SB Nation - Manu Ginobili

Game 31 Preview: Blazers vs. Spurs

Dave — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Glenn James - NBAE/Getty Images

Ladies and Gentlemen, the solution to all your problems: The Chosen 'Wan.

Game Time: 5:30pm Pacific TV: Comcast

OK...so girls in movies where guys wear hockey masks have a better survival rate than the average Blazer player. And if this were a video game every one of us would have cursed the heavens and hit the power button by now. But this isn't your 360 hoops hit, it's the NBA. And that means injured heads, shoulders, knees, and toes notwithstanding there's a game tonight. It matters to both teams, each of which is still in playoff position. So shove yesterday's pain aside and let us get down to business.

The Spurs have charted a precarious course to their 15-10 record. Their November 11^th win against the Mavericks stands as their only victory against a high-level (or even good-level) team so far this season. On the other hand they've feasted against teams considered decent or worse. The difference between the two performances boils down to defense. Great teams brush off San Antonio's defense and the Spurs have trouble mounting enough offense to keep up. Teams that succumb to their defensive wiles cause them no trouble.

If there's a single sign that the Spurs have boarded the escalator down from league elite status it is their defense. Don't get me wrong...they're still good. They're 12^th in the league in defensive efficiency, 15^th in opponent shooting percentage, and 6^th in defensive rebounding percentage. But that's a far cry from the years when they hung "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here" signs in the opponent's locker room tunnel. They have the desire and the know-how, just not the roster. Gone are the days when Tim Duncan alone would rule the paint, allowing any random defenders to look good outside. The slower version of Duncan does what he can to keep up but when you're looking at the Matt Bonners and Michael Finleys of the world (and when all of your other big men are ancient) the help just isn't there. They allow opponents to score in the paint. You can fast break on them. It's a different world.

The offense, on the other hand, remains strong. Duncan is the leading scorer but Parker spearheads the attack as usual. Manu Ginobili can't hit anything but a three-pointer this year, which is somewhat inhibiting. Richard Jefferson is doing OK but hasn't made the impact they hoped on either end of the floor. Consistency has been a major issue for him. The Spurs rely on the three and have multiple supporting players who can shoot it. They generate free throws but have a hard time hitting them. Those extra points give them the margin they need when opponents move faster, take better care of the ball, and get up more shots. All of that said, if you can take away any leg of the Spurs' attack you have a good chance of toppling them. They don't have offensive juggernauts stashed away. What you see is what you get: efficient, practiced, and coming pretty close to maxing out their potential.

The truly dangerous part of the evening is that, unlike Dallas, San Antonio will be fully expecting the Blazers lineup that shows up tonight. No middle, maybe no leading scorer, paper-thin bench. They're going to be looking to exploit us. The only way out of that is to play through it and play harder.

Keys to the Game

1. The Blazers have to find some way to keep up on the boards in this game. Both teams like to control the pace and the action. Rebounds are the key to success.

2. As we said about last night's game, the defensive rebounding prowess of this team will likely take away one of the planks of Portland's attack: the offensive rebound. The best way to counter that is to not need offensive rebounds, which means making your shots.

3. I don't see Portland winning if they can't hit their threes.

4. Tony Parker is a PAIN for the Blazers. You have to make him defend to have a chance. If he can just relax, run, and shoot he'll bury our defensively-challenged guards. Whoever he defends can't just hang in the corner waiting for the ball tonight.

5. Whoever plays off-guard, whether it's Brandon or Bayless, is going to have to score to make this work. Jerryd, if this is your night make it your night. If Roy's not playing the light is green from the opening tip. Get ‘em.

Check out what Spurs fans have to say at PoundingtheRock.

Enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here. Remember even if you're too far behind to win the prize this month you do get points towards the playoffs for being consistently decent and you can win a jersey instantly with a perfect 100 score.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game Preview #23: San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors

CapHill — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:09:12 -0000

Thank you, Suns. Why don't you stomp on it too.

Well, that was fun. I hate losing, especially when you manage to crawl out of the abyss, but then fail to close out on the best 3-point shooters in the League!

More doom and gloom after the jump.

Please, FSM, I can't take much more.

I thought that I would have some time to distance myself and do a real preview, but no, this is a SEGABABA. Crap. It's Game #23 and, according to Lauri, it's okay if I start panicking. Time to redo that poll, dfjmed. (My "Now" vote isn't looking so crazy, is it?)

San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors
Where: ORACLE Arena - Oakland, CA
When: December 16, 2009, 9:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSNSW

How They Stack Up


10-4	Home	4-5
2-6	Road	3-12
101.8	Offense	107.0
96.6	Defense	111.7
48.0	FG%	47.1
39.2	3-pt%	36.9
73.8	FT%	78.2
42.0	Rebounds	37.0
14.2	TOs	16.3
7-3	Last 10	2-8
Lost 1	Streak	Lost 3
2nd, Southwest	Position	5th, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	12:30 AM
West Coast	7:30 PM
Philippines	11:30 AM
Central Europe	4:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	5:30 AM
East Coast	10:30 PM
Last Night's Massacre	8:30 PM
Perth, AUS	11:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	12:30 PM
Sydney, AUS	1:30 AM

Spurs (12-10)	Matchups	Warriors (7-17)
Tony Parker Meh	Point Guard Tony still seems to be having trouble integrating to the new offense. Plus, he seems a step slower. However, he actually is a point guard, unlike Curry, who's a shooting guard (emphasis on shooting) in a supermodel's body. Advantage: Spurs	Stephen Curry Not a Point Guard

Keith Bogans Meh	Shooting Guard Bogans is another one of those players whose contributions don't always show up in the box score. However, his non-boxscore contributions haven't been showing up lately either. Ellis isn't really big enough to play the 2, having a supermodel frame just like Curry. However, dude can shoot the damn ball. Advantage: Warriors	Monta Ellis Not a Point Guard

Richard Jefferson Meh	Small Forward RJ is still not showing up during some games. Morrow is a young kid who hasn't been starting the whole year. I could probably figure out who has the advantage by looking at advanced statistics, but I don't feel like it. Advantage: Neither	Anthony Morrow Summer League Stud

