Spurs vs. Knicks Previews

[duncan228]

New York (4-2) at San Antonio (1-4)Preview
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Tue Nov 11, 2008 TV: MSG
By Dan Pieringer

Already without one of their top players, the San Antonio Spurs opened the season with their worst start in 35 years. Snapping out of their early funk could be a challenge with another one of their All-Stars sidelined.

After learning point guard Tony Parker would miss about four weeks with a sprained ankle, the short-handed Spurs hope to find some answers on Tuesday night when they host the surprising New York Knicks.

San Antonio entered the season knowing Manu Ginobili would miss the first several weeks following offseason ankle surgery. The Spurs didn’t know, however, that the absence of the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year would have such a significant impact.

They lost their first three games for the first time since their 1973-74 season in the ABA before barely squeaking out a 129-125 double-overtime victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. Parker scored a career-high 55 points in that game to help get San Antonio back on track.

On Friday night, though, the Spurs suffered another blow when Parker sprained his ankle early in a 99-83 loss to Miami. An MRI taken Saturday confirmed the injury, and Parker was using crutches and wearing a protective boot while watching Sunday’s practice. He’s expected to miss about a month.

Tim Duncan, the only healthy member of the trio that has led the Spurs to three championships in the last six seasons, isn’t sure what to make of San Antonio’s alarming start. The Spurs are 1-4 for the first time since 1996-97 - the season before Duncan entered the league - and the injuries don’t bode well for a quick turnaround.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Duncan, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in Friday’s defeat before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. “I don’t know what to say.”

Without Parker, the Spurs will rely more heavily on veteran backup Jacque Vaughn and rookie George Hill, the 26th overall pick from June’s draft. Spurs president R.C. Buford has also said the team could seek help via free agency or a trade.

“You’ll probably get to see George play a lot,” Buford said. “We’ll continue to evaluate not only our team, but the NBA market as we go along. Our guys have been encouraged with what George has done to date.”

Buford declined to comment on Ginobili’s condition, other than to say he’s progressing as prescribed. He isn’t expected to return before December.

San Antonio could have its hands full with a New York team that’s impressed in its first six games under new coach Mike D’Antoni. The Knicks (4-2) notched their first convincing win of D’Antoni’s tenure on Sunday, beating previously undefeated Utah 107-99 behind a season-high 32 points from Jamal Crawford.

“We play with energy, we can compete with a lot of teams. That’s what we’ve been working on and every game continue to build on that,” point guard Chris Duhon said. “It’s early, but it’s good to feel good about yourself and now we continue to build onto that.”

D’Antoni, known for building an offensive powerhouse in Phoenix over the previous five seasons, was perhaps most impressed with his team’s defense Friday. The Knicks held the Jazz to 15 points in the third quarter and outscored them 58-45 in the second half.

“Defense is a lot of heart,” D’Antoni said. “We can put quickness on the floor, it’s just a matter of just pushing through certain things and I thought we did a good job defensively.”

D’Antoni hopes his club can carry some of that success into the AT&T Center as the Knicks try to snap a six-game losing streak against the Spurs, during which New York has scored between 92 and 96 points in each game.

New York is 1-9 overall against San Antonio since its last road win in the series, a 105-97 victory on March 18, 2003.

Notes:

Knicks:

Before Sunday, the Knicks had not been two games over .500 since January 1, 2005 when they were 16-14. Since that point, the franchise's overall record is 100-194. The only active player from Sunday that was on the team back then was G Jamal Crawford, but he was on the injured list at the time. Crawford also connected on the 30th four-point play in team history and his ninth with Knicks. ... New York is one of six teams to have at least a .500 record (25-25) or better against Utah coach Jerry Sloan.

Spurs:

F-C Tim Duncan and G Roger Mason combined for 40 of the Spurs' 83 points on Friday. The other three starters combined for just 10. ... The Spurs' 27-point fourth quarter was the only period in which they outscored Miami and marked the most points in a quarter by either team. ... San Antonio scored four points off Miami's eight turnovers, while Miami scored 19 off San Antonio's 14. ... San Antonio hoisted 35 3-pointers, hitting 11. ... G-F Michael Finley was 0-for-8 from the floor, including three attempts from the arc. ... F Ime Udoka contributed 14 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting.

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Zach Randolph NY 19.8 Tony Parker SA 27.4

Rebounds
Zach Randolph NY 11.5 Tim Duncan SA 11.6

Assists
Chris Duhon NY 6.7 Tony Parker SA 5.8

[duncan228]

Knicks Blog
Spurs vulnerable
By Marc Berman

The Knicks, looking for their fourth straight win, have a shot tomorrow night in San Antonio. With Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out, the Knicks will be more able to double-team Tim Duncan in the post. The 1-4 Spurs are the exact kind of team with major size up front that could really hurt the Knicks.

Neither David Lee, Zach Randolph or Wilson Chandler are good matchups vs. Duncan. But Lee pointed out that the Knicks held their own against a similar low-post beast in Carlos Boozer. I wouldn't be shocked if Jerome James is trotted out there if Duncan is punishing them inside.

"He's going to be a challenge,'' Lee said of Duncan at today's short practice. "A good warmup was dealing with Boozer. We did a decent job of not letting him kill us. Like Utah, San Antonio has a great system around Duncan that makes it tough to double him.''

The 4-2 Knicks, who play in Memphis Wednesday, should look at this pair of road games as winnable and not be intimidated by name on the white jerseys tomorrow. D'Antoni, beaten in the playoffs by the Spurs two straight years, cracked, "I hope I don't get the cold sweats when I go out and see San Antonio.''

