San Antonio at New Orleans

[Real Deal]

TIME: 8:00 PM ET

TV: NBA TV

[Built Ford Tough]

Aside from a 6 or 7 minute stretch the in the 3rd quarter, San Antonio looked really out of sync offensively tonight. Their ball movement wasn't nearly as crisp as we are used to seeing from them, there was a lot more standing around and when they did get a good look from deep, they weren't connecting like they usually do. Of course, it is the first game of the season so I'm not surprised at all that there were some issues with their timing on offense.

 

Duncan looked very good, though. He struggled a bit with turnovers (had 5) but other than that I liked what I saw from him. His jumper looked better than ever, he was active on defense (11 boards and 3 blocks) and was very effective on offense (24 points and 3 assists). He really took control of the game down the stretch after the Hornets took the lead late. New Orleans really doesn't have anybody who can contain him, even at this stage of his career.

 

Leonard was the 2nd best Spur. I love how active he is at both ends of the floor. He really pounces whenver he sees an opening on defense. He came away with 5 steals and probably had another 3-4 tips that almost ended up as steals. On offense he was the only Spur who had the touch from outside and he also did a nice job moving without the ball for some looks around the basket. If he ever becomes able to consistently create his own offense off the bounce, he is going to be an All-Star. There is no doubt about that in my mind.

 

 

For the Hornets, I was impressed by Vasquez in the first half. He did a fantastic job controlling tempo and finding his teammates. At one point he had, I believe, 8 assists and 0 turnovers and that was just in the half (finished with 13 assists and 3 turnovers). He was a bit wild in the 3rd but I think that was more due to him realizing his team needed a spark and tried to create something out of nothing.

 

Davis' numbers look nice (21 points, 7 boards, 6-12 from the field and 9-9 from the line) but to be perfectly honest, I didn't really notice him out there other than the first quarter and when he was at the line. Defensively he had a really poor game, especially when he was guarding Duncan. Offensively he didn't really do anything on his own and relied on his teammates setting him up. Full credit to him for knocking down the open looks, but I never really got the sense that he was leaving his stamp on the game, which is actually pretty scary considering he had a very good game numbers wise.

 

Rivers was his usual self. 1-9 shooting (only basket was a breakaway layup off an Aminu steal), 2 assists and 3 turnovers. He was lucky he got bailed out on a couple of drives otherwise he would've had another turnover, another missed shot and 4 less points.

[Real Deal]

New Orleans needs Eric Gordon. Austin Rivers isn't going to make up for anything that Gordon can give them, at least not right now. Gordon is ten times better on both ends of the floor...maybe even an injured Gordon.

 

Davis' numbers look nice (21 points, 7 boards, 6-12 from the field and 9-9 from the line) but to be perfectly honest, I didn't really notice him out there other than the first quarter and when he was at the line. Defensively he had a really poor game, especially when he was guarding Duncan. Offensively he didn't really do anything on his own and relied on his teammates setting him up. Full credit to him for knocking down the open looks, but I never really got the sense that he was leaving his stamp on the game, which is actually pretty scary considering he had a very good game numbers wise.

You're right about Davis. He didn't stand a chance against Timmy, but I expected that due to the experience factor AND the weight disadvantage. Duncan looked more like he was 28 years old out there.

 

I figured that Unibrow would get me out of my seat at least a few times, throwing a few shots and using his versatility to turn big plays into points, but the only exciting thing I saw from him was when he cut to the rim and slammed it home. I did like how he was trying to follow a lot of shots, though, and was active on the offensive glass, but he had trouble getting position (which didn't surprise me).

 

Leonard is going to be something special. He's going to be their Shawn Marion, a much better player than Bruce Bowen ever was on offense, and just as good on the defensive end (if not better, since Bowen was dirty, and Kawhi has the size and frame for it).

 

The Spurs did let the Hornets hang in there for too long, though...but a win is a win.