Spurs vs. Jazz Previews

[duncan228]

Thursday: Jazz (5-6) at Spurs (4-5) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Thursday_Jazz_5-6_at_Spurs_4-5.html)

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

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - JAZZ

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 8 Deron Williams (6-3, 5th yr)
Williams won first duel between elite point guards in Utah’s Nov. 5 win.

SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 23 Wesley Matthews (6-5, 1st yr)
Undrafted rookie Matthews difficult for Spurs to solve in earlier meeting.

SF - 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 9 Ronnie Brewer (6-7, 4th yr)
Jefferson continues to look for shots with Duncan and Parker on floor.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 5 Carlos Boozer (6-9, 8th yr)
Usually Duncan’s foil, Boozer notched 27 points and 14 rebounds Nov. 5.

C - 45 DeJuan Blair (6-7, 1st yr) - 13 Mehmet Okur (6-11, 8th yr)
Blair second-shortest starting C in NBA, next to Houston’s Chuck Hayes.

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, F/C, 6-10, 15th yr

JAZZ RESERVES

44 Kyrylo Fesenko, C, 7-1, 3rd yr
47 Andrei Kirilenko, F, 6-9, 9th yr
41 Kostas Koufas, C, 7-0, 2nd yr
3 Eric Maynor, G, 6-3, 1st yr
24 Paul Millsap, F, 6-8, 4th yr
17 Ronnie Price, G, 6-2, 5th yr
26 Kyle Korver, G/F, 6-7, 7th yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Jazz: Jerry Sloan

INJURIES

Spurs: Parker (ankle) and Ginobili (groin) are both day-to-day.

Jazz: Matt Harpring (knee, ankle), C.J. Miles (left thumb surgery) and Kyle Korver (left knee surgery) are out. Price (sprained left big toe) is doubtful.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Malik Hairston, Marcus Haislip
Jazz: Harpring, Miles, Korver

NOTABLE

The Jazz handed the Spurs their worst loss of the season, 113-99 on Nov. 5 in Utah. It marked only the second time in 40 regular-season meetings the Jazz had topped 100 points against the Spurs. ... It was easily the best performance of the season for Utah, which has yet to win two games in a row. ... The Jazz have lost 20 straight in San Antonio, dating to a Feb. 28, 1999 victory at the Alamodome. They have never won at the AT&T Center.

— Jeff McDonald

[TDMVPDPOY]

lol cant wait for boozer to have a mvp game against us like last time...fuck this

[duncan228]

Okur, Price out (http://blogs.sltrib.com/jazz/index.php?p=6045&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)

The Jazz again will be down to just nine players for Thursday's game at San Antonio. Neither Mehmet Okur (flu-like symptoms) nor Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) will be making the trip, the team announced before Wednesday's game against Toronto.

Okur took part in Wednesday’s pregame shootaround but missed the game against Toronto. He was not believed to be suffering from the H1N1 flu, according to early indications. Kyrylo Fesenko will make his third career start in Okur’s absence.

Price continues to be bothered the toe injury he suffered in a Nov. 9 victory over New York. Thursday's game will be the fifth consecutive missed by Price, who has undergone two MRI exams and saw a specialist Wednesday.

Deron Williams was planning to make the trip to San Antonio, despite his daughter's recent health concerns.

--Ross Siler

[HarlemHeat37]

Utah doesn't win in San Antonio..

If Duncan plays defense like he did tonight, Boozer isn't going to do what he did last time..

It also helps a lot that Okur isn't playing, he usually kills the Spurs..

[ffadicted]

Sweet, now bonner can't make Okur seemed like Dirk.

Also, TP and Manu aren't playing, so I'm hoping to see Hairston out there, and RJ picking up the wing offense. This should be a good game, and luckily we're back home

[alchemist]

Duncan is pissed...I expect a Cordillera Hotel special for the Jazz.

[duncan228]

Jazz at Spurs (http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_13821248)
At AT&T Center, San Antonio

Records » Jazz 5-6, San Antonio 4-5.

Last meeting » Jazz, 113-99 (Nov. 5)

Line » Spurs by 8

About the Jazz » The Jazz have lost 20 consecutive regular-season games to the Spurs in San Antonio, plus another three during the 2007 Western Conference finals. Their last win in the city came Feb. 28, 1999, a Midwest Division game at the Alamodome. ... The 113 points scored against the Spurs earlier this month was the Jazz's most during the Tim Duncan era. Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams each had 27 in the game. ... The Jazz are 0-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season and 2-4 on the road.