Tim Duncan Spurs' Savior	Power Forward I don't know why we even bother with rating this position. Timmeh is far superior to any Power Forward out there - don't even try arguing. Hollinger's PER compooper can't comprehend the greatness that is Tim Duncan, even though he's old and can't play anymore. Take that, you freakin' "experts". Advantage: Spurs	Vladimir Radmanovic Laker Cast Off

Antonio McDyess Meh	Center McDyess has been down lately. We need to see the boards and the pretty jumper come back. Mikki Moore has the height to play the center position, but not much else. With the way Dice has played the last few games, no one deserves the advantage here. Advantage: Neither	Mikki Moore Token Big Man

DeJuan Blair BAM	Bench & Role Players Corey Maggette seems to be the first player off the bench, but the Dubs also have Anthony Randolph, the other Summer League Stud. However, we have DeBeast, who will promptly dive on the floor to recover the flailing arms that he has ripped out of the sockets of the Warriors' front court. I love this guy! Oh, and we have Manu Ginobili and George Hill too. They're not bad. Advantage: Spurs	Corey Maggette Who Knows

Gregg Popovich No Beard for Mojo	Coach Even though we don't always agree with Pop and his crazy small ball lineups, at least we don't have to deal with Nelson and his game-by-game, throw the dice decision-making process when filling out the lineup card. Advantage: Spurs	Don Nelson Mr. Crazy Lineups
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
Intangibles
We really, really, really, really, really need a road win, especially against a team that's this bad at home. Advantage: Spurs
Mojo
We have none, after the Suns killed us. But then, the Dubs just lost to the Sixers. It's a tie for crappy karma. Apparently, both teams suck at sacrificing chickens. Advantage: Neither
Winner: The Spurs (I Hope)
The Spurs need another victory after that heartbreaking loss to the Suns. The Warriors want to trade all of their players. It should be a blowout, but it'll probably be too close for comfort. Prediction: Spurs win by less than 10.

Keys To The Game

Starters Show Up - Other than Timmeh, our starters have been wildly inconsistent this year. We can't continue to depend on Duncan to carry the team in the first quarter, or depend on BAM to pull our butts out of the fire.
No Crappy Quarters - Each game, the Spurs have one really bad quarter, or two, or three. It's hard to win when you start the game in a 20 point hole. No more RQCs (thank you, romes).
Defense - Defense is supposed to be a hallmark of the Spurs - not this year. Too many open 3s, too many easy jaunts down the lane - this is NOT acceptable and needs to be cleaned up.

Strength of Schedule

This is a SEGABABA on the road, after another crappy road loss, TO THE SUNS. This does not bode well for the team or our livers.

The Warriors are coming off of a road loss to the Sixers. However, they will be playing on one day of rest, at home. But the Dubs are less than .500 at home, so who knows.

Last Time They Met

Our last meeting with the Warriors was November 25th. We won 118-104, but not because of our defense on Ellis. Monta went off for 42 points, but no other Warrior did much. We had six players score double digits.

Here's some old school Bernard King and the Warriors vs. Iceman and the Spurs.

And now for my second favorite playoff upset of all times.

Some Other Reading

Warriors

Golden State of Mind - The Warriors' SBN blog is one of the most enjoyable blogs around. You gotta give it to Warriors fans, no matter how hard Nelly tries to destroy this franchise, the fans just keep coming and coming at you in waves.
Warriors World - The TrueHoop blog for the Dubs. Their tagline says it all: "We Got Suck and Salary Protection." Perfect.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Best damn TrueHoop affiliate out there. Always a must visit Spurs site.
Project Spurs: Features live chats, call-in shows and podcasts, with lots of content. Give 'em a try.

Twitter Musings

Nothing worth sharing (unless you count some more LOLs by Blair), but you can always find all the official Spurs Sports & Entertainment Twitter accounts here: http://twitter.com/spurs/official/members

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be aired on FSN Southwest. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel. And of course, there's always League Pass for the haves. For the have nots, read on.

Online

As always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Most Spurs games will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area.

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.

NBA 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).

Game Preview: Suns vs Spurs

PanamaSun — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:01:26 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Alvin Gentry will go against one of the best coaches in the league and a colleague he's known for 30 plus years.

Browse more photos »

The Phoenix Suns will play hosts of the San Antonio Spurs tonight as they seek to remain perfect at home. Playing the Spurs is always fun and painful at the same time. Whenever I see their uniforms I can't help but to remember all the times they have broken my heart.

I've been bitter for days because of them. I've punched the wall, yelled at my friends, fought with my significant other, fought with my Mother In Law for fighting with my significant other, screwed up reports at work, I've forgotten important appointments and I've even kicked my dog... and I love my dog.

Interesting enough, I don't have any bad feelings towards them. I've tried to hate them, I've tried to channel my anger and convince myself that they are the bad guys. Nothing. All I feel is respect and admiration. They are disciplined and deadly accurate when running plays on both ends of the floor and all you can do is just shake your head and wish your team would execute in crunch time just like they do.

But this year the Spurs are struggling. They have been playing better as of late but their season has not started the way everyone predicted. Their off season moves looked very good on paper but they have had a hard time adjusting to Pop's system.

I wanted to ask a few questions to the enemy so I contacted Austechspur, fellow blogger from our brother SBN Blog Pounding the Rock, and he was kind enough to answer my inquiries.

His responses after the jump!

P-Sun: The Spurs are 12-9 as of today. You guys are used to a slow start and then picking it up in the middle of the season. Do you feel confident it will happen this year or do you have reasons to be concerned?

AustechSpur: I feel that we have a very good team and that we will get better, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little concerned as well. We all thought we would be better at the start of the season and then turn into a juggernaut, which is what you have to be in order to have a chance to win it this year. We have a rather pedestrian 12-9 record with a pretty easy schedule. I think we will pick it up during the season, but we have LOT of picking up to do to get to the top.

P-Sun: It's early in the season but do you feel the off seasonn moves (Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Keith Bogans) have improved your team?

AustechSpur: It's really hard to say. We are different this year and we are different in two ways. We are different in that we have new faces for a change. It's been several years since we have had to new players in the top of the rotation. We are different in that the team is a little more athletic with less defined roles. I'm not really sure how the three new guys fit into the offense and I'm not sure they know how they fit into the offense. Athletically, we should be much better than the last few years. But, until that translates into guys knowing where they need to be and shutting down opponents and making shots, I'm reserving judgment.

