SB Nation - Richard Jefferson

Game Preview #22: San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns

Tim C. — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:42:32 -0000

The Suns have already set, despite their current record.

So, the Suns have a pretty good record so far this season. Nash looks as good as ever, despite losing some of his better teammates over the previous two seasons. What's up with that? Well, they started the season scorching, and still claim the league's top offense, but they've been losing game more frequently over the last 2 weeks, returning to their rightful place in the second tier of Western Conference teams. That doesn't mean the Spurs should expect to win this game, though. For that, we'll need luck, and some good PtR mojo.

So, how do we get PtR mojo to the game? I'm glad you asked.

PtR Mojo at the Game

Alamobro, xman130 and yours truly will all be at this game, representing PtR. Even though we didn't quite coordinate our seating(I'm in the nosebleeds, they're not), simply being there will hopefully give us a little extra mojo. I will gladly take all the razzing Suns fans can throw at me, as long as the final result is a Spurs victory.

On a mostly unrelated note, check out this epic thread at SpursTalk for hilarity. Be sure to go well beyond the first page. Here's a little preview:

It is so on.

San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns
Where: US Airways Center - Phoenix, AZ
When: December 15, 2009, 8:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSN SW(San Antonio); FSN AZ(Phoenix)

How They Stack Up


10-4	Home	8-0
2-5	Road	8-8
101.8	Offense	108.4
96.6	Defense	105.6
48.0	FG%	49.2
39.2	3-pt%	42.7
73.8	FT%	74.7
42.0	Rebounds	41.5
14.7	TOs	15.5
7-3	Last 10	5-5
Won 3	Streak	Lost 1
2nd, Southwest	Position	2nd, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	11:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Philippines	9:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:30 AM
East Coast	8:30 PM
The Land Time Forgot	7:30 PM
Perth, AUS	9:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:30 PM

Spurs (9-9)	Matchups	Suns (18-6)
Tony Parker Defying Expectations	Point Guard Tony's had double-digit assists in two of the last three games, which is encouraging. Unfortunately, he's also turning the ball over a lot. Mr. Nash is as good as he's ever been, so I'll give him a very slight edge here. Advantage: Suns	Steve Nash Pretty Damn Good

Manu Ginobili BETTER THAN FANGIO!!!	Shooting Guard Manu's got his mojo going in the last few games. Keith Bogans will be matched up with J-Rich at first, but Manu will get the bulk of the SG minutes and should be able to win this matchup. Advantage: Spurs	Jason Richardson Not Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson Finally Getting Better	Small Forward RJ's been doing noticeably better as of late, after the rough start to the season. I expect more of the same tonight, and he should be able to take care of Hill with ease if he's on his game. Advantage: Spurs	Grant Hill Not George Hill

Tim Duncan No Random Punctuation	Power Forward Amare is still as deadly a shooter as ever, but doesn't seem to have the explosiveness he used to. Timmy is putting up the most efficient numbers of his career, which is really saying something when you're already the best PF of all time. Advantage: Spurs	Amar'e Stoudemie Random Apostrophe

Antonio McDyess Jumpshooter	Center Dice should get plenty of open looks tonight, even if Amare guards him instead of Timmy. Channing Frye was Phoenix's big acquisition this offseason, which says more about the team than it does about the player. If we can keep him off the 3-point line, this matchup will be ours. Also, Blair is going to eat the Suns frontcourt alive. Advantage: Spurs	Channing Frye Jumpshooter

Georege Hill Los Cubits	Bench & Role Players The Suns are without Leandro Barbosa. The BAM should be able to get something going pretty easily, cosidering that Jared Dudley is Phoenix's best remaining bench player. Advantage: Spurs	Jared Dudley Aptly Named

Gregg Popovich Bring Back the Beard	Coach Pop should use this game to make a statement. Seriously, he should. Advantage: Spurs	Alvin Gentry 7 Seconds and Loss
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles If the Spurs could ever stop turning the fucking ball over, they'd be a pretty damn good team. Advantage: Suns
	Mojo Take a look at the Suns' home record. Then take a look at our road record. Not a tough call. Those of us who are there in person will try to bring enough mojo for the Spurs to overcome, but it won't be easy. Advantage: Suns
	Winner I always have a good feeling when we play the Suns, but not this time. I have hope, but not a feeling of inevitability like in seasons past. I'm going to go with my optimism, especially in light of the matchups. Spurs in a squeaker.

Keys To The Game

Defense - The Suns bring the league's most efficient offense to the table - we have to slow them down. In years past, this wouldn't be a problem, but we've been pretty inconsistent on D this season. Come on, Spurs - convince me it's not an issue.
Weather the Storm - Phoenix always comes out fired up to play us, and they usually jump out to an early lead. We can't let it get out of control.
Bench - The Spurs' bench is vastly superior, and they need to play like it. The BAM scored 57 points in our last game, so expectations are definitely being raised.

Last Time They Met

Let's skip the last time these teams met(Don't worry, we won), and go with some classic Spurs-Suns moments. Something tells me Suns fans don't like reliving these as much as we do.

Strength of Schedule

The every other day schedule is over. This is the first game of a back-to-back set(FIGABABA?), with the seond game tomorrow night in Oakland.

