Spurs At Wizards Previews

[duncan228]

Saturday: Spurs (36-17) at Wizards (13-42) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Saturday_Spurs_36-17_at_Wizards_13-42.html)
Express-News

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

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - WIZARDS

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 13 Mike James (6-2, 8th yr)
Parker looking for shooting groove after return from All-Star break.

SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 3 Caron Butler (6-7, 7th yr)
Game marks return home for Mason, D.C. native and former Wiz.

SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 5 Dominic McGuire (6-9, 2nd yr)
Injury epidemic has hoisted much responsibility on young Wizards like McGuire.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 4 Antawn Jamison (6-9, 11th yr)
Since NBA arrival in 1997-98, Duncan has more double-doubles than anyone (628).

C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 9 Darius Songaila (6-11, 6th yr)
Bonner 16 of 30 from 3-point range during month of February.

SPURS RESERVES

12 Bruce Bowen, F, 6-7, 13th yr
1 Malik Hairston, G, 6-6, 1st yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
7 Fabricio Oberto, C, 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

WIZARDS RESERVES

8 Javaris Crittenton, G, 6-5, 2nd yr
12 Juan Dixon, G, 6-3, 7th yr
34 JaVale McGee, C, 7-0, 1st yr
14 Oleksiy Pecherov, C/F, 7-0, 2nd yr
1 Nick Young, G, 6-6, 2nd yr
32 Andray Blatche, F, 6-9, 4th yr
2 DeShawn Stevenson, G, 6-5, 9th yr

COACHES

Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Wizards: Ed Tapscott

INJURIES

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi (right ankle surgery) and Manu Ginobili (stress reaction, right ankle) are out.

Wizards: Gilbert Arenas (left knee), Brendan Haywood (right wrist surgery), and Etan Thomas (left knee) are out. Stevenson (sore back) is questionable.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Mahinmi, Ginobili

Wizards: Arenas, Haywood, Thomas

NOTABLE

Spurs conclude their rodeo trek in Washington tonight. A victory would put them at 5-3 on the trip, and mark their sixth above-.500 finish since the rodeo trek became a scheduling staple in 2002. ... Spurs are 16-2 this season when holding opponents to less than 89 points. ... Wizards, a playoff team a year ago, have been injury plagued. They’ve had eight players miss 169 games, the highest total in the league.

- Jeff McDonald

[Spork KIller]

Wizards 106
Spurms 67

[tomtom]

i really hope this is a lopsided win

[timtonymanu]

looking forward to seeing Mason playing in his home town.

[Ditty]

i hope theres alot of mason fans i wont see the game hope spurs win

[WildcardManu]

Wizards 106
Spurms 67

thanks for the vote of confidence and cool sig.

[duncan228]

There's a piece about Mason at the Wizards in McDonald's column.


Like old times: On his flight back from All-Star Weekend, Roger Mason Jr. saw a familiar face sitting one row ahead of him. It was Washington Wizards' president Ernie Grunfeld, Mason's former boss.

“We caught up on the plane a bit,” said Mason, who is in his first year with the Spurs after spending the past two in Washington.

One topic Mason tried to avoid: basketball. Even after winning Friday, the Wizards were 13-42, worst in the Eastern Conference.

“They've had injuries,” Mason said. “It would probably be a different situation for them if Gilbert (Arenas) and Brendan Haywood were healthy.”

Tonight's game at Washington will mark Mason's first in his hometown since joining the Spurs.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117652

[Chieflion]

Should end the rodeo road trip with a win to make it 5-3, which is the expected record for me.

[Spursfan092120]

Wizards 106
Spurms 67

:lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt: = Spurs

0 = Suns

[703 Spurz]

I'll be at the game. Here's hoping for a repeat of last year's game. SA won by 27 or so

[raspsa]

Spurs can't afford to be complacent.. memories of Toronto and NY should still be fresh. I hope Mason puts on a show for his family and friends. The rest of the guys need to step up in manu's absence just like they did earlier in the season. GO SPURS!

[duncan228]

San Antonio (36-17) at Washington (13-42) Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009022127&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:00 pm EST Sat Feb 21, 2009
TV: FSSW, CSMA
By Jeff Mezydlo

Even without one of their top players in the lineup, the San Antonio Spurs are in position to conclude their longest road stretch of the season with a winning record.

The Spurs can achieve that with a sixth straight victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

San Antonio (36-17) is 4-3 while spending all of February on the road, with only the recent All-Star break offering some down time. The Spurs, who are 18-10 away from home, host Dallas on Tuesday.

Regardless of Saturday’s result, the road swing can be considered a success for the Spurs, who continue to overcome the loss of top reserve Manu Ginobili.

