Spurs Topple Heat, Olympiakos and Duncan’s Knees

The Spurs erased the Heat’s 11-point lead in the 4th quarter on Sunday in a game with no Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili or even Dwyane Wade for that matter. The highlight? Probably DeJuan Blair once again. He played nearly 26 minutes off the bench and had 28 points, four assists and two steals. He only had four rebounds this time, and only one defensive board. Still, I can’t help but feel like the teams that passed him are going to be kicking themselves by Thanksgiving (if not already). *COUmemphisGH*

Yeah, I’ll come right out and say it, I am not sold on Hasheem Thabeet. I’m not sold on about 95% of this draft class for that matter. Honestly, I can’t even say that I am 100% sold on Blair, but what I am a big believer in is the Spurs front office and scouting. If they say his knees are fine then they’re fine. I mean seriously, folks, he had surgery in High School. HIGH SCHOOL. It didn’t hold him back at Pitt, and it won’t hold him back in the NBA.

The Spurs handled Olypiakos easily on Friday, winning by 18 points in a game where everyone on the Spurs roster played. George Hill led the way with 17 points, but the real news was Tim Duncan seeing his first action of the pre-season. He looked sharp enough while scoring 10 points, grabbing five boards and swatting two shots. He was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. Stats aside, there was a bigger story here and it starts with one simple fact.  Tim Duncan broke 1000 games last season (Regular Season + Playoffs) and he has the rings and janky knees to prove it. Last year he admirably played through the pain much of the time, but in the end he didn’t have enough help (or pain killers it seems) to take the Spurs beyond the first round of the playoffs. That should change this year, and not just because of the new personnel and wishful thinking when it comes to the injury bug. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Tim Duncan’s Knee Brace. We had our first glimpse of it during Friday’s game against Olypiakos. According to TD, this will be his brace for the year. When asked after the game if it was just a precaution, he responded “It’s ummmm… kind of.” I still don’t like the sound of that, but he did take it a little easier in his offseason workouts and Popovich is going to rest him whenever possible, so no need to panic. As for Tony Parker’s ankle, it didn’t seem to be an issue Friday, so hopefully that issue is behind him now.

Tags: DeJuan Blair, George Hill, Hasheem Thabeet, Heat, Olympiakos, Pre-Season, Spurs, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker