As Dan and I were discussing last night, these preseason losses mean exactly nothing. If you haven’t been following the games, don’t be bothered by that 0-3 record. The Spurs’ starters are playing very few minutes, and key players are sitting out entire games. In the 4th quarter, Pop is playing the five guys who are trying to make the team, not regular rotation players. Unlike most teams, the Spurs don’t need confidence-building wins against a bunch of scrubs. We have the luxury of letting guys get lots and lots of rest in the preseason, because of our depth and the players’ familiarity with each other and the system. In the last two or three games of preseason, Pop will start playing the regulars more. And then teams will be faced with this dilemma:
*This was done by an Aussie poster on Spurstalk. Very cool.
Lots of minutes for Jawad Williams and Sharrod Ford against the Wizards. That’s what the pre-season is for, and Pop knows it.
It was nice to see Beno Udrih light it up — 6 of 10 shooting, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc, in just 27 minutes. I look forward to seeing some big games from Beno this season, as he will only get better, and more confident, as the season progresses.
I think Beno learned something in the Finals about the aggressiveness he needs to bring. He has the physical and mental tools to be a starter in this league if he keeps improving. This season it’ll be hard for him to get many minutes, but NVE may well leave or retire next summer, and then it will be his time. In the future I’ll think he’ll get minutes playing alongside TP, and at only 23 I hope to see him in a Spurs uniform for a long time to come.
People have talked about him being traded to sweeten a deal for Rasho, but I don’t see it. We don’t know for sure how NVE will work out or how reliable he will be, given his age, knee problems, and unfamiliarity with the Spurs’ system – from what I’ve heard, he hasn’t looked all that comfortable on the floor so far, and even as brilliant a player as Brent struggled to adjust. Even if NVE does work out as we hope he will, Pop always makes a big deal about having three point guards on the roster.
Not bad for the third point guard!
“I thought Beno was our best player tonight,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He really showed point-guard skills. He showed aggressiveness. He made other people on the floor better.”