The seventh-year shooting guard missed the last two games and will be lost for an additional 2-3 weeks with a right ankle injury.

Ginobili, who missed the first 12 games of the season while recovering from left ankle surgery, is third on the team averaging 16.1 points per game.

“We’ll handle it the same way we did the last time,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Whoever we’ve got left is going to play. I can’t tell you who will get which minutes - I’m going to do it on the fly.”

Popovich still has All-Stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to lead the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

Parker had 19 points with 11 assists and Duncan added 18 and 18 rebounds as San Antonio avoided a third straight loss with an 83-79 win at Detroit on Thursday. The Spurs had lost their previous two games at Toronto and New York by a combined seven points.

“This was tough, but we’ll take it, because we needed a win,” Parker said. “We’ve lost a couple games that we could have won, so this gives us some confidence to try to finish this in Washington.”

The Wizards are one team that has provided San Antonio with plenty of confidence of late.

The Spurs have won the last five games between the teams by an average of 14 points while holding Washington to 86.6 points during that span.

Duncan had 23 points in the Spurs’ 85-77 win at Washington on Feb. 6, 2008 in the teams’ most recent meeting.

Parker, who missed that contest with a foot injury, is averaging 22.6 points and 7.4 assists in his last seven games against Washington.

Though San Antonio has recently dominated the club with the worst record in the East, Washington (13-42) has played well since the break.

The Wizards look to win three in a row for the first time this season after a 107-96 win at New Jersey on Friday night. Antawn Jamison had 28 points with 12 rebounds as the Wizards outscored the Nets 60-36 in the paint.

“We have guys who can pretty much get it to the paint, and if not create shoots for themselves, then shots for the other guys,” Jamison said. “Why not use one of our strengths? For some reason it does not register.”

Jamison is averaging 26.7 points and 10.6 boards in his last three games overall, but just 13.7 on 31 percent shooting in his last three against San Antonio.

Notes

Spurs:

The Spurs improved to 4-3 on their eight-game road trip as the rodeo occupies the AT&T Center. They close it out on Saturday against the Wizards. ... Before the game, the team announced that G Manu Ginobili will miss 2-3 weeks with a stress reaction in his right leg. ... F Tim Duncan overcame a 7-of-19 shooting performance, finishing with 18 points and 18 rebounds.

Wizards:

F Antawn Jamison collected 29 points and 11 rebounds for his 27th double-double of the season. ... G/F Caron Butler left the game with 20 seconds left after falling on his hip. He is not expected to miss any time. ... Six players scored in double figures for the Wizards.

Team Stat Leaders

Points

Tim Duncan SA 20.8
Antawn Jamison Was 21.5

Rebounds

Tim Duncan SA 10.7
Antawn Jamison Was 9.1

Assists

Tony Parker SA 6.6
Caron Butler Was 4.4

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

San Antonio 36-17 1st Southwest / 2nd West 97.7 94.5 Road 18-10 Won 1 7-3

Washington 13-42 5th Southeast / 15th East 95.0 102.4 Home 9-19 Won 2 4-6

[duncan228]

Spurs Team Report (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArCYc6Bs.Oxx70FpYrkx5tiM0bYF?slug=teamre ports-2009-nba-sas&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report)

Getting Inside

The Spurs received some good news and some bad news Thursday regarding Manu Ginobili. The super sub will be out an additional 2-3 weeks after a stress reaction was diagnosed in his right fibula.

Unlike a stress fracture, a reaction isn’t as serious. If a reaction goes untreated, which in this case means rest, it could develop into a fracture and jeopardize Ginobili’s season. San Antonio doctors believe they’ve shut down Ginobili in time.

“New bone has already been laying down—they’ve seen it on the X-rays,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “So the healing process has already begun.”

The Spurs hate to lose the reigning Sixth Man of the Year for any length, especially with his play of late and the tight race for the second seed in the Western Conference. Despite playing with discomfort, Ginobili averaged 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists in his last seven games. He hasn’t played since Feb. 11.

“He’s already been out basically a week,” Popovich said.

Minor injuries have dogged Ginobili throughout his seven-year NBA career. He has missed at least five games every season. Offseason surgery on his left ankle forced him to miss the first 12 games of this season, and he started experiencing pain in his right ankle before the All-Star break.

Spurs 83, Pistons 79: All-Stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker led the way as San Antonio snapped a two-game losing skid with Thursday night’s win at Detroit. The Spurs (36-17) improved to 4-3 on the Rodeo Trip with one stop left, Saturday at Washington.

