Spurs vs Grizzlies Previews

[duncan228]

Game is Saturday, 7:30 CST.


Saturday: Grizzlies (12-15) at Spurs (22-3) (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/17/saturday-grizzlies-12-15-at-spurs-22-3/)
Jeff McDonald

...Spurs and Grizzlies split season series 2-2 last season. … Mayo, who averaged 22.5 points vs. Spurs last season, has come off bench the past 14 games.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/17/saturday-grizzlies-12-15-at-spurs-22-3/

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


Duncan: Defense can recover this season (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/17/duncan-defense-can-recover-this-season/)
Mike Monroe

..."It’s the NBA,” Duncan said, “and guys are going to come out and play different ways at different times.

“Obviously, we had a bad second half (Wednesday) night, and we came out and started that way again and (coach Gregg Popovich) got on our butts. But stuff’s going to happen, and I’m proud of this team because we’re playing a lot more of those 48 minutes. And we can clean things up and we can change things and go from playing a bad first quarter like that to playing a much better third and fourth quarter.”

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/17/duncan-defense-can-recover-this-season/

[TE]

Thanks.

[TE]

Should be a good game.

[duncan228]

Memphis (12-15) at San Antonio (22-3) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010121824)
Tipoff: 8:30 pm EST Sat Dec 18, 2010
TV: SS, CW35
By Matt Beardmore

After a left ankle injury hampered Manu Ginobili during the 2008 postseason and a fractured right ankle sidelined him during the following year’s playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs were admittedly a bit hesitant before signing the veteran guard to an extension last spring.

So far, it’s proven to be a wise investment.

Ginobili and the NBA-best Spurs go for their eighth win in a row overall and seventh straight at AT&T Center on Saturday night when they face the Memphis Grizzlies, who stumbled to open their two-game Texas trip.

With his contract ending following the 2009-10 season, Ginobili proved that the injuries that limited him to 44 games in 2008-09 would not prevent him from playing a major role in the Spurs’ future. During an 11-game stretch prior to signing a three-year, $39 million extension on April 9, Ginobili averaged 25.7 points and 6.1 assists and was one of the main reasons why San Antonio reached its 13th consecutive postseason.

“It’s always good to have information that helps leads you to make decisions,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said after the deal was finalized.

Buford seems to have made the right decision. Ginobili leads San Antonio (22-3) with a career-high 20.0 points per game, but more importantly, continues to deliver with the game on the line.

After hitting a buzzer-beating jumper Wednesday to give the Spurs a 92-90 victory over Milwaukee, the 33-year-old Argentina native made a go-ahead runner with 4.2 seconds remaining before taking a charge from Carmelo Anthony as time expired in Thursday’s 113-112 win in Denver.

“He’s a stud,” coach Gregg Popovich said of Ginobili. “He’s been a competitor, he’s won championships here and overseas and he’s been MVPs of things. He scored the two free throws down the stretch, then he scored the winning bucket and then he took the charge. That pretty much says it all about what he’s capable of doing.”

Hours after signing his deal last season, Ginobili scored a team-high 26 points but the Spurs lost 107-99 to end their 10-game home winning streak against Memphis.

The Grizzlies (12-15) would like a similar result as they make the first of two visits to AT&T Center in 2010-11. Memphis, though, is coming off one of its worst performances of the season, scoring 33 first-half points in Friday’s 103-87 loss to Houston.

“We came in here to try to make a statement that we could play with them, but they showed us that we haven’t matured enough and gotten on the level that they’re on with their group,” coach Lionel Hollins said.

That immaturity could cost the Grizzlies on Friday if leading scorer Rudy Gay gets suspended for knocking down Rockets forward Luis Scola in the fourth quarter and getting ejected for a flagrant-2 foul.

“I kind of let my anger get the best of me, and it’s not characteristic of me or anybody else on this team,” Gay said. “Me, as a leader, I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

The potential loss of Gay, who is averaging a team-high 21.0 points, could be too much for Memphis to overcome as it faces a Spurs team holding opponents to 93.0 points and 43.6-percent shooting from the field during its seven-game win streak.

