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Philly -- 17-15 @ home
Spurs -- 17-16 on the road
Should be entertaining to say the least...
Let's do this.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=280315020
Spurs-76ers Preview
By DAN PIERINGER, STATS LLC
Last week, the San Antonio Spurs were doing a good job changing the minds of those who had doubted their ability to win a second consecutive NBA le. Based on San Antonio's recent play, though, those minds may be changing again.
After losing for the fourth time in five games, the Spurs look to get back on track on Saturday when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers, who have done a better job of sustaining their turnaround.
San Antonio (44-21) struggled for a significant portion of the season, going 11-13 from Dec. 11-Jan. 29, and failing to show the form that helped the Spurs win their fourth NBA championship in nine years last season.
Despite doubts about their ability to repeat as champs for the first time, the Spurs rejoined the league's elite by winning 15 of their next 16 games. But they had their season-high 11-game win streak snapped last Friday, and have gone on to lose three more games in the last week.
However, San Antonio isn't panicking, considering each of its four losses this month came against a team currently with a .600 winning percentage or better.
The Spurs overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit with a 13-0 run on Friday night, but eventually lost 84-80 at Central Division-leading Detroit.
"It was a really good game of two good teams that went after each other," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
San Antonio was playing without starting forward Bruce Bowen, who had the NBA's longest active streak of games played snapped at 500 because of a league suspension. Bowen, whose streak began Feb. 28, 2002, was being disciplined for kicking New Orleans guard Chris Paul in San Antonio's 100-75 loss on Wednesday.
"The league is trying to send him a message more than anything," Popovich said. "The incident itself, I've watched a lot of times, and there was no real contact. It doesn't reach the level of other suspensions that I've seen, either in physicality or harm."
Bowen will return to play against the 76ers (32-34), who used a remarkable comeback in their last game to win for the 14th time in 18 games.
Philadelphia trailed by 18 with 11:08 left on Friday night, but rallied to beat Chicago 110-106. Andre Iguodala had 25 points and Rodney Carney scored 12 of his 18 in the final period as the Sixers climbed within two games of .500.
"I was thinking 'can we really come back?'" said Iguodala, averaging 21.0 points and shooting 48.7 percent in seven games this month. "Coach said if we can just get it down to 10, but the guys have a lot of heart, we cut it, got some stops and before you know it we were up."
With a win over Spurs, the Sixers can move within one game of .500 for the first time since they were 2-3 on Nov. 9.
Beating San Antonio, though, hasn't been easy for Philadelphia, which has dropped 27 of the last 35 games in the series, including six of seven.
The Sixers fell 89-82 in San Antonio on Jan. 14 despite 12 points and 20 rebounds from Samuel Dalembert and 21 points from Willie Green. Green, sidelined for two games with a lower back strain, expects to return against the Spurs.
San Antonio forward Tim Duncan had 18 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in that January win.
Gameday Matchup
W-L PF PA HOME ROAD STK L10
SA 44-21 95.5 91.1 27-5 17-16 L2 6-4
PHI 32-34 96.2 95.5 17-15 15-19 W2 8-2
2007-08 Season
San Antonio leads 1-0
Mon 1/14 @SA 89, PHI 82 Recap | Box Score
Mar 15, 2008 SA @ PHI 7:00 PM ET
Injury Report
SAN ANTONIO
· Ime Udoka SF - Mar 13: Day-to-Day
PHILADELPHIA
· Andre Miller PG - Mar 13: Day-to-Day
· Willie Green SG - Mar 12: Day-to-Day
Last 5 Games
SAN ANTONIO
Mar 14 @DET Loss 84-80
Mar 12 @NO Loss 100-75
Mar 10 DEN Win 107-103
Mar 09 @PHO Loss 94-87
Mar 07 @DEN Loss 109-96
PHILADELPHIA
Mar 14 @CHI Win 110-106
Mar 12 @DET Win 83-82
Mar 10 BOS Loss 100-86
Mar 09 @MIL Win 119-97
Mar 07 SEA Win 117-83
Depth Chart
POS SAN ANTONIO (PPG) PHILADELPHIA (PPG)
PG T. Parker 18.4 A. Miller 16.8
SG M. Ginobili 20.4 W. Green 13.0
SF B. Bowen 5.8 A. Iguodala 19.6
PF T. Duncan 19.8 R. Evans 5.5
C F. Oberto 4.7 S. Dalembert 10.8
Team Stat Leaders
SAN ANTONIO PHILADELPHIA
Points M. Ginobili 20.4 A. Iguodala 19.6
Rebounds T. Duncan 11.6 S. Dalembert 10.1
Assists T. Parker 5.7 A. Miller 6.7
Steals M. Ginobili 1.6 A. Iguodala 2.1
Blocks T. Duncan 1.9 S. Dalembert 2.3
Today's Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
@PHILADELPHIA -0 -0 SAN ANTONIO --
ATS San Antonio Philadelphia
Record: 44-21-0 (.677) 32-34-0 (.485)
As Favorite: 42-10-0 (.808) 15-7-0 (.682)
As Underdog: 2-11-0 (.154) 17-27-0 (.386)
At Home: 27-5-0 (.844) 17-15-0 (.531)
On Road: 17-16-0 (.515) 15-19-0 (.441)
Philly -- 17-15 @ home
Spurs -- 17-16 on the road
Should be entertaining to say the least...
