Spurs At Suns Previews

[duncan228]

National game, on TNT.

San Antonio (30-14) at Phoenix (25-18) Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009012921&prov=ap)
Game info: 10:30 pm EST Thu Jan 29, 2009
TV: TNT
By Dan Pieringer

The San Antonio Spurs have dealt the Phoenix Suns some tough losses in recent years, eliminating them from the playoffs three of the last four seasons.

The Suns hoped their acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal midway through last season would be the solution, and while it didn’t work last spring, the rejuvenated star is playing some of his best basketball in years as the Suns and Spurs head into Thursday night’s meeting in Phoenix.

San Antonio ousted Phoenix from the playoffs in the conference finals in 2005 and the conference semifinals in 2007.

The Suns traded for O’Neal at last season’s deadline to help prevent another early exit from the postseason with a new commitment to defense. But the fast-paced team struggled to adjust to the 7-foot-1, 325-pounder’s presence in the middle and won just once in their best-of-seven, first-round series against the Spurs.

O’Neal, though, appears to have settled into his current role with the Suns (25-18) under first-year coach Terry Porter. After averaging 12.9 points with the team last season, he’s scoring 18.2 per game in 2008-09, including 22.1 over his last 18 games.

O’Neal had 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots while going 10-for-14 from the field in a 103-87 win over Washington on Monday night.

The Suns outscored the Wizards by 25 points when O’Neal was in the game to finish their road trip with back-to-back wins after dropping five of their previous six overall.

“I feel like I can play three or four more years,” said O’Neal, who was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim on a dunk in the first half.

“I’ve got a new medical staff that does stuff that I haven’t really had before. I’m moving left, I’m moving right, I’m running, I’m jumping, I’m dunking, I’m getting up and hanging on the rim and getting techs, and I haven’t felt this good in about two years.”

That doesn’t bode well for the Spurs (30-14), who have given up 19.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game to O’Neal in the teams’ first two meetings this season.

San Antonio fell at home to Phoenix 103-98 in its season opener Oct. 29 before taking a 91-90 road victory over the Suns on Roger Mason’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer on Christmas.

The Southwest Division-leading Spurs have won five of their last six overall. Manu Ginobili scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and made all eight of his foul shots in the period to help San Antonio hold off Utah 106-100 on Tuesday night.

“Manu is an important part of us winning basketball games,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He was aggressive and got to go to the line.”

Despite his clutch play Tuesday, Ginobili has been held to 10.0 points per game and 8-for-24 shooting from the field over his last three contests.

O’Neal, meanwhile, has pulled within five points of catching Hakeem Olajuwon for seventh place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

“For me as a young, former juvenile delinquent who can’t shoot free throws, who can’t shoot jumpers, it’s a pretty big accomplishment,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal, a career 52.7 percent free-throw shooter, may poke fun at himself for his shortcomings at the line, but he made nine of his 10 attempts Monday and is shooting a career-high 62.8 percent.

That could might make Popovich reconsider his strategy of fouling O’Neal away from the ball to send the big man to the line, a tactic he used extensively in last year’s playoffs. During the preseason, O’Neal called it “a coward move.”

O’Neal has made 14 of his 24 free-throw attempts (58.3 percent) against San Antonio this season.

Notes

Spurs:

The Spurs are now 14-0 when scoring 100 points. San Antonio has the second-lowest turnover average in the league (12.1) and had 13 tonight. The Spurs outassisted the Jazz, 24-23, despite Utah owning one of the best assist averages in the league. F Matt Bonner bested his previous season best for 3-pointers in a game with six. His previous best was four. He has now scored in double digits 13 times in his last 28 games. G Manu Ginoboli's first and only field goal came in the fourth quarter. He scored his last 10 points with less than two minutes to go in the game. Despite Ginobili's free-throw performance, the rest of the Spurs shot just 10-for-20 from the line. Duncan went just 4-for-11 in the win.

Suns:

F Amare Stoudemire had 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 15 rebounds in the Phoenix Suns' 103-87 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday. He also blocked three shots. ... C Shaquille O'Neal led the Suns with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 9-of-10 free throws with eight rebounds and three blocks. ... G Steve Nash had 14 points and 15 assists. ... Reserve guard Leandro Barbosa had 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting in 27 minutes off the bench. ... The Suns concluded their season-long six-game road trip with a 3-3 record. On Thursday the Suns will play host to the San Antonio Spurs, who Phoenix has defeated in three of their last four meetings. ... The Suns are 8-3 in their last 11 home games. ... The Suns have won four in a row at Washington's Verizon Center.

