Spurs vs. Clippers Previews

[duncan228]

Los Angeles (12-14) at San Antonio (14-10) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2009122124&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Mon Dec 21, 2009
TV: FSPT, FSSW
By Matt Beardmore

While the San Antonio Spurs have struggled against teams with winning records, they have taken care of nearly every sub-.500 foe.

The Spurs look to continue that trend Monday night when they go for their 14th straight victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

San Antonio (14-10) improved to 12-1 against teams currently at .500 or worse with Saturday’s 100-99 victory over Indiana. Tim Duncan had his shot blocked by Roy Hibbert but got the rebound and dunked it over the Pacers center with 4.6 seconds left as the Spurs rallied from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to open their three-game homestand.

“I wanted to try to take it to the glass and see what happens, and Hibbert made a very good defensive play,” Duncan said after scoring 19 points and matching a season high with 16 rebounds.

Duncan, who is averaging 26.7 points and 15.0 boards in his last three games, scored 21 points and led six Spurs in double-figures in a 115-90 win over the host Clippers on Dec. 13—San Antonio’s 13th straight victory in this matchup.

“As has been all season, Tim Duncan is our most consistent player,” Gregg Popovich said Saturday after becoming the 16th coach to win 700 NBA games, but just the third (Jerry Sloan in Utah and Red Auerbach in Boston) to win that many contests with one team. “He’s been fantastic.”

While San Antonio is 2-9 against teams with winning records, it has a chance to continue its push up the Western Conference standings—eight of its next 11 games are against .500 or worse teams.

The Spurs also have won 13 straight at home versus the Clippers since a 91-87 loss Jan. 31, 2002.

Los Angeles, which hasn’t beaten a team currently with a winning record since a 106-99 victory over Denver on Nov. 20, hasn’t beaten San Antonio since a 98-85 victory March 7, 2006.

The Clippers (12-14) continue their six-game trip following Saturday’s 112-107 overtime win over Philadelphia. After letting a 20-point lead slip away in Friday’s 95-91 defeat in New York, Los Angeles squandered a 16-point, third-quarter lead and nearly fell to the 76ers as Andre Iguodala’s buzzer-beater was waved off at the end of regulation.

Los Angeles, which has won three of four, held Philadelphia to one basket in the opening 4:49 of overtime.

“(We knew) the first team to make that run was going to win the game,” Al Thornton said after the Clippers improved to 2-1 on their trip.

Chris Kaman posted his fourth double-double in five games Saturday with 24 points and 11 rebounds. He had 19 and 10 in the Dec. 13 loss to San Antonio.

Coming off the bench, Baron Davis led the Clippers with 20 points and six assists in that contest. He missed both losses in San Antonio last season due to injuries.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 18 points in Los Angeles’ last visit to AT&T Center - a 111-98 San Antonio victory March 27. Parker has shot just 29.2 percent and averaged 12.0 points in his last two home games.

The Spurs are 41-4 against the Clippers since Dec. 10. 1997.

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

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Chris Kaman LAC 19.3
Tim Duncan SA 20.0

Rebounds
Marcus Camby LAC 11.7
Tim Duncan SA 10.8

Assists
Baron Davis LAC 7.5
Tony Parker SA 5.8

[ffadicted]

The jinx is strong within me the last few predictions, so...

Blowout Clippers win

[Chomag]

Should be a blow out. Should be lol

[duncan228]

Monday: Clippers (12-14) at Spurs (14-10) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Monday_Clippers_12-14_at_Spurs_14-10.html)

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

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - CLIPPERS

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 1 Baron Davis (6-3, 11th yr)
Spurs want Parker to shoot but would prefer better than 4-of-17 outing.

SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 10 Eric Gordon (6-3, 2nd yr)
Gordon’s scoring average up two points — to 18.1 — in his second season.

SF - 24, Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 12 Al Thornton (6-8, 3rd yr)
Contrary to popular belief, Jefferson not paid by the dunk.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 23 Marcus Camby (6-11, 14th yr)
Duncan had 21 points against Clippers in Spurs’ victory in L.A.

C - 34 Antonio McDyess (6-10, 15th yr) - 35 Chris Kaman (7-0, 8th yr)
McDyess has four straight two-point games, after having four last season.

SPURS RESERVES

45 DeJuan Blair, F, 6-7, 1st yr
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 8th yr
1 Malik Hairston, G/F, 6-5, 2nd yr
22 Marcus Haislip, F, 6-10, 4th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 2nd yr
42 Theo Ratliff, C, 6-10, 15th yr

CLIPPERS RESERVES

45 Rasual Butler, F, 6-7, 8th yr
25 Mardy Collins, G, 6-6, 4th yr
31 Ricky Davis, G/F, 6-7, 12th yr
9 DeAndre Jordan, C, 6-11, 2nd yr
20 Steve Novak, F, 6-10, 4th yr
5 Craig Smith, F, 6-7, 4th yr
3 Sebastian Telfair, G, 6-0, 6th yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Clippers: Mike Dunleavy

INJURIES

Spurs: Michael Finley (sprained left ankle) and Matt Bonner (fractured right hand) are out.
Clippers: Blake Griffin (stress fracture of left patella) and Kareem Rush (torn right ACL) are out.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Bonner, Finley.
Clippers: Griffin, Rush, Brian Skinner.

NOTABLE

It’s deja vu night for Spurs, barely a week removed from 115-90 trouncing of Clippers in Los Angeles. ... Revenge not likely to come easy for Clippers, who have dropped 13 straight in San Antonio. ... Spurs have reached 100 points in 11 of 14 victories this season. They have lost only twice when hitting the century mark.

- Jeff McDonald

[Rummpd]

Alll this *& about the record against winning teams hides how injured the Spurs were for much of the first 14 games. Stay under the radar Spurs and keep improving and at the end of the year that stat will be a distant memory anyway.

