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Very good test for us.
Game is Monday, 7:30 CST on FSSW and NBA TV.
Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs, 8:30 p.m., Monday
Winning streaks on line for Magic, Spurs
By Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel
MAGIC AT SPURS
WHERE/WHEN: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, 8:30 p.m.
TV: FSN; RADIO: AM 580 WDBO; Spanish language: AM 1270 WRLZ.
MY TAKE
The Magic are coming off a scare in Indy for their fourth straight win, but they don't need to be warned about the perennially potent Spurs. Riding a 10-game win streak and best-ever franchise start, San Antonio (11-1) is playing as efficiently as anyone. Orlando has lost to Miami and Utah this season, with its lone quality win coming against Atlanta. Time for the Magic to prove they can beat an elite team.
DWIGHT VS. …
Howard obviously has his hands full with Hall-of-Fame shoo-in Tim Duncan, but rookie big man Tiago Splitter will provide a nice tag-team with Duncan off the bench. Not a night for Dwight to show off finesse. He needs to wear out the Spurs in the paint.
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Well, pick one. Howard vs. Duncan. Jameer Nelson vs. Tony Parker. Vince Carter vs. Manu Ginobili. I'm thinking the key might be how the Magic can keep the all-around Ginobili under control.
3 SPURS FACTS
1. Parker led the Spurs with 22.4 ppg in five games before scoring 19 in Saturday's win vs. Cleveland.
2. Splitter, of Brazil, played the past two seasons in Spain.
3. Second-year man DeJuan Blair, 6-7, has been starting at C.
Last edited by duncan228; 11-21-2010 at 11:08 PM.
Very good test for us.
Anyone remember this from last year?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/spo...efs-spurs.html
Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, subbing for the ejected Gregg Popovich, ordered the Spurs to intentionally foul Howard twice in the final five minutes.
The Magic trailed by eight and nine points when Dwight was the victim of the Hack-a-Howard. Then again, he missed nine of 11 free throws on the night, warranting the Spurs employing such a strategy. Howard hit two of the four foul shots.
Howard said he told his teammates to remember what the Spurs did to him.
We see them next time. They do something like that and it will be different result. Just play the game out, ” Howard said.
Howard admitted that he was “very frustrated” and “pissed off,” and it affected him at the line. “I let it get to me and I couldn’t concentrate. My mind wasn’t into it. I was made at the coach.Makes me wonder about this game and what the Spurs going to do if it's close towards the end
I wouldn't be suprised if they did the same thing, especially if it's close and the magic shooters are hot, haven't seen howards free throw shooting this year but haven't heard anything so it stilll must be bad.Anyone remember this from last year?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/spo...efs-spurs.html
Think it's around 54% this season.
I was at that game last season, on my birthday. EPIC regular season game...it was a true test for the Spurs and the refs were ing them over big time with BS foul calls on Timmy, which led to Pop's ejection, which led to the crowd yelling "Refs you suck!." One of the best regular season games I've been to...Anyone remember this from last year?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/spo...efs-spurs.html
I remember he tried fighting Bud.
According 82 games, Howard gets 69% of his shots inside. The key will be to keep him away from the paint, which is a difficult task. Even if Splitter gets called for fouls, I would still like to see him against Howard. Besides, Howard is a pathetic free throw shooter.
manu got craaaazzzzzyy last time the spurs and magic met...
Orlando (9-3) at San Antonio (11-1)
Tipoff: 8:30 pm EST Mon Nov 22, 2010
TV: FSFL, FSSW
By Kate Hedlin
The San Antonio Spurs wanted to avoid the kind of uneven beginning that contributed to their early ouster from the playoffs last season. They’ve certainly done that with the best start in franchise history that includes a 10-game winning streak.
The Spurs look to match their longest run in almost three years when they take on the surging Orlando Magic in a matchup of conference leaders Monday night.
The Spurs (11-1) beat Cleveland 116-92 on Saturday, as Tony Parker scored 19 points to lead six San Antonio players in double figures. It was the team’s most lopsided victory of the season.
“Great run for us,” forward Tim Duncan said. “It’s a good start for us. There’s going to be some ups and downs this season, but this team is built on what we did last year.”
San Antonio has clearly been determined to avert a repeat of last season’s 6-6 start, which forced the Spurs to battle down the stretch just to end up with the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. They defeated Dallas in the first round but were swept by Phoenix after that.
After San Antonio played Friday night in Utah, Duncan was limited to 17 minutes and had eight points and five assists against the Cavaliers. That allowed rookie big man Tiago Splitter to step up, and he delivered with 18 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes.
He and Duncan will likely share the defensive responsibility against Orlando’s Dwight Howard, who averaged just 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds against the Spurs last season.
Despite its aging core, San Antonio is second in the NBA with 107.8 points per game. Last season they averaged 101.4.
A rejuvenated Parker has been a big reason for the jump. After being limited to 56 games last season due to injuries, he’s averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 assists in 2010-11. He scored at least 20 points in five straight games before going 7 of 11 from the field in 28 minutes Saturday.
The Spurs, seeking their longest win streak since taking 11 straight from Feb. 11-March 6, 2008, will be facing a Magic team that has limited opponents to a league-low 90.3 points a game and given up 100 or more only twice.
Orlando (9-3) is coming off a 90-86 road win over Indiana on Saturday, its fourth consecutive victory. The Magic limited the Pacers to 34 points in the second half and 39.3 percent shooting overall, allowing Orlando to overcome the fact that it was held to 91 points or fewer for the third time during the win streak.
“We have a lot of grind-it-out wins,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We’re not scoring a lot offensively. On the positive side, towards the end of the season, come playoff time, we’ve got to learn to win those games.”