Team Stat Leaders

Points

Tim Duncan SA 20.6
Amar'e Stoudemire Pho 21.1

Rebounds

Tim Duncan SA 10.3
Shaquille O'Neal Pho 9.1

Assists

Tony Parker SA 6.6
Steve Nash Pho 9.4

Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10

San Antonio 30-14 1st Southwest / 2nd West 96.8 93.9 Road 13-7 Won 1 7-3

Phoenix 25-18 2nd Pacific / 7th West 103.8 102.7 Home 12-8 Won 2 5-5

[xtremesteven33]

No more hack a shaq???

[Shastafarian]

F Amare Stoudemire

Indeed

[ClingingMars]

I claim game-blog privileges. 3-0, bitches!

-Mars

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

No more hack a shaq???

they'll be hacking someone to take the Suns out of rhythm. Porter for some reason loves closing the 1st half of games with Matt Barnes. I could see hack-a-Matt from around the 4:15 to the 2:15 of the 2nd quarter. Matt's also someone who's head would get affected by that.

[ClingingMars]

No more hack a shaq???

no, make him prove his consistency.

[duncan228]

Fast or slow, Suns remain puzzled (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/2009/01/27/20090127spt-suns.html)
by Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic

The Suns have been puzzled with themselves. Like a Rubik's Cube, they fix one side only to learn another side was altered.

They broke out of last week's visit to an emotional rock bottom with road wins Sunday and Monday, two of their better defensive efforts, but the offense did not look quite right. It is a running team without a stride, despite stats that say the Suns shoot better than any team and rank fifth in scoring.

The Suns' issues can be traced to one source: a roster of offensive players - an offensive hybrid that is not quite a floor model. It's a starting lineup of former go-to players asked to share the ball and play consistent defense.
There are more sideline pleas to "Push!" from coach Terry Porter, even after makes. Still, the run game is not the same in space or pace, just as Steve Nash's half-court navigation is limited by the presence of Shaquille O'Neal.

"Everyone other than Shaq plays that (fast) style better," Nash said. "It's great to go into Shaq. We love his advantage and he's a big part of our team. But if we're going to be great, we have to have a balance. He can't do it alone - and he doesn't want to. We have enough guys who are capable but we can't just stand and watch. We'll lose our connectivity.

"We still have turnovers because there's that want to do something that's not quite there because we're not used to do it. When two or three people aren't doing it at the same speed, it causes problems. We're still not that comfortable running. We're getting there but we still don't necessarily have the same automatic, unconscious rhythm and rules for running. It's very simple but we don't have that same thing yet. So we're still a work in progress."

Porter opened the offense for Nash in the past two months. Nash became more adept at feeding O'Neal in the post. Both shifts are reflected in Nash's 11.6 assist average in January after he averaged 8.3 entering 2009. O'Neal is averaging 22.1 points in his past 18 games.

"I'm trying to maximize Steve's skill but yet also realizing that Shaq has probably been the best big guy to ever play the game," Porter said. "The biggest challenge has always been how to create the type of space in years before. You can't do that with Shaq. It just can't be done."

Nash is seven assists from passing Porter for 11th on the NBA career assists list. O'Neal is six points from passing Hakeem Olajuwon for seventh on the scoring list. Amaré Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa are re-emerging offensively and Jason Richardson can be as potent as any Suns player.

Offense will not hold the Suns back as much as defense can.

"Offensive players have a hard time concentrating for long stretches defensively," Nash said. "That's not necessarily what they have been asked to do. So it's second nature for them to think of other things or take their minds somewhere else when they should be rotating. It's a matter of us realizing we all have to do our part because we're all scorers out there. That's where we lose concentration."

[Texas_Ranger]

Tomorrow's my birthday...So they better win this one, and give me a nice present.

[phyzik]

Indeed

:lol

[benefactor]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q45/gospelrapper/Christmaswall-1.jpg

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Indeed

:lmao

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q45/gospelrapper/Christmaswall-1.jpg

:lol That guy's face on the left is just priceless.

