The San Antonio Spurs took on Olympiakos from Greece in San Antonio and it was a reunion of the “Big Three” of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. Olympiakos came into the
game with some familiar players such as former Hawk Josh Childress, former Nugget Linas Kleiza and former NBA player Von Wafer.
The Spurs started the game with Keith Bogans, Tim Duncan, Matt Bonner, Richard Jefferson and Tony Parker. However something was very noticeable, Tim Duncan in a knee brace on his left knee. We all know TD suffered knee issues last season so this is something to keep an eye on the rest of this season.
With that out of the way, the Spurs did win their first preseason game beating the team from Greece 107-89 moving to 1-1 in the preseason. It was good to see the Spurs “Big Three” back on the court together. Manu, Tim, and Tony did play limited minutes with a combined 51 minutes on the court. Tim and Tony did not play in the second half while Manu played the most of the three with 20 minutes scoring 7 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Tim finished with 10 points and Parker with 12.
So how did the new guys and the young players look? DeJuan Blair did not duplicate his stellar NBA debut but did manage to score 9 point and 2 rebounds. This should be expected from a rookie learning the ways of the NBA and this inconsistency from him should be expected. Plus Olympiakos had a 310 lb. player, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, to clog the middle. George Hill was the leading scorer for the Spurs with 17 points and looked comfortable leading the team. He even cut down on his turnovers with just one in the game. That’s something nice to see from a young point guard in the NBA. Even Marcus Haislip got into the act and had a highlight worthy pass to Hill for an easy bucket at the rim. Haislip befuddles me. He has the height and build of a center but plays like a small forward. Surprisingly Ian Mahinmi did not pick up a single foul while in the game and managed to score 7 points and grab 2 rebounds. Are pigs flying? Quick! Check outside!
Making their Spurs debuts were Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratlliff. In 17 minutes McDyess scored 4 points and grabbed 5 rebounds while Ratliff had 3 points, 1 block and 2 rebounds.
Again the final score Spurs 107, Olympiakos 89. Click here for the complete boxscore.
The Spurs next preseason game will be this Sunday against the Miami Heat in Miami.
Some observations on the game:
- Good to see Pop give the main players some more minutes as the season nears. Still would like to see Parker’s minutes managed tightly since he did have a long summer playing ball.
- Manu did get 20 minutes in the game but did look rusty and his explosion to the basket is lacking. Could be because he is taking it easy or just still getting back in game shape? Hopefully it has nothing to do with his nagging ankle injuries.
- Spurs D held Olympiakos to 43% shooting
- Every player on the current Spurs roster got some time on the court.
- Playing for Greece was big man Ioannis Bourousis. Spurs were rumored to have signed him in the off-season but he turned down their offer. Though he did say when he does come to the NBA he wants to be a Spur.
