But sometimes the better team doesn't always safely navigate the NBA playoff minefield but the smartest team usually does.
That's what the Spurs are banking on as Tim Duncan embarks on his 18th postseason while Manu Ginobili is in steep decline and Tony Parker deals with aching wheels. The best and healthiest team Not really. They're buying stock in their savvy know how and ability to stay chill when the intensity gets heavier in fourth quarters.
Duncan Blocks Griffin
Tim Duncan stuffs Blake Griffin's shot late in the game.
Make plays said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. That's it. That's what you must do.
This time of year the Spurs have always made a habit of doing that although in the past they were younger and a bit more loaded than they are now. On Tuesday for the second time at Staples Center in this first round playoff series the Spurs had drier hands calmer heads and sharper instincts than the Los Angeles Clippers did in the final minutes.
And get this Quicker feet too.
Every time there was a loose ball they got to it said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. Going into the series we were the team with speed.
The Spurs hold a 3 2 series edge and are thus one step closer to defending their NBA championship. Game 6 is in San Antonio and maybe there will be a Game 7 back in L.A. yet the Spurs with their aging core aren't the team that appears whipped.
The fourth quarter told the story for the Spurs. Did you see Duncan get a nifty block of Blake Griffin and a strip and a dunk Did you see Griffin who's twice the athlete and 13 years younger shoot 1 for 9 from the floor (and 0 for 2 at the line) all while tugging tiredly on his shorts late in the game
In the final seconds of Game 5 Griffin aimed a 10 foot floater than circled around the rim and was inexplicably tipped in illegally it turned out by DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers were done. Once again the Spurs kept their composure in the clutch in this tightly contested and evenly matched series.
Audio Assist Spurs Clippers Game 5
Listen in to coaches Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers during the Spurs and Clippers matchup in Game 5.
Almost anyone Popovich puts in the game never seems to sweat. Duncan Parker Ginobili Patty Mills Danny Green Kawhi Leonard Boris Diaw ... the list goes on of players who don't look down at their sneakers when Pop is asking for volunteers to take a big shot.
With that many brave players it's easy to throw out different lineups or substitute freely and not worry about the ball landing in the wrong person's hands with the shot clock winding down and the score tied. Poor decisions turnovers or players freezing in the moment are no longer a concern.
Late in Game 5 Diaw hurried a 18 foot turnaround shot to beat the shot clock and swished part of his eight point fourth quarter. Green hit a key free throw. Marco Belinelli hit a game tying 3 pointer. And then there was Duncan (21 points 11 rebounds three steals and one delicious block) guarding Griffin for the first time all series and getting the better of that matchup never reaching for his lungs despite playing 38 minutes.
Duncan did the same in Game 2 when he sparkled for three quarters missed a handful of bunnies in the fourth then took command in overtime.
His ability to pace himself and remain sturdy in the moment of truth continues to amaze at age 39. Or should we be surprised The playoffs aren't a contest of pure skills as much as it's about preservation and capturing the moment when the game's up for grabs. That's when experience wins.
His timing is impeccable Popovich said. He knows where to be. He has a great basketball IQ and he has excellent timing so he reads things well.
And he wins.
Postgame Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan talks about the Spurs tough defense down the stretch that made the difference in the Game 5 win.
Meanwhile Rivers will learn plenty about his team in Thursday's Game 6 as playing in San Antonio in an elimination game comes with its own sense of peril.
It's a gettable game Griffin said. It's not going to be easy by any means. I mean this is what they do. They're a great team a well coached team and they've been in this situation before.
For all of his deserved praise for refining his game improving his jumper his passing and his defense Griffin is gaining a rep in this series for folding in the clutch. Game 6 will serve as a redemption opportunity for Griffin who had the ugliest 30 point 14 rebound seven assist game you'll ever see. He has unraveled when it mattered most in this series and his late game mistakes (the Game 5 block and his late in regulation turnover in Game 2) have cost the Clippers in two games.
You know I don't believe in looking back and comparing games like this Griffin said.
Griffin Drops 30
Highlights form Blake Griffin as he scores 30 points and grabs 14 rebounds in the Clippers Game 5 loss.
It goes beyond just Griffin though. The Clippers need to freshen up on their cool factor with Paul collecting a crucial Game 5 technical.
Better luck would help too. In the final 3 minutes Tuesday the Clippers came out on the wrong end of a J.J. Redick foul (his sixth which cost the Clippers an important shooter) and an offensive goaltending call on DeAndre Jordan both of which were questionable calls.
They're frustrated at themselves but they're frustrated at other stuff said Rivers.
You see when teams such as the Clippers get frustrated it can be visible in their play. The Spurs meanwhile keep their expression of frustration well hidden. This is their time of year when their many years of playoff experiences good and bad help guide them through the next springtime challenge.
It's the playoffs and the Spurs are busy moving the ball setting picks finding the open man making shots being clever and making stops. This doesn't happen every game or every quarter just when it matters most it seems.
Inside the NBA Clippers Spurs
The guys discuss the Hack a Jordan strategy and the bench production from the Spurs and Clippers in Game 5.
This is the recipe necessary to go deep into the playoffs.
It's not our best shooting series and we haven't played our best basketball but we hang in there by playing defense being consistent and being focused Diaw said. The games we have won that is why. We don't know what's going to happen the next game we don't know if we're going to shoot better or not. But the one thing we have control of is the energy and focus we come with.
Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e mail him here or follow him on Twitter.
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