After undergoing an expensive makeover this summer that made them relevant in the NBA title chase again, the Spurs begin one of their most anticipated seasons in franchise history Wednesday night against the New Orleans Hornets at the AT&T Center.

We know the drill by now. While the Cowboys aren't even midway through their season and the high school football playoffs are two weeks away after this weekend, our body clock tells us this is the time of year the Spurs get going again.

My, how time flies. Wasn't it just a few months ago that the Dallas Mavericks booted the Spurs from the playoffs in the first round?

A lot has happened since then, of course. For starters, only five players remain from the Spurs team that capped the 2006-07 season with a sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

The Spurs were written off after looking old and stiff against the Mavs, but the obituary on the Tim Duncan era was put on hold after the franchise traded for small forward Richard Jefferson, drafted Pittsburgh All-American DeJuan Blair and signed free agent Antonio McDyess. Jefferson and McDyess are proven players and Blair, a forward/center who was drafted in the second round, could be one of the biggest steals in NBA draft history.

"I'm going to go into the season with a little chip on my shoulder," Blair said after he fell to the second round.

The way Blair played in the summer and preseason, he's driven to make a bunch of general managers look foolish for passing him up in the first round. This guy is going to be fun to watch.

Adding to the excitement of opening night will be the return of Manu Ginobili, who missed the last half of the 2008-09 season and the entire playoffs with a stress fracture in his right ankle. In a nutshell, the Spurs were a different team without him.

While Tim Duncan remains the face of the franchise and point guard Tony Parker is a bona fide star who is still improving, Ginobili is the "x factor" in San Antonio's hopes of winning a fifth championship.

Yes, the Spurs improved markedly by trading for Jefferson and adding a veteran rebounder and defender in McDyess, but no player on the roster inspires confidence the way Ginobili does when he's on his game.

With his herky-jerky moves and knack for getting to the rim consistently, Ginobili was one of the most difficult players in the NBA to defend before injuries sidelined him. The question that looms paramount for Spurs fans is whether this Ginobili, now 32, will have the same explosiveness he had when he helped lead the team to its last championship.

If Ginobili's health holds up and the new Spurs jell with the Big Three - Duncan, Ginobili and Parker - San Antonio could dethrone the Los Angeles Lakers as Western Conference champs. Of course, much of the Spurs' fortunes will hinge on Duncan's knees, too. The "Big Fundamental," as he was nicknamed by Shaquille O'Neal, was slowed by tendinitis in his knees late last season.

Given Ginobili's history, he will do whatever it takes to help the Spurs win. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, and the latter probably will be the case, Ginobili will energize his teammates with his frenetic style and competitive ferocity.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich faces the task of making all the moving parts work together, but this ain't his first rodeo. The man knows how to get the best out of his players.

"We've still got a long way to go, but we're not usually a team that wants to be ready in November," Ginobili said last week in an interview carried on the Spurs' Web site. "Usually in November, we keep building. In December, we build for being good in March and April. We know this is a process.

"We've got a long way to go, but we've got a lot of potential. That's the great thing. We're all very enthusiastic about it. We accomplished a lot of things (in the preseason), but we can get so much better that it's crazy to think about it."

Meanwhile, the anticipation continues.

Photos courtesy of The Associated Press.

1 Comments

Egghead-8 said:

I love the Spurs! No matter what, it will always be a pleasure eatching them play. I do think this is their best chance to win it all. This and next year.

E-8

October 28, 2009 9:54 AM

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