duncan228
01-20-2010, 02:41 AM
Spurs aim to break Jazz hex (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_aim_to_break_Jazz_hex.html)
By Jeff McDonald
Tim Duncan studied psychology at Wake Forest, but it doesn't take a math major to determine the common denominator in the Spurs' three games against Utah this season.
“They had more points than we did,” Duncan said.
This is the Spurs' reward after surviving their longest and most grueling road trip to date. They come home to face a team that has, for whatever reason, owned them this season.
At 3-0, Utah has already clinched its first season series against the Spurs since 1997-98, Duncan's rookie year. With a victory tonight at the AT&T Center, the Jazz would lay claim to their first series sweep over the Spurs since 1993-94, when Utah won all five meetings.
That's the only season sweep of the Spurs in the Jazz's history.
If the Spurs are aware of the historical significance of tonight's game, it is only peripherally. Tonight's game marks the start of a five-game home stretch leading into the rodeo road trip and is the Spurs' final multiple-game homestand until late March.
They are only worried about themselves, to quote the cliché.
“Every win for us right now is a good win,” Duncan said. “We've been so up and down throughout the season so far. We just need to get a roll going.”
There was a time when a visit from Utah would have been just what the Spurs needed to jump-start such a streak. For the past decade, the Spurs treated the Jazz like the Globetrotters once treated the Washington Generals.
From February 2000 to January 2005, the Spurs won 18 straight in the series. They had a 20-game home winning streak over the Jazz snapped earlier this season, when the Jazz broke through with a 90-83 win at the AT&T Center on Nov. 19, in a game Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili missed with injury.
It was Utah's first win in San Antonio since the Spurs vacated the Alamodome, prompting Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to crack, “It's nice to get a win in this building before I die.”
The three-pack of victories against the Spurs have been among the bright spots in an otherwise pedestrian season for Utah, which enters tonight ninth in the Western Conference.
Aware of their awful recent history against the Spurs — which includes a five-game blowout in the 2007 Western Conference finals — the Jazz players who lived it attach some significance to the prospect of sweeping the Spurs.
Asked after Tuesday's practice at the AT&T Center what a sweep would mean to the Jazz, point guard Deron Williams initially channeled Dennis Green.
“Just give us the championship,” Williams said with a laugh. “You want to crown 'em, go ahead and crown 'em.”
Then, Williams turned serious.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “This is a good team and a team we've struggled with in the past, especially in this building.”
In an abrupt flip-flop from the not-so-distant past, now the Spurs are the ones with the losing streak in this series. If the Spurs aim to break it, they can start by being more physical than they were in the previous three matchups.
A lowlight came Nov. 6 in Salt Lake City, when the Jazz bullied their way to 64 points in the paint in a 113-99 rout. Utah forward Carlos Boozer is averaging 24 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games against the Spurs.
“It's good to be back home, but we're definitely going to have to step up, especially physically,” Ginobili said. “That's what a game against Utah requires.”
Ever the psychologist, Duncan acknowledged the Jazz's physicality but refused to call them the toughest draw in the league.
“They hack a bit more than other teams, but they aren't that much more physical than other teams,” Duncan said. “We'll be ready for it. Especially with the kind of streak we've got going with them, we've got to go play.”
http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/20100120spurs_graphic550.jpg
By Jeff McDonald
Tim Duncan studied psychology at Wake Forest, but it doesn't take a math major to determine the common denominator in the Spurs' three games against Utah this season.
“They had more points than we did,” Duncan said.
This is the Spurs' reward after surviving their longest and most grueling road trip to date. They come home to face a team that has, for whatever reason, owned them this season.
At 3-0, Utah has already clinched its first season series against the Spurs since 1997-98, Duncan's rookie year. With a victory tonight at the AT&T Center, the Jazz would lay claim to their first series sweep over the Spurs since 1993-94, when Utah won all five meetings.
That's the only season sweep of the Spurs in the Jazz's history.
If the Spurs are aware of the historical significance of tonight's game, it is only peripherally. Tonight's game marks the start of a five-game home stretch leading into the rodeo road trip and is the Spurs' final multiple-game homestand until late March.
They are only worried about themselves, to quote the cliché.
“Every win for us right now is a good win,” Duncan said. “We've been so up and down throughout the season so far. We just need to get a roll going.”
There was a time when a visit from Utah would have been just what the Spurs needed to jump-start such a streak. For the past decade, the Spurs treated the Jazz like the Globetrotters once treated the Washington Generals.
From February 2000 to January 2005, the Spurs won 18 straight in the series. They had a 20-game home winning streak over the Jazz snapped earlier this season, when the Jazz broke through with a 90-83 win at the AT&T Center on Nov. 19, in a game Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili missed with injury.
It was Utah's first win in San Antonio since the Spurs vacated the Alamodome, prompting Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to crack, “It's nice to get a win in this building before I die.”
The three-pack of victories against the Spurs have been among the bright spots in an otherwise pedestrian season for Utah, which enters tonight ninth in the Western Conference.
Aware of their awful recent history against the Spurs — which includes a five-game blowout in the 2007 Western Conference finals — the Jazz players who lived it attach some significance to the prospect of sweeping the Spurs.
Asked after Tuesday's practice at the AT&T Center what a sweep would mean to the Jazz, point guard Deron Williams initially channeled Dennis Green.
“Just give us the championship,” Williams said with a laugh. “You want to crown 'em, go ahead and crown 'em.”
Then, Williams turned serious.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “This is a good team and a team we've struggled with in the past, especially in this building.”
In an abrupt flip-flop from the not-so-distant past, now the Spurs are the ones with the losing streak in this series. If the Spurs aim to break it, they can start by being more physical than they were in the previous three matchups.
A lowlight came Nov. 6 in Salt Lake City, when the Jazz bullied their way to 64 points in the paint in a 113-99 rout. Utah forward Carlos Boozer is averaging 24 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games against the Spurs.
“It's good to be back home, but we're definitely going to have to step up, especially physically,” Ginobili said. “That's what a game against Utah requires.”
Ever the psychologist, Duncan acknowledged the Jazz's physicality but refused to call them the toughest draw in the league.
“They hack a bit more than other teams, but they aren't that much more physical than other teams,” Duncan said. “We'll be ready for it. Especially with the kind of streak we've got going with them, we've got to go play.”
http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/20100120spurs_graphic550.jpg