The Suns are coming off two days' rest after a road loss to the Nuggets that was very close, and they were actually the victim of some bad calls.

Some Other Reading

Suns

Bright Side of the Sun - These guys are our SBN siblings for Phoenix, and they do a phenomenal job. I briefly met Mike at summer league, and P. Stan is a super blogging machine(he also runs the SBN WNBA blog). I have nothing but respect for the writers over there.

Valley of the Suns - Here's the TrueHoop blog dedicated to the Suns. These other teams' THN blogs seem to be getting better over time, which is a very encouraging sign. Worth the read.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, Tim and Graydon are still the best. They're not writing as much as they used to, but that's understandable in light of their busy schedules.
Project Spurs: Good Bloguin blog with lots of good content. Be sure to check out their podcasts and live chats.

The Magic That Happened

jrw put together some great highlights from the Clippers game thread(s):

Ridiculous lineup made us lose our lead. What the hell was Pop thinking? - LatinD

"I wanted to lose our lead." - theonlyromeo

"Did I leave that case of wine on the plane?" - Queness

"Why do we need to have these practices everyday?" - theonlyromeo

"Fuck free throws." - Queness

"What’s the big deal about Ophra? I don’t see why people like her." - Hipuks

"What do you mean wrong spelling? I know Ophra well enough, dammit! I like her more than Elen." - theonlyromeo

"Fuck, I totally messed that up." - Hipuks

"Damn, how drunk am I that I misspell things that I’m thinking?" - Queness

"These shoes are too tight." - Queness

"Make-up does wonders to people’s looks." - silverandblack_davis

"I’m supposed to be coaching but I really really have to take a shit, I think if I stand up and walk around it will make it better." - Hipuks

"Ooh, third quarter. Budendozer, what’s our worse +/- lineup?" - theonlyromeo

Pop ought to think about starting manu in the second half - bones

Unfortunately, Pop doesn’t make halftime adjustments. - the little o

Pop’s Idea of an adjustment is switching from the Shiraz to a Merlot - alamobro

in reference to LatinD’s shark BLAAIIIRRR pics:

my entire family got eaten by sharks. show some respect! - sleep research facility

How did YOU survive? I sense an evil plot here. - Rich Town

you’ll need to speak to my lawyer. next question! - sleep research facility

Whoa! Kaman started to pick his dribble up at the "Channel" mark, then took off way before the "admin" spot—all while his defender was standing around the "blocked." - theonlyromeo

My family was killed by a channel blocked by admin, that’s not funny. - Hipuks

My family was killed by a bad joke, that’s not funny. - LatinD

How did YOU survive? I sense an evil plot here. - theonlyromeo

I hid inside a whale corpse. - Hipuks

And, now I’m being killed by lack of oxygen intake. Fuck you guys and your hilarity. - Queness

Bonner elbowed Duncan, -78. - Hipuks

that’s why I smoke cigarettes, because I know that second-hand smoke kills. - the little o

RJ’s driving to the basket a lot more lately. Pop had a talk with him? - LatinD

"You get your ass in there or I will fucking trade you for Vince Carter." - silverandblack_davis

"How much are we paying your ass again?" - theonlyromeo

Why does Pop talk about RJ’s ass so much? - tomasito

Maybe every time RJ goes down the court, Pop thinks, "Yup. That’s 15 million for the right cheek and 15 million for the left cheek. Those are goddamn expensive cheeks." - Queness

After RJ misses a free throw and Blair snags the rebound and gets the put-back:

That’s probably easier than teaching our guys to shoot FTs - greyberger

"Oh, you missed both? I’ll take care of that LOLOOLOLOLOL." - Daniel_B

SA announcer when blair fell "I was worried for the floor" - greyberger

Where to Tune In

TV

This game is not on national TV, so for those of you staying at home, you might want to read on below...

Online

As always, NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. You know, when we're not at the games.

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at San Antonio Spurs

David Arnott — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:06:23 -0000

Pump Up Music: Sponge -- "Plowed"

The Big Picture: What happened to the San Antonio Spurs? If the season ended today, they'd be a half game out of the playoffs. Part of it is probably injury. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have both missed time already, and Manu, especially, just hasn't been himself, his field goal percentage falling through the floor. But even that doesn't explain the Spurs' shakiness, seeing as Tim Duncan is as steady as ever.

It's probably the defense. They don't have a perimeter stopper, and that has a cascade effect on everyone else. Sure, Richard Jefferson is far from embarrassing on D. Same goes for Roger Mason, Jr. and Keith Bogans. But the formula kind of breaks down without that perimeter defender. Yes, Duncan is still an anchor in the paint, but when the opponent's go-to guy -- usually a wing player that Duncan can't guard one on one -- doesn't have to deal with Bruce Bowen harassing him all night (in ways both legal and gray area), it magnifies the others' defensive weaknesses, and suddenly Matt Bonner's ability to stretch the D on the offensive end of the floor doesn't seem like such a great advantage when he has to help more on slashers. It's not too late to correct this. Someone like Rasual Butler might be a great acquisition for them down the line.

