Spurs vs. Hawks Postgame Player Spotlight: Nando De Colo
The San Antonio Spurs are now 2-0 in the preseason after beating the Atlanta Hawks 101-99 thanks to a last second shot by rookie guard Nando De Colo over former Austin Toros guard Squeaky Johnson. The Spurs may have been led by Josh Powell's 14 points but it was De Colo who stole the show.
De Colo showed what he can do with time on the court tonight. He finished with 11 points, two steals, went 4-7 from the field, 1-3 from the three-point line, 2-2 from the free throw line, two rebounds and nine assists in 28 minutes of play.
Aside from knocking down the game-winning shot and showing off some dazzling passes, Nando showed he can play some defense as well as he was hurrying to spots to meet his defender, and used his length to disrupt passing lanes.
The play for the game-winning shot for Nando was actually drawn up by Tony Parker. When asked if it was a similar play used by the French national team De Colo actually said it wasn't but it was a shot he likes to take.
"It was a shot I like a lot," said De Colo.
During team practices, assistant coach Chip Engelland and Nando have been working on Nando's shot and De Colo said it was a shot he and Chip have been working on.
"Yes. I have been working on lots of things. The shot I took, I been working on it a lot during my years with Valencia."
Of course tonight was Nando's first game against an NBA team and he felt great about finally testing his game against NBA caliber players.
"This was good. It's was a lot of one-on-one, everyone shoots well."
What do you have to say Spurs fans about tonight's post game player spotlight on De Colo?
I noticed Cory joseph was to sloppy at the ball He can play but he still needs to learn. Unlike de colo he makes good passes. I wish Cj Will give a roster spot to powell and Bonner for derrick brown so we can run on fastbreaks Lol. Just my opinion :)
@SPURSALLDAY I agree but would add that CJ is already the better defender. I think FO will keep CJ for the future, but who knows, maybe we could trade Matt..or DJB or GN and be able to keep POW and Brown
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Definitely a guy who can share the ball! A perfect fit indeed a better replacement fo JA!
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I've always been a de Colo fan. I have to sacrifice a handful of sleeping hours just to watch him play online in Cholet and Valencia. He is right on track. He may not be as fast as most NBA guards are but his highlight passing ability more than makes up for it. The future is now Nando!
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two rebounds and nine rebounds, Jeff? lol. sorry, just wanted to point that out. anyways, nice game-winner from De Colo!
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I thought it was interesting that de Colo and CJ got the same amount of playing time. Pop is giving each time to earn their roster spot. Looking at thw stats, nando played better than cj. I think its interesting that Powell's production was better than curry's with less time on the court. How I'd like to be a fly on the wall when pop and fo discuss the regular season lineup!
@spursfan80 Also remember that CJ is 20 years old with minimal professional experience outside the D-League. De Colo has been playing on a professional team in Spain as well as his national team for years. So, one would expect De Colo to outplay CJ. As for Curry vs Powell, I still say it's whoever performs better defensively that should get the job. Literally the sole purpose of us getting another big is to defend the rim and possibly defend Dwight if need be. All offense he provides is just a bonus.
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@CraigThomas Oh no doubt, I just think it was interesting that pop gave them almost exactly the same playing time. We are lucky that we have such capable guys to play the point! I'm curious too if we'll see nando and manu on the court together. With them and maybe Gary neal out at the same time our ball movement would be crazy! How many no look kick back 3 do ya'll think there will be this season?!?! Help yeah, go spurs go!
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So I just want to point out that in the last 2 years, we've had a game winner in a preseason game. The other two guys that hit the two game winners? Neal and Kawhi. I'm hoping that Nando's season pans out as well as their rookie seasons.
