Spurs vs. Heat previews

[Blackjack]

Thursday: Heat (16-13) at Spurs (18-11) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Thursday_Heat_16-13_at_Spurs_18-11.html)

Time: 6 p.m.
TV: TNT
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - HEAT

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 8 Carlos Arroyo (6-2, 8th yr)
Heat 5-2 since Arroyo assumed starting duties from Chalmers.

SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 3 Dwyane Wade (6-4, 7th yr)
In Wade, Bogans gets his biggest "Be Like Bruce" challenge of season.

SF - 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 5 Q. Richardson (6-6, 10th yr)
Spurs pushed pace vs. Wolves, directly benefiting Jefferson.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 30 Michael Beasley (6-9, 2nd yr)
Duncan only player in top 20 in scoring, rebounding, blocks, FG%.

C - 45 DeJuan Blair (6-7, 1st yr) - 7 J. O'Neal (6-11, 14th yr)
O'Neal's play inconsistent as he deals with balky right groin.

SPURS RESERVES
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr
34 A. McDyess, C/F, 6-10, 14th 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, F/C, 6-10, 15th yr

HEAT RESERVES
50 Joel Anthony, C, 6-9, 3rd yr
6 Mario Chalmers, G, 6-1, 2nd yr
14 Daequan Cook, G, 6-5, 3rd yr
40 Udonis Haslem, F, 6-8, 7th yr
22 James Jones, F, 6-8, 7th yr
21 J. Magloire, C, 6-11, 10th yr
1 Dorell Wright, G/F, 6-9, 6th yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Heat: Erik Spoelstra

INJURIES
Spurs: Michael Finley (sprained left ankle) and Matt Bonner (fractured right hand) are out.
Heat: None.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Finley, Bonner.
Heat: Chris Quinn, Yahkouba Diawara.

NOTABLE
This game represents the Spurs' last chance to beat a team with a winning record during the month of December. They are 0-5 against such squads so far. ... Miami is 2-20 all-time in San Antonio, but one of those victories came 99-83 last season. ... Spurs are averaging 102.2 points per game. The most they've averaged in a full season under Popovich was 97 last season.

- Jeff McDonald

[timtonymanu]

Time to end that losing streak against .500 teams.

[Blackjack]

Heat-Spurs Preview (http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/article/2009-12-31/heat-spurs-preview)

STATS Senior Writer

The San Antonio Spurs will conclude this decade with the league's most regular-season wins. They've done a good job of adding to that total over the past three weeks.

The Spurs look to win for the 10th time in 12 games and continue their dominance of the Miami Heat on Thursday at the AT&T Center.

For the past 10 years, San Antonio (18-11) has been a model of excellence in the NBA. The Spurs have amassed an league-best 573 regular-season victories since Jan. 1, 2000, while also winning three championships.

San Antonio, which hasn't missed the playoffs since 1997, got off to a bit of a slow start to this season, but has recently been one of the league's hottest teams. After losing three straight Dec. 3-7 to drop to 9-9, the Spurs have gone 9-2 to charge into the thick of the Southwest Division race.

San Antonio's recent run of success means little to its hard-to-please coach.

"All I care about is how we're playing and if we're improving," Gregg Popovich said Tuesday after an easy 117-99 win over Minnesota. "We have a long way to go."

Although Popovich feels San Antonio has room for improvement, the team is undoubtedly playing excellent ball right now.

The Spurs are averaging 105.9 points on 51.4 percent shooting in their last 11 games, while outrebounding opponents by an average of 5.7 in that span.

"We got 50 games to go," Richard Jefferson said. "Our final product is going to be determined by the end of the year, not our win-loss record in January or December."

Jefferson led six San Antonio players in double figures Tuesday with 24 points, while Manu Ginobili added 14 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Jefferson's improved play over the past few weeks has helped key the Spurs' surge. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 14.5 points and shooting 52.5 percent shooting in the last 11 games after averaging 8.9 points on 33.3 percent in his previous seven. He scored 32 points in his last game against Miami, a 102-85 loss for Milwaukee on March 28.

The Heat (16-13) arrive in San Antonio following Wednesday's 95-91 loss at New Orleans, snapping a three-game winning streak.

Miami trailed by 15 points early in the fourth quarter but stormed back to take an 88-87 lead when Quentin Richardson tipped in Dwayne Wade's missed jumper with 59 seconds to go. The Hornets then scored the next six points to put the game away and hand the Heat their second loss in seven games.

"On the road, you've got to give yourself a chance to win and we did that," said Wade, who finished with 22 points.

Miami hasn't been in position to win often in San Antonio.

The Spurs have won 12 of 15 over the Heat overall, and 20 of 22 all-time meetings in San Antonio. Miami's 99-83 win over the Spurs on Nov. 7, 2008, snapped a 10-game road losing streak in the series.

Wade has played well despite his team's struggles with the Spurs, averaging 28.0 points and 10.0 assists in his last three games against them.

