Anyone who saw the San Antonio Spurs’ preseason game last night against the Hawks, or even just saw the highlights, can see that Nando De Colo is ready for the NBA. Joining Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, he’ll be the third player from the French National team on the Spurs’ roster.
What this brings to the Spurs, aside from pure talent, is an extra boost of chemistry. I would imagine, once the season starts, Coach Popovich will take advantage of the trio’s history and put all three on the floor at the same time. We haven’t seen them on the court together yet, but it’s coming.
Even in last night’s game, where Tony Parker didn’t play, he drew up the game winning shot for De Colo, and Nando buried it.
Manu Ginobili was definitely impressed with his new teammate.
“The french connection worked pretty well 2day,” Ginobili tweeted. “Coach TP drew a play 4 Nando & he delivered the game winning bucket.”
You can’t underrate the power of strong chemistry. The Miami Heat are the best example. When LeBron James took his talents to South Beach along with Chris Bosh, they had the most talented starting five in the NBA without question. Still, it took them some time to get to know each other on the court and play to their potential. Two seasons later, they have an NBA title under their belt.
For the Spurs, having Parker and Diaw should help incorporate De Colo into the mix quickly. There’s no reason he can’t play solid minutes and contribute right off the bat, like we saw last night. Spurs fans have to be excited about watching their already strong “French Connection” add one more link.