SAN ANTONIO -- Pau Gasol hunched over to jam a foot into a grey Nike high-top sneaker, and took a quick survey of the room, before leaning back, exhaling, and cracking a smile with both eyebrows raised.
"Interesting."
No need for elaboration, here. The description more than sufficed Sunday for the new-look San Antonio Spurs, which topped the Miami Heat 104-100 to open their first preseason without longtime franchise cogs Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili; all replaced by a host of newcomers led by former Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, who made his debut.