benefactor
02-04-2012, 06:56 PM
As we head into the annual RRT, there is a different feel to this team than any other year. This team...for the first time in Duncan era...is starting to truly feel like a team in transition. It is bittersweet, as no one wants to watch father time catch up to the Spurs core and yet there is still a hint of excitement in the air. This excitement comes from the fact that Pop is doing what most of us have been on our knees begging him to do for years now, and that is embracing the youth movement. Spurs fans have grown weary of the endless carousel of washed up veterans and marginal, limitedly skilled role players that have attempted to shore up the bench and take up the slack while the Big 3 play their hearts out trying to put one more trophy in the case. Those days seem to be gone(Bonner notwithstanding), as Spurs fans watch players like Gary Neal, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter bring energy and breathe new life into a team that has been branded many times as "the same old boring Spurs."
Between having to deal with lockout basketball(no camp) and the injuries, the results have been mixed so far. However, it seems like with every game the youth of the second unit is embracing the forced trial by fire and becoming more and more dependable. Several games here recently where I expected the white flag to wave early the bench mob stepped up and would have none of it. With no Manu and a suprisingly effective T.J. Ford both sidelined with injuries, the Spurs have still managed to put together a respectable 15-9 record and are current 1st in the SW Division...and this is without Parker and Duncan having to carry the team on their backs to try to get them there.
The biggest difference between this years RRT and any other year is the lack of an All-Star break to split up the trip. Pop has been quoted before as saying that he would rather stay out on the road instead of coming home for the ASB and considering the circumstances of the season we are in I am going to have to agree with him. With the bench unit playing as well as they are I think age old "coming together" theory that is associated with the RRT is more applicable than it's ever been. If they are going to get it together and figure out how to start winning on the road the best way to learn is tossing them out in the woods with the wolves and telling them to fight them off and get back home alive. One could easily say that more than any other year, this RRT is the pivitol point in the season. Will they come out of it focused and ready for the final two months of the season? We will soon find out.
Below I will list each team the Spurs play as well as some thoughts about that team and how I feel the match up will play out.
Memphis Grizzlies - 12-11(7-3 at home)
A little less than a week ago, the Spurs went to Memphis and put on an defensive clinic against the Grizzlies holding them to 73 points and 37% shooting. Rest assured that the Grizz will be thinking about that when the Spurs arrive for their first game of the RRT. The only good thing about the timing of this game is that Grizz will have to go to Boston the night before and turn around and come back the next night to play the Spurs. I still think they will be motivated to come out and get this game regardless of the back to back. The Spurs will likely need to go away from their most recent starting lineup that features Gary Neal at SG and go back to Kawhi Leonard to accommodate the match up with Rudy Gay.
Philadelphia 76ers - 16-7(12-3 at home)
Before that debacle last night against the Heat, the Sixers had been playing some pretty good basketball. They had won five of their last six and are sitting atop the Atlantic division. They have taken advantage of their favorable schedule which has given them only 8 games on road all season by posting a 12-3 mark at Wells Fargo Center. They are also playing some of the best defense in the league right now, holding opponents to a league leading 86.5 points per game. They also lead the league in point differential at +10.2 and are near the top of the league in defensive rebounding percentage and assists per game. It will be interesting to see how good they really are, as they have feasted on mostly bad teams during this home heavy first half schedule. The next two games should give us some idea, as they will go to Atlanta then come back home for the Lakers before the Spurs come to town. Regardless, the Spurs will need to play a disciplined game on both ends of the floor to get this game in Philly.
New Jersey Nets - 8-16(3-7 at home)
Saying that the injury bug has bitten the Nets is the understatement of the year. Losing Brook Lopez to start the season was only the beginning. Damien James is out for the year, DeShawn Stevenson is out at least another ten days, Mehmet Okur has been in and out of the lineup with back spasms and now they have lost their solid rookie guard MarShon Brooks(the second leading scorer on the team) to a broken toe that has him out indefinitely. The Nets were only able to dress 8 players against Detroit a few nights ago and had to resurrect Keith Bogans from the dead just to have that many. So that being said, the Spurs have no excuse to lose this game. Hopefully they can finish them off early on and the bench can carry them through while Parker and Duncan get a head start on the two days rest that are ahead.