About the Spurs » The Spurs have gotten off to a slow start and were beaten at home by Oklahoma City on Saturday. ... Tim Duncan (left ankle swelling) and Tony Parker (sprained left ankle) both missed two games this month but returned against the Thunder. Duncan had 22 points and 10 rebounds while Parker totaled 17 points and five assists. ... It will be the second game of a back-to-back for the Spurs as well, who lost at Dallas 99-94 in overtime on Wednesday.

[Xylus]

About the Jazz » The Jazz have lost 20 consecutive regular-season games to the Spurs in San Antonio, plus another three during the 2007 Western Conference finals. Their last win in the city came Feb. 28, 1999, a Midwest Division game at the Alamodome. ... The 113 points scored against the Spurs earlier this month was the Jazz's most during the Tim Duncan era. Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams each had 27 in the game. ... The Jazz are 0-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season and 2-4 on the road.

:wow :wow :wow

:rollin

[duncan228]

Utah (5-6) at San Antonio (4-5) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009111924&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Thu Nov 19, 2009
TV: FSUT, FSSW
By Matt Beardmore

The Utah Jazz haven’t won in San Antonio in more than a decade, but the way they’re shooting the ball lately, that streak could end Thursday night.

Looking for consecutive wins for the first time this season, the Jazz will try to snap a 20-game road losing streak against the Spurs, who could be without two of their star guards as they open their four-game homestand.

Before opening its own six-game homestand Saturday, Utah (5-6) will try to win its first game in San Antonio since a 101-87 victory on Feb. 28, 1999.

While Utah has shot better than 50 percent just once in its last 23 games in San Antonio, the Jazz are hitting 50.8 percent from the field in their last three games.

Utah shot a season-best 53.0 percent and scored 60 first-half points in a 113-99 home win over San Antonio on Nov. 5. Carlos Boozer scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as the Jazz beat the Spurs for the first time in five overall meetings.

Boozer posted his third straight double-double with 22 points and a season-high 18 rebounds in Wednesday’s 104-91 victory over Toronto. After missing the previous two games due to a family issue, Williams scored 20 points and handed out nine assists.

Rookie point guard Eric Maynor, who averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 assists during Williams’ absence, scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and had six assists off the bench against the Raptors.

“He continues to impress me,” Williams said. “He’s playing great. He’s composed, he’s making plays. He takes a lot of pressure off a lot of people.”

Tony Parker does the same for San Antonio (4-5), but the three-time All-Star point guard is questionable after missing Wednesday’s 99-94 overtime loss to Dallas with a sprained left ankle he aggravated Saturday versus Oklahoma City.

“He hasn’t been able to practice since then,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team is hoping to avoid its first three-game slide of the season.

Manu Ginobili, who sat the fourth quarter of the 101-98 loss to the Thunder with a tight left hamstring, made his first start of the season Wednesday but left after the first quarter with a strained left groin.

Popovich said after the game that Ginobili would not play Thursday.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists against the Mavericks. He scored the game-tying layup with 2.3 seconds left in regulation and blocked Jason Terry’s potential game-winning jumper, but Dallas used an 8-0 run in overtime to drop the Spurs to 0-4 on the road.

“With Tony out and then how Manu went out, it hurt not having them in there,” said Duncan, who had 15 points and 13 boards in the Nov. 5 loss in Salt Lake City. “But I thought we did a good job keeping it together.”

George Hill, who started for Parker on Wednesday, scored 15 points. He is averaging 16.5 on 49.0 percent shooting in his last four games.

First-year Spur Richard Jefferson bounced back from a season-low four points versus Oklahoma City with 13 and a season-high 11 rebounds Wednesday.

Williams led the Jazz with 25 points and 10 assists in the team’s last game in San Antonio, a 105-99 loss April 10. Parker had 31 points and seven assists for the Spurs, and Duncan added 14 points and nine boards while committing six turnovers.

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

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Deron Williams Uta 20.3
Tim Duncan SA 16.7

Rebounds
Carlos Boozer Uta 11.4
Tim Duncan SA 11.9

Assists
Deron Williams Uta 9.8
Manu Ginobili SA 4.2

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

The Spurs have won 20 straight home games against the Jazz, with their last home loss to the Jazz coming over 10 years ago on February 28, 1999. That's the third-longest active home win streak against a single opponent, behind the Spurs' 22-game home win streak over the Warriors and the Suns' 21-game home win streak over the Bucks.

