Spurs At Magic Previews

[duncan228]

Thursday: Spurs (15-9) at Magic (19-6) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Thursday_Spurs_15-9_at_Magic_19-6.html)
Express-News

Time: 7 p.m.
TV: TNT
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - MAGIC

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 14 Jameer Nelson (6-0, 5th yr)
Parker averaged 21.5 points, nine assists vs. Magic last season.

SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 6th yr)
Mason trying to find fit after return of Parker, Ginobili.

SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 15 Hedo Turkoglu (6-10, 9th yr)
Turkoglu, last season’s Most Improved, picking up where he left off.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 9 Rashard Lewis (6-9, 11th yr)
Duncan averaging just over 35 minutes per night, his most since 2003-04.

C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 13 Marcin Gortat (6-11, 2nd yr)
Who needs Dwight Howard when you’ve got Marcin Gortat?

SPURS RESERVES

12 Bruce Bowen, F, 6-7, 13th yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 7th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
7 Fabricio Oberto, C/F, 6-10, 4th yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr

MAGIC RESERVES

4 Tony Battie, C/F, 6-11, 12th yr
34 Brian Cook, F, 6-9, 6th yr
31 Adonal Foyle, C, 6-10, 12th yr
11 Courtney Lee, G, 6-5, 1st yr
7 J.J. Redick, G, 6-4, 3rd yr
32 Jeremy Richardson, G/F, 6-7, 3rd yr
12 Dwight Howard, C, 6-11, 5th yr

COACHES

Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Magic: Stan Van Gundy

INJURIES

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi (left ankle sprain) is out.

Magic: Mike Wilks (torn right knee ligament) and Mickael Pietrus (torn left thumb ligament) are out. Howard (sore left knee) is day-to-day.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Anthony Tolliver, Mahinmi.

Magic: Wilks, Pietrus.

NOTABLE

Howard, who has missed two games with knee pain, will be a game-time decision tonight. He had a streak of 351 consecutive games played before sitting out Dec. 13 vs. Utah. ..... Spurs are averaging 12.6 turnovers per game, second best in the NBA.

- Jeff McDonald

[duncan228]

San Antonio (15-9) at Orlando (19-6) Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2008121819&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:00 pm EST Thu Dec 18, 2008
TV: TNT
By Matt Becker

Although the Orlando Magic have won their last two games without Dwight Howard, they’ll probably be glad to have the two-time All-Star center back for a potentially tough stretch.

Howard is expected to be return from a knee injury on Thursday when the Southeast Division-leading Magic open a four-game homestand against the San Antonio Spurs, who hope to bounce back from their first loss in two weeks.

Despite injuries to Howard and its top three guards, Orlando (19-6) is off to its best start since the 1994-95 team opened 22-5.

Howard bruised his knee during a fall in Friday’s 113-111 loss to Phoenix, snapping the Magic’s four-game winning streak. Howard, who is averaging 21.1 points and league bests of 14.1 rebounds and 3.9 blocks, missed Orlando’s next two games, and the team responded with wins in each.

Orlando wrapped up a five-game road trip with Monday’s 109-98 win over Golden State. Marcin Gortat, starting in place of Howard, had personal bests of 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jameer Nelson added a career high-tying 32 points on 5-of-9 from 3-point range.

“I have to feel good about what they’ve done so far, no question,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “The cautionary thing is that in this league, things change overnight. What you’ve done in the first 25 games doesn’t mean anything in the 26th game, or 27th game. You just have to be ready.”

Orlando’s next few games could be telling for a team that is hoping to contend for the Eastern Conference crown and the NBA title.

After facing San Antonio (15-9), the Magic host the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday and conclude their homestand on Christmas against Southwest Division-leading New Orleans, which defeated San Antonio 90-83 on Wednesday.

“These are definitely two statement games, big games for us,” said forward Rashard Lewis, who is averaging 23.3 points in his last four contests. “This will let us know if we are an elite team.”

The Magic have not had much success against the Spurs lately, losing three straight and 11 of the last 14 meetings. Orlando lost both matchups last season by an average of 14.0 points, despite Howard’s 58 points and 37 rebounds in those contests.

