Chemistry looking improved at San Antonio Spurs training camp
By Dave Daniels
The San Antonio Spurs are entering the season with excellent team chemistry.
The San Antonio Spurs felt relieved to be free of Kawhi Leonard’s presence in training camp because they can now focus on the future.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili aren’t there anymore, and neither is Leonard, but head coach Gregg Popovich is the great equalizer. Some have said that the Spurs won’t make the playoffs this season. That’s absurd. They made the postseason last year with Leonard out for most of the games, and they just added an All-Star to their roster.
Duncan made an appearance in uniform during training camp, and he looked to be smiling from ear to ear. His presence around the franchise will help out a lot, and the recently retired Ginobili has expressed interest in contributing as well. Don’t expect either of them to join the roster officially though. Tony Parker, strangely, now plays for the Charlotte Hornets. That’s really weird to write.
DeMar DeRozan, though, is the key for San Antonio to remain a playoff team, and the fans have already made him feel at home with his own mural. You can check it out here.
“To see that, it really gave me one of those feelings where, ‘they love me like this already?'” he said to MySanAntonio.com. “It gives you that extra hunger to go out there and do something for the fans.”
DeRozan will be featured in the offense for sure, and he’ll have to learn to play off of another skilled midrange player in LaMarcus Aldridge. They should be able to develop excellent chemistry by the All-Star break.
Popovich had a really rough summer that we don’t have to rehash here, but he is hopeful about his team and said to ESPN that “we’re adding a talent like DeMar that we didn’t have last year. We’re excited about it. The goal will be the same, as it has been every year. We want to be the best team we can be when the playoffs roll around.”
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You can count on the Spurs making the postseason this year, even if they aren’t truly in contention. Parker and Ginobili will definitely be missed, but at least their young players will share the practice court with “The Big Fundamental” from time to time.