| Spurs Haven't Lost A Step Authored by Aaron Doherty - December 5, 2005 - 9:40 pm

| Current Featured Columns | | The First Three Weeks of 2008-09 Now that we’ve had a little time to watch free agency unfold, along with the usual accompaniment of trades, let’s look at some of the key moves and how they impact the teams involved. Grading The Deal: W's Sign Maggette And TuriafThe Boom Dizzle era is over, and the Warriors quickly recovered by signing two nice pieces to complement their young core.
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The San Antonio Spurs are off to a flying start getting to a record of 13-3. This record was achieved partly to the great play of Point Guard Tony Parker.
Parker has been having a close to an all star season for the Spurs averaging 21 points, 5.3 assists off 55 percent shooting. Some of his better games were a 35-point haul against the Golden State Warriors and a 30-point haul against the Dallas Mavericks.
Though the Spurs start hasn’t been completely smooth, all of the Spurs shooting guards have suffered injury at relatively the same time. Manu Ginobili, had a thigh problem, then Brent Barry developed a back problem and Michael Finley soon followed suit with a groin injury. To help fill the rotation, the Spurs signed preseason player Melvin Sanders, and Free Agent, Alex Scales, both no longer are in the roster. Then as the players started to return to the rotation, Ginobili fell injured again requiring an MRI.
Regardless of this the Spurs have been one of the top teams and are admirably defending their title. The Spurs off season pick ups have been fitting in well, Michael Finley 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds, Nick Van Exel 6.8 points and 1.9 assists both have come in and have adjusted to their roles well. Fabricio Oberto has had a limited role in the spurs system and he is scoring just over 2 points per game. Another pleasing sign for the Spurs is that both Brent Barry and Bruce Bowen are shooting higher than 50 percent from the three point arc.
The only way I can see the Spurs going is up. Coach Gregg Popovich has been rotating the roster strangely and star forward Tim Duncan has been getting less touches and minutes, which could mean Popovich is using the start of the season to test the rotation to see what works and what doesn’t. If this is the case then it will be quiet a sight to see the Spurs when they hit their straps. |