The Knicks were 8-33 on the road last season - a sign of an undisciplined, uncaring team. They are feeling their oats a bit, though D'Antoni continues to try to calm expectations. He's very well aware that 4-2 here means a whole different than 4-2 in Phoenix.

"It's not the true San Antonio team but we have to take care of our business,'' Chris Duhon said.

[Spurs Brazil]

Knicks are starting Chandler at PF.

I want to see if Pop will go small and start Ime at 4 or if D'Antoni will go big and start Lee

[Obstructed_View]

Just when the Spurs are down, seem to be nearing bottom, and need a big emotional win, who shows up on the schedule?

[Allanon]

I'm telling you guys, the Knicks won't be pushovers.

For the first time in years, the guys who are playing for the Knicks are showing some pride. They've always had talent.

Should be a good game, I look forward to seeing how the Spurs have adjusted with a couple of days practice with their new lineup.

[DPG21920]

The Spurs are in trouble, but that is to be expected given the cir stances. Lets just see if the guys can re-focus their effort on the defensive end and up their intensity. We need guys to step up, there is really not much else you can do. Pull out all the stops.

[Obstructed_View]

I'm telling you guys, the Knicks won't be pushovers.

For the first time in years, the guys who are playing for the Knicks are showing some pride. They've always had talent.

Should be a good game, I look forward to seeing how the Spurs have adjusted with a couple of days practice with their new lineup.

I don't expect them to be pushovers, but the Spurs have gotten it together to beat D'antoni's teams enough times that I wouldn't be surprised if they did it again. I bet Mike wouldn't be, either.

[Bender]

The other three starters combined for just 10. ...

jesus, no wonder we suck

[Allanon]

I don't expect them to be pushovers, but the Spurs have gotten it together to beat D'antoni's teams enough times that I wouldn't be surprised if they did it again. I bet Mike wouldn't be, either.

It's always fun to see Pop and Antoni together. Good luck in the game, I'll join you guys in the game thread tomorrow.

[Texas_Ranger]

Duncan needs to score 80-90 point if we'll win..

[1Parker1]

Since when is defending Boozer a warm up to defending the likes of a Tim Duncan? How the mighty have fallen....

[Manufan909]

How much did the 3 main bench players score? I bet is was twice as much.

[Darthkiller]

spurs defense is ranked no.30 in the league, i expect a high scoring game.

[timvp]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

[DPG21920]

It is worth a shot, especially if he is going to bring that energy. But that reminds me of a Heat lineup last year, yikes!!!!

[tomtom]

Yeah Tolliver's looking pretty nice. Damn where's our offense gonna come from. I can expect 30+ for Duncan and hopefully 20 for RMJ but wheres the rest gonna come from?

[Obstructed_View]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

I don't think my agreeing with you makes you sane, but I agree. There's been almost nobody tougher on Tolliver than I've been, but he earned a spot in the starting lineup simply with his effort and in-game IQ as far as I'm concerned. The Spurs need someone to dive on the floor. I thought that person was going to be Bonner, but he's as useless as everyone else. I'll take the occasional Tolliver brick if the rest of his play wakes up the other guys.

BTW, I'd rather see Udoka in the starting lineup. Bowen needs a wake up call.

[Ice009]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

I didn't like Tolliver until I saw him play his ass off Friday's game and hit some shots. Yes I wouldn't mind seeing Tolliver start based on that game.

[Ice009]

I don't think my agreeing with you makes you sane, but I agree. There's been almost nobody tougher on Tolliver than I've been, but he earned a spot in the starting lineup simply with his effort and in-game IQ as far as I'm concerned. The Spurs need someone to dive on the floor. I thought that person was going to be Bonner, but he's as useless as everyone else. I'll take the occasional Tolliver brick if the rest of his play wakes up the other guys.

BTW, I'd rather see Udoka in the starting lineup. Bowen needs a wake up call.

Ime is used to starting for a team fighting for every win. He's been in this situation in Portland before where every game they had to scrap to get a win. Ime knows what to do so yes I would love to start him too.

If not for Bruce I'd like him in at SF to move Bruce to SG then you can bring Roger in off of the bench.

[Manufan909]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

As long as Tim, Hill, and Mason make it, I'm good. But who is the second unit's source of offense? Fin, JV, and Farmer?

EDIT: Forgot Ime, he'll probably be the Spurs 3rd best scorer.

[xellos88330]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

I like the idea of Tolliver starting, however, who would bring the energy off of the bench? JV???

[Ice009]

I like the idea of Tolliver starting, however, who would bring the energy off of the bench? JV???

ahh super sub Matt Bonner. Red Rocket ready for blast off.

[Spurs Brazil]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

I agree. I think it'll be Tolliver or Ime

[Obstructed_View]

ahh super sub Matt Bonner. Red Rocket ready for blast off.

It's about time somebody reminded him that providing energy is his role. It's also his ticket to more minutes.

[Mr. Body]

I like the idea of starting the following players:

PG Hill
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Tolliver
C Duncan

Hill on Duhon, Bowen on Crawford, Mason on QRich, Tolliver on Chandler and Duncan on Randolph. Starting Tolliver may be a stretch but he showed more life in the last game than we've seen out of any of the other complementary bigs. Plus he looks agile enough to do a better job of staying with Chandler than Oberto, Thomas or Bonner.

Anyone else want Pop to start Tolliver or is timvp crazy?

Christ, that team is going to get destroyed. Not just the Knicks; everyone will be feasting on us.