Suns Draw Firstblood

Last night's game is what Spurs and Suns fans have come to expect. Another game decided at the end...this time victory belonging to the visitors. Even though the Suns drew first blood in the best of four regular season games, my focus was on the match-up in the middle. There has been something a little off about Amare this season thus far; maybe it was the disappointing loss in the playoffs, the off-season trade speculations or the fact that there is no Kurt Thomas, meaning he will almost always be playing out of position. In the end, Amare did not play with the same intensity that we have come to expect. Ending with his eruption against the Duncan led Spurs in their 2006 playoff series, Duncan has systematically gotten the better of his younger counterpart. Stat will have another gaudy Duncan stat line to digest as Tim went for 36 points and 17 rebounds. The Suns may have drawn first blood but Rambo won the battle in the middle and this should be of utmost concern to the Pheonix Suns faithful.

Switching Positions

I've had a week to think about my next post. During that time the Spurs continued, business as usual until Duncan went down with a ankle/knee injury during the Portland game. It was this incident that generated much debate about what direction the team would go in IF there was no more Duncan this year. Thankfully, his injury was not serious and he may possibly see action tomorrow when the Spurs host the Jazz. Nonetheless, I still pondered the what IF. My conclusion is this.... the Spurs position or direction will always remain the same, they will continue to play with the same defensive intensity, cohesion and passion. The reason for this is because it would seem that the entire team is made up of players who are unselfish and can switch to any position on the court when necessary. Ginobli and Barry can play point, Elson, Horry and Bonner can handle the 3, 4, 5 spot when needed. In short, it is the entire team's ability to switch positions that gives the defending champions a greater chance to repeat this year than in years past.

A Few Cents More

The Spurs split their last two games against their division rivals, Dallas and Houston. Certainly with an 8 – 2 start there is no real cause for alarm, however there might be one area requiring more than the usual attention. Even though the Spurs managed to hold on for the win against the Rockets, they did not make much improvement in the opponent’s field goal percentage. Both the Mavericks and the Rockets managed to shoot over 50% against the Spurs defense. Contrast this number to their two games against the Buck and Lakers of which they won handily and we can readily identify the one area requiring a little more attention, the one area where a ‘few cents’ more makes all the difference between a win and a loss.

In Championship Form

The Spurs execution both defensively and offensively was flawless last night. Tony is establishing himself as the premiere point guard in the league and Manu is unstoppable in the early part of the season. The two played so well that Kobe took it upon himself to guard each on several occasions. In one sequence he got burned by manu's drive to the basket; with incredible english on the ball, Manu managed to roll it between Bynum's outstretched hands while Kobe trying to recover on defense clobbered Manu from behind sending him into the camera man thus resulting in a 3 point play. The Spurs spacing and outside shooting was at playoff level. This game was over midway through the 3rd and they did it without Duncan. They appear to be already in championship form.

Best in the West?

Based on the offseason improvements made by the New Orleans Hornets and Memphis Grizzles, I feel compelled to rephrase the title of this post to 'Best in the (south) West. Clearly, based on their individual performances, 4 out of 5 southwest teams are arguably the best 4 teams in the Western Conference AT THE MOMENT. Order is certainly to be restored this week as Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio will go head to head for the ultimate bragging rights as the king of the southwest and the Best in the West.

Boringly Good

The San Antonio Spurs began this season in the same fashion that they ended it, winning. The Spurs are known for generally having a slow start but finishing strong. They have also been labeled 'boring' by many who follow the NBA. Well, let the first two games serve notice that the 2007 Spurs are not starting slow neither are they boring. The Spurs are currently riding a two game win streak and are averaging over a 100 points per game! If a fan of the NBA find the Spurs brand of basketball boring and unwatchable, then you are truly missing out on a boringly GOOD thing.