P-Sun: DeJuan Blair is playing really well for you guys. How important is this kid to the Spurs franchise and what are the areas you feel he needs to improve?

AustechSpur: DeJuan Blair is an absolute beast. He brought tremendous skills with him and he's getting better very quickly. He's learning to use his giant body on defense. I have no doubt that he will be a very good player. If he can learn to hit the mid-range jumper, he will be a border line all-star in the league for the next 10 years. If you watch one thing with him, check out his feel for the game around the rim. He has TREMENDOUS touch.

P-Sun: Have you had the chance to watch the Suns play this season? What are your thoughts about our team?

AustechSpur: No, I haven't seen them at all.

P-Sun: It seems that no one can stop Steve Nash this season. Now that Bruce Bowen is no longer a Spur, what do you think Pop will do to try to slow him down? Who's the "stopper" on the team now?

AustechSpur: Do you remember this joke? Q: Who is the only person that could keep Michael Jordan under 20 points per game? A: Dean Smith. Replace Jordan with Nash and Smith with Porter. Steve Nash is just fantastic in space. It's his game. We don't' really have a replacement for Bowen who is the one-stop shop for all defense from Steve Nash to Dirk Nowitzki. I expect Steve will see a whole lot of George Hill. George has the perfect attributes to deal with Steve. He's quick enough to stay with him and he has ridiculously long arms to harass passes. That's all you can do with Steve anyway.

P-Sun: What is it about the Spurs system that it takes so long for new players to learn it?

AustechSpur: I'll refer you to this article by DK Wilson for FoxSports.com http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10471634/Spurs-not-yet-jelled,-but-could-still-turn-into-force and this quote from Antonio McDyess "Everything here is so exact; every play there's so much detail." Apparently, the Spurs are VERY particular about every little detail and where you should be. I think this causes players to think instead of play for a while. I get the sense that Pop rarely says, "Just go out and play your game."

Let's take a look at the key match-ups for tonight's game

Guards

Everyone that plays the Suns try to do different things to slow Nash down. They try guarding him with a small but pesky player, they try switching to a big man, they try double teaming him. Nothing works. Truth is that Steve Nash is playing amazing basketball and I don't even remember if he has had a bad game all season. Pop is smart and he might try different things to keep Nash under control. Like Austechspur said, we might see a George Hill on him. He might bother Steve with his quickness and length. Good luck George, you are going to need it.

On the other hand we have Tony Parker. In the last two games he has had assists in the double digits but has also been a turnover prone. The Suns need to keep him under control and limit his baskets in the paint. We can afford him scoring but the Suns can't let him get his teammates involved. Depending on how he's playing, I expect to see different defenders on him.

Manu Ginobili is still dangerous. He has had very good games this season and when he plays up to his talent the Spurs are almost unbeatable. He has been slowed down by injuries and this has taken a toll on his defense. Once a feared and hated defender, Ginobili has noticeably lost a step. The Suns should take advantage of this and drive to the hole on him.

Forwards

Amar'e has been playing really well. He continues to be very efficient from the field but everyone has noticed that he's not as explosive as he once was. That's what recovering from an eye surgery will do to you. I expect him to continue making those jump shots to keep the Spurs defense guessing. This is a big game for him.

Timmy Duncan has been playing out of his mind. Just like with Nash, everyone doubted he would have an excellent season. He's knees are holding up quite well but that doesn't mean that Spurs fans don't cringe whenever he goes down on the hardwood. Channing Frye will get a chance to defend him and if he get's in foul trouble Robin Lopez will have his hands full with him.

Richard Jefferson is averaging 13.7 point per game. He has struggled offensively and I expect Hill to be on his grill. We need to keep him under control. We already have our hands full with Duncan and Parker.

Predictions

The fact that the Suns are at home, where they have played really well, gives them an advantage over a Spurs team who's still working on their on-court chemistry. The Suns are always fired up to play against them and they'll come out firing. They just need to be consistent throughout 48 minutes of basketball and not throw away any early leads. I feel confident that the Suns will win this one.

Game Links:

Spurs vs Suns coverage
Spurs vs Suns preview
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - The Imperial March
The magic number is 100 for most teams. For Phoenix, it's fittingly higher at 104. When the Suns score less than that this season, they are 2-8. When they score at least that, they are 14-0.
Will Hill and Billups Receive Hall Passes? -- NBA FanHouse
Hill looked to have a sure-fire Hall pass when he came out of Duke in 1994 and starred for six seasons for Detroit. But Hill, after signing with Orlando in 2000, had numerous ankle problems that nearly wrecked his career. Between 2000-04, he played in just 47 of 264 possible games.
Game Preview #22: San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns - Pounding The Rock
Preview for Spurs-Suns, complete with Nash-photoshopping link.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/15/09 3:31 PM MST ]

Video's via Suns.com from today

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, 8:00 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	11:00 PM
West Coast	5:00 PM
Philippines	9:00 AM
Central Europe	2:00 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:00 AM
East Coast	8:00 PM
The Land Time Forgot	7:00 PM
Perth, AUS	9:00 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:00 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:00 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 Stoudemire 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

George 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.

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).

10 YEARS OF STIFFDOM: A Decade Retrospective...

Andrew Feinstein — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:04:03 -0000

Who knew that at the beginning of the '00s - with none other than Dan Issel in charge - that the Nuggets would end up having a successful and often thrilling decade? Here's a look back at the last 10 years of Denver Nuggets basketball...

At the conclusion of the 1990s, the Nuggets were in utter disarray. As documented in detail here at Denver Stiffs, this once proud and respected franchise had been turned into an NBA laughingstock thanks to a lethal combination of ineptitude, incompetence, and ignorance. Between 1990 and 1999, the Nuggets made the playoffs just twice and Nuggets fans were forced to endure seasons with win totals under 40 games eight times (including the lockout shortened 1998-99 season in which the Nuggets would likely have "won" about 25 games had an 82-game season been played out). We witnessed five seasons in which the Nuggets won less than 24 games, and in 1997-98 the 11-win Nuggets won less games than the Broncos that year.