San Antonio is 23-6 all-time at home against the Grizzlies.

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

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Rudy Gay Mem 21.0
Manu Ginobili SA 20.0

Rebounds
Zach Randolph Mem 12.1
Tim Duncan SA 9.5

Assists
Mike Conley Mem 7.1
Tony Parker SA 7.1

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010121824

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

This should be a good one. I think Spurs will win big though.

Spurs 113
Grizzlies 93

[Man In Black]

Spurs by 12

[cutewizard]

Spurs by 14

[Hooks]

Does anyone know if the game will broadcast in HD? I just bought me a 1080p LCD flat screen and got HD earlier today, I can't wait to watch a spurs game in HD...

[Fpoonsie]

traaaaaaaaaaaaaap gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

[UnWantedTheory]

By 13.

[UnWantedTheory]

But we can not let down. This is a game that could prove bothersome.

[BanditHiro]

hope they fucking destroy this team...fucking assholes for dealing with the lakers

[TE]

hope they fucking destroy this team...fucking assholes for dealing with the lakers

Same sentiment I have
:toast

[UnWantedTheory]

Same sentiment I have
:toast
Agreed. Hope it isnt one of those games we let up on.

[shelshor]

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html
Referee Assignments
Sat. Dec. 18
Memphis @ San Antonio: Ed Malloy; Bennie Adams; Marat Kogut

[boutons_deux]

Jerry West becomes Memphis GM,
MEM has a horrible lottery season,
MEM lottery-picks Gasol (a pick LA would never get),
West trades Gasol to Lakers for nothing.
West soon resigns as GM of Memphis.

Scam being repeated with Rambis/Love at the TWolves?

[Fireball]

Control the defensive boards against Gasol and Randolph ... then this will be easy because Memphis played last night and the Spurs are just better!

[Fireball]

Scam being repeated with Rambis/Love at the TWolves?

yeah, this time they cover it up a little better and trade Bynum for Love ... then Bynum "unexpectedly" retires early because of his continuous knee problems

[Agloco]

No excuses here. Memphis is on the back end of a back to back and we've gotten a days rest. Unless it's one of those games where Memphis is shooting lights out and we're cold at the same time, I expect a pretty easy win.

[Spurs Brazil]

Blair says he wasn’t surprised by either of Ginobili’s game-winners.

“Every time he gets the ball and we need a bucket, I know he’s going to get it,” Blair said. “He’s Manu Ginobili. He’s amazing.”

J.R. Smith’s dunk on Gary Neal, which dominated the national highlight shows on Friday, remained a hot topic among the Spurs. It’s sounding like Neal won’t be hearing the end of his posterization any time soon.

“He’s going to get it the rest of the year,” said Blair, who is now using a photo of the dunk as the screen saver on his cell phone.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/18/ginobili-no-more-game-winners-please/

[Fireball]

“He’s going to get it the rest of the year,” said Blair, who is now using a photo of the dunk as the screen saver on his cell phone.

I think all other Spurs on the floor at that time should get burned for letting JRS to the basket this easily with only seconds to go in the quarter ...

[duncan228]

Advanced Scouting: Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/spurs-stats-advanced-scouting-memphis-grizzlies-san-antonio-spurs)
by Scott Sereday
48 Minutes of Hell

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/spurs-stats-advanced-scouting-memphis-grizzlies-san-antonio-spurs

[Fundamental]

I think all other Spurs on the floor at that time should get burned for letting JRS to the basket this easily with only seconds to go in the quarter ...

I was going to say...Udoka is the player that let Smith in the lane, Neal had to rotate inside to cover for Udoka's fail. You know Neal was doing exactly what he's been coached to do. What is better or worse...having NBA fans and (apparently) teammates ridicule you, or pissing off Popavich for not making the rotation and sacrificing yourself?

