Spurs vs. Mavericks Previews

[Blackjack]

Wednesday: Spurs (4-4) at Mavericks (8-3) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Wednesday_Spurs_4-4_at_Mavericks_8-3.html)


Time: 8:30 p.m.
TV: FSNSW, ESPN
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - MAVERICKS

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 2 Jason Kidd (6-3, 16th yr)
Parker averaged 31.3 points against Mavericks last season.

SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 3 R. Beaubois (6-2, 1st yr)
Beaubois, Parker's countryman, did not play vs. Spurs in earlier meeting.

SF - 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 0 Shawn Marion (6-7, 11th yr)
Jefferson needs more than 4 FGA, even with Parker & Duncan on floor.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 41 Dirk Nowitzki (7-0, 11th yr)
Strange stat: Spurs 0-2 this season when Duncan eclipses 20 points.

C - 45 DeJuan Blair (6-7, 1st yr) - 25 Erick Dampier (6-11, 13th yr)
Blair leads NBA rookies in rebounding and field-goal percentage.

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
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 2nd yr
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr
24 A. McDyess, F, 6-10, 15th yr
42 Theo Ratliff, C, 6-10, 15th yr

MAVERICKS RESERVES
11 J.J. Barea, G, 6-4, 4th yr
13 Matt Carroll, G, 6-6, 7th yr
90 Drew Gooden, C/F, 6-10, 8th yr
43 Kris Humphries, F, 6-9, 6th yr
6 Quinton Ross, G/F, 6-6, 6th yr
33 James Singleton, F, 6-8, 4th yr
31 Jason Terry, G, 6-2, 11th yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Mavericks: Rick Carlisle

INJURIES
Spurs: None.
Mavericks: Josh Howard (left ankle) and Tim Thomas (right knee surgery) are out.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Marcus Haislip, Malik Hairston.
Mavericks: Howard, Thomas, Shawne Williams.

NOTABLE
One week after capturing a 92-83 home win over the Mavericks, Spurs gird for rematch with the Southwest Division leaders. Spurs won the previous meeting without Parker and Duncan, who were out with left ankle injuries. ... Mavs, who will play without Josh Howard for the foreseeable future, are hoping for a similar boost. ... Spurs are 0-3 on the road this season, losing by an average of 11 points. ... Spurs have won six of the past eight regular-season meetings

- Jeff McDonald

[mytespurs]

Spurs have been playing inconsistently of late so it wouldn't surprise me if the Mavs win this one.

[mesothorny]

No Marion, no Howard, Hill on Terry... I like our chances!

[FeZZy]

Let's get a win..i predict manu teabagging dampier for a dunk..

[Fpoonsie]

Just curious...according to that lineup sheet, Marion and Dampier WILL be playing. Is there something else suggesting that they wont?

[Blackjack]

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs preview (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/111809dnspomavscap.3f64264.html)



Scouting the Spurs

They have played only one game since beating the Mavericks, 92-83, a week ago. In that game, they lost at home to Oklahoma City, 101-98, despite the return of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker from ankle injuries. Duncan had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Parker had 17 points and five assists. ... Coach Gregg Popovich is experimenting with Parker and second-year guard George Hill, who was a shooting guard in college but has been a point guard for the Spurs. ... Richard Jefferson blistered the Mavericks last week with 29 points and the Spurs' defense snuffed the Mavericks, who shot just 35.4 percent.


Scouting the Mavericks

They can't say enough about the job Drew Gooden has done in place of Erick Dampier, who will be out again while undergoing further tests after he became ill Sunday before the Detroit game. Gooden averaged 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in two starts and had the key tipin that tied the score in overtime against Milwaukee on Monday. "When the opportunity knocked, he was ready," coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's been a challenging transition for him to a new team. He's had to come off the bench, which he's not used to. But he kept a great attitude about it." ... The Mavericks have been spreading it around of late with five players in double figures in each of the last two games.

Eddie Sefko

[Blackjack]

San Antonio (4-4) at Dallas (8-3) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009111806&prov=ap)

Game info: 9:30 pm EST Wed Nov 18, 2009 TV: ESPN

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN, STATS Senior Writer


The San Antonio Spurs (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/sas) are 0-3 on the road, but should have some confidence playing an opponent they beat at home a week ago while short-handed.

There’s little question that the surging Dallas Mavericks (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/dal) are confident after winning the final three games of a road trip.

The Southwest Division rivals meet for the second time in eight days Wednesday night when the Mavericks begin a three-game homestand.

San Antonio (4-4) has yet to win on the road and is 2-4 overall with Tony Parker (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3527) and Tim Duncan (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3173) in the lineup. Both superstars missed two victories last week before returning for Saturday’s 101-98 loss to Oklahoma City.

Richard Jefferson (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3523), acquired in an offseason trade with Milwaukee, had a season-low four points in 35 minutes after averaging 26.5 in the two games without Parker and Duncan. The newcomer feels it is difficult to judge the Spurs through eight games.