Key to Victory: Tyson Chandler has to stay in the game. If he can avoid foul trouble and make life difficult for Timmy, the Spurs will have a really difficult time scoring on the Bobcats' defense. Secondarily, here's hoping Boris Diaw can punish San Antonio for playing either Matt Bonner or DeJuan Blair (a.k.a. Thabeet Killer) with his inside-outside game.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Larry Brown lasted 3 1/2 years as Spurs coach in the late 80s and early 90s. He was replaced by Bob Bass, apparently on an interim basis, for the rest of the 1991-92 season. But then, to start the 1992-93 season, somehow Jerry Tarkanian(!) lasted only twenty games before getting canned.

Spurs vs Kings: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:52:55 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

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Ever since they lost Kevin Martin, they've really been a team. I was impressed with the Kings' effort last night. They are a scrappy bunch. We could learn a thing or two from them. Oh yeah, Casspi was meant to be a Spur. I'm praying it still happens someday. Come inside for a couple stats....

Here is your song. It's the Beatles' Good Night off the White Album for anyone stuck behind a firewall who is curious what the song was.

1. Manu had an outstanding game.

Exhibit A: 20 points...in 26 minutes!!! Most of them were pretty timely too.

Exhibit B: 8 FTA's on 11 FGA's and he made all 8 of them

Exhibit C: 3 assists and 2 steals to 1 turnover

Exhibit D: Tell me you saw that fake out and then the dunk he had in fourth. If that didn't get you up out of your seat (computer chair, couch, or AT&T center fold out), then you are crazy and/or stupid and/or lame.

I think that is like 8 fingers around the rim. Pretty nice.

2. We got our turnovers down to 13 this game from those disgusting atrocities we'd been forced to witness. At the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th, there a particularly terrible stretch though. To go all ATS on you, Bonner turned it over to Evans on a bad pass with 1:38 left in the 4th. That lead to Tony fouling Evans. We missed our next two shots, Bonner and Manu. Tony Parker has the ball stolen with 4 seconds left in the 3rd and Evans gets another layup. Manu misses to start us off in the 4th.

RJ comes through with some points finally and makes his 3. Manu misses another shot. Dejuan Blair gets loose ball foul. Richard Jefferson gets called for an illegal defense. Bonner misses another shot with 9:53 left in the 4th. The lead was still 8 at this point because the Kings failed to capitalize on our poor shooting and execution over this period.

Finally after all of that Hill and Mason come in and score 7 points over the next minute to get our lead up to 13. We then let them back into it again with a missed Mason 3, George Hill turnover, and then a Blair defensive 3 seconds. Just like that, we are up by only 6 with 6:33 to play. The Spurs failed twice to end this game early and send the Kings packing.

3. The Kings had 62 points in the paint to our 48. They left 7 points on the charity stripe (7 of 15 FT's). They played an aggressive game and if they had made a few of their free throws and had one or two less turnovers themselves, then they could have really made this game interesting. I mean they were within 3 with 4:00 minutes to play. Yes, Manu and Parker took it over and Duncan had an EPIC BLOCK, but the Kings really showed something to me.

I like their chemistry with this group. I think they should trade Kevin Martin and try to get another big man to move Hawes to the bench. Kevin Martin had 1 assist, 29 points and a +/- of -28 the first time we played them. Hawes was the only other player to score over 7 points. He had 22 off the bench. I'm not saying they are a playoff team yet, but they sure are way better than last year's travesty.

Spurs Offense Explodes, Kings Fall 118-106

Ziller — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:00:05 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

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San Antonio is hardly known for its offense -- that's why management paid a premium for a new starting small forward, one Richard Jefferson. The former Net and Buck has always been a frequent scorer, and that's what the Spurs decided (correctly) they needed. And it paid off Wednesday night, with Jefferson torching the Kings defense to buoy a Spurs offense that ended up performing very well despite middling production from its big men.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili helped a ton, and the Spurs shot 8-9 on threes despite fairly decent perimeter defense. The issues with the Kings defense weren't gaping -- they had trouble stopping Parker's penetration (unsurprising, as few stop Parker) and didn't get back in transition in the first half. Basically, this was a phenomenal performance for the Spurs. That the Kings constantly put pressure on the home team in the second half, with run after run after "you know I'm not dead" run is a minor coup.

Jason Jones of The Bee notes just how young Paul Westphal went: the only King with at least three years of NBA experience to play more than 20 minutes was Beno Udrih. This was basically a bunch of college-age players against a team whose core has won three championships this decade, and whose star has four and happens to be the best power forward of all-time.

And the Kings fought. The 14-0 Spurs run in the second quarter should have killed them ... but the Kings stormed back. And so it happened three more times in the second half: the Spurs opened up the lead to 10+ ... and the Kings brought it back within three or four, even taking a brief 1-point lead at one point.

Omri Casspi was a beast with 20 points on 14 FGAs, with seven rebounds. Tyreke Evans wasn't terribly inefficient, his worst game of the four-game stretch. But he still 20/4/5 and four steals. So, you know, not bad, rook. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes combined to play Tim Duncan as well as you can ever expect, with Thompson showing good offensive touch in the second half after Hawes had opened up the game looking sharp. Donte Greene made some late-game miscues on offense, but brought every bit the energy the situation called for, ripping a rebound out of Matt Bonner's hands for a putback, and not taking no lip when the Red Rocket later attempted to return the favor.