Making matters worse throughout the 1990s, the Nuggets never caught a break. Even though they participated in eight NBA Draft lotteries, twice sported the worst record in the NBA (1990-91 and again after that infamous 1997-98 campaign) and had a bottom-four record five total times, the highest pick they were ever rewarded was third (which Issel promptly screwed up by drafting Raef LaFrentz over Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Antawn Jamison). We missed out on all the game-changing draftees of the 1990s: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber and Tim Duncan. And a freak knee injury sustained by rising star LaPhonso Ellis in 1994 would prove to be the undoing of the Nuggets only good team of the decade: the 1993-94 squad that had just stunned the NBA world by beating the number-one seeded Seattle Supersonics in the playoffs before taking the Utah Jazz to seven in Round 2.

But make no mistake about it, the Nuggets problems throughout the 1990s were self-inflicted. Cartoonish figures such as Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, the Comsat "Corporation," Paul Westhead, Bernie Bickerstaff, Allan Bristow and finally, Issel, made every wrong/bad decision possible, leaving the Nuggets organization in tatters until Stanley E. Kroenke rescued the franchise in 2000 with his purchase of the team. Upon arrival, Kroenke made it clear that he wanted to win and win now, and thus set in motion a series of events that produced one of the better decades in franchise history...

2000-2001 (40-42, no playoffs)

In an increasingly tough Western Conference, the Nuggets remarkably won 40 games but were still seven games off the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. While a 40-win season would normally be a good thing having come off a 35-win season, team "president", "head coach" and dictator Dan Issel had already mortgaged the Nuggets future by sending away numerous first round picks in order to build that 40-win team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Antonio McDyess

Coming off a gold-medal winning performance in the Sydney Olympics, McDyess was a stud in 2000-01. The quiet, dignified power forward averaged 20.8 ppg, 12.1 rpg and 1.5 bpg and even made the All-Star team.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

The aforementioned Issel had previously (and foolishly) traded away the Nuggets own first round picks for 1999, 2000 and 2001 - all lottery picks, mind you - and after an assortment of complicated, even more stupid deals, for those picks he essentially brought back Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Kevin Willis (on the very wrong side of his career), Voshon Lenard and Tracy Murray. But that was just off-the-court. On-the-court, Issel was a tyrant with his players and the refs. At one point, his players were so fed up with the way he was treating Raef LaFrentz (a draft bust of Issel's own making) and others, that point guard Nick Van Exel led a player boycott of practice.

2001-02 (27-55, no playoffs)

After years of overpaying for mediocre players and parting with valuable first round picks in exchange for nothing, the wheels finally came off the Issel Administration and the Nuggets fell apart in 2001-02, precipitated by a major knee injury to McDyess that caused him to miss all but 10 games of the season. Prior to the season starting, Kroenke - either sensing that Issel had too much power, was too incompetent or both - astutely hired Kiki Vandeweghe as GM to a five-year contract.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

After Issel "resigned" the day after Christmas (more on that shortly), Vandeweghe gutted out the roster and made a controversial move that would put the Nuggets on the path of success they still enjoy today. Knowing the Nuggets were going nowhere with the expensive roster he inherited, Vandeweghe boldly shipped out Van Exel, LaFrentz, Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson (another overpayee thanks to Issel) to Dallas in exchange for Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey and a future first round pick. When the Nuggets eventually met the Mavericks in the 2009 playoffs second round, I detailed how that major trade actually brought the two once dormant franchises together.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

"Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit!" Those nine words - uttered by Issel towards a heckling Hispanic Nuggets fan after a December 10th loss to the Charlotte Hornets - were exactly what Kroenke and Vandeweghe needed to kick Issel out the door. Issel, a Nuggets legend as a player, had built up so much great PR in the community (he still has some...note Woody Paige's ludicrous suggestion that the Nuggets bring Issel back to the organization last year) that he would have been tough to fire otherwise. After serving a four-game suspension, Issel "resigned" on December 26th, 2001 and unfortunately for Issel, things haven't exactly worked out for him since.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Tim Hardaway

Unlike Howard who - knowing playing in Denver would be a brutal, losing situation - accepted the trade to the Nuggets and behaved like a total professional during his time here (it helps when you're getting paid $18.8 and then $20.1 million per season!), Hardaway was a petulant, angry brat who never got over leaving Dallas where he was hoping to gravy train his way into an NBA Championship. After starting 14 games for the Nuggets, Hardaway unleashed his anger on a TV monitor by throwing it onto the floor and getting himself suspended two games.

2002-03 (17-65, no playoffs)

Entering the 2002-03 NBA season, Vandeweghe purposefully compiled the worst roster in modern NBA history in hopes of tanking enough games to win the first pick in the draft (knowing that on the horizon was one of the better drafts in NBA history). The Nuggets starting back court of Vincent Yarbrough and Junior Harrington couldn't crack a 14-man roster the following season, and the rest of the roster was littered with names you already don't remember. Armed with two lottery picks - thanks to a great trade that sent McDyess to New York in exchange for Marcus Camby and the Knicks lottery pick - Vandeweghe drafted Nene and some skinny kid from Georgia, and I'm not talking about the university (more on him shortly).

Non-Stiff of the Year: Jeff Bzdelik

In spite of being dealt the worst hand ever dealt a coach in modern NBA history, rookie head coach Jeff Bzdelik refused to make excuses, worked his ass off and was able to get 17 wins out of our Nuggets. I'd argue that was 17 more wins than they should have had and Bzdelik should have gotten Coach of the Year consideration. The Nuggets were awful talent-wise, but they played harder than their opponent almost every night.

Stiff of the Year: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Drafted fifth overall out of the Republic of Georgia, "Skita" has since gone down in history as the worst fifth overall pick of all time (and believe me, there have been some bad fifth overall picks). Given ample opportunity to succeed in his first season, Skita - listed at seven-feet tall - shot 29.3% from the field as a rookie. At a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers, I once saw Skita shoot a wide open shot in which the ball hit the shot clock first before getting anywhere near the backboard or rim.

