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I've got a bad feeling about this one....
Hope I'm wrong
Boston Celtics @ San Antonio Spurs
Thursday, November 3
TNT, 8:00 EST
Announcers: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Mike Fratello (analyst), Reggie Miller (analyst) and David Aldridge (reporter)
*********************
The Celtics continue their four-game road trip with a stop in San Antonio to take on the red-hot Spurs on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.
The Spurs are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, but still trail the first-place Dallas Mavericks by 2 1/2 games in the Southwest Division. After starting the month of November at 2-5, they picked up the pace thanks to a favorable schedule which has them playing nine of 11 games at home.
Tim Duncan leads the team with 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds a game while Tony Parker is chipping in with 5.5 assists per game.
The C’s and Spurs split their two games last season with both teams winning on the road. San Antonio topped the Celtics 105-99 at the Garden to hand Boston one of its three losses in the month of November. Boston then took their next meeting in San Antonio by stumping the Spurs 80-77 thanks to Ray Allen’s 19 points. That win was Kevin Garnett’s first after sitting out the previous 13 contests with a knee injury.
I've got a bad feeling about this one....
Hope I'm wrong
We were 2-5? I thought we were 4-4 at one point.
Boston (14-4) at San Antonio (9-6)
Game info: 8:00 pm EST Thu Dec 3, 2009
TV: TNT
By Kate Hedlin
The San Antonio Spurs took advantage of an easy portion in their schedule to get on track after a poor start to the season.
Things are about to get much tougher.
The Spurs host the Boston Celtics on Thursday as both teams go for their sixth straight win.
San Antonio (9-6) lost six of its first 10 games to post the worst start in the Tim Duncan era.
An ankle injury caused Duncan to miss two victories during that stretch, but he’s been a key factor during the current five-game winning streak, averaging 20.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. He’s led the team in scoring in three of the wins, including a 97-89 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Spurs held the 76ers to 39.3 percent shooting and gave up fewer than 90 points for the third time during the win streak. They are yielding an average of 91.8 points in the last five games - seven fewer than the first 10 games.
“We really shouldn’t care that much about winning five in a row,” said Manu Ginobili, who returned Sunday after missing five games with a strained groin and finished with eight points and three turnovers in 17 minutes.
“It’s always good. It helps your confidence, and of course your standings, but we still believe we’ve got a long way to go.”
Ginobili and the Spurs may be hesitant to make too much of the winning streak given the quality of the opponents. Three of the teams they defeated have losing records and the other two—Houston and Milwaukee—have spent much of the season hovering around .500.
San Antonio’s upcoming schedule should provide a bigger test, with home games against division leaders Boston and Denver before Monday’s visit to Utah, which has won six of seven.
However, not all the Spurs see the upcoming game against the Celtics (14-4) as a measuring stick.
“Right now, neither team is going to be as sharp as they’d like,” Richard Jefferson said. “I think both teams are going to be a lot better later in the season. … We’re standing firm with (coach Gregg Popovich) that we’re learning, we’re all trying to get better from day to day.”
The Spurs haven’t won six in a row since Dec. 4-14, 2008.
Boston brings its own five-game winning streak into San Antonio as it continues a four-game road trip. The Celtics beat Charlotte 108-90 on Tuesday behind Ray Allen’s best performance of the season.
Allen came in averaging 15.2 points but finished with 27—he scored more than 20 in only one other game all season—and hit five of his six 3-point attempts. He had been 7 for 27 from beyond the arc in the previous six games.
“I put some baby oil on the rim,” Allen said, smiling. “I said earlier I had to just put it in, just swish the ball, not even mess around with the rim. It’s really all a body thing, just getting your legs in the air and being consistent.”
Allen regaining his shooting touch adds another weapon to an offense averaging 107.2 points and shooting 51.6 percent over the winning streak. Paul Pierce averaged 26.0 points in the first three games of it, although he’s been held to a combined 23 in the last two. He was 3 of 8 from the field Tuesday to finish with a season-low eight points.
Boston and San Antonio split their two games last season with each winning on the other team’s court. The Celtics have won three in a row at the AT&T Center.
*********************
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Paul Pierce Bos 19.1
Tim Duncan SA 18.5
Rebounds
Kendrick Perkins Bos 7.7
Tim Duncan SA 10.8
Assists
Rajon Rondo Bos 9.0
Tony Parker SA 5.5
My NBA Finals dream matchup.....
I have the opposite.I've got a bad feeling about this one....
Hope I'm wrong
I think it'll be our best game of the season
Way, waaaay TMI.“I put some baby oil on the rim,” Allen said, smiling. “I said earlier I had to just put it in, ...
Watched Boston last night.
Played pretty darn well.
Hard to beat for the Spurs at the moment.
I remember getting up at 4am to watch that game last year. And it was well worth it.
"Roger Mason Jnr takes big shots and makes big shots!"
Jesus christ, that is funny. Didn't even think about how that sounded.
I've got a bad feeling about this one....
Hope I'm wrong
i do too, but mainly because i think they had too long of a break, but maybe they can play that to their advantage.
i have tickets and really want to go, but i have to be at work til 8, i'm debating just risking unemployement or going speeding to halftime.
damn are the spurs at least healthy? i can kiss my 7pg paper goodbye ill be watching this
I have an exam on friday that's not getting studied for lol
you can bs your way through a test. a, b or c but not a damn paper!