Duncan (18 points and 18 rebounds) and Parker (19 points and 11 assists) both had double-doubles as San Antonio iced the victory at the free throw line. Matt Bonner (15 points and seven boards) was the only other Spur to score in double figures.

San Antonio won despite shooting 40.8 percent. Hitting 50 percent from the 3-point territory (7 of 14) and holding the Pistons to 40.2 percent shooting helped. Detroit guard Allen Iverson led all scorers with 31 points. The Pistons are 2-10 at home in the last six weeks.

Notes, Quotes

• Even though the trade deadline has passed, the Spurs aren’t done looking for help. They’ll turn their attention to veteran free agents and possibly the D-League. Of keen interest would be Oklahoma City’s Joe Smith, if the Thunder decide to waive the veteran forward. Also a possibility is former Dallas forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu, an athletic big man playing for the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in Austin.

• The Spurs had an offer on the table for Clippers center Marcus Camby, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The deal had Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and George Hill going to L.A. for the defensive-minded center. The deal fell apart before the Thursday afternoon deadline. San Antonio also appeared to have interest Vince Carter (New Jersey) and Richard Jefferson (Milwaukee), two All-Star-caliber swingmen who would have helped with Manu Ginobili out.

Quote To Note: “This was tough, but we’ll take it, because we needed a win. We’ve lost a couple games that we could have won, so this gives us some confidence to try to finish this in Washington.”—G Tony Parker after the hard-fought win at Detroit, improving San Antonio to 4-3 on the Rodeo Trip.

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, Forward Ime Udoka, Forward Bruce Bowen, Center Fabricio Oberto, Guard George Hill, Guard Jacque Vaughn, Guard Malik Hairston.

Player Notes:

• F Tim Duncan made up for a missed jumper that would have beaten New York on Tuesday by nearly going 20-20 at Detroit. The Big Fundamental had 18 points and 18 boards in the win Thursday, and he also blocked three shots. “Tim is the base to everything we do,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He rebounded and he got some buckets, and that’s what we needed.”

• F Bruce Bowen played a key defensive role in Thursday’s win at Detroit. He played 27 minutes off the bench, guarding everyone from Rip Hamilton to Allen Iverson to Tayshaun Prince. “Bruce is a real pro,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He doesn’t start for us, but he does whatever we ask. He guarded Rip for a while, he guarded Allen for a while, and he did a great job.”

• G Tony Parker made two free throws with 1:09 left Thursday night, putting the Spurs in front to stay in their win at Detroit. The All-Star playmaker finished with 19 points and 11 assists.

Medical Watch:

• C Ian Mahinmi (ankle surgery) is inactive. He had surgery Jan. 30 and is expected to miss 6-10 weeks.

• G Manu Ginobili (stress reaction, right leg) is out for 2-3 weeks. Based on that timetable, the sixth man won’t return until March at the earliest. Team doctors believe rest is the course of action.

[tomtom]

jamisons gonna score +30

[Texas_Ranger]

James gonna score 40

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Sat. Feb. 21
San Antonio @ Washington: B. Spooner, V. Palmer, D. Richardson

[The_Worlds_finest]

Look for me Ill be in the crowd!

[duncan228]

Spurs conclude road trip against Wizards (http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/news/news.aspx?id=4214092)

(Sports Network) - The Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs will wrap up a lengthy eight-game road trip tonight against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

The Spurs are 4-3 on the trek and ended a two-game slide with an 83-79 victory at Detroit on Thursday. Tony Parker had 19 points and 11 assists for San Antonio, which improved to 18-10 away from the Alamo City this season. Tim Duncan chipped in 18 points and 18 rebounds, as the Spurs escaped The Palace with a victory despite Allen Iverson's 31 points.

Matt Bonner added 15 points and seven rebounds in a winning effort. After Saturday's game the Spurs will return home for a three-game residency. They will certainly miss the services of guard Manu Ginobili, who is out the next two to three weeks with an ankle injury.

Washington is aiming for a season-high three straight wins Saturday, when it kicks off a three-game homestand versus San Antonio, Philadelphia and Chicago. It has won two in a row just twice this season and is coming off Friday's 107-96 victory at New Jersey, as Antawn Jamison finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way. Jamison is averaging 26.7 points and 10.6 rebounds in the past three contests.

Mike James had 19 points and Dominic McGuire added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who are riding the first two-game win streak since December 27-29, when they beat Oklahoma City and Houston in back-to-back games. Caron Butler scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win.

The Wizards are 9-19 as the host this season.

San Antonio has won five straight and 14 of the previous 17 meetings with Washington. These two teams have split the past six matchups in DC.

