Big Night for Silver and Black

[SpursStillTippin]

Alright yall well the Spurs can move into the slot of NBA's best record tonight IF we beat the nuggets and the heat beat the pistons tonight. Now i heard that Pop was gonna sit out Manu and Tim for the 2nd game of back to backs from here on out but this seems like a big game for us. I've seen the spurs projected inactive list for tonight and it only has Manu as probable and S.Marks so i guess Duncan and Manu will play tonight. Hope so, and come on Heat do us Spurs fans a favor tonight!!!!! Go Spurs Go!!!!!! :hat

[Walton Buys Off Me]

No way is Detroit losing tonight so Spurs need to take care of business.

[SpursStillTippin]

Detroit hasnt been playing the best ball of late so i think the Heat have a good chance. Now its in Detroit so its gonna be tough for them but i think they could pull it off. Plus D.Wade owned the pistons in their last meeting so maybe he does it again? But regardless the Spurs do need to take care of business

[1Parker1]

Detroit will probably win tonight, Miami is not as great as they appear on paper. I think the Spurs will struggle in the high altitude of Denver..especially Tony since he played for much of the 4th quarter yesterday. Guys like Finley, Barry, and Manu will need to step up.

[CubanMustGo]

Heat lost to friggin Minny last night, plus this is the second half of a B2B so old farts like Shaq, 'Zo, and Twan won't have much gas in the tank. Spurs have a better chance to lose at Den than Heat have of beating Detroit.

[Big Pimp_21]

Shaq did not play last night. Is he supposed to play tonight? If he does, I think it will be closer, but I still don't see the Pistons losing this one.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Shaq didn't play last night. I haven't heard yet if he's gonna play tongiht, but I think he will. I expect that he was faking the injury a little bit so that he would be rested for tonights matchup.

I feel pretty confident that we'll beat them w/ Shaq or without.

True, the Pistons haven't played exceptionally well as of late, but I think they've just been coasting through an easy schedule.

In comments/quotes, the players keep talking about finally seeing some quality opponents (Miami, Dallas, Indy twice, and Phoenix) in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure they'll get up for these games and play much better.



ONLY HUMAN: The Pistons don't want to say they've played down to their opponents this month.

But Chauncey Billups admits he does think the recent schedule -- filled with games against Atlanta and Charlotte, New York and Toronto -- has had something to do with the lack of sheen on the Pistons' play.

"I don't a lot of times enjoy playing those games," he said. "I enjoy playing the games that are 'big' games. Not the games that a team's coming in and they just do whatever they can and are just happy to be on the court with us. I don't enjoy those games, but you have to play them."


But..........It is a 3 man race for HCA. Det,SAS, or the Mavs could secure the best record. All it will take is a lapse of focus for any team. 2 or 3 losses could be huge down the final stretch.

It will be fun to watch. I like that every game has a significant bearing for each of our teams.

[Jimcs50]

If Shaq plays, then they have a chance to beat Detroit, but only a slight chance, since Miami will be pretty tired after probably arriving in Detroit early in the am, and not getting to sleep til 4 or so.

[Jimcs50]

The last time the Spurs played at Denver on tail end of back to back, the Spurs shot only 26% and got beat. It is rough playing back to back, but it is 100% harder to do it in Denver or Utah because of the altitude, where you get even more winded than usual.

I am not expecting SA to win, just for this reason. They can however sweep the remaining road trip because none are back to back.

[SAGambler]

Alright yall well the Spurs can move into the slot of NBA's best record tonight IF we beat the nuggets and the heat beat the pistons tonight. Now i heard that Pop was gonna sit out Manu and Tim for the 2nd game of back to backs from here on out but this seems like a big game for us. I've seen the spurs projected inactive list for tonight and it only has Manu as probable and S.Marks so i guess Duncan and Manu will play tonight. Hope so, and come on Heat do us Spurs fans a favor tonight!!!!! Go Spurs Go!!!!!! :hat

Stumbling block...Shaq did not play last night. Sprained thumb. Not sure if he will sit out this one tonight or not. If he does, Zo is going to have to come through big time. I still think D. Wade will put up close to 40 on the Pistons, but he is going to need some help.

