combo guard, and Salim Stoudamire, a 6-foot-1 streaky shooter who can't handle well enough to adequately play the point and is too small to play the two-guard position.

In any event, the Spurs desperately need to open up their offense in order to have a chance of scoring more easy points than they have in the past.

Whereas conventional wisdom holds that the team that scores the most points wins the game at hand, the Spurs believe that the team that scores the least points loses.

Every aspect of their season has to be A-OK for the Spurs to cop the championship. But because they know how to win and because at least Ginobili should still have fresh legs come the playoffs, perfection is certainly not beyond their capabilities.

The best that can be hoped for: Winning the very last game of the season.