2003-04 (43-39, 1-4 in the playoffs)

A full 10 years after upsetting the Sonics in the playoffs, the Nuggets finally got their act together and Coloradoans cared about basketball again. Unable to shake the Nuggets streak of bad luck with the Draft Lottery, Vandeweghe got lucky nonetheless thanks to Detroit GM Joe Dumars' stupidly drafting Darko Milicic (i.e. Skita 2.0), leaving Syracuse star/stud Carmelo Anthony available with the third overall pick. And with Howard's giant contract coming off the books, Vandeweghe was finally able to spend Kroenke's money. Free agent signees Andre Miller, Jon Barry and Earl Boykins joined Melo, Nene and a healthy Camby. Under Bzdelik's stewardship, the Nuggets won 43 games and put up a respectable fight against the Timberwolves in the playoffs first round. As fans, we were happy just to be in the playoffs!

Non-Stiff of the Year: Carmelo Anthony

For the first time since Alex English last donned a rainbow jersey, the Nuggets had a perennial All-Star caliber player in Melo. As a rookie, Melo averaged 21 ppg and 6.1 rpg while giving fellow rookie phenom LeBron James a run for the Rookie of the Year Award. But more importantly, Melo led the Nuggets back to the postseason in a hyper-competitive Western Conference, whereas LBJ couldn't do the same in Cleveland in the weakened Eastern Conference.

Stiff of the Year: Rodney White

Playing for his next contract after his rookie deal was due to expire in two seasons, White gave the Nuggets next-to-nothing in 2003-04 even though he appeared in 72 games and received 14 minutes of playing time per game. Just a few years removed from being the ninth overall pick to Detroit (ahem...Joe Dumars again), White would be out of the NBA completely after the 2004-05 campaign. But hey, at least he was nominated for the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame!

2004-05 (49-33, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Wanting to build upon the Nuggets newly found success (and at Kroenke's alleged insistence), Vandeweghe spent the entire 2004 offseason shopping for a big name free agent to bring to Denver. After being turned down by Manu Ginobili and Brad Miller, Vandeweghe panicked and got duped into sending three number one picks to New Jersey for Kenyon Martin in a sign-and-trade deal. K-Mart's price tag? $90 million over seven seasons. Under immense pressure to win more games, Bzdelik and the Nuggets floundered out of the gate, starting out 13-15 before Bzdelik got sacked and replaced by a former WNBA coach (Michael Cooper) who went 4-10 as coach of the team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Inheriting a 17-25 team loaded with talent but without any direction and big egos to boot, Karl's no-nonsense, "my way or the highway" approach immediately turned the Nuggets fortunes around. With only 40 games to work with, Karl guided the Nuggets to a 32-8 record (the best in NBA history after a mid-season coaching switch) and had the Nuggets playing the best basketball in the NBA down the stretch of the regular season.

Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

By acquiring K-Mart, Vandeweghe essentially panicked while throwing away all of the salary cap flexibility he had worked so hard and smartly to cultivate. But worse than that, Vandeweghe was eerily silent while Bzdelik was left to twist in the wind as the Nuggets struggled early in the season. Vandeweghe never publicly defended the one man willing to coach the dreadful 2002-03 roster that Vandeweghe had assembled, and Kiki made matters worse by bringing in Cooper to take over as head coach. The Cooper hire cost the Nuggets a higher playoff seed.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Carmelo Anthony

Melo couldn't stay out of trouble in 2004. First, he was cited for marijuana possession at DIA that his cousin conveniently took the blame for (the old "that wasn't my pot!" excuse). Second, he feuded with Olympic coach Larry Brown in Athens and found himself benched on the 2004 Team USA that embarrassingly finished with a bronze medal. Third - and perhaps the worst/dumbest - Melo was caught on a "Stop Snitching" DVD in which alleged drug dealers explain what happens to people who cooperate with the police. Melo didn't improve much on the floor, either, and found himself (rightfully) in Karl's doghouse early and often.

2005-06 (44-38, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Unable to build off the team's incredible run under Karl to conclude the previous season, injuries ravaged the Nuggets and they limped their way to a 44-38 record. K-Mart and Camby missed 26 games apiece and most tragically, Nene succumbed to the Nuggets power forward curse and was lost for the season with an ACL and MCL tear after just one game. At the time, the Nuggets marketing and PR team spun the season as as success under the guise of "Northwest Division Champs" and that the Nuggets were a three-seed entering the postseason. But this was before the NBA properly seeded division winners who have mediocre records. The Nuggets were such a weak three-seed, that the Clippers purposely tanked games to face them in the first round...and when they got their wish, the Clippers clocked the Nuggets in five games. Oh, and that was the Clippers only playoff series win since becoming the Clippers in 1978. Overall, the season was a mess from from the top down (as chronicled in detail at the time by the Denver Post's Thomas George). Vandeweghe would be let go at season's end and was replaced by Mark Warkentien (and eventually Rex Chapman, too). Dysfunction, egos and injuries had set the Nuggets back a few steps.

Non-Stiff of the Year: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller

Melo and Miller played in 80 and 82 games, respectively, and carried the Nuggets in 2005-06. Melo improved his scoring average by over six points per game and his field goal percentage went up, as well. Miller - the modern day NBA "iron man" even if he doesn't condition well in the offseason - was a steady hand as always, starting in all 82 games and dishing out over eight assists per game.

Stiff of the Year: Kenyon Martin

Recovering from microfracture surgery and frustrated by knee tendinitis, K-Mart was pretty surly for much of the season and was morphing into a locker room cancer. He allegedly didn't get along with coaches or teammates (according to George's article, K-Mart's teammates questioned his commitment to recovery and work ethic) and it all came to an ugly head during halftime of Game 2 at Los Angeles, when K-Mart went at it with Karl and several teammates. K-Mart was benched for the remainder of the game and eventually su spended for the duration of the series.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Reggie Evans

As perhaps a microcosm of the dysfunction and lack of respect for the game that was taking over the Nuggets, "The Joker" grabbed Clippers center Chris Kaman's testicles while fighting for a rebound during Game 1 of the Clippers series.

