Spurs looked good tonight

The first night of the season was an overwhelming success; the only bad thing is that George Karl wasn't there to see it. I had so hoped that Ginobili would blow him a kiss when he got his ring - Karl said a lot of stupid things about Manu during the first round of the playoffs last season. But the only kissing during the ring ceremony was Brent Barry planting one on David Stern's cheek.

The Nuggets came in hot. Not only were they the best team in the preseason, but they finished last season strong and came in with a severe revenge factor since the Spurs bounced them in four straight games after dropping the opener last season. But the Spurs were simply too good. The early returns on Parker's shooting is excellent - the Spurs brought in Steve Kerr's old shooting coach to mentor Tony - and if he becomes a consistent mid-range shooter, then that adds a wonderful dimension to the team offensively. Tim was Tim, and Finley was a difference maker in the fourth quarter as the Spurs ran away with the game.

The defense was not up to snuff. Bowen struggled with Carmelo Anthony, one of the toughest matchups in the league for Bruce because Anthony is bigger and stronger and is playing better without the ball right now than at any point prior to this in his career. But the bottom line is that he got too good position against the wings, the rotations were a half-step slow, and the end result is giving up 49% shooting, which is not acceptable for the Spurs.

Carmelo might be up for a bigger season than I had imagined. So I was pleasantly surprised with the Nuggets play. And the Spurs still whooped them. Definitely a good sign from opening night over here. I didn't get to watch the game as carefully as I would have liked - we had friends over, and it was noisier than I like for a game. But it was fun.