Spurs at Grizzlies Previews

[duncan228]

Saturday: Spurs (35-24) at Grizzlies (32-30) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Saturday_Spurs_35-24_at_Grizzlies_32-30.html)

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

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - GRIZZLIES

PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 11 Mike Conley (6-1, 3rd yr)
Parker scored four points in his only game vs. Grizzlies this season.

SG - 3 George Hill (6-2, 2nd yr) - 32 O.J. Mayo (6-4, 2nd yr)
Averaging 16.3 ppg as starter, Hill makes pitch for NBA’s most improved.

SF - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 22 Rudy Gay (6-8, 4th yr)
Grizzlies one of five teams with two 40-point scorers in ’09-10 (Gay, Mayo).

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 50 Zach Randolph (6-9, 9th yr)
Randolph leads Western Conference in double-doubles (43).

C - 34 Antonio McDyess (6-10, 14th yr) - 33 Marc Gasol (7-1, 2nd yr)
Gasol hopes to be fifth European-born player to average double-double.

SPURS RESERVES

15 Matt Bonner, C/F, 6-10, 6th yr
45 DeJuan Blair, C/F, 6-7, 1st yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 8th yr
1 Malik Hairston, G/F, 6-5, 2nd yr
24 Richard Jefferson, F, 6-7, 9th yr
28 Ian Mahinmi, F/C, 6-11, 2nd yr
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr

GRIZZLIES RESERVES

1 DeMarre Carroll, F, 6-8, 1st yr
15 Hamed Haddadi, C, 7-2, 2nd yr
45 Steven Hunter, C, 7-0, 8th yr
00 Darrell Arthur, F, 6-9, 2nd yr
10 Jamaal Tinsley, G, 6-3, 8th yr
5 Marcus Williams, G, 6-3, 4th yr
4 Sam Young, F/G, 6-6, 1st yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Grizzlies: Lionel Hollins

INJURIES

Spurs: None.
Grizzlies: Ronnie Brewer (partially torn right hamstring) is out. Hunter (sore left knee) is day-to-day.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: None.
Grizzlies: Brewer, Lester Hudson, Hasheem Thabeet.

NOTABLE

Spurs have split with Grizzlies so far, losing at Memphis and winning at the AT&T Center. ... Duncan is fourth in the West in double-doubles with 30. ... Spurs are 13-14 on road. Memphis is 18-13 at home, including a franchise-record 11-game winning streak spanning December and January. ... Memphis bench being outscored an average of 32.6 to 18.7.

— Jeff McDonald

[spursfaninla]

Damn, pop, start blair instead of dice again, PLEASE.

WTF does he have to do? If blair does not start, he will not see more than 15 minutes.

[duncan228]

San Antonio (35-24) at Memphis (32-30) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010030629&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:00 pm EST Sat Mar 6, 2010
TV: FSSW, FSTN
By Alan Ferguson

With three consecutive victories, the San Antonio Spurs have seemed to emerge from their recent slump.

The Spurs will attempt to continue that surge Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are trying to avoid their longest home losing streak since moving from Canada.

Losers in 11 of 19 entering this week, San Antonio (35-24) has bounced back by beating its past three opponents by an average of 10.7 points, including a 102-91 home win over New Orleans on Friday night.

Balanced offensive efforts have keyed the Spurs’ turnaround, and Tony Parker was one of seven players in double figures Friday with 20 points.

Despite battling an ailing ankle and hip, Parker has averaged 18.0 points on 60.5 percent shooting in the past three games. The team needs the veteran guard to play well down the stretch—17 of its final 23 games are against winning teams and 15 of them are on the road.

“It’s a real double-edge sword,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s got to work to get in shape, but at the same time, he can’t exacerbate the ankle or the hip situation.”

San Antonio has averaged 107.0 points and shot 51.5 percent over its last three games after averaging 97.2 points and shooting 43.1 percent in its previous 19. The Spurs have also had at least six players reach double figures during its current win streak.

They also had six players score at least 11 points in a 104-97 home win over the Grizzlies on Jan. 29. However, only three players had more than nine in their previous trip to Memphis, a 92-86 loss Jan. 16.

Duncan once again led the way with 23 points, but Grizzlies center Zach Randolph matched his output and had 15 rebounds.

Randolph enters Saturday averaging 24.7 points and 13.4 rebounds in the past seven games, and posted a franchise-record 43rd double-double this season as his team rallied for a 105-96 win in Chicago on Thursday night.

Memphis trailed by 17 midway through the second quarter but pulled away by outscoring the Bulls 29-16 in the final period.

“Zach just had a great game all around,” coach Lionel Hollins told the league’s Web site. “We had our energy pick up in the second quarter and focused better. We were able to get out and run on them.”

Randolph has helped the Grizzlies (32-30) to a franchise-record six consecutive road victories, but they’ve dropped seven straight at home since beating the Los Angeles Lakers 95-93 on Feb. 1.

A lackluster offense has plagued Memphis at FedEx Forum, where it’s averaged 91.3 points—10.8 below its overall season average—during a seven-game home losing streak.

The Grizzlies haven’t dropped eight in a row at home since Dec. 26, 1997-Jan. 11, 1998, when they were in Vancouver. In their inaugural 1995-96 season, they set a franchise record with 11 straight defeats.

However, Memphis will get plenty of chances to avoid matching that mark as it plays six of its next eight at home. After facing San Antonio, the Grizzlies will also host the league’s worst team, New Jersey, on Monday night.

To beat the Spurs, they’ll likely need to focus on slowing down Duncan, who has averaged 23.1 points in his career against Memphis. That average is his second highest against any opposing team in his career, trailing only his 23.7 points per game versus Orlando.

