Winning 8 games in a row, the San Antonio Spurs have now captured the top spot in the Western conference, and this ball movement segment from their win over the Portland Trail Blazers is an excellent example of why they’ve been doing so well.

Well, it also has to do with everyone being healthy after a couple of months of too many players on the injury list like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter. The Spurs have won eight games in a row, withotu having to focus just on one player, which is very different when looking at their opponents in the West.

Oklahoma City Thunder? Kevin Durant. Houston Rockets? James Harden, for good & bad. Clippers? Griffin or Paul. Spurs? Guys like Patty Mills can suddenly turn into the most important players for a couple of nights, while Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have only mediocre games. Still the Spurs somehow score 110 points while winning without anyone playing more than 28 minutes in the game.

This ball movement sequence is rare to see in the league. Most teams play very simple offense when it’s the half court game. Maybe one or two players in motion, one screen and either a pull up jumper or something of the sort. The Spurs are the only teams who constantly seem to be thinking what to do next instead of going for the easy option of letting their best player figure it out on his own. It might not the superstar basketball the NBA relies on for ratings, but it doesn’t get any prettier than how they execute it.