Detroit Pistons - 5-20(4-8 at home)
Yes, you read that correctly...5-20. How bad are the Pistons? How about only playing 25 games and already having separate six game and seven game losing streaks? How about last in the league in scoring, below average rebounding and almost last in the league in assists. The Pistons are losing games by almost the same point differential that the Sixers are winning them. Beyond promising young big man Greg Monroe and a stacked draft coming up, Pistons fans don't have a whole lot to be excited about. With two days off and on the front end of a back to back, this is the ideal match up for the Spurs. Let's hope they can take advantage of it and not sleepwalk their way through what should be an easy win.
Toronto Raptors - 8-16(3-6 at home)
The Raptors are yet another team with very little good to talk about. They are basically a team of NBA role players with no go to player or veteran leadership. Combine that with a new head coach that had no camp to get his team in the direction he wanted them to go and Bargnani missing a ton of games with a calf injury you get an 8-16 record and a team without much to look forward to right now. Their season was essentially ended when they lost Bargnani and lost 8 games in a row in the process. Even with the back to back, the Spurs don't have much excuse for losing this game. In Raptors most recent two losses they got beat by a combined total of 59 points. No excuses.
Los Angeles Clippers - 13-7(10-3 at home)
After a couple of days off, the Spurs head to Lob City to play the Clippers. On paper the Clippers look like a match up nightmare for any team with their scoring ability and the problems that Paul and Griffin pose, but a closer look says they are very beatable. Though they are a top 5 team in the league in scoring they are also a #7 in the league in points allowed, giving up almost 98 points per game. Despite their athleticism, they are a below average rebounding team. The Spurs go into this game with a good chance at controlling the glass as they are one of the best rebounding teams in the league. If they can do that and keep Griffin from catching countless lobs at the rim then they have a good chance at stealing a win against a team that is very good at home.
Utah Jazz - 12-9(10-4 at home)
The Jazz are a team trying to rebuild after an attempted rebuild. With the Jerry Sloan era over and Deron Williams out the door the Jazz are now left with a mixture of veterans and young talent. Their future core of Hayward, Kanter and Favors has some promise but right now there is very little leadership to show them the way. Much like the Clippers, they are an inconsistent team that can score but give up almost as many points as the put in. It will probably be several season before anything clear is known about this team. They are badly in need of a star level player(namely a PG) to bring it all together and Corbin has big shoes to fill in a city that has seen nothing but Sloan for most of our lifetimes. After starting off hot their inconsistency has shown through as they are 3-5 over their last 8 games. As with the Clippers the Spurs should be able to exploit the Jazz poor defense and use their superior rebounding to get the win...but teams like this with young talent can be unpredictable. I have a gut feeling they lose this game.
Portland Trailblazers - 13-10(10-1 at home)
The Spurs and Blazers have something in common...both are outstanding at home and horrible on the road. This will definitely be a tough out on a back to back so late in the road trip. Thankfully, the Blazers will also have played a game the night before in LA(Lakers) and they are 2-6 on the second night of back to backs. They will also be finishing a span of 5 games in 7 nights so this game really could turn into a battle of wills. The Spurs beat the Blazers earlier this season behind strong efforts from Parker, Blair and Danny Green and Tiago Splitter. The rest of the team will need to step up even more if they expect to gut out a win in Portland.