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

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Tim Duncan SA 19.2
Zach Randolph Mem 20.9

Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 10.9
Zach Randolph Mem 11.9

Assists
Tony Parker SA 5.7
Mike Conley Mem 5.3

[raspsa]

Without TD, Memphis has the definite advantage under the basket.

[duncan228]

Preview: Grizzlies vs. Spurs (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/mar/06/preview-grizzlies-vs-spurs/)
By Ronald Tillery
Memphis Commercial Appeal

Records: Grizzlies, 32-30; Spurs, 34-24

Lineups

Grizzlies: Mike Conley, 6-1, O.J. Mayo, 6-4, Rudy Gay, 6-8, Zach Randolph, 6-9, Marc Gasol, 7-1.

Spurs: Tony Parker, 6-2, George Hill, 6-2, Keith Bogans, 6-5, Tim Duncan, 6-11, DeJuan Blair, 6-7.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Memphis has not scored 100 points in its last eight home games, averaging only 91.8 points at home during that span. ... Conley is averaging 16.8 points and 5.6 assists on 55-percent shooting (50 percent from 3-point range) in the last five games. ... Gay has recorded a career-high five steals in back-to-back games after having never recorded that number in his previous 296 career NBA games. ... Mayo is struggling from the perimeter, shooting 20 percent from 3-point range and 56 percent from the free throw line in the last six games. ... Randolph is averaging 24.7 points and 13.4 rebounds in the past seven games.

THE SKINNY

The Grizzlies' seven-game home losing streak is the team's longest since a seven-game home slump from Jan. 6-31, 2009. Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak in the overall series with San Antonio on Jan. 16 in the teams' first meeting this season. The Griz own a 13-43 all-time record against the Spurs, who play 15 games in the next 25 days. San Antonio has five back-to-back sets during that span.

THE QUOTE

"We know how tough it's going to get. We really need to improve. If we don't improve and take a step forward, we can probably not make (the playoffs)." -- Spurs reserve guard Manu Ginobili on the Western Conference playoff race.

[Rick18]

What would the odds on TD playing be? 50-50?

Maybe there's a possiblity of him playing tomorrow, then @ Cleveland, and then resting for the New York game so he has a few days off to recover?

[DPG21920]

I am cringing thinking about Bogans defending Rudy Gay.

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Sat. Mar 6
San Antonio @ Memphis: Tom Washington; Curtis Blair; Derrick Collins

[duncan228]

San Antonio Spurs (35-24) at Memphis Grizzlies (32-30) (http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/06/1515842/san-antonio-spurs-35-24-at-memphis.html)

The Memphis Grizzlies are probably the only team in the NBA that doesn't want to play on the home floor right now.

The Grizzlies have lost seven straight in front of the home crowd as they get ready to host the San Antonio Spurs tonight. In contrast, Lionel Hollins' club has won a franchise-record six consecutive games away from FedEx Forum, the latest of which was a 105-96 win in Chicago on Thursday.

Zach Randolph poured in 31 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in that one, as Memphis dominated the fourth quarter to beat the Bulls.

O.J. Mayo scored half of his 20 points in the last quarter for the Grizzlies, while Rudy Gay had 17 points and Mike Conley contributed 14 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies. Memphis is four games off the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

"We played great tonight. Everybody played great," Randolph said. "I stepped it up. That's what we need to do to give ourselves a chance to win."

The Spurs have won three in a row and will commence a quick road trip tonight against Memphis and Cleveland. They are 13-14 away from the Alamo City this season and recently handed the New Orleans Hornets a 102-91 setback on Friday at the AT&T Center.

Oft-injured guard Tony Parker led seven players in double figures with 20 points, as San Antonio pulled away in the fourth to remain seventh in the West. Manu Ginobili scored 16 points, Keith Bogans had 15 and George Hill netted 14 for the Spurs, who got 10 points and 12 rebounds from DeJuan Blair.

"He can't go play that much right now because of the injuries and the time off," Popovich said of Parker. "He's got to work to get in shape, but at the same time he can't exacerbate the hip or ankle."

Future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan had 12 points and eight rebounds.

San Antonio has won eight of its past 10 games with the Grizz.

[TD 21]

I suspect Duncan will play. He continues to say he feels (relatively) fresh, the Spurs just had three days off, he only played 31:55 last night (and didn't have to over-exert himself in that time) and the Spurs need every win they can get right now. On top of that, Randolph-Gasol is one of the best big duos in the league and if the Spurs don't play Duncan, then they'll likely get so thoroughly destroyed in the paint that they'll more than likely lose. Even if Duncan does play, I suspect he'll be kept to 35 minutes or less, which means McDyess will have to play 20-25 minutes and Blair will have to have a monster game and play 25-30 minutes.

The Spurs have a huge advantage off the bench, as the Grizzlies don't have a single credible scorer or big man off the bench. In fact, their best bench players, Young and Arthur, are at best eighth men.

[pgardn]

So Dice... the knee is Ok?

He suffered an injury on that same really awful injury that should not have seen him play basketball again and he is OK? Are we just testing him to sit him?

[timtonymanu]

I dont think Duncan should sit out.

The Spurs had 3 days rest already. IMO, it's not the time to rest players because it will fuck up the chemistry.

[raspsa]

Why not let him play only in the 2nd half?
The other guys just have to keep the game within reach in the first 2 Q then TD can enter the game. If he;s hot, he makes an immeduate contribution; if not, he has time to gey on track. Regatdless, his defense and rebounding should always be there.