DeJuan Blair - 'Nuff Said

Alright, I admittedly could not come up with a creative title for this blog entry, but i truthfully don't need one. The San Antonio Spurs made some impressive acquisitions this summer, but after the last four days I am most excited about DeJuan Blair. Some may say I should withhold judgment until he has at least played in a regular season NBA game, but there will be no difference. He plays like a MAN no matter what the stage.

Sure the preseason is the least exciting time of the year, but after an atypically long summer in San Antonio I was happy to see the Rockets visit last night, accompanied by Shane Battier in a Rockets blazer that made him look like a movie theater usher at first glace. I don't even remember the last preseason game the Spurs won because Pop doesn't care about winning preseason games. This time of year is usually like watching Popovich and his assistants play Jenga. Over the course of a game they stack different objects until the whole thing falls apart. They try different combinations and give unsigned players a chance to show what they can do.

Ian Mahinmi started the game for San Antonio, but Blair made his presence known after entering the game to a respectable ovation. With Blair on the court, the Spurs cut a 16 point lead down to one thanks to a flurry of putbacks, and-1's, and offensive boards from the rookie out of Pitt.

Now for the reason I enjoyed this game: It was the most impressive interior display by a player other than Tim Duncan since 2007 because of DeJuan Blair. Watching him play provided thoughts of Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, and Malik Rose as he was before a few poor franchising decisions.... Blair was brought to town for his rebounding abilities, and he certainly displayed those on Tuesday. His 16 points were second to George Hill, but his game-high 19 rebounds were staggering. Going up for boards he muscled opposing players out of his way like a 20 year old playing against his little brother. For the sake of comparison, Blair had as many offensive boards (8) as Houston's leading rebounder had total. When asked about the ferocity of Blair's game, Manu Ginobili responded: "If an arm had been close he would have broken a couple of them." This is the toughness the Spurs have been lacking. 'Nuff said.