[duncan228]

Wizards Insider (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/)

The Other Side: San Antonio Spurs

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan helped lead the West to a slaughter of the East during the All-Star Game on Sunday, but the San Antonio Spurs have taken some lumps since the break. First, they have to start the unofficial second-half of the season without Manu Ginobili (ankle) for the next two to three weeks. Then, they opened with an overtime loss to the New York Knicks in which their formerly staunch defense couldn't contain tiny Krypto-Nate Robinson. And finally, they came thisclose to acquiring wiry shot-blocking center Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers before the deal (which would've cost them just Bruce Bowen, George Hill and Fabricio Oberto) collapsed right at the deadline. At least the Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

The Southwest Division-leading Spurs (36-17) arrive in Washington on the tail end of their annual Rodeo Trip, the lengthy three-week stretch of the season when the San Antonio Stockshow and Rodeo takes over the AT&T Center and has the team bouncing all over the map. After tonight's game, the Spurs would have traveled 10,761 miles over 19 days and through eight cities. They are currently 4-3, with wins over Golden State, Boston, New Jersey and Detroit and losses to Denver, Toronto and New York.

The Spurs are considered the greatest challenger to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they currently tied for second in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets. This is their first meeting of the season against the Washington Wizards, a team San Antonio has defeated five consecutive times, including two in a row in the District. Here's what else you need to know about the Spurs before they play the Wizards tonight at Verizon Center:

1. Manu Ginobili Is Hurting

Manu Ginobili's right ankle has been troublesome for a while, and limited him during the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers last season. He re-injured the ankle playing for Argentina in the Olympics, then missed the first 12 games of the season after having surgery in September. The ankle came back to bother him when he scored a season-high 32 points in a win against Golden State on Feb. 2 and knocked him out after he scored 32 again in a loss against Toronto in the final game before the all-star break on Feb. 11. But the Spurs will be without Ginobili -- and his 22.4 points -- for the next two to three weeks after test results revealed a stress reaction in his lower left leg. The injury isn't considered season-ending, but it could have a huge affect on the playoff picture in the West. The Spurs are 8-8 without Ginobili this season.

2. Roger Mason Jr. Is Coming Back Home

An under-the-radar contributor to the Wizards' surprising run to the playoffs last season, Roger Mason Jr. has landed in the spotlight in San Antonio. He signed a two-year, $7.3 million deal last summer after seemingly getting squeezed out of the rotation in Washington. But the Spurs aren't complaining with Mason nailing four heroic shots this season, with three coming on national television. He hit a game-winning three-pointer against Phoenix on Christmas, a game-winning three-point play against the Lakers on Jan. 14, and gutsy pull-up three-pointer in Boston on Feb. 8 (His other game-winner came against the Clippers on Nov. 17). Mason ranks eighth in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage (43.9) and ran into Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld on his flight to Phoenix, where he competed in the three-point shootout. Having a career year with the Spurs, Mason, the kid used to watch the Bullets at the Cap Centre, is excited about returning home.

3. The Spurs' Defense Isn't As Good

Adding Marcus Camby may have been the answer to one of Coach Gregg Popovich's greatest concerns about his team this season -- defense. Defense has been the key to the San Antonio Spurs' success under Popovich. It has resulted in four championships but also contributed to their reputation for being "boring" and low ratings whenever they reach the NBA Finals. The Spurs' defense is still good, but not great. The Spurs rank seventh in the NBA in scoring defense (94.5 points), but just 17th in field goal percentage defense (45.8 percent). Popovich places much more importance on field goal percentage defense (which might explain why Washington and Sacramento are the worst teams in that category and have the worst records in their respective conferences). In his l1 full seasons as coach, the Spurs never ranked lower than fifth in that category.

[hater]

For 2 years gilbert's been paid millions without even stepping on the court once

[Shastafarian]

Referee Assignments
Sat. Feb. 21
San Antonio @ Washington: B. Spooner, V. Palmer, D. Richardson

Oh freakin lame.

[silverblackfan]

I thought the same thing. Palmer has a chip when it comes to the Spurs and blows at least a few calls.

[Thomas82]

I thought the same thing. Palmer has a chip when it comes to the Spurs and blows at least a few calls.

Hopefully we'll be handling our business tonight and the refs won't be much of a factor.

[Bruno]

Thanks duncan228 :tu

With Manu's injury, Spurs must be more focus than ever for these "easy" games. Losing against good teams will be quite manageable, if you win these "easy" games.

[Shastafarian]

I thought the same thing. Palmer has a chip when it comes to the Spurs and blows at least a few calls.

I just said it cuz she's the worst ref in the league, Spurs bias or not.

[timtonymanu]

Wizards 106
Spurms 67

ur were almost close except you reversed the teams.