[duncan228]

Spurred on (http://blogs.sltrib.com/jazz/index.php?p=6051&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)

Almost exactly a year ago, the Jazz went into San Antonio on Nov. 21, 2008 determined to end their long Alamo City losing streak against a 5-6 (at the time) Spurs team missing Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Instead, they were absolutely crushed. The Spurs trashed the Jazz 119-94 with Roger Mason hitting seven three-pointers and scoring 29 points and rookie George Hill adding 23 off the bench. San Antonio went 15 of 25 from beyond the arc in the game.

In other words, don’t go into Thursday’s game expecting the Jazz to break their 20-game (23 counting the playoffs) losing streak in San Antonio. It’s better to come away with a feeling of pleasant surprise if and when it happens.

The Jazz are 0-13 all-time at AT&T Center (0-16 including the playoffs). “It’s just tough to look back over 13 or 14 years and haven’t won a game there,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. For the record, the Jazz last won in San Antonio on Feb. 28, 1999.

Have to say, though, the Spurs look vulnerable, giving up 113 points to the Jazz earlier this month and losing at home to Oklahoma City on Saturday. Ginobili and Parker already are out Thursday, though having Richard Jefferson could be a life saver for the Spurs.

You also wonder if the Jazz will regret not having put away Toronto earlier Wednesday. Deron Williams had to play 43 minutes while Carlos Boozer logged 39.

I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but I think the Jazz’s losing streak in San Antonio might be the second- or third-longest for any one team against another in the league, after Milwaukee’s streak in Phoenix and Golden State’s in San Antonio.

* * *

Nobody’s really talked about it, but Carlos Boozer has been sensational the last three games. Boozer’s posted 20-10 numbers in all three and is averaging 23.7 points, 14 rebounds and 0.3 backboard-slaps-after-follow-up-dunks in that time.

Boozer is shooting 29 of 51(56.9 percent) and had 22 points and 18 rebounds against the Raptors. From where he was to start the season, Boozer has come remarkably far in barely a month.

* * *

With Mehmet Okur out with flu-like symptoms, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan opted to start Kyrylo Fesenko against the Raptors. Fesenko had three points and five rebounds in 19 minutes but Sloan offered some pointed criticism after the game.

“Fes had some good moments out there,” Sloan said, “but this is what you talk about. Everybody wants to play, but you’ve got to pay the price to get in shape.

“He couldn’t catch the ball after he got tired. The ball was all around his head. He’s got to be able to stay with it and work a little harder, get in better shape, so he can get more playing time.

“He can be a factor, as big as he is - - and he showed that to start - - but you’ve got to have that kind of play all the time if he’s going an effective player.”

* * *

The Jazz won despite missing 7 of 22 free throws in the second half. They benefited from being able to play from ahead all night after an incredible first quarter in which they shot 61.5 percent and built an 18-point lead.

It seemed like everything the Jazz touched was going in the basket that quarter. Even when Williams forced up a jumper to beat the shot clock, Boozer came up with an easy putback. Boozer also beat the shot clock himself with a baseline jumper.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter and Sloan was happy that the Jazz didn’t panic after watching their big lead trimmed to one. In fact, he praised Eric Maynor and Williams with getting the Jazz in their offense.

“If you’re running haywire all over the place, then you don’t have anything,” Sloan said.

--Ross Siler

[Rynospursfan]

Another game with a bunch of injuries. Hopefully the Spurs can continue their dominance over the Jazz in SA.

[AussieFanKurt]

we'll triumph

[balli]

Lick those wounds bitches, Utah was looking good last night.

Our scrubs, Maynor and Matthews have been carrying us. And when Okur's out, Big Fes has been stepping up admirably. I have a feeling we're going to get that 10 year long monkey off our backs.

Hope your squad manages to get through the game without anyone rupturing a tendon or anything, but I wouldn't count on it.

[ElNono]

I would like Pop to throw waves of Hill and Bogans at D-Will. He's the engine of that team. If you slow him down, everything else does too.
I *WILL* cringe if we have Mason on him for any stretch of the game.

[balli]

I would like Pop to throw waves of Hill and Bogans at D-Will. He's the engine of that team. If you slow him down, everything else does too.
I *WILL* cringe if we have Mason on him for any stretch of the game.

Last night we went with a two pg lineup of Deron and Eric Maynor.

They went for 20&9 and 15&6, respectively.

So hopefully for us, if you guys beat the shit out of D-Will (as you should) Maynor compensates.