[boutons_]

SPAM or not, 2nd of B2B has been horrible for Spurs this season. Low expectations.

But it's the start of a stretch of 5 road games:

Wed 22 @ Denver
Fri 24 @ Portland lottery
Sun 26 @ Seattle lottery
Tue 28 @ L.A. Clippers lottery
Thu 30 @ L.A. Lakers

... and starting off with a very surprising win over the "NWD champs" would be most welcome.

Go Spurs Go

==========================

Pistons will be up for the Heat game @AuburnHills.
Heat's only hope is to keep it close and have Dwayne go unstoppably nutz in the 4th qtr.

[JamStone]

Pistons could definitely lose to the Heat tonight. I still think the Pistons are the better team, but the Heat are good enough to beat any team in the NBA when they play their best ball. Pistons have only lost two games at home, both in overtime.

Denver is a sleeper team in the West. If both K-Mart and Camby play (you just never know when they will sit out a game due to any kind of temporary injury), they have one of the best frontcourts in the country. Ruben Patterson was a good addition as well. I think they could make a run against any team in the West in the playoffs. The probably don't beat the Spurs or the Mavs in a series, but they could make it interesting.

[Budkin]

I will be really impressed if the Spurs manage to pull off a win tonight. Like someone else said, the combination of a back to back plus playing up high in Denver is a recipe for disaster. Hopefully the guys can gut it out and get the W.

[MoSpur]

This is an important game not only because of the opportunity of taking over the overall best record, but the Spurs can gain even more confidence if they beat a very good team like Denver on a second of a back to back. I think they can do it because they left right after the game and flying to Denver on a private jet isn't that bad of a trip. They are going to have their hands full though. Earl Boykins and Miller always seem to have good games against the Spurs. Bowen has trouble at times with Carmelo and he is playing very good.

Detroit is not playing like they were earlier in the season. I think all the minutes the starters have played is catching up to them. Miami was the hottest team for awhile recently and if Shaq plays they can pull this off.

[Pistons < Spurs]

I think all the minutes the starters have played is catching up to them.

NO NO NO NO.

IMO minutes played has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

They're not playing tired...they're playing disinterested.

They're just a little bored. They're waiting for the playoffs. Plus there was no way the could maintain the torrid pace they started the season with.


Miami was the hottest team for awhile recently and if Shaq plays they can pull this off.


Yes, Miami's record has been good as of late....but there competition has been somewhat lacking.

That being said......of course Miami can beat the Pistons or any other team on any given night.

If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. No biggie either way.............but of course I'm rooting for a Miami beat down.

[1Parker1]

:lol Sadly, Earl Boykins seems to OWN the Spurs.

[himat]

Uh oh you guys are facing denver. the time the pistons played at denver kenyon martin was nailing 3 balls, and watch out they'll throw perfect oops as well. :drunk

[mando6599]

:lol Sadly, Earl Boykins seems to OWN the Spurs.

Gladly, tonight, and for many nights forseeable, Earl Boykins will OWN the bench as he's hurt. And I only say gladly as to the fact that he is a Spur killer. I'm not happy he's hurt though. It's just one less Nugget to have to worry about tonight. Denver just can never seem to get all healthy. You've got Martin, Camby, Najera, and now Boykins in and out all year long with injuries.

mando

[SAGambler]

:lol Sadly, Earl Boykins seems to OWN the Spurs.

Isn't he out with an injury?

[Peter]

I'm more concerned about the Spurs dropping the 2nd of a back2back in Denver than anything else. No matter what you have to focus on what you can control.

This 5 game road trip is huge. Anything less than 4-1 would be killer for their HCA overall chances.