[greyforest]

J.R. Smith’s dunk on Gary Neal, which dominated the national highlight shows on Friday, remained a hot topic among the Spurs. It’s sounding like Neal won’t be hearing the end of his posterization any time soon.

“He’s going to get it the rest of the year,” said Blair, who is now using a photo of the dunk as the screen saver on his cell phone.

Neal was very close to drawing a charge tbh, not really a good poster

[Cant_Be_Faded]

This is going to be a tough game.

[duncan228]

Grizzlies finish Texas trek vs. sizzling Spurs (http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/news/news.aspx?id=4364570)
Sports Network

The San Antonio Spurs have been living dangerously lately but that doesn't mean that haven't been living like a winner, and the NBA's best team will try and nail down another victory tonight when they entertain the Memphis Grizzlies in the Alamo City.

For the second straight night Manu Ginobili played the hero on Thursday. The Argentine star rattled in the go-ahead shot with 4.2 seconds left, then took a game-winning charge on Carmelo Anthony at the other end to give San Antonio a thrilling 113-112 win over Denver.

A day earlier Ginobili put the finishing touches on a 26-point night by hitting a 20-foot fadeaway at the buzzer to give San Antonio a thrilling 92-90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Against the Nuggets, Ginobili beat a double-team for his bucket, scoring the last of his 16 points with a running bank shot that bounced around the rim before dropping.

Anthony then drove hard down the lane at the other end, knocking Ginobili over and hitting what appeared to hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer. But the Nuggets forward was called for the offensive foul, and San Antonio inbounded the ball to run off the final ticks.

"That pretty much says it all about what he's capable of doing," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said of Ginobili's well-rounded effort.

It was a frantic end to San Antonio's seventh straight win, which gave the Spurs (22-3) their best 25-game start in franchise history.

Tim Duncan had 28 points and 16 rebounds in the victory, while Tony Parker scored 24 with nine assists.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, dropped the opener of a two-day tour of Texas in Houston on Friday when Kevin Martin scored 34 points, and Kyle Lowry supplied 17 points and a career-high 18 assists in a Rockets' 103-87 victory over Memphis.

Rudy Gay and Sam Young scored 19 points apiece, and Zach Randolph contributed 13 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies, who had won four straight coming in.

Gay, meanwhile, could be suspended against San Antonio for knocking Rockets forward Luis Scola to the floor in the fourth quarter. Memphis' leading scorer was ejected for a flagrant-2 foul.

"I kind of let my anger get the best of me and it's not characteristic of me or anybody else on this team," Gay said.

Memphis snapped a two-game skid versus the Spurs back in April of last season but San Antonio has traditionally had its way with the Grizzlies in the Alamo City, compiling a 23-6 all-time record against them.

http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/news/news.aspx?id=4364570

[Ditty]

dang I hope Gay doesn't play guy killed us in that shocking win last year at the end of the season against us. Hope we pound that ass and rest our players for the newly looked suns and pound that ass also.

[Solid D]

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html
Referee Assignments
Sat. Dec. 18
Memphis @ San Antonio: Ed Malloy; Bennie Adams; Marat Kogut

I believe that Kogut is the worst ref currently officiating in the NBA.

[Solid D]

dang I hope Gay doesn't play guy killed us in that shocking win last year at the end of the season against us. Hope we pound that ass and rest our players for the newly looked suns and pound that ass also.

Gay is suspended for this game. It's official.

[duncan228]

This just in from Spurs Central: George Hill will not play vs. Memphis. He has a sprained right big toe.

[Solid D]

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html
Referee Assignments
Sat. Dec. 18
Memphis @ San Antonio: Ed Malloy; Bennie Adams; Marat Kogut


I believe that Kogut is the worst ref currently officiating in the NBA.

...and Marat did not change that opinion tonight. He was the one making all of the strange calls. Pop and Dice were both shaking their heads over a couple of them. Kogut also made the borderline 8 seconds call. The rebound was snagged at 1:40. Tony's foot crossed half-court as the clock was moving from 1:32 to 1:31. Shame on TP for lollygagging, though.