[duncan228]

Utah Jazz (5-6) at San Antonio Spurs (4-5) (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/scores/live/preview.aspx?id=12406)

The slumping San Antonio Spurs hope to get some support in the Alamo City tonight, when they open a four-game homestand versus the Utah Jazz at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs have dropped two straight and four of six games to fall to 4-5 on the season, and just suffered a 99-94 overtime loss in Dallas on Wednesday. Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 of his season-high 41 points in overtime to burn San Antonio, which fell to 0-4 as the guest this season.

Tim Duncan ended with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, while Richard Jefferson contributed 13 points and 11 boards in the loss.

"Both teams were physical and it is always a good rivalry when these two teams play. Down the stretch and in overtime they made some shots and did a good job," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

Tony Parker (ankle) missed Wednesday's game and Manu Ginobili left the contest in the first quarter with a groin problem and did not return. According to Popovich, Ginobili will not play tonight, while Parker is doubtful. San Antonio will also host Washington, Milwaukee and Golden State on the homestand and is 4-1 at the AT&T Center.

Utah has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games and handed the Toronto Raptors a 104-91 setback on Wednesday from EnergySolutions Arena.

Deron Williams returned to the Utah lineup and posted 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds to lead the way. Williams missed the final two games of the team's recent road trip to be with his daughter as she went through some medical tests. Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and pulled down 18 rebounds for Utah, which also received 20 points from Andrei Kirilenko. Eric Maynor scored nine of his 15 points during a fourth quarter run that sealed the victory.

"He has been playing great that allows me to step out and play the two a little bit," Williams said of Maynor. "He earned playing time, he showed the coaching staff he belongs on the court and played well in my absence and is still playing well."

Mehmet Okur (flu) and Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) both missed the game and are expected to be out again for Thursday's tilt.

Utah hasn't played so hot in San Antonio, losing its last 20 trips there, but defeated the Spurs, 113-99, on November 5 this season in Salt Lake City. San Antonio is 10-5 in the past 15 overall matchups between the teams.

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Thurs. Nov 19
Utah @ San Antonio: Joe Crawford; Derrick Collins; Scott Wall

[ffadicted]

Instead, they were absolutely crushed. The Spurs trashed the Jazz 119-94 with Roger Mason hitting seven three-pointers and scoring 29 points and rookie George Hill adding 23 off the bench. San Antonio went 15 of 25 from beyond the arc in the game.

Yeah, can't see that happening tonight

[duncan228]

The E-N Slideshow preview (http://www.mysanantonio.com/slideshows/Spurs_vs_Jazz.html?c=y&page=1).

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/new+new+Spurs+Jazz+intro+copy.jpg

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/Spurs+Jazz+Point+Guard+copy.jpg

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/Spurs+Jazz+Shooting+Guard+copy.jpg

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/Spurs+Jazz+Small+Forward+copy.jpg

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/Spurs+Jazz+Power+Forward+copy.jpg

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/Spurs+Jazz+Center+copy.jpg

http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/Spurs+Jazz+Reserves+copy.jpg

[duncan228]

Utah Jazz: Williams looks to end 'curse' in San Antonio (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705345735/Utah-Jazz-Williams-looks-to-end-curse-in-San-Antonio.html)
D-Will looks to end 'curse' in San Antonio
By Jody Genessy
Deseret News

As far as Deron Williams is concerned, there is something in Texas that's way too big.

The former Dallas resident is downright determined to do something about it tonight, too.

It's been more than 10 years since the Utah Jazz have won in San Antonio, and Williams believes it's about time the Spurs' huge winning streak against them ended.

"We're not going to talk about it," Williams said after Wednesday's win over Toronto. "We're just going to go down there and get a victory."

Neither team will be at full strength for tonight's 6:30 p.m. clash at the AT&T Center, where Utah has never won. The Jazz have lost 20 straight in San Antonio since winning at the Alamdome on Feb. 28, 1999.

The Jazz will have to do so without a starter who helped them beat San Antonio earlier this season in Utah. Mehmet Okur, who had 10 points in the 113-99 win a couple of weeks ago, did not travel to Texas with the team because of flu-like symptoms.

San Antonio, however, will be missing sixth-man Manu Ginobili, who strained his left groin in a loss to Dallas on Wednesday night, and point guard Tony Parker is listed as doubtful with a sprained left ankle.

Of course, Williams doesn't care who is on the court. He — and the Jazz — simply want to get a rare victory in San Antonio.

"We've got to forget this curse thing," he said, "and just go down there and win."