San Antonio had its six-game winning streak snapped with Wednesday’s loss to New Orleans, as the Hornets scored 23 of the game’s final 31 points.

The Spurs made just 4 of their final 21 shots and finished the game shooting 38.8 percent from the floor.

“New Orleans did a great job down the stretch,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They had mental and physical toughness. … They just outplayed us in the last four minutes. They made a couple of shots, we didn’t, and that was the game.”

San Antonio, which has won 10 of its last 14 games, has struggled with its shooting in the last four defeats. The Spurs are averaging 81.3 points on 38.6 percent in those losses while putting up 108.6 points on 49.8 percent shooting in their last 10 victories.

They may have trouble getting in rhythm on Thursday, as the Magic are sixth in the league in field goal defense (43.7 percent).

San Antonio didn’t have any offensive problems against Orlando last season, though, as it averaged 117.5 points on 52.7 percent shooting in the two victories.

Tony Parker averaged 21.5 points and 9.0 assists last season versus Orlando, while Tim Duncan collected 39 points and 31 rebounds in those games.

Notes

Spurs:

The Spurs were outscored, 60-47, in the second half on Sunday. ... G-F Michael Finley is just one game away from his 1,000th career game. ... C Fabricio Oberto, who has started 11 games this season and 64 in 2007-08, did not play. F-C Matt Bonner started in the middle for the seventh straight game and collected 17 points and eight boards. ... G Roger Mason had his biggest scoring output in nearly three weeks, finishing with 14 points and knocking down four 3-pointers.

Magic:

G Jameer Nelson tied a career high with 32 points set previously on January 11, 2006, on the road against the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Nelson scored 15 points and was 3-of-3 from the arc in the third quarter. ... C Marcin Gortat played for injured C Dwight Howard and established new career highs with 16 points and 13 rebounds. ... Orlando is the first team in the NBA to win 10 road games.

Team Stat Leaders

Points

Tony Parker SA 21.3
Dwight Howard Orl 21.1

Rebounds

Tim Duncan SA 10.8
Dwight Howard Orl 14.1

Assists

Tony Parker SA 6.6
Jameer Nelson Orl 5.2

[Trainwreck2100]

San Antonio (15-9) at Orlando (19-6) Preview

Spurs played like shit last night

[Allanon]

Wow, just noticed this one's on TNT. ESPN/TNT, Spurs getting lots of national TV love...makes it easier for me to watch.

[angel_luv]

It's Hedo time! :elephant :elephant

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Thurs. Dec. 18
San Antonio @ Orlando: B. Salvatore, C. Kirkland, L. Richardson

[duncan228]

Magic's Concerns: Spurs, Lakers, Howard's Left Knee (http://www.theledger.com/article/20081217/NEWS/812170370/1345/SPORTS?Title=Magic_s_Concerns__Spurs__Lakers__Howa rd_s_Left_Knee)
By Dick Scanlon
THE LEDGER

Just as the Magic appear to be emerging as an elite NBA team, Dwight Howard's left knee is emerging as a major concern.

Howard, Orlando's All-NBA center, hopes to play against the San Antonio Spurs in tonight's nationally televised game after missing the last two games of a five-game road trip. The Magic (19-6) won at Utah and at Golden State without Howard and now have the league's fourth-best record.

Howard had never missed a game in his first four NBA seasons and had played in 351 straight regular-season games.

But there is some inflammation in his knee and the Magic have fitted him with a brace to protect it. Coach Stan Van Gundy is also trying to limit Howard's practice time. An MRI taken on Tuesday revelaled no structural damage.

Howard leads the NBA in rebounding (14.1 per game) and blocked shots, and the fact that the Magic were able to win two road games without their All-Star was evidence that they are ready to make a run toward the top of the league.

However, the schedule will be upgraded in the next few weeks, starting with tonight's game against the Spurs and a game Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending Western Conference champions.

Marcin Gortat got his first two NBA starts in place of Howard and Tony Battie filled in as the other big man. It will be more difficult for the Magic to get by the upcoming caliber of competition without Howard.