Howard had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Rashard Lewis added 21 points. Vince Carter, however, was held to less than 10 points for the second time this season, finishing with eight on 3-of-12 shooting. He’s averaging 8.8 points on the road compared to 17.3 at home.
The Magic have won three in a row away from Orlando.
“We’ve been a pretty good road team over the years since I’ve been here, especially since Stan’s been here,” said point guard Jameer Nelson, who converted a go-ahead three-point play with 33 seconds left. “It’s hard to go on the road because you don’t have the energy coming from your fans. It’s good to win games with your defense and your intensity.”
The Magic, though, lost 112-100 at San Antonio on April 2 to fall to 4-18 all-time on the road in the series. Manu Ginobili had 43 points, six rebounds and five assists in that contest.
Orlando beat the Spurs 110-84 at home March 17.
*********************
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Dwight Howard Orl 21.4
Manu Ginobili SA 20.0
Rebounds
Dwight Howard Orl 11.1
Tim Duncan SA 9.6
Assists
Jameer Nelson Orl 6.6
Tony Parker SA 7.7
I don't see why Spurs can't win. Howard is withheld = spurs win
With howard mediocre offensive game, we should be able to cover him with blair, timmeh, dice, and splitter, well enough. If we stay on shooters and have him try to beat us, well have a good chance to get the win. Also, with the way spurs have been taking it to the hole this year, probably get in foul trouble.
Two points of focus when facing this incarnation of the Magic: check Dwight Howard in the post, and close out on shooters on the arc.
Unfortunately, those are tasks that are hard to do at the same time, which is why the Magic are a good team.
Luckily, the Spurs have a lot of different weapons on the front-line to throw at him. I'd really like to see how Tiago would fare against Howard. Dwight doesn't have a lot of polished post moves; his buckets come off easy shots and that chippy hook (as well as a new banker he has borrowed from Timmy). If Splitter can limit these attempts (which he seems capable of doing with his defensive presence), then that could have a large effect on the outcome.
Last edited by Dex; 11-21-2010 at 08:38 PM.
this next week will be a good indicator of where the spurs are. orlando, hornets, and the mavs are all the upper tier playoff teams.
http://www.nba.com/magic/news/steele_blog_112110.htmlEarly Season Benchmark
David Steele
Magic.com
...*Can the Magic slow down the red hot San Antonio offense? The Spurs are averaging 108 points per game (2nd to the Lakers) while shooting 43% threes. They are the second most efficient offense in the NBA while playing at a much faster pace than a season ago (last year- 20th, this year-7th in possessions per 48 minutes). The Magic, on the other hand, are the most efficient defensive team in the NBA. The Spurs like to fast-break (20 points per game). The Magic focus on denying fast break baskets (Orlando allows just 8.1 fast break points per game). This should be a classic confrontation.
*There are two terrific matchups when the Magic meet the Spurs. Dwight Howard faces Tim Duncan and Jameer Nelson goes head to head with Tony Parker. The 24 year old Howard is having his best season in the NBA, while the 34 year old Duncan may have lost a half-step, but is still very talented and craftier than ever. Howard and Duncan are 6-6 in head to head matchups between the Magic and Spurs. The point guard battle between Nelson and Parker is no less intriguing. Nelson is on a tear since missing two games with an ankle injury, averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 49% (45% threes) in Orlando’s last 6 games. Parker has been San Antonio’s early season MVP, averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 assists per game while shooting a sizzling 54% from the field. It is almost impossible to keep either player from penetrating to the basket. The team that defends that dribble penetration the best will have the advantage.
*Orlando vs. San Antonio is a battle of the benches. Both teams rely heavily on their talented reserves. Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Re , Chris Duhon and Marcin Gortat can make the difference for Orlando on any given night. Likewise, George Hill, Antonio McDyess, Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal are key players off the bench for the Spurs. Splitter is a 25 year old rookie we’ve been hearing about for years. Rumored to be headed to the NBA since about 2003, I had begun to wonder if he really existed. The talented Brazilian was drafted by the Spurs in 2007, finally debuts in the NBA three years later. Splitter is coming off his best game of the season, 18 points and 5 rebounds against Cleveland. As for Neal, he’s a 26 year old rookie who has been playing overseas for the last three seasons. The former Colonial Athletic Association player of the year at Towson State is shooting 44% from beyond the arc.
I think the Spurs are most likely to lose to the Magic if they are going to lose in the next five games. But if the Spurs do win against Orlando, I think they are going to win defensively. I doubt they will even score 100 points against them. I think that if this happens the rest of the league is going to start taking the Spurs a bit more seriously now. I can't wait to see this. I don't think I've ever been as excited as I am now in any Spurs championship season. I don't want to jinx it, but I still like this team a lot.
If they can stop Howard in the paint, they will win. Other than that, i think they match up well and could get the win.
If Timmeh, Splitter, Dice can keep Howard quiet, we have a good chance because
Manu > Vince at this time.
tough game, tough game
howard has added this weird bank shot to his game. if he makes those and his free throws, the magic will be pretty much unstoppable.
I could definitely see this as the NBA Finals in June.
spurs will win this game easily
d12 has no answer for blair and splitter down low
I agree. But I'd say that even if the Spurs lose it will not determine anything. Unless of course, they lose against all the best opponents. I think worse case scenario would be the Spurs lose 2 against those three you mentioned, with Spurs beating the Mavericks at home.
I'd also go on to say that even if the Spurs beat the Magic it still doesn't determine anything. What probably matters more is the way they win. I'd like to see them win convincingly against the Magic. Miami only allowed Magic to score about 70 points. I'd like to see something similar from the Spurs, or at least a double digit win.
This game means absolutely nothing. Games on the road are the important games. The wins against OKC and Utah are more meaningful than this one.
Yeah, you might have a point. But what if the Spurs lose bad at home Monday night? Will that mean anything?
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