[Xylus]

Tim Duncan is boring, Manu is a flopper, Tony Parker is a douche, Bowen's dirty, blah blah blah blah blah.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll be at tomorrow night's game and I'm pretty fucking excited. :toast This will be the 3rd Suns-Spurs game I've attended since 2005. The others:

1. 2005, when Pop went CIA and held Ginobili and Duncan out of the game. Suns won, barely.
2. 2007, WCSF, Game 5, no Diaw, no Amare. FUCK THAT GAME.

[Brazil]

Good luck Xylus
spurs by 10

[gingerwave]

We need to really bring it against the Suns. :flag:

[YoMamaIsCallin]

"Tony Parker is a douche"

WTF??? That doesn't even make sense. I guess douche IS a French word, but that's a bit of a weak link.

[ClingingMars]

"Tony Parker is a douche"

WTF??? That doesn't even make sense. I guess douche IS a French word, but that's a bit of a weak link.

can't really take Xylus serious with that one.

[ManuTP9]

http://i30.tinypic.com/2vlo8sm.jpg

the game wont be that tough:flag:

[YoMamaIsCallin]

What'll really be sweet is all the booing by the jackass Suns fans. Too bad Horry isn't still with the team, that'd be excellent.

[timaios]

"Tony Parker is a douche"

WTF??? That doesn't even make sense. I guess douche IS a French word, but that's a bit of a weak link.

In fact "douche" means "shower" in french.

[duncan228]

Thursday: Spurs (30-14) at Suns (25-18) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Thursday_Spurs_30-14_at_Suns_25-18.html)
Express-News

Time: 9:30 p.m.
TV: TNT
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - SUNS

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 13 Steve Nash (6-3, 13th yr)
Nash has averaged 11.6 assists in 13 games this month.

SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 23 Jason Richardson (6-6, 8th yr)
Mason returns to scene of most dramatic shot of his career, Christmas Day winner.

SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 33 Grant Hill (6-8, 14th yr)
Finley is coming off first scoreless game of the season, at Utah.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 1 Amare Stoudemire (6-10, 7th yr)
Duncan had 24 points, nine rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks vs. Jazz.

C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 32 Shaquille O'Neal (7-1, 17th yr)
Bonner moved up to second in 3-pt. percentage (47.4) after making 6-of-7 vs. Jazz.

SPURS RESERVES

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

SUNS RESERVES

17 Louis Amundson, F, 6-9, 3rd yr
10 Leandro Barbosa, G, 6-3, 6th yr
22 Matt Marnes, F, 6-7, 6th yr
2 Goran Dragic, G, 6-4, 1st yr
3 Jared Dudley, F, 6-7, 2nd yr
15 Robin Lopez, C, 7-0, 1st yr
29 Alando Tucker, F, 6-6, 2nd yr

COACHES

Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Suns: Terry Porter

INJURIES

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, sprained right ankle, is out.

Suns: None.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Mahinmi, Malik Hairston

Suns: Courtney Sims

NOTABLE

Tonight's game is last of a three-game road trip that serves as precursor to the annual Rodeo Road Trip, which begins next week. They have split the first two games on the trip, losing to Lakers and beating Jazz. ... Suns are playing first home game since Jan. 16, having played last six on the road. They closed out a six-game road trip with two straight wins. ... Spurs made only 21 of 32 free throws in win over Utah, Duncan making only 4 of 10.

— Mike Monroe

[NRHector]

This won't be even a close game, just like I predicted the Lakers would spank your sorry asses.

No more lucky shots by scrub players neither (Like the one on Xmas day).

Suns by 15.

Just die already mother fuckers!damn you are funny and pathatic

[peskypesky]

here's hoping Thomas can play some defense against Shaq, but I ain't getting my hopes up.

[SenorSpur]

The Suns are still not a very good defensive team. If the Spurs are moving the ball well, hitting their open shots and defending, they should win.

[MarHill]

The Suns are still not a very good defensive team. If the Spurs are moving the ball well, hitting their open shots and defending, they should win.

I agree..but the Spurs better bring their "A" game.

Phoenix struggled on the road recently and with all the questions about their team..this is a game they will want to make a statement. Plus..a little revenge for the Christmas Day game!

