Spurs vs Bulls Previews

[duncan228]

Game is Wednesday, 8:30 CST. on FSSW and ESPN.


Wednesday: Bulls (6-3) at Spurs (8-1) (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/16/wednesday-bulls-6-3-at-spurs-8-1/)
by Jeff McDonald

...Spurs have had at least four players score in double figures in each of eight victories this season. … Bulls swept two games from Spurs last season, winning season series for first time since 1997-98.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/16/wednesday-bulls-6-3-at-spurs-8-1/

[duncan228]

Chicago (6-3) at San Antonio (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010111724)
Tipoff: 9:30 pm EST Wed Nov 17, 2010
TV: ESPN, FSSW
By Noey Kupchan

Even with Tim Duncan struggling, the San Antonio Spurs aren’t showing any signs of slowing down.

The Spurs look to match the best 10-game start in franchise history when they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

San Antonio is 8-1 for the first time since 2004-05, when it went on to win the third of its four NBA championships. With another victory Wednesday, the Spurs would match their starts from 1980 and 1981. Each time they’ve opened 8-1 or better, they have finished the season atop their division.

“I really didn’t expect to start like this,” said Manu Ginobili, averaging a team-high 21.3 points. “The great thing is that we’ve been making a lot of shots. That’s really helped.”

San Antonio is connecting on an NBA-best 44.0 percent of its 3-point attempts, and hit 11 of 20 from long distance in their 117-104 victory at Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Matt Bonner, playing his second game since returning from an ankle injury he sustained in the season opener, went 7 for 7 from 3-point range, accounting for all 21 of his points off the bench.

“We definitely have multiple weapons in the offense and it makes it really hard to guard us,” Bonner said.

Those multiple weapons are enabling the Spurs to thrive while Duncan struggles. The 12-time All Star and two-time league MVP has scored in single digits in three straight games for the first time in his career. He finished with six points against the Thunder.

Duncan has scored at least 10 in all but one of his 24 career games against Chicago. He had 43 points in the two meetings last season, but that didn’t help the Spurs avoid getting swept in their two-game series with the Bulls for the first time since 1997-98 - Duncan’s rookie season.

“We know how fast and talented (Derrick) Rose is, (Luol) Deng is playing great, (Joakim) Noah on the boards,” Ginobili said. “They are young and athletic so we expect a lot of aggressiveness.

The Bulls (6-3) kicked off their seven-game road trip with a 95-92 win at Houston on Tuesday night. They put on an impressive long-distance shooting display of their own, connecting on 8 of 12 3-pointers to win their first game away from home in three tries this season.

“It’s a great way to start the trip,” said Noah, who had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Rose scored 17 of his 33 in the fourth quarter, helping Chicago rally from eight down entering the final 12 minutes, and matched a career-high with four 3-pointers. He also had seven assists.

“Whatever it takes for my team to win,” Rose said. “I’m going to try to go out there and do it.”

Rose had 27 points in the Bulls’ 98-93 victory at San Antonio on Jan. 25.

Noah is pulling down 12.7 rebounds per game, second-best in the NBA, but has averaged only 4.8 in six games versus the Spurs.

The Bulls, who went 15 for 28 from the free-throw line against the Rockets, will likely need a better effort to keep up with a Spurs team averaging 108.9 points - second-most in the league.

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

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Derrick Rose Chi 23.6
Manu Ginobili SA 21.3

Rebounds
Joakim Noah Chi 13.2
Tim Duncan SA 8.9

Assists
Derrick Rose Chi 9.5
Tony Parker SA 7.7

[DarkGinobili]

Should be a good game.

[024]

bulls will be on the second game of their back to back. should help the spurs a lot.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

This will be a good one, but I think Spurs will pull away strong. :flag::flag:

[99-03-05-07]

1-0 so far on national televison, looking at 2-0

[shelshor]

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html
Referee Assignments
Wed. Nov. 17
Chicago @ San Antonio: Bob Delaney; John Goble; James Williams

[duncan228]

Advanced Scouting: Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Scott Sereday
48 Minutes of Hell

I am going to try my hand at creating game previews including statistical details and game plans for potential areas of focus for the Spurs. I can’t promise anything, but if you have anything else you want to see, let me know.

Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs 8:30 CST November 17, 2010

SRS ranks (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tsl_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&year_min=2011&year_max=2011&lg_id=&franch_id=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=srs):

Chicago: 3.51 (9th)
San Antonio: 7.07 (4th)

Key Player Statistics (courtesy of 82games.com (effective November 11, 2010 (http://www.82games.com/1011/1011CHI.HTM)) and basketballvalue.com (http://basketballvalue.com/teamplayers.php?year=2010-2011&mode=summary&sortnumber=3&sortorder=DESC&team=CHI):

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)

[duncan228]

View from the other side.


Circus Trip: Bulls-Spurs Preview (http://bullsbythehorns.com/?gcid=C12289x022&gtkw=Chicago:+By the Horns)
Matt McHale
By The Horns

This is going to be a rough one.

The Spurs (8-1) have one of the best records in the league. They rank 2nd in PPG (108.9), 3rd in Offensive Rating (111.8), 6th in Pace (96.3) and 8th in Defensive Rating (103.8).