[Blackjack]

NBA Betting Preview (http://www.bangthebook.com/blog/2009/12/30/miami-heat-at-san-antonio-spurs-preview-and-pick/)
Miami Heat (16-12) at San Antonio Spurs (18-11)
Thursday December 31st, 7:00PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – TBA

The San Antonio Spurs host the Miami Heat Thursday night in one of the final games before the New Year. The Spurs are playing well having won 6 of their last 7 games and coming off an impressive victory over Minnesota on Tuesday 117-99. The Heat will embark on back to back road games that will be capped off with their trip to San Antonio. The Heat will actually battle New Orleans tonight before meeting up with the streaky Spurs on Thursday. On the season, Miami is coming on strong as well. The Heat jumped out to 4-6 start before rallying back well above the .500 mark at 16-12. Miami has also put together a nice run winning 5 of their last 6 games. Considering both teams have been playing very well, it should be a rather interesting out of conference battle that takes place this Thursday night.

Miami shooting guard and superstar Dwayne Wade is off to another terrific season. Wade led the NBA scoring last season, and ranks 5th early on this year averaging 26.8 points per game. Wade has scored at least 25 points in each of the last 5 games and 10 of the last 11 games as well. However, youngster Michael Beasley is really coming along to become a big threat. Beasley numbers have really improved over the past few weeks and he scored 16 points in just 26 minutes of the Heat’s blowout 114-80 victory over the Pacers on Sunday night. Beasley posted 15 points and 12 rebounds to score the first double-double of his career in a rare meeting with the Spurs one year ago and it will be interesting to see how the rising star performs this Thursday night.

San Antonio made things look very easy against Minnesota on Tuesday night. Manu Ginobili was one rebound short of a triple-double finishing the game with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. Ginobili had a number of impressive passes on fast breaks allowing opportunities for rookie DeJuan Blair and Spurs newcomer Richard Jefferson. Blair ended with 11 points while Jefferson led the team knocking down 24 points. It was a boost of confidence for Jefferson who has not posted the big numbers most would have expected him to thus far early in the season. However, if Jefferson gets hot it will make the Spurs even tougher to beat considering how well the rest of the team has been playing behind Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Duncan leads the team averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds while Parker is close behind averaging 16.4 points per game.

Breaking down what to expect Thursday night, it definitely looks like the Spurs may have the most weapons if they can get Jefferson and Ginobili to get involved early. Of course the Spurs must try to contain Miami’s Wade to the best of their ability and not allow any huge numbers. However, Miami ranks 6th in the NBA holding opponents to just 96 points per game. If they can keep the scoring down it will better their chances at scoring the win. Looking at some of the trends entering Thursday night’s game, the Spurs have performed really well outside of the Western Conference with a record of 8-2, while the Heat have not been near as stellar against Western Conference teams with a record of 5-7. However, the Heat has beaten the betting lines in 5 of their last 6 games. Miami has also gone under the total in 4 of their last 5 games for noticeable trends. San Antonio is also on impressive run against the spread winning 4 of their last 5 games. The question is which impressive run will come to an end.

Pick – San Antonio


Posted by Jay Horne in Free Sports Picks, NBA Picks

[raspsa]

Hopefully the Spurs play with energy..after his dazzling play vs. the Wolves, look for Manu to energize his teammates. its not everyday you can end the decade with a W after registering the most number of RS victories.

[TDMVPDPOY]

exploit the matchups

[ElNono]

Are we gonna show up for a nationally televised game? That'd be a first... :lol

[Bender]

Are we gonna show up for a nationally televised game? That'd be a first... :lolplus, doesn't manu usually follow a fantastic game with a sub-par game... at least that's what I remember.

[Danny.Zhu]

Go get it.

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Thurs. Dec 31
Miami @ San Antonio: Mike Callahan; Brian Forte; Eric Lewis

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

lets finish the 09 year in style:hat

[Rummpd]

Spurs win big 104 to 87.

[superbigtime]

This would be a very nice win. Go Spurs~ !

[Spursmania]

Are we gonna show up for a nationally televised game? That'd be a first... :lol

And on TNT no less...:toast

[JustinJDW]

Definitely should win this. Lets beat a Team with a Winning Record for once eh? Better yet, lets do it on Nation TV. This win would accomplish both of those.

Timmy should go ape shit on Beasley, but should we really be starting Blair to go up against O'Neal? I am not even sure if starting Blair is all that great of an idea. He basically instant energy, which is perfect for the Bench.

Well, who am I to question Pop? I don't got four Championships.

[Whisky Dog]

How many points is David West gonna score?

[crc21209]

How many points is David West gonna score?

:lol Good one. The Spurs can't take the Heat lightly...last Season the Heat came into AT&T and spanked the Spurs. The Heat are no pushovers...

[JustinJDW]

Lets see how well Bogans can guard D-Wade. :wakeup

[spursfan1000]

Yesterday Wade and O'neal played 35+ minutes so Spurs may have more energy and stanima than them.

[Chomag]

Miami is not a pushover team, but they are a team that is still trying to put it together just like the Spurs. I expect it to be pretty evenly matched but I just can't see the Heat as an elite team. A win would definitely put the Spurs in the right direction though.

[Spursmania]

The game is at 6pm CST. Someone who's been on a winning role needs to do the game thread. Wasn't it Uronobili or SpursBrazil?

[Spursmania]

Yesterday Wade and O'neal played 35+ minutes so Spurs may have more energy and stanima than them.

Good.