“We still haven’t played that many games together yet,” Jefferson said. “And I think everyone’s always looking for that 8-2 start, everything’s going great. Well that’s not how the NBA works sometimes.”

Jefferson’s best game with San Antonio came last Wednesday in a 92-83 win over Dallas (8-3) with Parker and Duncan out. He scored 29 points in the first game between the rivals since the Mavericks eliminated the Spurs in five games in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Playing Dallas again so soon gives this matchup a bit of a postseason feel.

“I played home-and-homes before with teams where you play them on a Friday and you turn around and play them back-to-back on a Saturday,” Jefferson said. “It’s interesting, but I think it’s good for us to get these good, competitive games against a quality team.”

The Mavericks have won three straight since that loss, winning 115-113 in overtime at Milwaukee on Monday. Dirk Nowitzki (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3252) capped a 32-point, 11-rebound performance with the winning 18-foot jumper as time expired.

“We feel fortunate,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We played hard enough to deserve the game and they did too. It’s a great win for us and a tough loss for them.”

The winning streak has coincided with Carlisle inserting Rodrigue Beaubois (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4630) into the lineup after the rookie did not see action last week against the Spurs. Beaubois is averaging 11.7 points on 63.6 percent (14 of 22) shooting.

Beaubois has formed a quality backcourt tandem with Jason Kidd (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/2625), Jefferson’s former teammate at New Jersey. Kidd had a season-high 17 assists on Monday.

“This is a big win. … We’ve given some away and tonight, it was kind of looking like that, but we stayed involved and made some plays down the stretch,” Kidd said.

The short-handed Mavs lost forward Shawn Marion (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3332) to a sprained left ankle in the second quarter. Owner Mark Cuban said Marion is day to day, but should be fine.

Erick Dampier’s (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3117) status is uncertain. The center was hospitalized after warmups ahead of Sunday night’s 95-90 victory in Detroit and Drew Gooden (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3602) has posted two double-doubles in his place.

[Danny.Zhu]

Prediction
Spurs 98
Dallas 94

[AussieFanKurt]

Spurs have been playing inconsistently of late so it wouldn't surprise me if the Mavs win this one.

unfortunately youre probably right

[raspsa]

Dallas is banged up.. hopefully the Spurs don't get complacent. A win would be nice but more importantly is if they do it with defense and balanced scoring.

[Amarelooms]

Fully expect the Spurs to win...no biggie they need it more. We all know come playoff time if these teams meet and are healthy, one team owns the other :elephant

[gameFACE]

Spurs could very easily lose this one with Mavs reserves stepping up like the Spurs did last week. Watch out for Oompa Loompa Barea. The Spurs have unfortunately had too many days off again and could come out lethargic. Don't get kicked in the teeth early.

[Phenomanul]

I don't like the long layoff.... that hurt the Spurs big-time against Utah and put them in an early deficit... historically, these have been rhythm killers for them...

[ManuTastic]

Nice that Dallas is missing some big pieces, but I'm more concerned with SA's 0-for-the-road record this year, and the fact we haven't gotten everyone in sync yet. Curious to see the lineups Pop pulls out tonight. As always.

[benefactor]

You taking over for 228, Blackjack?

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Wed. Nov. 18
San Antonio @ Dallas: Monty McCutchen; James Capers; Leroy Richardson

[LOL@MavsFan]

Fully expect the Spurs to win...no biggie they need it more. We all know come playoff time if these teams meet and the Mavs are healthy and the Spurs are not, one team owns the other :elephant

Fixed

[NFGIII]

Howard out again with the ankle? I don't remember which one was hurt making him miss those games early on. Damn I hope he can recover and stay injury free this season. I like his game and will always remember RC not taking him since he was a "Manu clone".

Since the Mavs seemd banged up and thin at the 5 we have a good chance to take this one. TD should be able to take Gooden down low.

Hopefully RJ and TP can start gettting it together and the spacing will improve.

[Blackjack]

You taking over for 228, Blackjack?

Just helpin' out a friend when she's unable; her backup point, if you will. (Unfortunately, more of a Goldwire than a Hill.. :lol)

[bdictjames]

Duncan needs to step up, take charge, be the #1 option for this team in both sides.

[ffadicted]

Between all the players Dallas is missing, and how much they've played lately, I fully expect a spurs win. Anything less would be unacceptable

[hater]

Between all the players Dallas is missing, and how much they've played lately, I fully expect a spurs win. Anything less would be unacceptable

:tu

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Go spurs go

[AussieFanKurt]

Go spurs go

Top bloke

[crc21209]

Well I know Marion is out tonight for sure....but what about Dampier? Either way the Mavs always play the Spurs tough in their own house...

[duncan228]

Just helpin' out a friend when she's unable; her backup point, if you will...

Appreciate it Blackjack. :toast