I'll take "Encouraging Losses" for $500, Alex.

PtR Quickcap: Spurs Outgun Kings, 118-106

Tim C. — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:19:43 -0000

The Spurs won a game tonight, despite suffering from a bit of suckitude. Annoying, but I think most of us will take the win at this point. Oh, and somebody we've been looking for finally decided to show up.

Damn, those are some tiny ears.

That's right, Richard Jefferson, Mr. Big Offseason Acquisition, got going early in this game by playing above the rim, and he shot the ball very well for us. This, of course, opened things up for everyone else when the Kings got scared of RJ taking it to the rim. The Big 4 was in full effect tonight... on offense.

BOX SCORE

Now, I'll admit to not being able to watch most of this game, so take my "analysis" with a grain of salt. But, here are my observations:

Offense

The Spurs' offense fired on all cylinders tonight, and turnovers were limited compared to the previous 4 contests. Only 3 Spurs shot less than 50% from the field: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Dejuan Blair. When those 3 guys aren't having to do all the heavy lifting, it's a beautiful thing. What that also tells me is that our designated shooters were kicking some ass. Now, let's see a graphical representation:

Surprisingly, the Spurs shot well on mid-range jumpers. A few of those are from the usual suspects(Tony, Dice), but quite a few of those dots in the 10-20 foot range are from RJ. That might seem disappointing at first, but it's the most encouraging thing I've seen all year from RJ. For his career, he has a deadly jumper - and if his J has returned to form, it will force opposing defenses to respect it, giving him more opportunities to drive to the rim. Let's hope Richard's jumper is really back, because that would open up the offense tremendously for us. Not only for him, but for Tony and Manu as well, since teams have been giving RJ space on the outside in order to protect the paint. RJ finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Oddly, he didn't take a single free throw in this game, despite his early aggressiveness. I also could have done without the 4 turnovers, but I'll take the offense.

And what of Manu Ginobili? Sure, Manu was one of the guys who shot less than 50%(5-11), but he did what Manu does: making great plays when it counts. Manu scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, made the right passes, and came up with a couple of steals. Oh, and 8-8 from the free throw line ain't bad either. Manu makes this team so much better when he's doing his thing.

The other 2 members of the Big 4(tonight, it really was 4) both had good nights on the offensive end as well. Tony shot very well, and added 11 assists for his most complete game of the season. Limiting himself to 2 turnovers also tells us that he was making good decisions, just in case the assist total wasn't convincing enough. He led the team in +/- as well, with a +25. Timmy had a less obviously good performance, but he gets a pass since he's been carrying the team for most of the early part of the season. Tim shot 7-15 for 17 points, adding 8 rebounds and 4 assists for good measure. He also had 0 turnovers, for a very efficient game on offense(corrected turnover figure from earlier).

Defense

While the Spurs did a great job on offense, the defense was... terrible. The Kings shot 52.3% for the game. Six Kings players scored in double figures, led by 20 points on 9-14 shooting from backup SF Omri Casspi. The Kings moved the ball extremely well, but there's no excuse for the kind of lazy defense I witnessed in the few minutes I was able to watch. The bad thing is, there's not one Spur that can be singled out for this, it was a lack of effort on the team level. Where Casspi was hitting jump shots, any number of other Kings were getting to the rim almost at will. This is disturbing, especially when you consider the defensive "performance" against Utah in the previous game.

It's hard to figure out what happened to the Spurs' defense. After the game against Toronto, they were playing good D for a long stretch of games, but in the last 2-3 games, it's all gone to hell. Letting the Kings shoot over 50%(The KINGS, ffs) is completely unacceptable for a team that has championship aspirations.

OK, that's enough deriding. Enjoy the win.

Your 4 Stars

It's pretty obvious, don'tcha think?

1. Tony Parker

2. Richard Jefferson

3. Manu Ginobili

4. Tim Duncan

One Final Note

How crazy is our division? We're not far removed from 1st, but we're also not far removed from last. Look at those "Last 10" records... it's insane how good this division is, now that Memphis and New Orleans have their shit together.

Preview: Kings at Spurs

Ziller — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:00:23 -0000

by Darren Abate - AP

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THE OPPONENT

The Spurs are far better than .500, despite the record. I could try to explain what's gone wrong, but Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell can do it from a tighter perspective, much more eloquently.

[T]hrough 18 games, those horses have come up lame. Rather than getting a lift from the supporting cast, Tim Duncan is playing with MVP-efficiency and barely keeping the Spurs at a half-respectable .500. If the Spurs recover from their start of sputter and stall, Tim Duncan ought to be placed at the center of the MVP conversation. He’s threatening a career season, at least in terms of efficiency. And it’s all lost on a 9-9 start.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that no one else is playing well. Matt Bonner is a having a career year; DeJuan Blair is occasionally sensational. Tony Parker is not dominating, but playing competent basketball. I get all that, and I could further qualify. It’s just that the supporting cast taken as a whole is providing more drag than momentum-gathering boost. Tim Duncan is all dragster, and the team is mostly parachute.

