Spurs vs. Pacers Previews

[duncan228]

Saturday: Pacers (9-14) at Spurs (13-10) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Saturday_Pacers_9-14_at_Spurs_13-10.html)

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

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - PACERS

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 5 T.J. Ford (6-0, 6th yr)
Passing first is nice, but Spurs would like Parker to be more aggressive.

SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 25 Brandon Rush (6-6, 2nd yr)
Bogans in starting five takes some defensive pressure off Jefferson.

SF - 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 17 Mike Dunleavy (6-9, 8th yr)
After knee surgery, Dunleavy has been effective when minutes allow.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 3 Troy Murphy (6-11, 9th yr)
Back-to-back scoring binges have Duncan over 20 points per game.

C - 34 Antonio McDyess (6-10, 15th yr) - 55 Roy Hibbert (7-2, 2nd yr)
Hibbert could be in mix for league’s Most Improved Player.

SPURS RESERVES

15 Matt Bonner, C/F, 6-10, 6th yr
45 DeJuan Blair, F, 6-7, 1st yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 8th yr
1 Malik Hairston, G/F, 6-5, 2nd yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 2nd yr
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr
42 Theo Ratliff, C, 6-10, 15th yr

PACERS RESERVES

10 Jeff Foster, F/C, 6-11, 11th yr
13 Luther Head, G, 6-3, 5th yr
1 Dahntay Jones, G, 6-6, 7th yr
44 Solomon Jones, F, 6-10, 4th yr
32 Josh McRoberts, F, 6-10, 3rd yr
22 A.J. Price, G, 6-2, 1st yr
2 Earl Watson, G, 6-1, 9th yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Pacers: Jim O’Brien

INJURIES

Spurs: Michael Finley (sprained left ankle) is out.
Pacers: Travis Diener (surgery left big toe) and Danny Granger (torn right plantar fascia) are out. Foster (sore back) is day-to-day.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Marcus Haislip, Finley
Pacers: Diener, Granger

NOTABLE

Tonight’s game kicks off stretch of 10 games in which Spurs will face only two teams with winning records. With a victory, Spurs could move four games above .500 for first time this season. ... Pacers expect to be without leading scorer Danny Granger, out with a foot injury, for next three weeks. ... Spurs are 7-0 all-time vs. Indiana at AT&T Center. Pacers’ last win in San Antonio was Jan 4, 2002, in the Alamodome.

— Jeff McDonald

[duncan228]

Indiana (9-15) at San Antonio (13-10) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009121924&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Sat Dec 19, 2009
TV: FSIN, My35
By Alan Ferguson

Thanks to improved performances at both ends of the floor, Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs are starting to emerge from a slow start.

A matchup with the Indiana Pacers should help San Antonio give its coach a good shot at his 700th career win.

Popovich will try to lead the Spurs to their fifth victory in six games and their eighth straight home win against the Pacers on Saturday night.

With its top three players missing games earlier this season, San Antonio (13-10) struggled to find a consistent groove - especially on offense - while splitting its first 18 games.

The Spurs averaged 100.0 points but much of that came from five games in which they scored 112 or more. In the other 13 contests, San Antonio averaged 93.3 points.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have stayed healthy this month, and it’s seemed to pay off for the Spurs, who have averaged 108.8 points and shot 52.9 percent in the past five games.

Duncan has averaged a team-best 23.2 points in that time, and he followed a season-high 34 in Phoenix on Tuesday with 27 in a 103-91 victory at Golden State on Wednesday.

“We’re trying to turn that corner and learn from our mistakes and be better about it,” Duncan said.

The Spurs have also limited their last four opponents to an average of 95.5 points after giving up at least 104 in each of the three previous games.

Despite his team making strides, Ginobili isn’t completely satisfied yet.

“We’ve had a couple of pretty good games, but we’re not playing at our full potential,” Ginobili said. “That’s something we want to accomplish and the sooner, the better. We know we can do so much better.”

Ginobili has led the Spurs during their four straight overall wins over the Pacers with 21.3 points per game on 62.2 percent shooting, and Parker is not far behind with 21.0 points per game.

Indiana (9-15) has split six games since losing leading scorer Danny Granger to a torn right plantar fascia, but the Pacers have dropped two of three this week, including Friday night’s 107-94 defeat in Memphis.

Indiana has won three straight when topping 100 points, but a 3-for-21 performance from 3-point range prevented the Pacers from reaching that mark against Memphis. They were also outscored 56-38 in the second half with many of the Grizzlies’ points coming in the paint.

“I thought their bigs dominated our bigs,” coach Jim O’Brien said. “They just dominated our people inside. We could not stop their low-post game.”

Mike Dunleavy, who tied for the team lead with 16 points Friday, has averaged a team-best 19.2 points over the past five games but is scoring 14.0 points per game during the losing streak to San Antonio.

However, Dunleavy had a team-high 21 in the Pacers’ previous win over the Spurs on April 1, 2007.

Indiana hasn’t won in San Antonio since Jan. 4, 2002, and has dropped 10 of 11 there since the beginning of the 1997-98 season.

With his next win, Popovich will become the 17th coach in league history with 700 victories.

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

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Danny Granger Ind 24.4
Tim Duncan SA 20.1

Rebounds
Troy Murphy Ind 9.2
Tim Duncan SA 10.6

Assists
T.J. Ford Ind 3.7
Tony Parker SA 5.9

[Ditty]

No Granger

should be a easy W we hope

[Chieflion]

It is a back to back for the Pacers and the Spurs had a 2 day rest. With Granger sidelined and against a weak Pacer team, a loss is unacceptable and embarrassing.

[ffadicted]

Back end of a B2B, no Granger, at home, I smell a blowout

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Sat. Dec 19
Indiana @ San Antonio: Bennett Salvatore; Marc Davis; Haywoode Workman

[bdictjames]

Hope Duncan has another monster game.

[Chomag]

Hope Duncan has another monster game.

I hope a monster game from Timmy wont be needed.

[EmantheSpursFan]

better yet
i hope tp has a monster game to break this funk he's been in

[TinTin]

Bogans needs to bring something to the table