The San Antonio Spurs showed signs of their old selves in the Indiana Pacers’ season-opener against them. The Spurs showed a similar showing that we are accustomed to, consisted of players like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker.

“I think we’re going to see that a lot this year,” said Spurs guard Tony Parker, beginning the final season of his contract.

Tim Duncan helped deliver again, showing up with 23 points and twelve rebounds as the Spurs buried the Pacers towards a 122-109 victory. Ginobili had 22 points while Parker had 20.

San Antonio opened up to a double-digit lead, but blew it quickly as the Pacers started rolling. However, San Antonio would bounce back and deliver the victory to start off 1-0 for the season. Gregg Popovich was not very patient towards the time Indiana took over, but quickly cooled himself up when San Antonio started rolling.

“He was not really happy,” Parker said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

“We don’t want to give up 100-plus every night,” Duncan added.

The Pacers played very well, and we should leave it at that. I will have to be honest, but I wasn’t completely digging a win here for Indy. Sometimes as a fan, you need to be realistic and not too biased and optimistic all the time. I expected the Pacers to give the Spurs a contest at best, and they did. They almost got a victory, but then again, it was the Spurs and they know their way around a young team like Indy.

None the less, Roy Hibbert played exceptionally well, leading the Pacers with 28 points and nine rebounds. Danny Granger wasn’t much behind, having 26 points. Darren Collison, in his debut, added 19 points and seven assists.

“We went stagnant on offense,” Granger said. “We froze.”

The Pacers show promise this year, and quickly erased a ten-point deficit. It was all thanks to Hibbert, who was predicted in for a breakout year. And he is already showing early signs of that, going ten-of-17 in the game.

But it was the Spurs who came back, and thanks to Richard Jefferson and his three-pointer that added on to Mike Dunleavy’s missed free throw attempts to tie the game. The Spurs were pretty good overall from behind-the-arc. The Spurs, who are dropping themselves as one of the bests in the Western Conference, want to prove to people they are still the bests.

“All three played pretty well for the first game of the season,” Ginobili said. “And when that happens, everything becomes better.”

The Pacers looked like they have found their point guard for the future in Collison, who was also seven-of-13. Jim O’Brien said Collison played great, especially since he went against one of the best point guards in the game with Parker. Then there was credit for Hibbert as well.

“I really feel like I let the team down,” Hibbert said. “I let Tim get going in the fourth quarter and they solidified their run. Offensively I feel like I’m coming into my own, but defensively I need to get better.”

Josh McRoberts showed signs of impressiveness, having eleven points and six rebounds. Mike Dunleavy had eight points, and really helped out in the rebounding departments, going for seven boards. T.J. Ford added nine points and three steals. Rookie Paul George had four points, three rebounds, and two assists. The Pacers will travel to North Carolina and face the 0-1 Charlotte Bobcats tomorrow night.

Expect a live blog hopefully for that.

I like what the Pacers are doing this season. If they can get a solid win versus Charlotte, they look pretty good to go, in my opinion, for the regular season to start off.

Good game by Indy. Get the passion and pride on!

The Indiana Pacers start out the season against a very tough opponent in the San Antonio Spurs. They are few seasons away from their last NBA championship win, which was a sweep over a young LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now the Spurs, who are more seasoned, look like they are ready for a run to the Finals again already when you look at them on paper.

The Spurs may think it could be an easy one, as it was the Pacers. But remember, Indiana, with a lot more struggling squad last season, managed to get the Spurs trailing by nearly 15 points entering the third quarter in one of their meeting. However, San Antonio ended up winning with Tim Duncan’s last-second heroics to knock off Indiana, 100-99. It was right on Roy Hibbert. Hungry Hungry Hibbert could be looking for revenge.

The Spurs have a 34-year-old Duncan, a 33-year-old Manu Ginobili, and a 28-year-old Tony Parker. Parker is entering the last season of his contract and could bolt to the New York Knicks like the rumors say if San Antonio can’t get their fifth title this year. With young, future stars in Tiago Splitter, Dejuan Blair, and George Hill, the Spurs could be good to go. Along with that, they have Richard Jefferson.

“We are probably not the No. 1 favorites,” Ginobili said. “But heading into the playoffs we can beat anybody. Nobody’s that much better than us.”

Indiana opened up the season strong last year, going all the way up to as nearly 5-3. However, the playoffs were in no hope after going on a 1-10 run for the next eleven games. It’s been since the 2005-06 season since Indiana has made the playoffs. Finishing 32-50 last season, Indiana looks to improve by at least seven or eight games to be in playoff contention.

“Certainly, you’d love to get off to a good start but I believe this team will grow consistently throughout the year,” coach Jim O’Brien told the Pacers’ official website.

Indy looks to start off well, hopefully, with Danny Granger leading the way. Averaging over 25 points per game in the last two seasons, he looks to build on top of that to make himself a top-ten player for this season, which he is very close to. Granger has a slight advantage over the veteran Jefferson, and I expect a good game from the former All-Star.

There is also Roy Hibbert, who I expect to play much better on Duncan. He is coming nearly double-doubles in the pre-season, averaging a total of 17 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

“I just want to keep building and keep learning and get my conditioning up,” said Hibbert, who dropped 22 pounds over the summer and went from 14 percent body fat to 8.5. “I just want to keep working, keep building my wind so I can play 35 minutes a game.”

Hibbert has also been in MMA training and was working with Bill Walton over the summer.

Expect a much more improved Pacers team tonight. I see a good game.