Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs: Preseason Preview
Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs
Mar 31, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (right) has his shot blocked by San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (left) during the first half at the AT
San Antonio Spurs Off Season Recap
The Spurs go about their business the way their team plays their game with little fanfare, and making the right moves that need to be made. First off, resigning Tim Duncan to a three year deal with a player option on the third year was the biggest move to me that the Spurs could make. He’s the face of that franchise, and the Spurs are the only team he’s played for. How nice would it be to see a guy play his whole career with one team? Anymore that doesn’t happen. But I think Duncan will end up doing that, and look at the career he’s made there. Championships and the right way of playing have Tim Duncan one of the best players around and a sure fire Hall of Famer. Tim Duncan wasn’t the only player that was kept around for the right reasons. Danny Green had a great season, but fell back during the playoffs. He’ll be back with the Spurs for another chance to show he can bring something to the team. Boris Diaw got a two year, $9 million deal. Also kept around was guard Patty Mills. DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal are a couple of guys who will have to be dealt with soon enough, but for the most part, the Spurs are ready for another run.
Which leads to the question: where do the Spurs go this coming season? They finished with the second best record in the NBA after many people were dismissing the team. They only had a couple of 11 game winning streaks in that run to a great record. Those streaks came to an end because the Spurs ended up resting players, who knows how long they would have kept winning if they keep playing their big time stars? They have got knocked out of the playoff early in the past two seasons, so that to be a concern. Why are the Spurs able to have so much success in the regular season, but can’t do it during the post season? I don’t think there’s any reason to believe the Spurs won’t be as good as they have been. But what they do this post season is what will be most important.
Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs Match Up
I think the Spurs are the best example of how to build a team. Sure there’s a “Big Three” there in Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan, but you wouldn’t know it with the way they go out and do their business. They also rely on the young talent as guys like Danny Green, Gary Neal, and DeJuan Blair have played important minutes when it comes to the Spurs. That’s why they’re such a great franchise for teams wanting to build their own team.
This is a great match up of two teams that I don’t think people give as much credit as it’s deserved. This game last season was won by the Spurs in somewhat convincing fashion. I’d love for the Pacers to go out and beat this Spurs team as I believe the Spurs are contenders in the West. Those are the games that the Pacers can continue to put themselves back on the map.
The Pacers get their first shot at the Spurs early in the season on November 5th with a visit to San Antonio. Will they remember the night they beat the Spurs there? Or will it be a night to forget? I think the teams end up splitting the season series, but perhaps we get a NBA Finals match up of Spurs and Pacers?