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

The Suns are still not a very good defensive team.

Understatement of the year ladies and gentleman.

[MarHill]

Understatement of the year ladies and gentleman.



:lmao

[m33p0]

don't kid yourselves. just because it's the suns the spurs are entitled to win already. it ain't gonna be a walk in the park. this might be the game where they dump all their frustrations on the spurs for past atrocities.

spurs by 3.

[marini martini]

Indeed

:wow........................

:lmao:lmao:lmao

[MarHill]

don't kid yourselves. just because it's the suns the spurs are entitled to win already. it ain't gonna be a walk in the park. this might be the game where they dump all their frustrations on the spurs for past atrocities.

spurs by 3.

Yep..I have to agree!

The Spurs can't get into a early 1st quarter hole.

I would love to see a vintage Manu game tonight...30 points plus!!!!

[de Soto]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Spurs lost tonite. They fallen into this pattern.:(

In the end, Suns are a total shit team that will pose no problems come playoffs.

[de Soto]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Spurs lost tonite. They fallen into this pattern.:(

In the end, Suns are a total shit team that will pose no problems come playoffs.

:flag:

[de Soto]

:flag:

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Jan 29, 2009
San Antonio @ Phoenix: S. Javie, S. Wall, Z. Zarba

[YoMamaIsCallin]

In fact "douche" means "shower" in french.

Well -- touche. Or should I say, douche.

lol -- je m'amuse.

[de Soto]

Referee Assignments
Jan 29, 2009
San Antonio @ Phoenix: S. Javie, S. Wall, Z. Zarba

Irrelevant.

[ClingingMars]

Irrelevant.

not Joey Crawford, thus irrelevant.

[pauls931]

I have a feeling this will be a game where the suns put their act together and at least look good. But if they don't have around a 10pt cushion going into the 4th, then I'll give the spurs the edge. (fuckin' spurs!)

Playoffs? I'll be happy if the Suns make it and don't get the Spurs in the 1st round.

[Banzai]

easy spurs win.

[td4mvp21]

If the Spurs show up they win. But if they come out and play like they did in the Lakers game, we're fucked. I want to win by double digits, the Suns are struggling and I want the Spurs to come in and remind them that they are.

[Xylus]

The Suns have had some success in recent years beating the Spurs in the regular season. Just because the Spurs are currently the better team, I still think this game is 50/50, since the Suns tend to get really hyped for this matchup.

[duncan228]

3 Ghosts of Christmas Past: Spurs Return Tonight for First Time Since Their Heartbreaking Defeat of Suns (http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/01/ghosts_of_christmas_past_spurs.php)
By Steve Jansen

It's Christmas Day in Phoenix. You wake up early, even before the kids, to take care of some last-minute errands. But it isn't because you're a good dad and want to be free of afternoon obligations in order to spend quality time with the fam. No, you do it because the Phoenix Suns are hosting the hated San Antonio Spurs, and all you want to do is lay in your own filth and watch the Suns school their rivals. Then some scrub named Roger Mason hits a buzzer-beating game winner and . . . and . . . up yours, Santa.

Remember how poopy that felt? Remember? Well, we do, and we hope the Suns do, too, when they host the Spurs in a rematch tonight at U.S. Airways Center.

Since that crappy Christmas Day heartbreaker, the two teams have gone in significantly different directions. Despite the Spurs pasting at the hands of the L.A. Lakers in last Sunday's nationally televised matchup, they're still the cream of the crop in the Western Conference. And, as always, score-machine and swat-master Tim Duncan has led the charge to yet another division title and high-seed in the NBA Playoffs, averaging 20 points and 10 boards per game. Tony Parker's game has also been on-point (20 points and 6 assists each contest) as well as Mr. Annoying, Manu Ginobili, whose 14 points per game and steady ball-handling make San Antonio tough to beat.

The Suns? Well, the just completed East coast round trip, which ended up 3-3 but was mostly a disaster. It's hard to salvage the embarrassments in Boston, NYC, and Charlotte with a win against the lowly Washington Wizards, but the solid victory against a good Atlanta team can be something to build on.

Phoenix will need to bring its A-game when the no-nonsense Spurs visit US Airways Center tonight. The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. Go to www.suns.com National TV: TNT. Radio: KTAR 620-AM.

