When we get deeper into the season, a rested home team against an opponent that had to travel after playing the previous night is an advantage. But not now; in fact it is the team that played already that brings the edges, particularly for the way that the Spurs performed in a dominating 113-96 win over New Orleans that was even easier than the final score would indicate. And that gets us in the game at this short price range. When we do our usual pre-season work of compiling the most improved teams in the league, it is usually a set of mediocre squads that made some personnel additions to move forward. Rarely is it ever a team of San Antonios class, and we believe the markets will take some time to adjust properly. First note that LYs 54-28 was an injury-riddled affair, and that merely having the roster back to health would lead to more wins, even with the age of the veteran corps. But take that corps and add the likes of Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, and DeJuan Blair and you have something special. Now it is a deep and talented roster filled with players that are only after a Championship ring, not personal numbers, and there is no one better than Gregg Popovich at putting the pieces together. Last night?s rout was an almost perfect tune-up for this game. No San Antonio player was on the court longer than Matt Bonners 28 minutes, with the starters playing exactly half (120 minutes) of the total game time. The bench actually scored 61 of the 113 points, while the Hornet reserves had 19, and that is going to be a major story line all season. Of particular note were the opening 14 points and 11 rebounds from rookie Blair, who New Orleans coach Byron Scott referred to simply as a monster. Not only does Blair bring muscle and determination, but can he learned the position from anyone better than Tim Duncan? The Spurs should bring their best value in settings like this one, with the poise to handle a road crowd and their late-game polish grinding out wins in tough environment. For the Bulls it is another matter. The starting five is a collection of young players that have not had much time working together, and the bench is going to miss the punch of Ben Gordon. They will play with some frenetic energy, but that does not always translate to good basketball, and they fall down tonight vs. an opponent that can exploit that aggressiveness.
Last edited by 19th Hole; 10-29-09 at 06:23 PM.
Reason: OOPS, DUPLICATE POST
Mrs Malinsky ~~~~10.29
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