人员变动

补充

Matt Bonner: 前锋，6尺10寸，78场比赛，7.5分，3.6个篮板，0.4个盖帽——射手；能成为Robert Horry的替身；从猛龙交易而来。

Jackie Butler: 中锋，6尺10寸，55场比赛，5.3分，3.3个篮板，0.6个盖帽——良好的手感和持球能力，但仍是半成品；从尼克转来。

Francisco Elson: 中锋，7尺，72场比赛，4.9分，4.7个篮板，0.6个盖帽——善于跑动；有成为优秀盖帽手的潜力；篮板能力存在疑问；从掘金转来

Jacque Vaughn: 后卫，6尺1寸，80场比赛，3.4分，1.5次助攻，1.1个篮板——担当第三控球后卫的人选；坚强的防守；从网队转来。

Eric Williams: 后卫/前锋，6尺8寸，28场比赛，3.3分，0.5次助攻，1.8个篮板——如果无法作出贡献，则(他的到期合同)很可能被交易或买断；从猛龙交易而来。

失去

Sean Marks: 前锋，6尺10寸，25场比赛，3.2分，1.7个篮板，0.3个盖帽——效力马刺的三年中，在更衣室内作出的贡献比在球场上更大；新东家太阳。

Nazr Mohammed: 中锋，6尺10寸，80场比赛，6.2分，5.2个篮板，0.6个盖帽——或许会有一些球迷怀念他的篮板能力，但黄油手肯定不在其列；失去了 Gregg Popovich 的信任；新东家活塞。

Rasho Nesterovic: 中锋，7尺，80场比赛，4.5分，3.9个篮板，1.1个盖帽——防守意识很好；上场时间和合同金额不成比例；为甩掉他的大合同，球队将其交易到了猛龙。

Nick Van Exel: 后卫，6尺1寸，65场比赛，5.5分，1.9次助攻——左肘的伤势影响了他的发挥；已退役。

重要比赛

(注：以下均为美国当地时间)

11月2日客场对小牛: Mark Cuban 不是说圣城的河是臭水沟么？是时候回击他了。

11月3日主场对骑士: 小皇帝 LeBron James 驾到，Danny Ferry 和 Mike Brown 拜访 Gregg Popovich。

11月22日主场对热火: 对抗 Shaquille O'Neal 领衔的卫冕冠军。

12月4日主场对勇士: 他在夏威夷有自己的资产，在达拉斯有一个酒吧，同时还曾拥有一份省心省力的百万年薪的工作。那么，Don Nelson 干嘛还不退休？

12月14日客场对黄蜂: 自 Katrina 飓风后马刺首度到访新奥尔良。拥有 Chris Paul、Peja Stojakovic 和 Tyson Chandler 的新奥尔良/俄克拉何马黄蜂队并非善主。

1月28日客场对湖人: 一年一度的牛仔竞技大会客场之旅，第一站就来到了好莱坞所在地。

3月3日客场对火箭: 当 Tracy McGrady 和 Yao Ming 健康的时候，什么事情都可能发生。而现在，马刺又多了 Bonzi Wells 这个苦主。

3月23日主场对活塞: Nazr Mohammed 回到 AT&T 中心。至少这次，他不会像上赛季那样总是坐冷板凳了。

4月5日主场对太阳: 上赛季在缺少 Amare Stoudemire 的情况下，太阳杀到了西部决赛。那么这赛季，如果小S健康，他们能走多远呢？

4月15日客场对小牛: 争夺西南区冠军的最后一战？

五大悬念

1 谁会成为第5名先发球员？

稍等片刻。即使赛季快要开始了，这个问题的答案看起来依然不太明确。

主教练 Gregg Popovich 可能会根据碰到的不同对手，来安排不同的球员作为先发中锋出场，直到有人证明自己有能力长期占据先发的位置。

在前6场季前赛中，Fabricio Oberto 看起来会是个比较稳妥的选择。他有时候会犯规过多，但他能抢篮板、挡拆、积极拼抢、以及聪明地打球。

Francisco Elson 有身高，速度快，有可能成为一个不错的盖帽手，但他需要时间来适应球队。预计他最终会取代 Oberto，赢得先发的位置。

当然，Michael Finley 或许偶尔也会作为第5名球员先发出场，此时马刺打的是小球战术，不过这种可能性极小。

2 Tim Duncan 在去年季后赛的神勇表现，是否意味着他已经回到最佳状态了？

Yes. Duncan's right foot began to feel better during the second half of last season, and he said it stopped hurting completely by July.