Denver Nuggets - 15-8(7-4 at home)
The final stop on the road trip is the Denver Nuggets, who are an offensive machine right now. They are leading the league with a blistering 105 points per game and are second in the league in field goal percentage. The surprise player for Denver has been Al Harrington, who is averaging 15/6 and shooting over 50% from the field in only 26 minutes per game. Weary from the road, this will be a great test for the Spurs defense...but like the Blazers they will be catching the Nuggets on the second night of a back to back where Denver was forced to play the Clippers the night before. Earlier this season Denver came to SA and the Spurs put on their own offensive clinic shooting 55% from the field and hanging 121 points on the Nuggets behind a great effort by Danny Green. Hopefully by the end of the this trip they will have figured out how to put up similar numbers on the road.
Between having to deal with lockout basketball(no camp) and the injuries, the results have been mixed so far. However, it seems like with every game the youth of the second unit is embracing the forced trial by fire and becoming more and more dependable. Several games here recently where I expected the white flag to wave early the bench mob stepped up and would have none of it. With no Manu and a suprisingly effective T.J. Ford both sidelined with injuries, the Spurs have still managed to put together a respectable 15-9 record and are current 1st in the SW Division...and this is without Parker and Duncan having to carry the team on their backs to try to get them there.
The biggest difference between this years RRT and any other year is the lack of an All-Star break to split up the trip. Pop has been quoted before as saying that he would rather stay out on the road instead of coming home for the ASB and considering the circumstances of the season we are in I am going to have to agree with him. With the bench unit playing as well as they are I think age old "coming together" theory that is associated with the RRT is more applicable than it's ever been. If they are going to get it together and figure out how to start winning on the road the best way to learn is tossing them out in the woods with the wolves and telling them to fight them off and get back home alive. One could easily say that more than any other year, this RRT is the pivitol point in the season. Will they come out of it focused and ready for the final two months of the season? We will soon find out.
Below I will list each team the Spurs play as well as some thoughts about that team and how I feel the match up will play out.
Memphis Grizzlies - 12-11(7-3 at home)
A little less than a week ago, the Spurs went to Memphis and put on an defensive clinic against the Grizzlies holding them to 73 points and 37% shooting. Rest assured that the Grizz will be thinking about that when the Spurs arrive for their first game of the RRT. The only good thing about the timing of this game is that Grizz will have to go to Boston the night before and turn around and come back the next night to play the Spurs. I still think they will be motivated to come out and get this game regardless of the back to back. The Spurs will likely need to go away from their most recent starting lineup that features Gary Neal at SG and go back to Kawhi Leonard to accommodate the match up with Rudy Gay.
Philadelphia 76ers - 16-7(12-3 at home)
Before that debacle last night against the Heat, the Sixers had been playing some pretty good basketball. They had won five of their last six and are sitting atop the Atlantic division. They have taken advantage of their favorable schedule which has given them only 8 games on road all season by posting a 12-3 mark at Wells Fargo Center. They are also playing some of the best defense in the league right now, holding opponents to a league leading 86.5 points per game. They also lead the league in point differential at +10.2 and are near the top of the league in defensive rebounding percentage and assists per game. It will be interesting to see how good they really are, as they have feasted on mostly bad teams during this home heavy first half schedule. The next two games should give us some idea, as they will go to Atlanta then come back home for the Lakers before the Spurs come to town. Regardless, the Spurs will need to play a disciplined game on both ends of the floor to get this game in Philly.
New Jersey Nets - 8-16(3-7 at home)
Saying that the injury bug has bitten the Nets is the understatement of the year. Losing Brook Lopez to start the season was only the beginning. Damien James is out for the year, DeShawn Stevenson is out at least another ten days, Mehmet Okur has been in and out of the lineup with back spasms and now they have lost their solid rookie guard MarShon Brooks(the second leading scorer on the team) to a broken toe that has him out indefinitely. The Nets were only able to dress 8 players against Detroit a few nights ago and had to resurrect Keith Bogans from the dead just to have that many. So that being said, the Spurs have no excuse to lose this game. Hopefully they can finish them off early on and the bench can carry them through while Parker and Duncan get a head start on the two days rest that are ahead.