2006-07 (45-37, 1-4 in the playoffs)

In spite of it being K-Mart's turn to succumb to the Nuggets power forward curse (he would play just two games all season) and losing their first three straight games by a total of five points, the Nuggets would win 12 of their first 21 games with Melo playing the best basketball of his career. That all changed abruptly on Saturday, December 16th, 2006. In New York facing the Knicks (who had embarrassingly beaten the Nuggets in Denver in Game 3 of the season), the Nuggets found themselves up 19 with 75 seconds to go. Karl - alleged by some to want to rub the victory in Knicks coach Isiah Thomas' face (Thomas had recently sandbagged Karl's good friend Larry Brown) - left his starters on the floor, prompting Thomas to send in his "goon squad" and make the Nuggets pay. What began as a hard, unnecessary, dangerous, around-the-neck foul on J.R. Smith by the Knicks' Mardy Collins erupted into a full-scale brawl...culminating with Melo's cheap shot punch on Collins. Melo would be suspended 15 games and Smith 10, prompting Nuggets management to attempt to salvage the season by bringing in super star guard Allen Iverson from Philadelphia in exchange for Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

Welcomed with open arms by Nuggets fans and his new teammates, Iverson made an immediate impact on the Nuggets (on and off the floor, in good ways and bad). But with Melo out 15 games, Iverson was able to keep the Nuggets afloat and competitive almost by himself. When Melo and Iverson finally got to play together for a long stretch, the Nuggets reeled off nine straight wins and 10 of 11 to finish out the season strong as the hottest team in the NBA.

Stiff of the Year: Isiah Thomas

In addition to sinking the Raptors as an incompetent vice president, sinking the CBA in a summer as an incompetent commissioner and sinking the Knicks as an incompetent president/coach/alleged sexual harrasser (hell, Isiah was an incompetent broadcaster, too), Isiah would sink the Nuggets season in one fell swoop by commandeering his players to take out the Nuggets starters in that game.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith

Even though Isiah "started it," Melo and J.R. were unable to keep their heads cool and unnecessarily exacerbated an already ugly situation, ruining the Nuggets entire season as a result.

2007-08 (50-32, 0-4 in the playoffs)

Entering 2007-08, the Nuggets would finally have a training camp with their full roster participating from the get-go. With Melo and Iverson having ample time to play together, optimism in Denver was higher than it had been since entering the 2004-05 campaign. So high was the optimism, in fact, that Kroenke had over $83 million invested in the team's payroll (second or third highest in the league at the time) and Melo and K-Mart started floating out "60 wins" as a realistic goal. But even with Iverson appearing in all 82 games, Camby playing 79, Melo 77, K-Mart 71 and vast improvements seen in the games of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets weren't able to secure a playoff spot (an eighth seed no less) until the 79th game of the season with a big win at Golden State. As an eighth seed, the Nuggets got worked over by the Lakers in an embarrassing four-game sweep: a series which saw Melo bark at Karl "don't just sit there!" and the benching of Iverson early in Game 3 that didn't go over well. Prior to the Nuggets final regular season game, Melo would get arrested on suspicion of a DUI. It became evident that the A.I. experiment was an expensive failure.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Nene

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoing surgery to remove his right testicle, Nene remarkably returned to play again on March 27th against the Mavericks, giving the Nuggets a much needed emotional boost that helped them secure a playoff spot down the stretch.

Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Stuck in an admittedly tumultuous and difficult situation, Karl spent much of the 2007-08 sitting on his hands during games while the Nuggets unraveled on the court. While the Nuggets head coach got called for just one technical foul all season (second to last in the NBA), his players finished in the top two in personal fouls, technical fouls, flagrant fouls and ejections. The inmates were running the asylum as Karl's coaching record in Denver got extended to a paltry 3-16 over four years. Karl would later admit to SI.com that "...the last couple of years, I was confused." Watching Karl's Nuggets routinely take nights off that season, so were we.

2008-09 (54-28, 10-6 in the playoffs)

Disappointed with his lack of return on investment, Kroenke gave an edict to management to slash payroll during the 2008 offseason. Camby would be shipped out to the Clippers in exchange for a trade exception, coach and fan favorite Eduardo Najera would not be re-signed, Iverson's contract wouldn't be extended and things were looking grim entering the 2008-09 campaign. But what loomed as a disaster instead became a season of reformation and rejuvenation. Karl came into training camp as "Fiery George" again, Melo won a gold medal with Team USA and learned a thing or two from Kobe Bryant on what an NBA work ethic really is and K-Mart, fully healthy, came into camp with an apology to his coach and teammates and a vow to work harder and play better. With former NBA castaways Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Dahntay Jones added for next-to-nothing (by NBA salary standards) and Nene in real basketball shape for the first time ever, the Nuggets were quietly confident that they had a special season on their hands.

The lone chink in the Nuggets newfound armor would be Iverson who, upset by not receiving a contract extension, showed up to camp out of shape and several steps slow. Remarkably, Nuggets management was able to pull off one of the great trades in Nuggets history by shipping Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups. By adding Billups to a roster primed to take off, the Nuggets would shock the basketball world by tying a franchise record with 54 wins and going toe-to-toe with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Simply put, it was the greatest full season of Nuggets basketball since the 1984-85 Nuggets made it to the conference finals and hopefully a sign of more good things to come in the decade ahead.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Chauncey Billups

The Denver-born Billups - who had been cast off by Issel years earlier without ever given a fair hearing as a Nugget - immediately proved to be the perfect leader for the Nuggets. Coming off six consecutive conference finals appearances with the Pistons, Billups would make it seven when he led the Nuggets there.

Non-Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Nuggets Management and George Karl

After years of placing talent over character, the Nuggets GM "troika" of Warkentien, Chapman and team adviser Bret Bearup had assembled a roster stocked with good character guys and also deserve credit for not panicking after the 2008 playoff debacle. Warkentien would be rewarded with the NBA's Executive of the Year Award, but it should have been shared by all three guys. Karl, meanwhile, turned in one of his finest performances as an NBA head coach while bridging whatever gap had existed between him and his mercurial stars Melo, J.R. and K-Mart.

Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

The NBA will soon be announcing their "All Decade Team" and it will be fascinating to see if A.I. makes the squad. One of the greatest players of the decade, Iverson ultimately proved to be a bad fit for the Nuggets and a bad influence on Melo and J.R. This became painfully clear when the Pistons imploded after bringing Iverson on board in exchange for Billups.