I don't think the Spurs will win; I'm not sure the Spurs think they're at that level either. That said, that's not what's important about this game. Nearing the quarter mark of the season, it will be an important gauge for how far the team has come. If it's a win, fantastic. If it's a loss, I can live with that for the meantime. As long as I see compe iveness and fire; it's easy enough to demonstrate the hot hand against poor to average teams, to demonstrate it against a defensive team like the Celtics will be more impressive.
Again, what I consider important about this game is not necessarily a win per say, but a demonstration of toughness and compe ion. If they get blown out it will be severely disheartening.
Video: Celtics-Spurs preview
ESPN basketball analyst Tim Legler looks ahead to Thursday night's marquee matchup between the Celtics and Spurs.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bostonceltic...-spurs-preview
Got a good feeling about this one.
this one is gonna be good.
This is going to be epic.
lets get it spurs I feel its gonna be a good game
The four days off is going to be the Spurs' undoing... not an excuse, but a reality... they're 0-3 this year after that much time off... They start off rusty, and put themselves in a hole they can't dig themselves out of...
Hopefully I'm wrong...
Thursday: Celtics (14-4) at Spurs (9-6)
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: TNT
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350
STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - CELTICS
PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 9th yr) - 9 Rajon Rondo (6-1, 4th yr)
Rondo has made only 42.9% of his free throws this season.
SG - 10 Keith Bogans (6-5, 7th yr) - 20 Ray Allen (6-5, 14th yr)
Allen, 39.8% career 3-point shooter, has made only 34% this season.
SF - 24 Richard Jefferson (6-7, 9th yr) - 34 Paul Pierce (6-7, 12th yr)
Jefferson shot better than 50% in only 3 of 12 November games.
PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 13th yr) - 5 Kevin Garnett (6-11, 15th yr)
Garnett is 22 of 26 from field in last three games.
C - 34 Antonio McDyess (6-10, 15th yr) - 43 Kendrick Perkins (6-10, 6th yr)
McDyess went scoreless against 76ers after double-double at Houston.
SPURS RESERVES
8 Roger Mason Jr., G, 6-5, 6th yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 8th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 2nd yr
15 Matt Bonner, 6-10, 6th yr
45 DeJuan Blair, F, 6-7, 1st yr
4 Michael Finley, F, 6-7, 15th yr
42 Theo Ratliff, F/C, 6-10, 15th yr
1 Malik Hairston, G/F, 6-6, 2nd yr
28 Ian Mahinmi, F/C, 6-11, 3rd yr
22 Marcus Haislip, F, 6-10, 4th yr
CELTICS RESERVES
42 Tony Allen, G, 6-4, 6th yr
7 Marquis Daniels, G, 6-6, 6th yr
11 Glen Davis, F, 6-9, 3rd yr
4 J.R. Giddens, G, 6-5, 2nd yr
50 Eddie House, G, 6-1, 10th yr
26 Lester Hudson, G, 6-3, 1st yr
44 Brian Scalabrine, F, 6-9, 9th yr
12 Bill Walker, F, 6-6, 2nd yr
30 R. Wallace, C-F, 6-11, 15th yr
13 S. Williams, C-F, 6-9, 4th yr
COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Celtics: Doc Rivers
INJURIES
Spurs: Mason (strained left hamstring) is probable.
Celtics: Davis (right thumb injury) is out. Allen (sore right ankle) is day-to-day.
PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Mahinmi, Hairston, Haislip.
Celtics: Davis, Allen.
NOTABLE
Spurs split season series with Celtics last season, losing at the AT&T Center and winning in Boston. ... Both teams are on five-game win streaks. ... After losing 16 in a row to the Spurs from 1997 through 2005-06, the Celtics have won four of the last six games over the past three seasons and have won the last two at the AT&T Center.
- Mike Monroe
The Celtics face off against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs tonight.
Scouting report: Celtics at Spurs
By Herald Staff
BY THE NUMBERS
1-1: Last year’s season series.
6-1: Celtics on the road.
WHO’S HURT
For the Celtics, Glen Davis (thumb surgery) and Tony Allen (ankle) are out. The Spurs are healthy.
WHO’S HOT
For the Celts, Kendrick Perkins has shot 33-for-41 over his last six games. For the Spurs, Tim Duncan averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds against the C’s last year.
WHO’S NOT
For the Celts, Eddie House is shooting .404 from the floor.
BOTTOM LINE
The Celtics, on a 5-0 roll, finally put together a complete game Tuesday night in Charlotte. The timing is thus good for a Spurs team that is now thriving with Richard Jefferson in the lineup.
I find a ton of irony in this game. Manu is back after 5 games injured, spurs on a five-game win streak and he says "we shouldn't care that much about winning 5 games in a row". Also, that the spurs have done well considering that one of the big 3 have been injured at one point during their wins(or someone has usually been injured in general).
Personal irony is Reggie Miller is calling/commentating the game. He was my favorite player (loved it when he dropped 8pts on the Knicks in under 30 secs!), but just a terrible commentator(as if that wasn't stated billions of times here). He kinda ruins it for me when he speaks.
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