Richard Jefferson has certainly been disappointing, and Manu Ginobili has seemingly been on-and-off, hot-and-cold. For the Kings' sake, given that our defense isn't bright and the Spurs' defense continues to be, let's hope Jefferson disappoints and Ginobili is more cold than warm.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tim Duncan	16	32.3	7.6	13.8	55.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	4.0	5.2	77.1	3.1	7.7	10.8	3.4	2.0	0.5	2.1	1.9	19.1
Tony Parker	14	30.4	6.4	12.8	50.3	0.1	0.4	20.0	4.7	5.9	79.5	0.1	2.6	2.7	5.6	3.3	0.7	0.3	2.1	17.6
Richard Jefferson	18	33.2	4.4	10.1	43.4	0.9	2.8	33.3	3.1	4.6	68.3	0.7	3.6	4.3	2.7	1.6	0.8	0.3	2.1	12.8
Manu Ginobili	13	22.8	3.5	9.6	36.8	1.6	4.4	36.8	4.0	4.8	83.9	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.6	2.0	1.2	0.5	1.9	12.7
George Hill	18	25.3	3.7	9.0	40.7	0.9	2.3	38.1	2.4	3.1	78.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	2.1	0.9	1.0	0.4	3.4	10.7
Matt Bonner	18	21.5	3.3	6.7	49.2	2.0	4.4	45.6	0.7	0.9	81.3	1.6	3.7	5.2	1.4	0.7	0.2	0.2	2.3	9.3
DeJuan Blair	18	14.9	2.8	4.7	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.2	45.5	1.9	3.6	5.4	0.7	1.1	0.2	0.7	2.5	6.2
Antonio McDyess	17	20.9	2.5	5.2	47.7	0.0	0.1	0.0	1.1	1.5	69.2	1.8	3.8	5.6	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.4	2.6	6.0
Roger Mason Jr.	17	18.4	2.3	6.0	38.2	0.9	3.1	30.8	0.4	0.5	77.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	2.2	1.1	0.3	0.2	1.5	5.9
Michael Finley	17	18.2	2.1	4.6	44.3	0.7	1.7	41.4	0.4	0.5	66.7	0.2	1.5	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.5	5.2
Keith Bogans	17	17.5	1.4	3.5	40.0	0.5	2.1	25.0	0.6	0.8	76.9	0.2	2.4	2.5	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.1	1.9	3.9
Marcus Haislip	1	3.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Theo Ratliff	9	8.8	0.7	1.4	46.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.4	1.6
Malik Hairston	9	3.8	0.3	0.6	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7

THE KEY BATTLE

Tony Parker vs. Tyreke Evans. Reke struggled to defend the pick-and-roll against the Spurs last time around, with Parker slicing to the rim at will. Now granted, Parker does this against most teams. But if the Kings want to compete, Parker can't own the driving lines. He's going to have to work.

On the other end, it's a two-fold challenge in attacking San Antonio's defense: win the favorable size mismatches (particularly Evans-Parker) and overachieve in the problem spots (Andres Nocioni against the tough-inside, anti-three team defense, Jason Thompson vs Tim Duncan). Evans is the biggest key here, both in terms of punishing Parker without getting denied by Duncan and friends, and in terms of setting up Thompson, Spencer Hawes and others with easy attempts.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

Let's play Inane Arguments, hosted by Grant Napear! His tirades against

a) Paul Westphal for protesting the shot clock violation when the Kings inbounded with 1 second on the clock, and

b) Jason Thompson for protesting his fifth foul, which came when he pulled Darius Songaila's jersey on defense

were inane. Everyone, including Westphal, who, you know, has been around the league a while, knows that there could be less than a second left. Westphal was indicating he thought the New Orleans scorekeeper jobbed the Kings by starting the shot clock just a touch before the ball was touched. This is a pretty classic home court advantage type move. If you read Westphal's lips, he says "Nice timekeeper!" or something like that. He is indicating that he believes the shot clock was started early. Not that the Kings deserve a full second because the clock read 1. You idiot.

Regarding Thompson, Napear kept on about how obvious a foul it was, and how Thompson should have shut up about it and play smarter defense. Of course, Thompson was protesting the fact that he was assaulted repeatedly at the other end, with nary a whistle to help him out. You can see him motion to the refs that he had been beaten about the head by the Hornets defense, and how he deserved to get some calls if the refs insisted on calling Nancy garbarge like the jersey yank. Thompson wasn't saying, "I didn't pull his jersey!" He was saying, "They are beating me about the head and whatnot, how bout a whistle, chum?"

And missing those things isn't terrible. It's the attitude that he, Grant, is the smartest person in the world that grates.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Matt Bonner takes more three-pointers than Spencer Hawes.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Spurs by ... never mind. I am not a jinx.

DETAILS

The tip-off, again, is at 5 o'clock. Game thread then, with the second game thread at 6 and the post-game thread at 7:45. Recap someday.

Spurs vs Kings Preview

Tim C. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:57:32 -0000

I'm not going to beat around the bush. We really need a win. We also need a game in which we play for 48 minutes. A solid 48 minutes of good, well-executed, hustling basketball. We need to make the Kings uncomfortable and we need to pummel them. Seriously pummel them into the court.