Overall, the '00s were a great decade for Nuggets basketball: six straight playoff appearances, two 50-plus win seasons, All-Star players and thrilling performances (how many game-tying and game-winning shots has Melo made?!). And while it would have been nice to see a few more playoff series victories prior to last season, the memories of the Bickerstaff and Issel Administrations are still prominent enough for me to appreciate what's been going on recently.

Fortunately for Nuggets fans, four of our best players - Melo, J.R., Nene and rookie Ty Lawson - still have many seasons ahead of them and hopefully will remain in a Nuggets uniform into the next decade. At the very least, we're guaranteed that the new decade starts out reasonably well and it will be fascinating to see where this franchise is standing in 2020.

Thanks for the memories and Go Nuggets!!

Photos courtesy of AP and NBAE/Getty Images

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.

Preview: Kings at Spurs

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

by Darren Abate - AP

View full size photo »

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).

Spurs vs Sixers: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:00:29 -0000

There was something very weird about this game. I think ATS was pretty close about the game feeling in control even when it got close. I was excited for the big plays, but I wasn't super excited for the gritty stuff like usual. I think I've come up with a few culprits:

* A Sunday game

* During football season

* Against the Sixers (AI2, Dalembert, and who? I've heard of Holiday but, yeah...sorry Ivey, but I didn't even know you were on the roster until I looked at the boxscore. Shame on me.)

* Where the main event is actually post game.

Another list after the jump....

I don't listen to much Green Day anymore, but this is a great one for me.

STATS OF THE GAME

* We "live and die" by the 3 so anytime we shoot over 50% behind the arc is worth noting, 55.6% to be exact. So without Mason; Bonner, Finley, Manu, and RJ combine for 9 of 13 for 69.2%. Where were the other 5 attempts? K-Boges was 1 of 5....In his defense, I think most of them were fair attempts. You can't make them all.

* The Spurs have been doing a good job of making opposing leaders into being poor leaders. Jennings looked not so great against us. The Wizards, a veteran team, looked completely leaderless. Ariza chucked away to get his points. Iguodala 21 points and is an awesome athlete, but please don't tell him that. He was 1 of 6 from 3. If I was the Sixers coach, the first thing I would do is sit him down and say, "you are an average 3 point shooter at best, but you can rock the paint and get to line at will so if you don't drive the ball, I will bench you!" Once again, an opponents best player finishes the game with the worst +/- on the team. AI Jr. was -15.

* Dejuan Blair had a disgusting line (11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks).....in 16 minutes of play! A note from watching the Spurs this season: Manu likes passing to Blair more than anyone else. Watch for it. Manu forced at least 3 crazy passes in this game alone at Blair. The first I remember was a turnover because Blair wasn't ready. The second was a turnover because Manu's pass went too crazy for any human or Beast. The third was an easy score. I'm not sure if Manu and him just have a a connection, Manu wants to see Blair dominate the opponent, or Manu trusts Blair's wingspan and low body center to the person guarding him to prevail, but watch when they are on the court together. As the season goes along, expect Manu to Blair, points for Blair, assist for Manu to be a very common and efficient sight.

* Duncan and Parker were monsters of efficiency. For the sake of this being a triumvirate of power, I'll include Manu who wasn't half bad either in his limited role and coming off an injury. So your Cerberus of All the is Holy has a combined stat line of 84 minutes, 46 points on 17 of 30 shooting and 11 of 11 from the line, 15 assists, 9 rebounds (in spite of Blair's night and then Bonner, Finley, and Bogans combining for another 16 rebounds), 2 steals, and 5 blocks. What turnovers? I don't see that column.....

Finally, here is the man of the night!!! Thank God every Spursday or those ones in between that we can claim this guy to our franchise so I leave you with this last stat of the night: +1 Spurs with their retired jersey saying "Hall of Fame".

Game Preview #14: San Antonio Spurs @ Houston Rockets

Tim C. — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:19:15 -0000

Damn, this team is deep.

After the nasty 4-6 start to the season, the Spurs have gone on a 3-game winning streak. In the last game, we beat an exhausted, overworked Warriors team that was on a SEGABABA. Big frickin' deal. The only "good" team we beat during our little win streak was Milwaukee, and that's a very liberal usage of the word "good". Tonight, the task gets a bit tougher - beat an angry Rockets team in their arena.

Did I mention the Spurs are 0-4 on the road this season? Then again, a couple games ago, they were 0-4 when Tim Duncan scores 20 or more points, which is just insane. Anyway, what are the chances of getting our first road win tonight? Let's talk it over a bit, after the jump.

San Antonio Spurs @ Houston Rockets
Where: Toyota Center - Houston, TX
When: November 27, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: KENS 5 (San Antonio); FSN (Houston)

How They Stack Up


7-2	Home	4-3
0-4	Road	4-4
102.2	Offense	103.4
98.0	Defense	102.6
46.8	FG%	45.4
35-9	3-pt%	34.4
74.2	FT%	78.8
42.9	Rebounds	42.7
13.0	TOs	14.9
5-5	Last 10	5-5
Won 3	Streak	Lost 1
2nd, Southwest	Position	3rd, Southwest


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
ARGENTINA	10:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Philippines	10:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	2:30 AM
East Coast	8:30 PM
Barren Wasteland	6:30 PM
Perth, AUS	8:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	9:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	11:30 AM

Spurs (7-6)	Matchups	Rockets (8-7)
Tony Parker Tornado	Point Guard Tony creates havoc in the paint like no other point guard in the league can, and his midrange jumper is deadly. Basically, he's an unstoppable force of nature. Despite his limited floor vision, he does a very good job of knowing where his teammates are and getting them the ball in good situations. Brooks' game is modeled somewhat on Parker's, but he's definitely not as good at it. He shoots a lower percentage, and is somewhat turnover prone as well. If Tony plays a little D tonight, he runs away with this battle. OK, even if he doesn't play D, he still wins. Advantage: Spurs	Aaron Brooks Dust Devil

