Spurs vs. Thunder Previews

[Blackjack]

Saturday: Thunder (4-4) at Spurs (4-3) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Saturday_Thunder_4-4_at_Spurs_4-3.html)


Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: KMYS, NBATV
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - THUNDER

PG - 3 George Hill (6-2, 2nd yr) - 0 R. Westbrook (6-3, 2nd yr)
If Parker and/or Duncan return, throw this entire lineup out the window.

SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 2 Thabo Sefolosha (6-7, 4th yr)
Bogans forced his way into starting five with defense; scoring was icing.

SF - 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 22 Jeff Green (6-9, 3rd yr)
In past five games, Jefferson averaging 21.4 points, shooting 56.5 percent.

PF - 45 DeJuan Blair (6-7, 1st yr) - 35 Kevin Durant (6-9, 3rd yr)
Blair, 20, made first NBA start vs. Dallas; Durant, 21, has made 162.

C - 24 Antonio McDyess (6-10, 15th yr) - 12 Nenad Krstic (7-0, 6th yr)
Thunder are 4-1 this season when Krstic scores in double figures.

SPURS RESERVES
15 Matt Bonner, C/F, 6-10, 6th yr
4 Michael Finley, G/F, 6-7, 15th yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 8th yr
24 Malik Hairston, G, 6-6, 2nd yr
22 Marcus Haislip, F, 6-10, 4th yr
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr
42 Theo Ratliff, C, 6-10, 15th yr

THUNDER RESERVES
4 Nick Collison, F/C, 6-10, 6th yr
13 James Harden, G, 6-5, 1st yr
9 Serge Ibaka, F/C, 6-10, 1st yr
7 Kevin Ollie, G, 6-2, 13th yr
36 Etan Thomas, C, 6-10, 8th yr
5 Kyle Weaver, G, 6-6, 2nd yr
3 D.J. White, F, 6-9, 2nd yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Thunder: Scott Brooks

INJURIES
Spurs: Tony Parker (left ankle sprain) and Tim Duncan (left ankle swelling) are questionable.
Thunder: Westbrook (left ankle sprain) is probable.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Parker, Duncan
Thunder: Ryan Bowen, Shaun Livingston, Byron Mullins

NOTABLE
Thunder won only 23 games last year, but gave the Spurs fits in four meetings, winning two of them. ... Thunder victory over Clippers on Thursday was their fourth of the season. OKC didn’t win its fourth game last season until New Year’s Eve. ... Spurs’ bench ranks second in NBA in scoring (44.1 ppg), second in rebounding (18.7 per game) and assists (9.6 per game).

- Jeff McDonald

[Morg1411]

Damn, this will be the first Spurs game this season I won't be able to watch. I'd better post twice just to cover my bases...

:flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::f lag::flag:

[Morg1411]

:flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::flag::f lag::flag:

[BWS-1994]

NOTABLE
Thunder won only 23 games last year, but gave the Spurs fits in four meetings, winning two of them. ... Thunder victory over Clippers on Thursday was their fourth of the season. OKC didn’t win its fourth game last season until New Year’s Eve. ... Spurs’ bench ranks second in NBA in scoring (44.1 ppg), second in rebounding (18.7 per game) and assists (9.6 per game).

- Jeff McDonald

Hope the bench continues to play this well.

Also, does this include the Raptors and Mavs games?

[Danny.Zhu]

Prediction:
Spurs 105 94 Thunders

[Tp9gospursgo]

Prediction:
Spurs 105 94 Thunders
Thunders :lmao

[westbound17]

Go Spurs! beat the thunder, Timmy and Tony just take it slow..RJ and Manu will take care of everything.

[Ikstomi]

Go Spurs Go! Better for Timmy not to play. :)

[spursfan1000]

Lets go Spurs!!!

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Sat. Nov. 14
Oklahoma City @ San Antonio: Bob Delaney; Curtis Blair; Bill Kennedy

[benefactor]

Just keep the defense rolling and we will be fine.

[duncan228]

Oklahoma City (4-4) at San Antonio (4-3) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009111424&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Sat Nov 14, 2009
TV: KSBI, My35
By Santosh Venkataraman

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are out with sore left ankles. One of them should return Saturday night, but coach Gregg Popovich won’t say which.

The Spurs, looking to improve to 5-0 at home, hope one of their superstars will be back when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

San Antonio (4-3) played without Duncan and Parker on Wednesday, but still managed to beat Dallas 92-83. Popovich said one will likely return Saturday, although he didn’t hint as to who it would be.

Both missed the first two games of this three-game homestand, but San Antonio hasn’t missed a beat.

Richard Jefferson, acquired in the offseason from Milwaukee, has averaged a team-high 26.5 points in the last two games. He had 29 on Wednesday.

“I remember walking out in the second half and we were starting four guys that are new for this team,” he said. “To have a little success, to give some new guys some extra minutes in the season, is good.”

Manu Ginobili has averaged 24.5 points per game without Duncan and Parker.

Popovich has rotated his frontcourt starters in Duncan’s absence, using Michael Finley and Theo Ratliff in Monday’s win over Toronto and Antonio McDyess and rookie DeJuan Blair on Wednesday. Blair leads all rookies with a 7.3 rebounding average.

Perhaps the most surprising development for San Antonio has been the emergence of Keith Bogans, who signed with the team Sept. 25 and started the last three games. He scored 13 points Wednesday and has developed into a defensive stopper, replacing the retired Bruce Bowen.