But other elements of the Magic's game have compensated so far, including better 3-point shooting, excellent play by point guard Jameer Nelson, and the emergence of Courtney Lee as the Magic's best rookie since Howard.

Three-point shooting was a Magic strength last season, especially in the playoffs as they advanced for the first time in 12 years. They shot poorly in November, but now their percentage is up to .370, which is 12th in the league.

Lee, a 6-foot-5 guard from Western Kentucky, is averaging 5.3 points per game and also contributing strong defense. He has filled in while Nelson, Keith Bogans and Michael Pietrus have been recovering from injuries.

Pietrus has not played in three weeks because of a broken thumb, but returned to practice on Wednesday.

[duncan228]

Magic open homestand vs. Spurs (http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/news/news.aspx?id=4198213)

(Sports Network) - The Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic will open a four-game homestand Thursday versus the San Antonio Spurs at Amway Arena.

Orlando will also host the Lakers, Warriors and Hornets and is 9-3 as the host this season. The Magic are unbeaten in their last four home games and just went 4-1 on a five-game road trip. They have won two straight and six of the last seven games, including Monday's 109-98 victory at Golden State.

Jameer Nelson stepped up in Dwight Howard's absence to score a game-high 32 points for Orlando, which got 21 points and eight rebounds from Rashard Lewis. Marcin Gortat filled in for Howard down low and had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Howard missed his second straight game with a left knee injury and is listed as questionable versus the Spurs.

San Antonio will try to get back on track this evening after having its season-high six-game winning streak come to an end with Wednesday's 90-83 setback at New Orleans.

Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which fell to 7-4 away from the AT&T Center this season. Tony Parker recorded 20 points and Manu Ginobili contributed 17 in the opener of a short two-game road trip.

The Spurs went 2-0 against the Magic a year ago and have won three straight and 11 of the past 14 meetings in the series. They are 10-6 in the past 16 contests at Orlando.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Wow, just noticed this one's on TNT. ESPN/TNT, Spurs getting lots of national TV love...makes it easier for me to watch.

That's my feeling, I get the watch the Spurs immediately followed by the Suns. And that's not nearly as good as THE CHUCKSTA'S commentary during halftime and after the game is over. Doug Collins is however a very annoying color commentator, Jeff Van Gundy is by far the best one. He had that great line after the Parker 3 off the glass, "AND THAT'S WHY POP GETS PAID THE BIG BUCKS EVERYONE TO DRAW UP PLAYS LIKE THAT!!"

[duncan228]

Spurs Team Report (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArdUrtn7rRYp0egPkbpxkuiM0bYF?slug=teamre ports-2008-nba-sas&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report)

Getting Inside

The Spurs returned to the site of the only Game 7 road win in franchise history Wednesday night. The trip to New Orleans was the first since the finale of last season’s epic Western Conference semifinals between the Hornets and San Antonio.

The Spurs needed to hold Chris Paul and Co. off in the fourth quarter to advance to the West finals. That period still resonates with Manu Ginobili.

“We kept our composure at all times and moved the ball and made a lot of shots,” he said. “I remember in the fourth quarter, when they saw the game going away, we kept our cool. We kept playing and they couldn’t get it.”

Perhaps the pressure got to the Hornets, who were in the playoffs for the first time with Paul running the show. Michael Finley thinks New Orleans’s inexperience might have been the deciding factor in the deciding game.

“They were more or less trying to play a perfect game instead of the freelance-type program they’re accustomed to,” Finley said. “The teams that do well in the playoffs are the teams that continue to do what they do well and don’t let other teams dictate the way they want to play.”

Hornets 90, Spurs 83: New Orleans surged ahead with a 13-0 fourth-quarter run at home Wednesday night and snapped San Antonio’s six-game winning streak in the first meeting this season between last season’s Western Conference semifinalists.

Chris Paul led the Hornets with 19 points and 12 assists, and also recorded a steal in his 106th consecutive game to break the NBA record set by former Spurs guard Alvin Robertson.

San Antonio (15-9) led by as many as nine, but was outscored 27-13 in the final period. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combined for 53 points. None of the other Spurs scored in double-figures.

