HOUSTON — Michael Finley had just lofted a warm-up jumper from the top of the key before the Spurs' preseason opener Thursday night in Houston, when a member of the Houston Rockets snuck up from behind and pinched him on the backside.
Finley whirled around to see Brent Barry, smiling.
It was good to see Barry hadn't lost his since of humor in the three months since leaving the Spurs.
“It was nice to see the guys and get the pleasantries out of the way before we see them in the regular season,” Barry said. “It was nice to say hello.”
Barry hasn't been in Rockets red for very long, so his opinion of his former team still carries some weight.
It should please his erstwhile teammates to know Barry believes the Spurs will be competitive to start the regular season, even with leading scorer Manu Ginobili expected to be sidelined until December while recovering from ankle surgery.
“A lot of teams are thinking the good news is that Manu is out for a month and a half,” Barry said. “Well the bad news is he's going to be back in a month and a half. He's going to have a month and a half of rest, and a few hard weeks of conditioning, and he's going to be fresh for most of the season.”
Knowing what he knows about the Spurs, Barry says he will be shocked if coach Gregg Popovich doesn't find a way to keep his team's head above water while Ginobili is out.
“There's no way with Coach Pop and Tony (Parker) and Tim (Duncan) and the experience that squad has that they're going to find themselves in a hole they can't get out of,” Barry said. “It would be ridiculous to think that.”
Former Spur Barry likes his old team's chances 
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