Let's do this.
WIN THIS GAME!
WIN THIS GAME!
If for no other reason than the sanity of SpursTalk.
Aww man, I am excited, it's going to be a good game!
Have a blast.Aww man, I am excited, it's going to be a good game!
I hope they get the win for you.
Last edited by duncan228; 03-15-2008 at 10:12 AM.
thanks for the post Duncan228, i am excited to see bruces' energy tonight. 500 games straight!? He is probably bouncing off the walls with unspent energy from yesterday, should be pumped.
I think they pull it out.
Philly had an emotional big come from behind game last night.
Bowen will be back and play big minutes and is fresh having had 2 days off.
Hope the Spurs can pull it off
Spurs by 22 while Pop kicks Cheeks in the face.
Sixers.com
http://www.nba.com/sixers/news/0708_game_preview.html
San Antonio Spurs vs 76ers
Season Series: Spurs 1, 76ers 0
Your Philadelphia 76ers
Overall Record: 32-34
Home Record: 17-15
Against the West:13-14
Third Place, Atlantic Division
The 76ers enter this game after defeating the Chicago Bulls on the road Friday, 110-106, placing the Sixers at 6-1 in the month of March. Two days prior, Andre Iguodala led all scorers with 22 points in Wednesday's road victory over the Detroit Pistons, 83-82. Five Sixers achieved double figures on Wednesday, including Rodney Carney who led all reserves in the contest with 16 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, which included two three-pointers. On Friday, it was Carney, again, who hit three crucial baskets from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Carney's heroic performance down the stretch was exactly what the Sixers needed in order to overcome their 16-point second half deficit. The Sixers outscored the Bulls in the fourth quarter, 40-20, while forcing seven Chicago turnovers in that same quarter. The Sixers shot 57.1 percent from beyond the arc and 90.9 percent from the charity stripe, banking on 40 free throws. Iguodala scored a game-high 25 points and Andre Miller chipped in with 18 of his own. Reggie Evans finished with 12 points, his second straight game in double figures, and Samuel Dalembert posted 11 points, a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks.
Strength: In the last matchup between the Sixers and the Spurs, Dalembert pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds.
San Antonio Spurs
Overall Record: 44-21
Road Record: 17-16
Against the East: 21-5
Third Place, Southwest Division
The Spurs enter this game after falling to the Detroit Pistons on the road Friday, 84-80, placing San Antonio at 1-4 in their last five games. Despite the loss, Tony Parker led all scorers with 26 points, on 12-of-18 shooting, while posting team-highs of seven assists and three steals. The seventh-year veteran out of France is averaging 18.4 points per game and 5.7 assists per game. Parker ranks 18th in the NBA in assists per 48 minutes (8.1) and 37th in the NBA in field-goal percentage (48.9 percent). Tim Duncan recorded the only double-double in the contest with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Robert Horry hit two three-pointers off the bench for eight points. Duncan is averaging a double-double on the season with 19.8 points per game (26th in the NBA) and 11.6 rebounds per game (sixth in the NBA). Defensively, the Spurs are ranked third in the NBA in two different categories, including opponent's points per game (91.23) and opponent's three-point percentage (34.3 percent). The Spurs have also won 20 out of 21 games this season when they score 100-plus points.
Strength: The Spurs are ranked seventh in the NBA in three-point percentage shooting 37.5 percent.
Weakness: The Spurs are ranked 26th in the NBA in blocks with 4.03 per game.
Key Matchup: Tim Duncan vs. Samuel Dalembert
In the NBA, Duncan ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game (8.4), sixth in total rebounds (11.6), sixth in double-doubles (40) and eighth in blocks (1.92). Dalembert ranks fifth in the NBA in both offensive rebounds per game (3.5) and in blocks (2.26). This defensive-oriented matchup will most likely determine the outcome of this game.
Opposing Player to Watch:
Manu Ginobili - Ginobili is having an amazing season in his new role off the bench, averaging a career-high 20.2 points per game (24th in the NBA) to lead the Spurs in scoring. Ginobili is also averaging 1.63 steals per game (14th in the NBA) and 4.6 assists per game (28th in the NBA). The sixth-year vet out of Argentina is shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range (23rd in the NBA) and 84.5 percent from the charity stripe (27th in the NBA).
Spurs.com
http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/080315.html
Probable Starters:
Parker
Guard
18.5 PPG
Ginobili
Guard
20.2 PPG
Bowen
Forward
5.8 PPG
Duncan
Forward
19.8 PPG
Thomas
Center
7.0 PPG
Spur in the Spotlight
Bruce Bowen
Bruce Bowen returns to game action tonight after serving a one game suspension.
Did You Know...
Sixers head coach Maurice Cheeks averaged 10.9 points, 6.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 50 games with the Spurs during the 1989-90 season … the Spurs made their NBA debut in Philadelphia on 10/22/76, defeating the Sixers 121-118 … that game also marked Hall of Famer Julius Erving’s first ever NBA game … the Sixers snapped their 17-game losing streak in San Antonio with an 83-77 win on 1/3/04 … the Sixers set a team record with 38 turnovers against the Spurs on 10/22/76.
Loss...
Sixers are 16-6 in their last 22.
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