A full summer of rest — not playing in the NBA Finals gave him an extra four to five weeks of vacation — seems to have really helped Duncan. He worked on strengthening his legs and core, and, at least in Popovich's opinion, his body hasn't looked this good in years.

While Duncan's foot doesn't appear to have troubled him in the preseason, he's still trying to regain confidence in his perimeter shot. If he finds that, it wouldn't be a stretch to see him average 20-plus points and 12 rebounds.

3 Can Manu Ginobili regain his All-Star form?

Here's a better question: Can Manu Ginobili stay healthy enough to regain his All-Star form?

Ginobili will miss some games. That's a given. No one that relentless makes it through a full season without getting dinged up.

But in a weird way, the Spurs think Ginobili might benefit from playing for Argentina's national team this past summer. A year ago, he struggled to find his rhythm after using the offseason to rest.

To reduce the beating Ginobili absorbs at the rim, Popovich would like to see him use his pull-up jumper more often. That could help some. But don't expect Ginobili to dial back his aggressiveness too much.

4 Who's going to be the backup point guard?

In spite of Beno Udrih's injury problems, he's still the best option when healthy. Or at least until Popovich tires of him.

5 Did the front office do enough to counter Dallas?

Depending on how one looks at last season's Western Conference semifinals, the Spurs were either one point away from beating the Mavericks or simply fortunate enough to be that close.

If one subscribes to the first theory, the moves the Spurs made should help. Elson, while not the perfect answer, at least adds some athleticism at the center position. Nazr Mohammed's rebounding will be missed on some nights, but if Popovich's decision to leave both him and Rasho Nesterovic on the bench against Dallas was an indicator of things to come, a change needed to be made.

Matt Bonner, another sharp-shooting big man who can help space the floor, gives Popovich a little more versatility with his roster. Jackie Butler is the wild card: He definitely has potential, but he also definitely needs work.

Still, the Spurs are getting a little long in the tooth on the perimeter, and none of their additions look as proven as the pickups Dallas made in Anthony Johnson, Devean George and Austin Croshere. On paper, the Mavericks appear poised to repeat their run to the NBA Finals.

Here's what the Spurs have going for them: Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker. That Big Three, when healthy, still ranks as one of the league's best.

History also shows it's best not to bet against the Spurs in an odd-numbered year.

Scouting the Spurs

Here is how one NBA scout sizes up the Spurs:

Tony Parker

(Perimeter) shooting seems steadier, but we still tell our guys to give him the shot rather than the drive. Added some stuff off the glass to that teardrop shot last year, so it's even tougher to stop him when he gets to the basket. Have to get on him early in transition or he will kill you. Rather foul him than let him get his shot off because he's been a streaky free-throw shooter, but that looks better, too.

Manu Ginobili

Didn't have as good a year last year (as 2004-05) and you could tell he wasn't quite right physically because he didn't drive as much. Have to overplay his left hand. We think he's a streaky outside shooter, but he's a great clutch shooter from anywhere. Gambles a lot on defense.

Fabricio Oberto

Are they really going to start him? Hard worker and good passer, but you don't have to defend him outside the box. You'd better put a body on him, though; goes after every rebound. Fouls too much.

Francisco Elson

Looked a little lost at times, but that's to be expected because he's new to their system. Ran the floor well when I saw him in preseason. Bodies up pretty good on defense. Not much of an offensive threat.

Tim Duncan

Are his feet really OK? If so, we're all in trouble. Doesn't look like he's slowing down much, if at all. Still have to double him in the low box or he will score on anybody with that bank shot, jump hook and great up-and-under. We hope he never gets over whatever it is that makes him miss all those free throws.

Bruce Bowen

Defender. Period. We know he makes some 3-pointers, but we'd always rather have him shooting than Duncan, Ginobili, Parker or Finley. Great feet and great hands on defense. When he starts to lose a step, he's going to get called for more fouls, but it doesn't look like that's happened yet.

Bench

(Michael) Finley's still solid. He'd start for our team. ... You still have to worry about (Robert) Horry out around the (3-point) line. ... We figure they will run Elson, Oberto and (Jackie) Butler in and out at five (center), depending on matchups. ... (Brent) Barry looks a step slower, but when I saw him he was still draining threes. ... Jacque Vaughn plays hard and defends, but can't shoot. ... (Matt) Bonner you have to guard on the perimeter. ... Beno (Udrih) is clever on offense but doesn't guard.


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