Keith Bogans The Bogeyman	Shooting Guard The bad news: Ariza is averaging 18 points, 5 rebs, and 4 assists. The good news: Ariza takes a criminal amount of shots, and making less than 40% of them. I don't expect that shooting percentage to get any better with Keith hounding him half the night. While we all know Keith isn't going to win any offensive awards, the Rox might switch Ariza onto Tony when they're on D, giving Keith a big height advantage over Brooks or Lowry. The Bogeyman might just have himself a big game tonight. If our best SG is back, that will be a huge boost for us as well. Advantage: Tied	Trevor Ariza Shoots Too Much

Richard Jefferson Bring Some Energy	Small Forward RJ has been solid for us, if a little reserved in most games. I'd love to see him attack the rim a little more, but he's going to be guarded by one of the best wing defenders in the game. Not expecting big numbers out of RJ tonight, but he'll get his if he works hard enough. On the other end, Battier is pretty efficient and works within his limitations on offense. RJ needs to keep Shane in his sights to prevent him from getting too many open looks. Advantage: Tied	Shane Battier PtR's Unrequited Love

Tim Duncan GOAT	Power Forward Hayes is 6'6" and he's going up against the best PF of all time. OF ALL TIME! [/Kanye] Do we really need to say anymore? Timmy is kicking ass lately, and the undersized Rockets frontcourt should make him feel like a kid in a candy store. Advantage: Spurs	Chuck Hayes Completely Overmatched

Antonio McDyess Excellent Pickup	Center The jury's no longer out on Dice - the man fits the Spurs's system like a glove. He gives Timmy and the slashers the ever-important floor spacing neccessary to be efficient, whilst still hitting the boards on a regular basis. He's definitely an upgrade over what we had last year, and that's why he starts. Too bad we didn't bother with signing the guy he's going up against, who just happens to be averaging a double-double. Advantage: Rockets	Luis Scola Salary Dump Folly

MANU GINOBILI BEST PLAYER EVER! FANGIO!	Bench & Role Players Manu's groin injury was supposed to keep him out 7-10 days. He sustained the injury 9 days ago, so I hope he's back. But even if he isn't back, BAM is going to take care of business. Landry and Kyle Lowry are nothing to scoff at, but Houston's bench firepower is no match for our own. There's also rumors that Tracy McGrady will be ready to play tonight. However, his shot selection is almost as poor as Ariza's has been, and I fail to see how a rusty T-Mac puts us at any disadvantage - especially if Manu's playing. Also, Houston's short frontcourt gives Dejuan Blair an opportunity for a monster game off the bench. Advantage: Spurs	Carl Landry The Blair Archetype

Gregg Popovich GOML Unless You Brought Wine	Coach Adelman got screwed in the 2002 WCF, and should have won a title with Sacramento. But that would still only give him 1, to Pop's 4. Advantage: Spurs	Rick Adelman Screwed in Sacramento
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
Intangibles
Houston's roster is decimated by only one injury. Namely, the best center in the league is out all season. Time for the best PF the game has ever seen to go to work. Also, the Houston frontcourt is very small, so Blair should also be able to do very well. Advantage: Spurs
Mojo
In a word: Manu. Advantage: Spurs
Winner: Spurs
The Spurs don't want to go back to .500, and they don't want to continue having 0 road wins. It will be ugly, but the Spurs should pull through. Prediction: Spurs win. Barely

Keys To The Game

Interior defense - The Rockets' perimeter players have their limitations, but Scola, Landry and Hayes seem to do a pretty decent job cleaning up on the inside. With our size and height advantage, we should be able to limit them. But every other team that's played the Rox should have been able to limit their frontcourt, too. Scola is especially dangerous, so Dice has his work cut out for him.
Manu - Is he back? And is he really back? And will he be comfortable out there?
Discipline - The Rockets have better execution than just about any other NBA team, and that's what has kept them in the playoff hunt so far. The Spurs can't afford to be very sloppy tonight, or it will be exploited mercilessly.

Strength of Schedule

We'll be playing on one day of rest, like we have for the last several games. This game marks the beginning of a pretty tough part of the schedule for the Spurs. After tonight, the Spurs head home to face Philadelphia, Boston, and Denver, followed by a road game in Utah.

The Rockets are also coming off one day of rest, and will begin a 4-game road trip in Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Last Time They Met

Our last meeting with the Rockets resulted in a collective groan when Luis Scola got a wide open layup under the rim to finish us off, 87-85(scroll down). Those groans were heard throughout the game, as Luis finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. If only we hadn't traded him for some old copies of Wine Enthusiast, maybe we wouldn't have had to go so far over the tax to compete this year. And maybe we'd be coming off our third consecutive championship. But, anyway...

Some Other Reading

Rockets

The Dream Shake - The Rockets' SBN blog is full of insightful hoops junkies and diehard fans. You gotta respect that. Go show them some love.

Rockets Buzz - The TrueHoop blog for the Rockets. Seems like a pretty cool place, similar to its THN sibling 48MoH.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Best damn TrueHoop affiliate out there. Always a must visit Spurs site.
Project Spurs: Now featuring live chats, call-in shows and podcasts (in Spanish too).

Twitter Musings

Here's Kyle Lowry, tweeting Marcus Williams(the other one) about the retirement of Allen Iverson:

Klow7 RT @mw1ll: And say NO to practice! RT @rudygay22: Everyone in the league should wear a sleave and a headband tonight lmao!!!

manuginobili In HOU, tonite dinner w/ Mr.Scola. Always fun to catch up. Happy ThxG'in to y'all!!

MoneyMase Were in Houston getting ready to play @houstonrockets @carllandry14 @thirty2zero @Klow7 tomorrow! Should be a good one!

tp9network thats 3 wins in a row lets enjoy today!! my wife been cooking all day yesterday shes the best cook!! i cant wait to taste everything...happy thanksgiving everybody!

Da_Finster Happy Thanksgiving to all my followers. Becuz the 2 secs u take to read/reply to this message makes me feel important and Im thankful 4 that

That's right, even the classy Mr. Finley uses text-speak.

You can also find all the official Spurs Sports & Entertainment Twitter accounts here: http://twitter.com/spurs/official/members

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be aired by KENS 5 in San Antonio and the Fox Sports Network in Houston. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel. And of course, there's always League Pass for the haves. For the have nots, read on.

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).