Notes, Quotes

• Reserve forward Kurt Thomas can’t help but feel for many of the Thunder players, who are suffering through a miserable season. Thomas was a teammate of many of those guys last season in Seattle before being traded to the Spurs.

“That’s a bunch of good guys over in that locker room,” Thomas said after San Antonio beat Oklahoma City. “I take my hat off to (coach) Scott (Brooks). When he first took over, I think they had two or three games that I felt they should have won, and they just slipped away from them. But I think they definitely have improved.

“They’ve showed signs. There’s a lot of talent over there, and (general manager) Sam Presti is doing an outstanding job of bringing in the type of players he thinks can help them.”

• The end of practice Monday didn’t mean worked ended for four players who are on the outside of the rotation looking in. Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn had been playing a lot of 1-on-1 lately to stay in sharp as they wait their turn.

Those two were joined by Ian Mahinmi, who hasn’t played since being recalled from the D-League, and former starting center Fabricio Oberto. The four used the extra time to play 2-on-2.

Quote To Note: “After what happened last year, we have a nice rivalry going on. They have a great team and great role players.”—Manu Ginobili, on New Orleans.

Roster Report

Rotation:

Starters—Point guard Tony Parker, Shooting guard Roger Mason, Small forward Michael Finley, Power forward Tim Duncan, Center Matt Bonner.

Bench—Forward Kurt Thomas, Guard Manu Ginobili, Forward Ime Udoka, Forward Bruce Bowen, Center Fabricio Oberto, Center Ian Mahinmi, Guard George Hill.

Player Notes:

• F Tim Duncan was named the latest Western Conference player of the week after averaging a double-double with 22.0 points and 12.5 rebounds, while leading the Spurs to a 4-0 record.

The 11-year veteran tallied 32 points, 14 rebounds and two steals in the Spurs 133-126 double-overtime victory at Dallas on Dec. 9. Teammates and coaches also noted his excellent defense during the week.

• C Matt Bonner has shown a nice offensive touch since re-entering the rotation, especially beyond the three-point arc. The non-traditional big man freely admits he’s not as accomplished at the other end.

“I’m still working on my defense,” Bonner said. “It’s a work in progress.”

• G Blake Ahearn was waived despite a solid run with the San Antonio-owned D-League affiliate. Ahearn (6-2, 190) was originally signed by the Spurs on Nov. 16. The roster now stands at 14.

Ahearn appeared in three games and averaged 2.7 points in 6.3 minutes. Assigned to the Austin Toros on Nov. 30, he averaged 18.8 points, 6.2 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 34.3 minutes in six games.

Medical Watch:

• C Ian Mahinmi (sprained left ankle) is out. He was recently recalled from a rehab assignment with the team’s D-League affiliate in Austin.

[duncan228]

Match-Up of the Night: Duncan vs. Howard (http://48minutesofhell.blogspot.com/2008/12/match-up-of-night-duncan-vs-howard.html)

[polandprzem]

Match-Up of the Night: Duncan vs. Gortat (http://48minutesofhell.blogspot.com/2008/12/match-up-of-night-duncan-vs-howard.html)

Frickinably tough matchup fot Timmay

[Allanon]

That's my feeling, I get the watch the Spurs immediately followed by the Suns. And that's not nearly as good as THE CHUCKSTA'S commentary during halftime and after the game is over. Doug Collins is however a very annoying color commentator, Jeff Van Gundy is by far the best one. He had that great line after the Parker 3 off the glass, "AND THAT'S WHY POP GETS PAID THE BIG BUCKS EVERYONE TO DRAW UP PLAYS LIKE THAT!!"

I'll be watching that Suns game right after too. I honestly don't know who is going to win that one, Portland is tough in the Rose garden.

And end the night with a Chuckster wrap-up. Yay on JVG, nay on Collins. The TNT commentators, Marv is pretty good as always but they're lacking in the color commentators. Reggie is funny once in rare while but usually not. Can't say I really like any of the TNT in-game guys, they need to get Gary Payton on the sidelines.

I like how Ernie shows something amazing and says "Does THAT impress the Chuckster?". Some NBA teams could use the team chemistry that Ernie, Kenny and the Chuckster have.