That said, the record could be mildly deceiving. Their one loss was to the Hornets (8-1), while their eight wins have been against the Pacers (4-5), Clippers (1-10), Suns (6-4), Rockets (3-7), Bobcats (4-7), Clippers (again), Sixers (2-9) and Thunder (6-4).

They barely beat Phoenix 112-110 during the Suns’ rough 1-3 start and the Rockets took them to overtime before the Spurs prevailed 124-21. San Antonio’s most convincing win was their most recent outing, a 117-04 victory in Oklahoma City. Of course, the Thunder have been all over the map during their first 10 games.

Still, even if their first eight wins were against opponents that have a combined record of 27-56, the Bulls will still have their work cut out for them. Especially on the second night of back-to-back road games.

The Spurs like to run and they rank 6th in Effective Field Goal Percentage at .521 (the Bulls are 7th at .520). They also get to the line, ranking 8th in Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt.

This isn’t your older brother’s Spurs. Instead of slowing the pace and pounding the ball in to Tim Duncan, they motor up and down the court, using Duncan in relief when the offense bogs down. As a result, Timmy is setting new career-lows in PPG (13.4), MPG (29.4) and Player Efficiency Rating (18.7). That said, he’s still averaging 8.9 RPG and 2.0 BPG. Make no mistake. Duncan is still a force to be reckoned with.

Speaking of forces to be reckoned with, Manu Ginobili (21.3 PPG, 40% on threes, 92% at the line 4.3 APG, 1.8 SPG) is having his best season and Tony Parker (18.3 PPG, 51% shooting, 7.7 APG, 2.2 SPG) isn’t far behind. And Richard Jefferson (17.6 PPG, 56% shooting) looks reborn.

Still, although the Spurs are 8th in D-Rating, they rank only 17th in Opponents Effective Field Goal Percentage (.497) compared to the Bulls 7th place ranking (.483). They can be scored on. However, they take care of their defensive glass (6th in Defensive Rebounding Percentage) and manage to guard people without fouling (4th in Opponents Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempts).

If the Bulls are going to have any chance against a talented, veteran team like the Spurs — especially on the road on the second night of back-to-backs — they’re going to have to shoot a high percentage (obviously), crash the boards at both ends (again, obviously) and they absolutely, positively must take care of the basketball.

Chicago ranks 23rd in Turnover Percentage. Last night, the Bulls gave up 29 points off 20 turnovers. They managed to beat the Rockets in part because of injuries (Houston was without Aaron Brooks and Yao Ming) and also because Derrick Rose caught fire in the fourth quarter. This team will get hammered by the Spurs if they don’t keep control of the ball.

Like I said, it’s going to be rough. History is against the Bulls, and I’m not just talking about how they’ve done on the circus trip since MJ retired in ‘98. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Chicago is 9-26 (.257) all-time on the road against the Spurs. That’s the Bulls’ worst road record against any NBA team.

http://bullsbythehorns.com/?gcid=C12289x022&gtkw=Chicago:+By the Horns

[Ditty]

so spurs are playing tonight finally realized now :lol

[FalleNxWiZarDx]

The Media will have a field day tonight

ESPN

[rjv]

a basketball thread in a basketball forum ?!!! this is an outrage !!

[duncan228]

Athletic Bulls should be huge challenge tonight for Spurs (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/17/athletic-bulls-should-be-huge-challenge-tonight-for-spurs/)
by Tim Griffin

...The athletic Bulls appear to be grasping the nuances of new coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive strategy during a four-game winning streak that includes a 95-92 victory at Houston last night. The Bulls have allowed opponents to score 92, 90, 96 and 92 points in the games of the streak.

...“They are obviously a very good defensive team,” Popovich said. “Tom has great knowledge of the game and specifically a real emphasis on defense has been his modus operandi. You see it in his teams.”

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/17/athletic-bulls-should-be-huge-challenge-tonight-for-spurs/

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

Coach Pop - Shootaround 11/17/10

http://www.nba.com/spurs/multimedia/101117_pop.html

[Libri]

I hope Bogans doesn't get a career high. hehe

[bigfan]

I bet Parker is a no-show tonight; DNP-Coaches Decision

[duncan228]

Put this in the Parker thread, thought it belonged here too.


How will T.P. react tonight while in the media crosshairs? (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/17/how-will-t-p-react-tonight-while-in-the-media-crosshairs/)
by Tim Griffin

...Parker has thrived against the other top point guards so far this season. But will he be able to duplicate those efforts with everything going around him tonight?

“We can’t tell Tony Parker to go out and stop every point guard,” Popovich said. “The team has to do it, so our team defense has to be really good to contain to any degree to contain Derrick. We’ll have to really take care of the ball and really have great defensive transition if we want to be in the game tonight.”

Popovich’s words place a lot of pressure on Parker, who will be critical in the Spurs’ ball distribution and transition defense.

There’s a thought that activities tonight will enable Parker to forget about all of the outside events away from basketball. Or it could drag him down.

We’ll have to watch the game tonight to see what will be the case.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/17/how-will-t-p-react-tonight-while-in-the-media-crosshairs/