San Antonio Spurs Weekly: Notes From Spurs’ Preseason Opener

In this week of the early preseason, the San Antonio Spurs have played one game against Euroleague team CSKA Moscow, which was a 95-93 win.

There isn’t much to the preseason for the Spurs since most of their rotation is set and it’s just a matter of getting the veterans back into the groove and trying to shake off letting the championship slip through their fingers last season. That being said, there are some things about the team to pick up on so far.

Spurred On: Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes

Manu Ginobili looks five years younger,

according to CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina.

He coached Ginobili in Italy from 2000-02. Photo Credit: NBA.com

Ginobili has needed a pick-me-up since his disastrous series against the Miami Heat in the Finals. Though preseason is no indication as to how he’ll fare in the 2013-14 season, it was a great return for Manu. He scored 14 points, going 4-for-4 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Add in five rebounds, four steals and two assists in just less than 20 minutes and that equates to a bounce back that Ginobili needed.

Mills is looking to steal the backup point guard position from Cory Joseph and he made the decision that much more difficult for coach Gregg Popovich. He tied Ginobili with a team-high 14 points, led a 15-0 run in the third quarter and made the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime with 11 seconds left to get the win over CSKA Moscow. Mills went through a strict diet and workout routine that got him in great shape to start camp, and Coach Pop has noticed.

The Spurs’ first three options in the frontcourt are solidified with Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter. While Baynes may find it difficult to land minutes even as the fourth option, he had a positive outing as well. He had 12 points and seven rebounds, including the game-tying tip-in with 0.5 second left in regulation. He’s battling Matt Bonner and free agent acquisition Jeff Ayres for minutes and would appear to have the advantage when looking solely at this game.

Spurned Away: Sam Young
Young’s time with the Spurs came to a close the day after their Wednesday win. He missed all six of his shots, committed two turnovers and got blocked twice in 18 minutes. His ineptitude on offense was enough for Popovich to make the decision to cut him.

Spurs in the Spotlight: Nando De Colo and Corey Maggette
When asked about the backup point guard competition, Popovich made no mention of De Colo. Joseph won the backup spot in the playoffs last season and Mills has already made a mark, while Nando finished 1-for-5 with two points in less than 15 minutes in their preseason opener. It could also mean they’ll be moving him to the 2, but it would only make sense if they begin playing Ginobili more at the small forward to open minutes at shooting guard. That may be the case though, since they’ve had trouble filling that position this offseason.

Maggette didn’t play in the first game, but at least he’s still on the team. With Young out of the picture, it makes his chances of making the team slightly better. In their scrimmage last Sunday, Maggette continued doing what he does best and made his way into the paint for shots at the foul line. If he can keep it going when, or if, he plays in the preseason he may fill that No. 15 spot on the roster.

Looking Forward
Sun. Oct. 13 vs. Phoenix Suns
Don’t expect much out of the starters just yet. The team will probably see most of the preseason as a slow return and probably won’t play them close to full minutes until the last game or so. Until then, the backup point guard position, backup small forward spot and frontcourt depth are things to be worked on until then.

Mon. Oct. 14 @ Denver Nuggets
In the first road game of the preseason, the Spurs will go to the Mile High City to face off against Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee and the rest of the Denver Nuggets. With the new faces in the frontcourt for the Nuggets, this will be a great opportunity for Baynes and Ayers to prove their worth and try to pull off the victory in Denver’s home opener.

Thu. Oct. 17 @ Atlanta Hawks
This will be the first time that the Spurs face off against their former assistant coach Mike Budenholzer. For 17 seasons, Budenholzer was Coach Pop’s right-hand man, and in recent offseasons was seen as a target among NBA teams looking to fill a head coach position. He finally made the leap this summer and will have his shot with the new-look Hawks.

Sat. Oct. 19 @ Miami Heat
Though this game won’t be the most impacting for the future, it must hurt to travel back to where last season ended for the Spurs. They may bench their starters for most of the game as they did in the last regular season meeting, but this time there should no problems with that, at least.

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