Spurs favored by 3 pts tonight

[Jimcs50]

Apparently, the odds makers think JO is more importamt to Indy than TD is to SA. Can our secondary players step up and outplay Indy's? Jackson has really been stepping up lately so it will be up to Manu and TP to carry the Spurs to victory. If we can not beat a Indy team that is w/o Tinsley, JO and Artest, we are in big trouble the rest of the year.

[ladiesman]

It has gone to -4 in some places....

Ladiesman

[boutons]

"If we cannot beat a Indy team that is w/o Tinsley, JO and Artest, we are in big trouble the rest of the year."

... and in the second game of road/home B2B, the first of which they lost.

The Knicks game was a horrible, failed Spurs' reponse to Tim going down.

Like the Knicks, the Pacers are seriously crippled lottery team. If the Spurs don't respond to the serial shocks of

1) Tim out
2) Spurs embarrasing themselves @Knicks.

... then these Spurs are in self-inflicted deep shit.

[johnny00]

Hard to believe we're favored by that much. If the boys in Silver and Black can win this it would give a much needed dose of confidence. My wish is that in the next few weeks a leader emerges from the team, Manu and Tony are the obvious ones but they haven't shown that they are ready to carry the load while Timmy's out. Which is disappointing because it would seem either one of them would be more than capable of taking up the responsibility.

[exstatic]

Like the Knicks, the Pacers are seriously crippled lottery team.

Do you even do any kind of research, or do you just post shit? Indy is the 7 seed in the East.

[boutons]

leading the team doesn't mean having the best stat line. I figure by the time Tim is a vocal/spiritual/butt-kicking/energizing/emotional/goal-setting leader on a par with his stat line, if ever, his stat line will be in serious decline.

I think the leadership issue is critical, it could be the Spurs' primary weakness.

[kskonn]

I don't think it is their primary weakness. I just don't think they have had to ever worry about a leader for the last 15 years. I think a new leader will emerge tonight. This team has to much character for someone not to emerge. a lot of the guys on this team have led other teams at other times. Someone will step up!!

[boutons]

I think Dave Robinson took a leadership dimension with him that hasn't been replaced.

I think Malik also contributed quite a bit to de-centralized leadership function.

[GrandeDavid]

Yep. It`d be pretty devastating, confidence-wise, were the Spurs to lose tonight. They really need to get this one then come home and take care of bidness against the ATL. Then you`ve got the showdown against the Cockets.

[kskonn]

If they can take care of business in the next two games they will be primed to play against the rockets. Especially since they are with out Juwan

[pooh]

The Pacers haven't had a set lineup all season, even pre-brawl. Injuries and the "suspensions" crippled them greatly. I'm not shocked that the Spurs are favored by at three or four points. The Pacers have been inconsistant all year, it's amazing they're still in the playoff race, considering all that they have been through. They could've easy folded up and did a 97 Spurs, but they haven't.

[Ishta]

All we need is 1.... We need this win for our guys to get their heads outta their butts.. First half team needs to play the WHOLE game and not go to sleep.
GO SPURS GO

[1Parker1]

The Pacers haven't had a set lineup all season, even pre-brawl. Injuries and the "suspensions" crippled them greatly. I'm not shocked that the Spurs are favored by at three or four points. The Pacers have been inconsistant all year, it's amazing they're still in the playoff race, considering all that they have been through. They could've easy folded up and did a 97 Spurs, but they haven't.

Oh Pooh, just when I think you're turning a corner, you give us a back-handed insult. Classy :)

[FromWayDowntown]

They could've easy folded up and did a 97 Spurs, but they haven't.

Yeah, David Robinson should have played through that broken foot in 97. What a freakin' baby, right?

Sean Elliott should have played through the knee injuries that were so bad that he was left off the playoff roster . . . in 1998.

Here's an idea -- if you're going to blame a team for tanking, at least come with some facts that back up that assertion. Find me a story anywhere that says that David Robinson was healthy enough to come back down the stretch of that season, but didn't. Find me a story that Sean Elliott was held out for precautionary reasons during that season. Or that Chuck Person was just faking it that season. Or that Charles Smith really could have played, but the organization just kept him out.

If you can do any of those things, I'll listen. Until then, you're just spewing garbage, pooh.

Oh yeah, and find me anything that talks about the Spurs making sure that they got the lucky lottery ball by sinking to the worst record in the league. The Spurs got lucky that their bad injury year came up roses in the lottery -- had they not gotten number 1, though, a plan to tank that season would have been a horrible miscalculation and doomed this franchise for years and years and years. Why doesn't anyone ever mention that when wantonly throwing around unfounded conspiracy theories?