So tune in and grab your sword. We are storming the castle. It's Bastille Day.

You knew it was coming.

Sacramento Kings @ San Antonio Spurs
Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
When: December 9, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: NBA TV

How They Stack Up


8-4	Home	8-3
1-5	Road	1-8
100.0	Offense	104.3
97.1	Defense	105.0
46.6	FG%	47.1
36.1	3-pt%	38.9
74.5	FT%	73.8
42.4	Rebounds	42.9
14.2	TOs	16.1
5-5	Last 10	4-6
Lost 3	Streak	Lost 3
3rd, Southwest	Position	4th, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	11:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Philippines	9:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:30 AM
East Coast	8:30 PM
CapHill's Chaisse	6:30 PM
Perth, AUS	9:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:30 pM

Spurs (9-9)	Matchups	Kings (9-11)
Tony Parker Wee Frenchman	Point Guard Tony in a landslide. No, not really. Tyreke is getting better and better and he is big and physical. He could end up abusing us the way Russell Westbrook did. Scary thought there. Advantage: Spurs	Tyreke Evans Big Bad Boy

Manu Ginobili The Sickness	Shooting Guard Donte got the start last night against the Hornets. We'll see a lot of Beno as well here. Either way, I'm going with the Gino. Advantage: Spurs	Donte Greene Not George Hill

Richard Jefferson Shoots Too Little	Small Forward Close. But, I have to go with RJ even if he isn't playing well. Advantage: Spurs	Andres Nocioni Shoots Too Much

Tim Duncan Skilled Vet	Power Forward Tim is still named named Tim. In case you didn't know. Advantage: Spurs	Jason Thompson Semi-skilled Soph

Antonio McDyess Roll Tide	Center Maybe, just maybe, SAM will break out of whatever has him locked up. Advantage: Spurs	Spencer Hawes U of W

Georege Hill Long	Bench & Role Players Kenny Thomas and Ime Udoka are getting a lot of minutes off their bench. Advantage: Spurs	Beno Udrih Gone

Gregg Popovich Mad Pissed	Coach Pop better be mad. I expect an all business from him for 48 minutes. Advantage: Spurs	Paul Westphal Mad Crazy
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles The Kings are scrappy and have been playing pretty well since Kevin Martin went down. The Spurs have not been scrappy. Intangibles favore scrappy. Advantage: Kings
	Mojo We appear to be mojo-less. Advantage: Kings
	Winner We better be one hell of a motivated team. If we don't come out and play the best game of the season, I'll be disappointed. Advantage: Spurs

Keys To The Game

Intensity - We better be right, and by right I mean sharp, from the opening tip.
Jump the Gun Early - Leftover from last game against the Kings, but we need to crush them early. They lost a tough game in New Orleans last night. Step. On. Their. Throat.
Bench - Our bench is way, way better than theirs. We need them to show it and give Tim some rest.

Last Time They Met

Was the third game of the season and we whipped them 113-94. We need to do the same again.
Oh yeah, it was also the night Manu swatted the bat.

Some Other Reading

Kings

Sactown Royalty - The Kings SBN blog. They also have members who actively comment during games. Go visit them and drop a friendly line or two, olf-style

Cowbell Kingdom - This is the TrueHoop network blog for the Sacramento. I hate the sound of cowbells, but these guys do a great job covering the ~~Maloofs~~ Kings.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, we're extremely lucky that the best one is dedicated to the Spurs. Tim and Graydon are really good.
Project Spurs: Good Bloguin blog with lots of good content. Spurs fans are lucky to have so many good blogs out there.

Where to Tune In

(Note: The League Pass free preview is available until Nov. 3 for both broadband and television.)

TV

This game is not on national TV, so for those of you staying at home, you might want to read on below...

Online

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Lawrence Frank gets Bzdelik'd...

Andrew Feinstein — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:59:02 -0000

For his second franchise in a row, Kiki Vandeweghe has firebombed the roster, sacked a decent coach with the carnage and prayed for some luck with the draft and free agency. It worked for the Nuggets, but will it work for the Nets in New Jersey/Brooklyn?

Let's take a quick trip back to 2002. The Nuggets are floundering with a losing record, a coach/team president that calls a Hispanic fan a "Mexican piece of shit" and an expensive, relatively worthless roster featuring the likes of draft busts Raef LaFrentz and Tariq "Don't Call Me Olivier St. Jean" Abdul-Wahad, the mercurial Nick Van Exel and the grossly overpaid Avery Johnson. In comes Kiki Vandeweghe - a former Nuggets star who had been mentored by the Nelsons in the Mavericks front office - as the new G.M. Vandeweghe's first act, a bold and swift one, is to deal away LaFrentz, Abdul-Wahad, Van Exel and Johnson to his former team, take back some expiring contracts, suck for a season-and-a-half and hope for the best with free agency and the draft.