Utah at a loss in San Antonio

(The Jazz have lost 20 straight times playing the Spurs on the road in the regular season. Utah's margin of defeat during that streak is 15.85 points per game.)

1999: 101-87, W; 84-78, L

1999-2000: 93-86, L; 106-83, L

2000-01: 86-79, L; 106-88, L

2001-02: 100-80, L; 102-98, L

2002-03: 107-85, L; 101-81, L

2003-04: 87-78, L; 85-81, L

2004-05: 109-76, L; 101-94, L

2005-06: 115-82, L

2006-07: 106-83, L; 102-93, L

2007-08: 104-98, L; 109-80, L

2008-09: 119-94, L; 105-99, L

[duncan228]

Spurs Are Jazz’s Biggest Measuring Stick (http://www.jazzbots.com/web/2009/11/19/spurs-are-jazzs-biggest-measuring-stick/)
by James Seaman

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/lead/lead222.jpg

Once upon a time, the Utah Jazz owned the San Antonio Spurs. In this land of long ago and far away, Utah routinely eliminated their Alamo City rivals from the playoffs. The Jazz sent David Robinson and his fellow black-clad ballers slinking off to an early summer three times in five seasons between 1994 and 1998. Losing a critical game to San Antonio was unheard of in a Jazzland that seems impossibly distant with each subsequent visit to Texas. But back in the day, Karl Malone used to beat the crap out of David Robinson on a regular basis. It felt the Jazz wouldn’t—simply couldn’t—lose to San Antonio. The Spurs made us look tough. They’d rack up a ton of regular season wins and secure homecourt advantage against us (as they did in ’94 and ’96), but we’d inevitably march into their place to steal a game, then bury the Mermaid and his crew in Salt Lake City. The Jazz didn’t drop a single home playoff game to the Spurs over the course of three series in the 90s.

More than a decade later, the Jazz find themselves weighed down by the heaviest of burdens, victims of 23 consecutive defeats in San Antonio. As Utah prepares to take yet another shot at the Spurs in their building Thursday night, fans can’t help but reminisce about the glory days and wonder how it all went wrong. The truth is that, while reaping the rewards of seemingly endless success against the Spurs of an earlier era, the Jazz unknowingly sowed the seeds of their own destruction. While Jazz fans celebrated their routine wins over the Spurs, a brooding figure stood in the shadows, collecting information and plotting a hardwood takeover. Gregg Popovich—San Antonio’s GM when Utah dispatched the Spurs from the playoffs in 1996—viewed the Jazz with both admiration and envy. He appreciated Utah’s toughness and commitment to defense. He praised the Jazz for their precise, finely-tuned offense. And he sought to build a similar model—perhaps a better one—from the ashes of a San Antonio team that consistently crashed and burned in the playoffs. Popovich would use Utah’s design to create a machine that would eventually rule the basketball world.

Granted, Popovich benefitted from one freakishly bad season when injuries to David Robinson and Sean Elliott landed San Antonio in the lottery. The Spurs wound up with Tim Duncan who needed only two seasons to procure what John Stockton and Karl Malone had fought for in vain their entire careers—an NBA Title. But in winning four championships over nine seasons, San Antonio’s mastermind built on the fundamentals he observed in Utah. For ten years, the Spurs have played stifling defense. They have run their offense—boring though it may seem—with precision through their star player, Tim Duncan (just as Utah once ran it systematically through Stockton and Malone). Popovich assembled a supporting cast that complimented the talents of his prized horse in the middle. And while Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have reached star status themselves, guys like Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry put those San Antonio squads over the top. Other teams hated playing them, just like our rivals once hated playing the Jazz. And while we might maintain that sticking your foot underneath an airborne jumpshooter (ala Bowen) or sending Steve Nash into the scorer’s table (courtesy of Horry) constitutes dirty play, Spurs fans certainly had no problem with it. Likewise, no right-minded Jazz fan ever complained about Stockton’s purportedly dirty play or Malone’s infamous elbows. Teams and their fans feared us, and we loved it that way. But those teams and those fans came to fear the Spurs even more for they perfected what the Jazz invented. Even after Utah had fallen from the ranks of the elite, the Jazz occupied Popovich’s thoughts. During his club’s beatdown at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 Western Conference Finals, Popovich responded to reporters’ inquiries about why his team couldn’t seem to unleash any anger: “I don’t think we’re like that…we dislike Utah more than we dislike the Lakers.”