[Bukefal]

We'll win this of course.

[raspsa]

Timmy is actually relieved that Bonner won't be around to elbow him in the ear like last time.:lol

Seriously though, I hope the bench dominates again like the last time the 2 teams played. If Davis and Gordon get hot, this game could be a lot closer.

[Chieflion]

Spurs guards will need to step up their game in this. The Clippers have a lot of talent.

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Mon. Dec 21
L.A. Clippers @ San Antonio: Greg Willard; Tommy Nunez Jr.; Zach Zarba

[duncan228]

Clippers vs.San Antonio - Game Preview (http://www.clipsnation.com/2009/12/21/1210448/clippers-vs-san-antonio-game)
by Steve Perrin
Clips Nation

The Back Story:

December 13 in Los Angeles - San Antonio 115, Clippers 90

The Big Picture:

The Clippers opened the season 0-4. After 13 games, they fell five games below .500 at 4-9. Since then, they've hovered somewhere below .500, having won 8 of their last 13, thanks in large part to a friendly schedule. Well, that schedule gets decidedly hostile starting today. Sixteen of their last 22 opponents have a losing record, and two more games came against the currently .500 Thunder. That means only four teams have had winning records. Unfortunately for them, that imbalance is going to correct itself over the rest of the season. The next five games, and eight of the next nine, are against teams over .500. If the Clippers play like they have in the first half of the last couple of games, then they could be fine. If they play like they have in the second half, they'll be annihilated. It starts off with a bang, against a team that handed the Clippers a 25 point loss in LA eight days ago, in a building where LA has never won. Of the Clippers' top six players, almost all of them are playing well right now. Marcus Camby is on a rebounding tear, averaging 17 over the last 4 games. Chris Kaman is shooting well and scoring again over the last five games, looking more like the guy who began the season. Baron Davis has averaged over 10 assists over the last four. Rasual Butler has had his strongest string of games of the season by far. Al Thornton has been playing well for awhile now, and was clutch at the end of the Philadelphia game. And although he has struggled handling the ball the last couple of games, Eric Gordon remains the Clippers' most consistent performer - even when he's a little disappointing, he's still solid on defense and efficient on offense. Beyond those six, it's anyone's guess what is going to happen. Craig Smith got his first DNP of the season on Saturday. DeAndre Jordan spent a few days on the inactive list. Sebastian Telfair has been vey quiet recently. With so little production coming from the bench, Coach has given a longer look to Mardy Collins the last few games - expect him to get minutes against the Spurs tonight as well to defend Ginobili. The top six will have to play well tonight for the Clippers to have any chance of getting their first ever win in the AT&T Center - but they'll need some help from some one else as well.

The Antagonist:

The Spurs have won five of their last six and are now in the eighth position in the Western Conference - but of course this is still not where they are accustomed to being. Expectations were higher than usual for San Antonio entering the season, with the high-profile acquisition of Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. But both have been somewhat disappointing, and the Spurs have simply not played like themselves. Their road record is poor (3-6) and their record against teams .500 or better is even worse (2-9). Of course, this game is in San Antonio and the Clippers are below .500, so neither of those facts really help LA in this one. We tend to think of the Spurs as unchanging, but in fact they have three brand new starters this season, plus rookie DaJuan Blair off the bench in the rotation, so they've had a bit of turnover and perhaps they're still getting used to each other. Of course, while the record isn't very Spurs-like so far, that didn't seem to matter 8 days ago when San Antonio destroyed the Clippers in LA. Of course, sometimes it comes down to shooting, and the Spurs couldn't miss in that game. Hopefully they won't be quite so hot in this one.

The Subplots:

• The last game. The meeting in LA was strange. The Clippers had a 10-0 run in the final minutes of the first half to cut a 20 point deficit in half. Then they played well for stretches of the third, and looked like they'd cut further into the lead. But the Spurs reserves dominated the Clipper backups at the beginning of the fourth, and Duncan, Parker and Ginobili got the rest of the night off. It's one thing to lose to the all star Spurs - but can we please not lose to George Hill and DaJuan Blair again?

• Bonner out. At least Matt Bonner won't be around to drop threes on the Clippers. He broke his hand in the game on Saturday and will be out four weeks. Michael Finley has also been out, though I don't know a status on him.

• Clippers on the road. One thing that must be stated about the Clippers so far this season: since they don't have any home court advantage, they don't really have an away court disadvantage. The Clippers' road record of 5-6 is better than Utah's (5-7) and comparable to those of Portland (7-8), Denver (7-8) and Phoenix (8-9). They've also suffered by far their two worst defeats at home, 28 points to New Orleans and 25 to these Spurs. So there's reason to believe they can be more competitive on the road. Unfortunately, there's also reason to believe that the Spurs will play better in Texas, not to mention the fact that a little better won't help much - the Clippers are going to have to play much better to win this game.

• Ugly losing streaks. The last time the Clippers won in San Antonio was almost eight years ago, January 2002. In October of that year, the AT&T Center opened as the new home of the Spurs, and the Clippers have never won there - 13 consecutive losses. In addition to the road losing streak, the Spurs have won the last 13 overall against the Clippers. Talk about unlucky 13.

• At least the weather is better. After playing in frigid Minnesota, and then heading straight into the teeth of a blizzard in Philadelphia, the Clippers (assuming their flight got to leave) are getting back to warmer climes. The high in San Antonio today should be near 70.

• TV Quote:


The only person more self-centred than me is Carlos, he's so self-centred he doesn't even know how self-centred I am.

Gabrielle, Desperate Housewives - This was bound to happen. I'm out of 'spurs' quotes, so we're reduced to a quote from Madame Tony Parker.