The good thing is that after the road trip, they'll have 10 games remaining with 7 at home. In addition, after tonight they'll have two back2backs remaining on their schedule with the 2nd game of each back2back being a home game.

Tonight's game is the one to be most worried about on the 5 game road trip. A win tonight would be huge.

[Budkin]

Isn't he out with an injury?

Yes, I think he broke his hand or something... he's out for a while. Well, guess that's one good thing about tonight's game... no treefrog to go crazy on us. :blah

[Peter]

The other thing of note is that there aren't any 4 games in 5 night stretches left in the schedule.

The team can't afford a dismal road trip. Right now is when they need to be coming together and getting in a playoff groove. This 5 game road trip is an excellent opportunity for the team to gear itself up for the postseason. Hopefully they can rise to the challenge.

[Peter]

Yeah, Spurs Killer Earl is on the shelf. Thank God. He'd probably smoke a tired Spurs team by himself.

[LilMissSPURfect]

NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!!!!

WHERE's all the GO SPURS GO spirit...

" YOU CANNNNNNN DOOOOO IIIIIITTTTTTT"!!!!!!

[nkdlunch]

Heat are gonna get demolished, especially since its a backtoback. Spurs are gonna struggle and Denver is probly gonna win

[BigVee]

It is actually worse than a Spurs back to back. Denver has had 3 days off after their road trip. 3 days of rest and preparation for this game.

[samikeyp]

Detroit is going to smoke Miami.

I am concerned about the Spurs going into the thin air in a back to back. If they can pull this one out, it will be an immense confidence builder and may put them on top to stay.

[rayray2k8]

No way is Detroit losing tonight so Spurs need to take care of business.
agreed

[Hillcrest]

This is an important game not only because of the opportunity of taking over the overall best record, but the Spurs can gain even more confidence if they beat a very good team like Denver on a second of a back to back. I think they can do it because they left right after the game and flying to Denver on a private jet isn't that bad of a trip. They are going to have their hands full though. Earl Boykins and Miller always seem to have good games against the Spurs. Bowen has trouble at times with Carmelo and he is playing very good.


I, too, worry about this game a little bit. The Nuggets are dangerous and have had plenty of rest vs. our back-to-back. The elevation. Not to mention that we have a perennial bulls-eye on our backs. Teams come ready to play against us. There's something significant at stake record-wise.

I think it's a more-important-than-average game for us! This is probably what Detroit is saying for their game also (except they're at home).

[DarkReign]

Detroit is going to smoke Miami.

I wish I had as much confidence in the Pistons winning tonight's game as Spurs fans do.

I am a little worried. I could care less about what people will say the next day, I'm more worried about what it would expose.

Losing to Miami, on your homecourt, with them playing the 2nd game of a B2B...

This is either a marginal win, or a horrific loss.

[SenorSpur]

Yeah, Spurs Killer Earl is on the shelf. Thank God. He'd probably smoke a tired Spurs team by himself.

In fact, Boykins is out for the entire season with a hand injury.

[SenorSpur]

It's games like this that I detest the fact that the Spurs have the "oldest team in the league"

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Well, we're 5-9 on b2b's and we're on the road at a team that is playing pretty well right now.

It will be interesting.

[baseline bum]

Man, I forgot Boykins was out. He's almost as big a Spurs killer as Anthony.... who BTW, is the only player I've ever seen who can consistently play well against Bruce. If the Spurs can get this one I'll be very impressed.

[CubanMustGo]

With the game starting at 9:30 they get an extra hour to rest ... or is that bad??

[Kori Ellis]

With the game starting at 9:30 they get an extra hour to rest ... or is that bad??

National TV.

[Obstructed_View]

With the game starting at 9:30 they get an extra hour to rest ... or is that bad??
On the road it probably doesn't matter, other than the fact that it's just another thing to throw off their routine. At altitude, on the rear of a B2B, this is one most people just mark down an L for. It'd be nice to go ahead and win this one.