Just as surely as the tables turned on the Jazz and their fans, San Antonio can’t stay atop the basketball world forever. They look almost vulnerable now, with decisive playoff defeats the last two seasons and a loss to our own Jazz earlier this month. But as long as Duncan still roams the paint and Tony Parker still shows off for his desperate housewife, San Antonio will provide formidable opposition to all who challenge them. For us, as Jazz fans, the Spurs mean something more. They are the guardians, the gatekeepers of true contender status. They took what we once had—toughness, moxie, the self-assurance that we’re going to kick your blankety-blank and there’s nothing you can do about it. While the Lakers reign as defending champs and the Nuggets currently hold the Northwest Division crown, the Spurs represent our ultimate measuring stick. It’s a lonely climb back to the top of that mountain, but it begins with a breakthrough win in San Antonio.

[tlongII]

Ginobili - strained groin

Parker - sprained ankle

Duncan - sore knee



What else is new?...

[SpurNation]

Lick those wounds bitches, Utah was looking good last night.

Our scrubs, Maynor and Matthews have been carrying us. And when Okur's out, Big Fes has been stepping up admirably. I have a feeling we're going to get that 10 year long monkey off our backs.

Hope your squad manages to get through the game without anyone rupturing a tendon or anything, but I wouldn't count on it.

:lmao This coming from a person who posted this...


Son. Nobody on the Jazz is mormon and I do not support them. I hope they lose every game left on their schedule. F*** those losers.


http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139700&highlight=Jazz

[duncan228]

GAME PREVIEW: Jazz at Spurs (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=304&sid=8736296)
By Robert Jackson

SAN ANTONIO -- February 28, 1999 - exactly ten years, eight months and 22 days ago. That date may not jump out to most, but for the Jazz it has a lot of significance.

Karl Malone dumped 30 points on the Spurs in the old Alamo Dome, as the Jazz defeated San Antonio 101-87. That was the last time Utah experienced a road victory against the Spurs.

Losers of 20 straight road games against the Spurs, the Jazz (5-6) will try to change their fortune as they take on San Antonio (4-5) Thursday night in the AT&T Center.

The Jazz are coming into this game fresh off of a 104-91 win over the Toronto Raptors Wednesday. Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer shot 6-8 from the field and scored 12 points in first quarter as the Jazz jumped out to a 33-17 lead.

"It took us a little bit of time to gel, but we're there," Boozer said in his post game interview. "We're having fun right now."

San Antonio is looking to rebound after a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Mavericks. Dallas went on an 8-0 run in overtime to give their Spurs their fourth straight road loss.

KSL takes a look back and a look ahead as we prep for the game against the Spurs.

What did we learn about the Jazz against Toronto?


•Jazz rookies Eric Maynor and Wesley Matthews can play. Maynor scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

•When Carlos Boozer plays with intensity, he can put up some big numbers.

•Andrei Kirilenko is a threat off the bench. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

What can the Jazz expect from San Antonio?


•Richard Jefferson is averaging 18.5 points in his last six games. Jefferson has also scored in double figures five times and has 20+ points in his last three of his last four games.

•Since Tim Duncan joined the Spurs prior to the 1997-98 season, the team has enjoyed remarkable success … over the 13-year span and counting, the Spurs have the best record in the NBA with a 673-287 mark giving them a winning percentage of .701, which is the best mark of any team in professional sports during that time period.

Probable Jazz starting lineup


•C - Kyrylo Fesenko, 7-1, 300 lbs., Ukraine
•PF - Carlos Boozer, 6-9, 260 lbs., Duke
•SF - Ronnie Brewer, 6-7, 236 lbs., Arkansas
•SG - Wesley Matthews, 6-5, 224 lbs., Marquette
•PG - Deron Williams, 6-3, 207 lbs., Illinois

Probable Spurs starting lineup


•PG - George Hill
•SG - Keith Bogans
•SF - Richard Jefferson
•PF - DeJuan Blair
•C - Tim Duncan

Jazz Injury Updates


•Kyle Korver and C.J. Miles out, but both worked out hard today. Korver was even shooting before the game.
•Ronnie Price - OUT, but will not need surgery. Will continue rehab
•Mehmet Okur - OUT, flu like symptoms

Spurs Injury Updates


Manu Ginobili (SG) - OUT (strained left groin)
•Tony Parker (PG) - doubtful (ankle)

Conclusion

With both Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker out for Thursday's game, this is a great opportunity for the Jazz to steal a win away from the Spurs in San Antonio.