[duncan228]

Spurs take on Suns in the desert (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/news/news.aspx?id=4207589)

(Sports Network) - The Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs will wrap up a three-game road trip tonight against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.

The Spurs are 1-1 on the trek and improved to 13-7 as the visitor this season after Tuesday's 106-100 victory over the Utah Jazz in which Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 24 points to lead the way. Duncan also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out eight assists, as San Antonio won for the fifth time in its last six games overall.

Matt Bonner added 20 points, while Manu Ginobili and Roger Mason scored 13 points apiece in the win. Ginobili also pulled down nine rebounds and doled out five assists for San Antonio.

Phoenix is back in the desert after going 3-3 on a six-game road trip which concluded with a pair of wins, including a 103-87 drubbing of the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

Shaquille O'Neal had 29 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who have won two in a row following a three-game slide. Leandro Barbosa had 23 points and Amare Stoudemire added 22 and 15 rebounds in a winning effort.

The Suns will also host Chicago and Sacramento on the residency, and are 12-8 in the Valley of the Sun this season.

San Antonio and Phoenix are playing the third of four matchups this season, as the Spurs will host the Suns at the AT&T Center on March 8. Each team has posted a win in opposite venues in 2008-09, but San Antonio has won 13 of the last 20 in the series.

The Spurs have won six of their last 10 at Phoenix.

[jdev82]

first off is DUNCANownsKOBE a closet spurs fan?
also whats the line for this game?

[ClingingMars]

first off is DUNCANownsKOBE a closet spurs fan?
also whats the line for this game?

naw, just a Suns fan that respects the Spurs.

[Spork KIller]

This won't be even a close game, just like I predicted the Lakers would spank your sorry asses.

No more lucky shots by scrub players neither (Like the one on Xmas day).

Suns by 15.

Just die already mother fuckers!

[duncan228]

Spurs Vs. Suns; Phoenix’s last stand? (http://phoenix.fanster.com/2009/01/29/spurs-vs-suns-phoenixs-last-stand/)

Could tonight’s visit by the San Antonio Spurs be the last stand for the Suns?

We’ve all heard the rumblings, “Amare may be dealt”, “Nash isn’t happy”, “Terry Porter isn’t the right coach for this team” but up until this point it’s all been white noise in the background of an unfolding season. A none competitive loss to the Spurs tonight could change all that.

Think about it for a minute. Why were Shaquille O’Neal and Terry Porter brought in? Why did Steve Kerr pass along the edict that defense and half-court offense would replace the seven seconds or less? One reason and one reason only, to beat the Spurs.

In losing to the Spurs the Suns would, in some people’s minds, prove that they haven’t made enough changes to compete with their arch rivals. Couple that with the fact that this is the last real test against a top Western Conference opponent before the All-Star game and it could play a large role in what moves the Suns make before the deadline (the Suns have games against Chicago, Sacramento, Golden State, Detroit, Cleveland and the Clippers between now and February 19th).

If the Suns don’t prove tonight that they belong things may change and fast. And the timing might just be right for the Suns to make a big move. With the Cardinals in the Super Bowl any move may fly under the radar, especially an unpopular one.

[Yorae]

Mr. Annoying, Manu Ginobili, whose 14 points per game and steady ball-handling

Uh....fuck u steve.

[Doctor J]

Hello, Duncan228.

Does '228' in your nick stand for being born on the 28th of February?

I was just curious, for I was born on the 28th of February.

Thanks for keep posting and updating Spurs related articles. :toast

[duncan228]

Hello, Duncan228.

Does '228' in your nick stand for being born on the 28th of February?

I was just curious, for I was born on the 28th of February.

Thanks for keep posting and updating Spurs related articles. :toast

No, the 228 isn't my birthday.

Thanks for the kind words. :)

[m33p0]

:flag:
pink suits you, btw.

[Spork KIller.]

I'm such a loser...and my team sucks too...pathetic homers

_____________________________


http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/5562/iluvdaspurs2as5.jpg

[PURO SAN ANTO 210!]

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!! U Finally Realized Bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Puro San Anto 210!!!

Go Spurs Go!!!!!

[PURO SAN ANTO 210!]

Fuck The Real Pork Killa!