“My job is defense, first and foremost - when a shot is there I will take it,” Bogans said. “I’m always ready to go whether I start or not. Without Tim and Tony, there is a big chance for others to play.”

Bogans could have his hands full Saturday if he matches up with fellow Washington, D.C.-area native Kevin Durant, who is averaging 27.0 points per game for Oklahoma City (4-4). That’s the same average Durant had against the Spurs last season as the teams split four meetings.

Durant scored 30 points and hit the winning jumper with 38 seconds to go in an 83-79 road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. He added 10 boards for his third double-double.

“It feels good to know that my team has the confidence in me to take those,” Durant said. “The last game and a couple of games before that I didn’t hit them, but tonight they fell for me.”

Point guard Russell Westbrook suffered an ankle injury that he played through Wednesday, but it doesn’t appear he will miss any action. Westbrook averaged 18.2 points in his first six games before scoring a total of 11 the last two.

The Thunder beat the Clippers despite posting their second-lowest point total of the season.

“It was just toughness. We didn’t score a lot of points, and I don’t think we shot good from the field,” guard Kevin Ollie said. “Our starting point guard was out there limping a little bit, so we just gutted out and we did it on the defensive end, which we’ve been doing a lot in our games this season.”

********************

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Kevin Durant OKC 27.0
Richard Jefferson SA 17.3

Rebounds
Kevin Durant OKC 7.5
Tim Duncan SA 11.8

Assists
Russell Westbrook OKC 7.2
Manu Ginobili SA 4.3

[DBMethos]

Referee Assignments
Sat. Nov. 14
Oklahoma City @ San Antonio: Bob Delaney; Curtis Blair; Bill Kennedy

We got this. :hat

[duncan228]

Game 9 Preview: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2009/11/14/1157372/game-9-preview-oklahoma-city-at)
by Zorgon

Backstory: The Spurs are like the old, forgotten team. They won a championship not so long ago and they continually make moves to stay competitive, but injuries just keep getting in the way of true success. This year, that description has held true to what the Spurs are. They made some off-season buzz by obtaining Richard Jefferson to fill a hole at Small Forward, but not near the amount of news the Magic made by grabbing Vince Carter, the Cavaliers made by grabbing Shaq, or the Lakers made by grabbing Ron Artest. And this season has started out with injury after injury, firstly to Tony Parker and secondly to Tim Duncan. One of them is probably going to play tonight, but we are unsure of who. Thus, I am very unsure of whom is going to win this game.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have been the epitome of average. At times, they look like they're on top of the world, able to compete with teams like the Lakers and blow out the short handed Magic, but at other times, they look pretty bad, barely beating the Clippers and playing extremely ugly games against the Trail Blazers and Kings. One never knows what we'll do against a slow, monotonous team like the Spurs, but considering we split the series last year, we have a fair shot at beating them.

Matchups: (Please Note that the Spurs lineup wavers from game to game, so I'll just follow the lineup Pounding the Rock says that the Spurs will have.)

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Matt Bonner

Wow, a matchup of two outside shooting Centers! To be honest, I haven't seen much of Matt Bonner, but I'm pretty sure he's not much of an inside guy. I'd say that Bonner has the advantage outside, whereas Krstic has the advantage inside.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Tim Duncan (Possibly Jefferson or Blair)

Well, this is a mismatch if I've ever seen one. To be honest, if Green can get his outside shot going, this could turn very nasty. And, if Green doesn't get his outside shot going, this could also be very nasty. I could see either side dominating the matchup, but in the end, I think it will be a wash, with Green having less rebounds than usual. If Jefferson starts, I see him winning the matchup, as he's a more versatile scorer than Green.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Richard Jefferson (Possibly Michael Finley)

Durant wins this matchup either way, but if old man Finley gets the start here, I could see a Durant bonanza starting to form. If the Spurs are smart, he won't start here. Either way, I don't see Durants defense getting in the way of Jefferson or Finley, so I think they'll have good games as well.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Keith Bogans (Possibly Michael Finley)

That's right, Manu Ginobili isn't starting. He'll often be the top performer for the Spurs, but he does it off the bench for some reason. Well, whatever floats the Spurs' boat is fine with me. I think that Sefolosha will win the matchup, just because of his recent performance in the intangible categories, something which really isn't seen in the Box Scores of Bogans. If Finley plays, I think Sefolosha can do a fair job of keeping him down. In his day, he was one of the NBAs best scorers, but these days, he's just alright.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. George Hill (Possibly Tony Parker)

George Hill is a really nice scoring point guard to have, but he's not nearly the distributor Tony Parker is. With the way Westbrook has been playing, he's about equal to George Hill, but if Tony Parker plays, he'll find himself out of his league.

Battle of the Benches:

Well, by having Manu Ginobili on their bench, the Spurs get an automatic win here. Oh yeah, can they've got Antonio McDyess, Dejuan Blair, Roger Mason Jr., and Theo Ratliff as well. Talk about us getting outclassed.

Coaching and Intangibles:

Gregg Popovich is an excellent coach from way back, the Spurs are at home, and they've won their last two games without Duncan or Parker. I think even the dullest bowls of soup can determine who has the advantage here.

Bottom Line:

The odds are stacked against the Thunder, and if either Duncan or Parker play, we'll be up against even greater odds. But if the Thunder can focus on ball movement, Kevin Durant can luck into good matchups, and, if Duncan or Parker play, the Thunder can neutralize their threat, then we'll have a chance. But, in the Spurs house....I think we're going to fall back below .500.

Prediction: Spurs 85, Thunder 73