Detroit Pistons - 5-20(4-8 at home)
Yes, you read that correctly...5-20. How bad are the Pistons? How about only playing 25 games and already having separate six game and seven game losing streaks? How about last in the league in scoring, below average rebounding and almost last in the league in assists. The Pistons are losing games by almost the same point differential that the Sixers are winning them. Beyond promising young big man Greg Monroe and a stacked draft coming up, Pistons fans don't have a whole lot to be excited about. With two days off and on the front end of a back to back, this is the ideal match up for the Spurs. Let's hope they can take advantage of it and not sleepwalk their way through what should be an easy win.
Toronto Raptors - 8-16(3-6 at home)
The Raptors are yet another team with very little good to talk about. They are basically a team of NBA role players with no go to player or veteran leadership. Combine that with a new head coach that had no camp to get his team in the direction he wanted them to go and Bargnani missing a ton of games with a calf injury you get an 8-16 record and a team without much to look forward to right now. Their season was essentially ended when they lost Bargnani and lost 8 games in a row in the process. Even with the back to back, the Spurs don't have much excuse for losing this game. In Raptors most recent two losses they got beat by a combined total of 59 points. No excuses.
Los Angeles Clippers - 13-7(10-3 at home)
After a couple of days off, the Spurs head to Lob City to play the Clippers. On paper the Clippers look like a match up nightmare for any team with their scoring ability and the problems that Paul and Griffin pose, but a closer look says they are very beatable. Though they are a top 5 team in the league in scoring they are also a #7 in the league in points allowed, giving up almost 98 points per game. Despite their athleticism, they are a below average rebounding team. The Spurs go into this game with a good chance at controlling the glass as they are one of the best rebounding teams in the league. If they can do that and keep Griffin from catching countless lobs at the rim then they have a good chance at stealing a win against a team that is very good at home.
Utah Jazz - 12-9(10-4 at home)
The Jazz are a team trying to rebuild after an attempted rebuild. With the Jerry Sloan era over and Deron Williams out the door the Jazz are now left with a mixture of veterans and young talent. Their future core of Hayward, Kanter and Favors has some promise but right now there is very little leadership to show them the way. Much like the Clippers, they are an inconsistent team that can score but give up almost as many points as the put in. It will probably be several season before anything clear is known about this team. They are badly in need of a star level player(namely a PG) to bring it all together and Corbin has big shoes to fill in a city that has seen nothing but Sloan for most of our lifetimes. After starting off hot their inconsistency has shown through as they are 3-5 over their last 8 games. As with the Clippers the Spurs should be able to exploit the Jazz poor defense and use their superior rebounding to get the win...but teams like this with young talent can be unpredictable. I have a gut feeling they lose this game.
Portland Trailblazers - 13-10(10-1 at home)
The Spurs and Blazers have something in common...both are outstanding at home and horrible on the road. This will definitely be a tough out on a back to back so late in the road trip. Thankfully, the Blazers will also have played a game the night before in LA(Lakers) and they are 2-6 on the second night of back to backs. They will also be finishing a span of 5 games in 7 nights so this game really could turn into a battle of wills. The Spurs beat the Blazers earlier this season behind strong efforts from Parker, Blair and Danny Green and Tiago Splitter. The rest of the team will need to step up even more if they expect to gut out a win in Portland.
Denver Nuggets - 15-8(7-4 at home)
The final stop on the road trip is the Denver Nuggets, who are an offensive machine right now. They are leading the league with a blistering 105 points per game and are second in the league in field goal percentage. The surprise player for Denver has been Al Harrington, who is averaging 15/6 and shooting over 50% from the field in only 26 minutes per game. Weary from the road, this will be a great test for the Spurs defense...but like the Blazers they will be catching the Nuggets on the second night of a back to back where Denver was forced to play the Clippers the night before. Earlier this season Denver came to SA and the Spurs put on their own offensive clinic shooting 55% from the field and hanging 121 points on the Nuggets behind a great effort by Danny Green. Hopefully by the end of the this trip they will have figured out how to put up similar numbers on the road.