The huge - and in my opinion, unforgivable - misstep of drafting all-time bust (and Denver Stiffs Hall of Famer) Nikoloz Tskitishvili aside, Vandeweghe's gamble worked. As part of the plan, Vandeweghe brought in a young, hard-working coach in Jeff Bzdelik to change the culture on the floor and the Nuggets remarkably won 17 more games than they should have in the 2002-03 season. 17 wins was low enough, however, for the Nuggets to score Carmelo Anthony in the 2003 draft and by parting with those heavy contracts, the Nuggets had enough cap room to sign Voshon Lenard, Andre Miller and my all-time favorite one-season Nugget, Jon Barry.

Years later and in a new geographical location, Vandeweghe is doing very similar things in New Jersey under the tutelage of Rod Thorn (who in the ironies or ironies swindled Vandeweghe into trading three number one picks for Kenyon Martin in 2004). Hired in late 2007 as a "Special Assistant" to Thorn, Vandeweghe became the Nets G.M. in May of 2008.

During Vandeweghe's tenure with the Nets, the franchise has dealt the aging, overpaid Jason Kidd to Dallas for Devin Harris and several soon-to-be-expiring contracts including Trenton Hassell's, sent the overpaid Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlin and Bobby Simmons' soon-to-be-expiring contract and recently traded another max player, Vince Carter, to Orlando for the expiring contracts of Rafer Alston and Tony Battie.

Left in the wake of all these deals is the 26th lowest payroll in the NBA with the salaries of Simmons, Alston, Battie, Hassell, Keyon Dooling and Jarvis Hayes coming off the books in 2010. Plus, the Nets have one of the better young point guards in the NBA in Devin Harris, a solid center in Brook Lopez (even though my Uncle Marty claims he's a Stiff after watching him up close against the Nuggets last week), a good swingman in Chris Douglas-Roberts and even Yi was playing well before going down with another injury. Oh, and the Nets have their own lottery pick plus the Mavericks' first round pick in 2010.

But also left in the wake is a lost season that head coach Lawrence Frank - whom Vandeweghe inherited - is about to take the fall for. Saddled with a gutted-out, injury-riddled roster Frank is being Bzdelik'd. And it's not fair. Lest we forget that Frank won his first 13 games in a row when he took over the Nets for Byron Scott several seasons ago. But life's not fair (Frank does make - gasp - $4 million a year, so I don't feel that bad for him) and unlike Bzdelik's amazing performance in 2002-03, Frank's team is losing all the games they're supposed to lose.

Similar to the situation for Bzdelik in Denver, Vandeweghe won't stand up for Frank (even though this is clearly Vandeweghe's plan) and is just buying time before he can hire a big name coach to right the ship when LeBron James and/or other free agents and a top draft pick join the franchise next summer. Different from what happened in Denver, though, is that Vandeweghe is rumored to take over as head coach. I guess the bottom line is that when you lose your first 16 games (about to be 18), no matter how bad your roster/injury situation is your job isn't salvageable. Good bye, Lawrence Frank.

How's this for a far-fetched prediction moving forward? Vandeweghe takes over as coach for the remainder of the season and - a la Kevin McHale in Minnesota - the Nets beat up on some equally bad teams en route to winning about 15-18 games with a spirited effort on the floor. Then, the Nets score LeBron in the 2010 free agent sweepstakes (I really don't think LBJ is leaving Cleveland, but if he does it's to the Nets who have the best surrounding cast plus cap space to offer him) and none other than current Nuggets coach George Karl takes over as head coach when the Nuggets fail to offer Karl an extension. (On a side note, I used to think that Karl was imposed on Vandeweghe by Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke in 2005 but have since learned that Karl and Vandeweghe have a friendly relationship and get along great, so I'm just connecting the dots here.)

With Karl overseeing a roster featuring Harris at point guard, Courtney Lee or CDR at shooting guard, LBJ at small forward, (enter free agent here) at power forward and Lopez at center, the Nets move into their shiny, new Brooklyn confines in 2011 with the support of their Russian billionaire owner as a championship contender.

Frank might be getting Bzdelik'd right before our eyes, but sunny days are ahead for the Nets and Kiki knows it.

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Bill Kostroun

Preview - Utah Jazz @ San Antonio Spurs

Basketball John — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:57:43 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Manu, you just can't flop effectively without the floppy hair. You're going to have to sit a bit.

Browse more photos »

We all partied like it was 1999 when the Jazz last won in SA. I've written this before, but at this point I want the win just so we don't have to talk/hear about it anymore. The actual win itself would be secondary.

The Spurs are giving us one of the better chances we've had because both Tony Parker and Manu will be out with injuries. I'd like to say that beating them with those two playing would bring more satisfaction, but it won't. I just want a win in SA before the 00s close out.'

It's already been over ten years since we won there with that win coming in Feb of 1999. We played them again in May and lost, starting the current streak.

If you take a look at the roster the last time we won, it's of course completely turned over. Nobody on the current team has ever won in SA.

It was also the strike-shortened year. The Jazz were 11-2 at that point despite it being in February. The key to that win was that they played some great D. Duncan got his, but nobody else had a good game. They held the Spurs to 41% shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

Let's hope that it's the same case tonight. Even with Parker and Manu out, it's important not to let someone like Richard Jefferson have a career night or for George Hill to hit another 45 three-pointers.

