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Mike Monroe has written an Express-News piece that warrants a quick comment. The column concludes with these words:

Don’t look now, but the Spurs’ defense is beginning to draw less and less ire from Popovich.

The Spurs, who are on a four-game winning streak, have held three consecutive opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.

They have held four straight foes to 84 points or less.

Surprisingly, the Spurs have turned in back-to-back defensive gems with Duncan, their defensive centerpiece, sidelined.

“The great thing with our system, it doesn’t matter what five guys you put on the court,” center Matt Bonner said. “If you execute it, we can shut anybody down.”

I doubt we fully appreciate the truth of Matt Bonner’s statement. Could it be the case that proper execution of Gregg Popovich’s defensive schemes is as important to the Spurs success as, say, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili? How are elite teams such as the Spurs and Celtics able to lose core pieces to injury-Kevin Garnett, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan-and still push along without skipping a beat? Earlier this season, when Manu Ginobili was out with injury, the Spurs crawled out of the game to a 1-4 start. But that poor start had very little to do with Ginobili’s absence. During that same stretch the Spurs were the worst defensive team in the league, or near it.

Put differently, the Spurs have been without Duncan and Ginobili for the last two contests, something which has given rise to Tony Parker’s brilliance. As John Hollinger has pointed out in consecutive PER Diems, Tony Parker has created more points for his team while on the court than the opposing 5 players combined. That’s just a sick accomplishment, something for which I’d love the good people at Elias to provide a frame of reference. But as remarkably as Parker played during those contests, he was upstaged by the team’s defensive intensity. With no disrespect toward Parker, it was team defense which won those games.

Or, from yet another angle, I’m convinced that San Antonio’s ability to regain their defensive excellence will pay bigger dividends toward a championship than, say, the addition of Vince Carter would have done. I know, I know. But it’s true.

Of course, once the the playoffs start great team defense is crucial, but, on its own, it’s not enough. And that point, you need stars or your ship will sink. On this front, most playoff teams roll into the postseason with All-Stars on their roster. Only a few of those teams have Mike Brown, Tom Thibodeau, and Gregg Popovich. Ultimately, that makes the difference.