Opening day roster

[naico]

SAN ANTONIO
Barry, Brent
Bonner, Matt
Bowen, Bruce
Duncan, Tim
Elson, Francisco
Finley, Michael
Ginobili, Manu
Mahinmi, Ian
Oberto, Fabricio
Parker, Tony
Udoka, Ime
Washington, Darius

INACTIVE LIST
Horry, Robert
Vaughn, Jacque

http://www.nba.com/news/rosters_set_071029.html (http://)

[naico]

Dallas: No Dampier, DJ Mbenga replaces him

[djohn14]

Ian is active??? Cool! I know he wont play...but cool!

[BeerIsGood!]

Ian is active??? Cool! I know he wont play...but cool!

He might get some time if the game goes garbage time by the 4th. He has a chance to get a few minutes before the Toros fire up their season, and it will be interesting what he does with those minutes on the NBA stage, even if it is in "Beno" Time.

[mystargtr34]

Man it mjust be a good feeling for Ian and Darius to be a part of an actual NBA game...dream come true. I would have goose bumps just sitting on the bench thinking ... DAMN... ive made it...

What a feeling

Dream come true.

[Streakyshooter08]

This might be a little off topic but I did not want to start a whole new thread. Did anyone notice that Kobe Bryant is inactive? Intersting if legit...

I hope Washington will do a good job as TP's backup. This is his chance.

Looking forward to the season.

[mystargtr34]

Nah, i didnt, that is strange....

[Solid D]

Of the 3 new guys on the 12-man roster this season, Washington, Udoka and Mahinmi, "Darius the Great" may get the most minutes tonight.

[Darkwaters]

As much as it sucks to have both Horry and Vaughn out, I'm kinda glad that Mahinmi and Washington will get a chance to get some burn. I know that the team had trouble finding time for James White! last year and it would be a shame if we never got these two any minutes. Even if they're just a handful at the end of an opening game, I still think it will do a lot to push Darius and Ian to work harder. And for Darius, he might be spending more time on the court sooner than he thought...so we need to get him going quickly.

I hope Udoka gets some burn tonight too though. Mostly because I want to see how effective he is against his old team.

[Solid D]

I'd be surprised if Darius doesn't get at least a dozen minutes tonight, with a game in Denver the next night.

[thekingrobert]

I think Darius will get good minutes cause I dont think they want manu and older guys playing too many with a back to back

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I'd be surprised if Darius doesn't get at least a dozen minutes tonight, with a game in Denver the next night.
Memphis

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Dallas: No Dampier, DJ Mbenga replaces him
DJ got waived for Juwan.

[barbacoataco]

If the Spurs keep the 14 players they have now, they will have two IR players each night. Assuming everyone is healthy, the 2 IR's will be from among: Mahinmi, Washington, Vaughn, Horry on back-to-backs Is that the plan?

[ChumpDumper]

I think the plan will be to send Ian and Darius to Austin when everyone is healthy, but for the first few weeks that IR rotation may be used.

[T Park]

Id bet money that Darius stays up, but Ian goes down for the whole season health barring.

[GSH]

Lots of oddball rotations for the first 20 games. Pop will "bring Vaughan back slowly", which will give Washington some extra minutes against regular-season players. Whether Mahinmi stays on the roster or goes to Austin, he needs (at least) a year with a legitimate strength coach.

Unless some major injury upsets things, the latter part of the season and the playoffs will feature a roster that looks a lot like last year's. However good Washington is, he will have a hard time with the pressure come crunch time and JV will be worth every penny.

To me, the biggest long-term questions for the season are:
How interchangeable will Udoka be for Bruce Bowen? And will Robert Horry actually suit up for the Spurs?

If Udoka is capable of being a real defensive stopper, and can hit those 3-pointers under pressure, he could actually figure into the late season/playoff rotations. Not saying that he would replace Bowen, but it could make for some interesting groups on the floor. The main point is that Udoka could actually be a part of things in the playoffs if he shows the right stuff.

I'm starting to have some doubts about how things will play out with with Horry. I don't know how much Bonner could affect Horry's minutes, but Horry's situation could affect Bonner's minutes. I've heard from some friends that Horry might have some longer-term concerns, and his position on the team could be largely symbolic. If it turns out that way, the Spurs will keep him around, but Bonner will get more minutes in the post-season.

Other than that, I think the Spurs playoff rotations will look about like last year...and they won't be paying any lux tax.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Elson!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[barbacoataco]

I still go back to the issue that with Udoka joining the active roster, the Spurs only having 2 active PG's--- How exactly will that work? Especially with Washington looking perhaps better than Vaughn, but wanting to keep Vaughn fresh because he could be needed, and he is steady. It seems like the Spurs will have to put either Vaughn or Washington on the IR to keep Udoka active, unless Horry stays on the IR a lot.

[Solid D]

I'd be surprised if Darius doesn't get at least a dozen minutes tonight, with a game in Denver the next night.


Memphis

Oops, good catch.

It did work out well for Darius tonight.
Washington 12.5 minutes
Mahinmi 1.1 minutes
Udoka 0.0 minutes DNP

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Hopefully we blow the shit outta Memphis so we can see Udoka. I don't understand why we didn't see him yesterday.