Week one of the young NBA season was kind to the Spurs, resulting in a pair of blowout wins at home tempered by a tough loss on the road in Chicago. The 85-92 setback at the hands of the young Bulls came on the second night of back-to-back games, a recurring challenge San Antonio has struggled with in recent memory. With fourteen back-to-backs remaining on the season schedule it will be interesting to see what strategies Coach Pop employs to ensure that legs stay fresh for these grueling second night games. Conceding fourteen games simply because of where they fall on the schedule is not an option in the Western Conference.
The Spurs currently sit at fourth place in the Western Conference and tops in the Southwest Division. While it's a little too early to look at the standings, it's worth noting that the Denver Nuggets remain the only undefeated team in the West at 5-0, with Boston pacing the East at 6-0. Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett have stoked the fires of their surging squads and it remains to be seen who, besides Tony Parker will consistently step up for the Silver and Black.
After three contests, Parker leads San Antonio in scoring and assists with respectful averages of 16 points and 5 dimes. As expected, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili follow closely behind and hopes are high that Richard Jefferson will continue to gel with his new teammates to become the explosive option he was advertised as. Next up for the Spurs are games in Utah and Portland, the second of which should be a telling back-to-back.
Congrats go out to World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and the New York Yankees for winning their 27th World Championship. Your humble scribe grew up cheering for the Yankees and Cowboys, perhaps the most obnoxious combo in sports fandom, and although this championship is celebrated it is somewhat bittersweet due to the presence of Andy Petit and Alex Rodriguez given their history with performance enhancing drugs. Watching Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and personal favorite Jorge Posada endure however, makes it all worthwhile. In Posada's case particularly, it's hard to hate on a guy who uses liquid paper for nail polish, all for the love of the game.