I have to say I've been swayed a bit by the team's recent play on the road. I don't know why I keep getting my hopes up. But just going on feeling and emotion alone, the team doesn't seem to have that look of despair about them right now.

In fact, are they, GULP, having fun as Boozer states,

Carlos Boozer punctuated Wednesday's victory by slapping the backboard after his follow-up dunk with 2:53 remaining, drawing an immediate (and automatic) technical foul. He joked after the game about last trying such a move when he was 17.

"It’s worth it, though," Boozer said of the technical. "I’m having fun out there. My teammates are having fun. It got my teammates hyped, it got the crowd hyped. That’s part of basketball. I mean, you get T’s like that, that’s the fun part of basketball."

Both teams are coming off a game last night so that should factor in evenly for them. The Jazz really have some momentum right now and this could be the a huge kicker for them if they are able to pull out a win tonight.

Game Thread @ 6

Orlando Magic News for November 19th: Stan Van Gundy Will No Longer Accentuate the Negative, and More

Ben Q Rock — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:21:35 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

Orlando Magic: Stan Van Gundy vows to limit negativity after private meeting with C Dwight Howard
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel has the surprising news that Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has, after meeting with franchise center and team co-captain Dwight Howard, vowed to be less negative. He believes adjusting his attitude will have a positive effect on the team's energy and mood.

"I think, as a team, there was a lot of negativity and it's not like Stan's a negative guy," Howard said before the Magic left for Boston to face the Celtics on Friday night. "But it's like there's always some clashes and focusing so much on our mistakes. Instead of bringing each other down, we have to pull each other up.

"That's the only thing I wanted from coach."

This news is not inconsequential. Van Gundy's earned the nickname "Stan Van Grumpy" for his wild gesticulations and expressiveness on the sidelines. This development is one to keep an eye on going forward.

Click through to read the whole piece, which includes great quotes from Van Gundy himself. He may cut back on the negativity, but I hope he doesn't cut back on the humor.
Antonio Daniels could be in the mix if Orlando Magic decide to sign another point guard
As an example, here's some of Van Gundy's wit:

Coach Stan Van Gundy, tongue planted firmly in cheek, on all teams reporting their players undergo "successful" surgery: "Grant Hill had five successful surgeries. Somehow he could never play after them, but they were called a success. They're all called successes and that means the guy lived through it, which is a success, I guess."
Changing of the Guard
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus attributes some of the Magic's defensive struggles to Howard and Jameer Nelson. However, he believes Howard will foul less frequently as the season progresses, which will have a positive effect on the team's defense as a while.

The league's best defensive team a year ago has struggled at times this season. Orlando has been playing some makeshift lineups with Rashard Lewis suspended until Monday and a variety of players hobbled. Still, the poor start has been a cause for alarm for the Magic, with Stan Van Gundy criticizing the defensive efforts of Jameer Nelson and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard. Before Nelson was sidelined by a torn meniscus, Orlando was 4.6 points worse per 100 possessions on defense with him on the floor. Oddly, while the sample size is small, no other full-time starter has been a net minus defensively. As for Howard, his blocked-shot rate is down from last year's 5.9 percent to 4.4 percent, more in line with his career numbers. Equally troubling is that Howard's foul rate is up from 4.2 percent of possessions last year to 6.0 percent this season. Howard is too good not to improve on that, which will help the Magic's defense as a whole.
Mentoring the young guys
On his official blog, Howard writes about how he tries to help young players in the same way Tony Battie, Grant Hill, and Rasheed Wallace did when he was new to the league.
Where might Monta Ellis end up? Let’s scour the field: Philly, Miami, Memphis
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News considers potential trade partners for the Golden State Warriors, as shooting guard Monta Ellis has requested to be dealt. He says the Magic might be interested, but ultimately leaves them off the final list of six suitors.
Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings is taking the league by storm
Although this link isn't directly related to today's Magic, I thought it was pertinent. Bucks coach Scott Skiles, a former Magic point guard, explains what makes the electrifying rookie Brandon Jennings so lethal. His quote reminded me a bit of Jameer Nelson.

"He's one of those guys who has vision and can score without dominating the ball. It's easy to say I want a point guard to run my club and all that, but in the NBA a point guard has got to score some points for you, and he can do both," coach Scott Skiles said before Milwaukee's 99-85 victory over New Jersey on Wednesday night, in which Jennings scored 19 points.
UPDATE: NBA.com: League's best one-on-one defenders get plenty of help
John Schuhmann of NBA.com found that the New Jersey Nets have done the best job of defending L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant in recent years, in no small part due to current Magic guard Vince Carter's efforts. (HT: ben_gleicher)

The Lakers won five of the six games the two teams played in the last three years, but in none of the six did Bryant shoot better than 33 percent from the field.

Vince Carter was the primary defender on Bryant in those games (something to keep in mind when the Magic and Lakers meet again), but fellow ex-Nets Richard Jefferson, Jason Kidd and Antoine Wright also took their turns. As a team, the Nets did a great job of keeping Bryant out of the paint and forcing him to shoot jumpers. And when he did, they borrowed a page from [Shane] Battier's book and got a hand in his face almost every time.