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I don't guess they're saying anything about whether Splitter will play.
Starts at 7:30 CST. Don't see local San Antonio TV, just WOAI radio.
Game Day Blog: Thunder vs. Spurs
By Chris Silva
Thunder.NBA.com
ABOUT THE SPURS
The Spurs are coming off a 108-85 win over Spanish team Vitoria Caja Laboral on Saturday and are expected to begin tonight’s game with its regular starting lineup of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair.
A few stories on the Spurs worth checking out:
It looks like the Spurs will try to employ a new, up-tempo style of play this season, the San Antonio Express-News reports.
“We talk about it every year,” head coach Greg Popovich told the paper. “This year, I’m demanding it.”
The Spurs enter tonight’s game having outscored their opponent in transition in all but one preseason game. We all know that the Thunder can run with the best of them, thanks to a wealth of athleticism and speed at nearly every position. It’ll be interesting to see who is able to dictate the pace tonight….
Richard Jefferson averaged 12.3 points, shot 31.6 percent shooting from behind the arc and logged the most minutes of any Spur last season. This season, he’s expecting much more from himself, and NBA.com writer Fran Blinebury said it should help that the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker will enter the season in top shape.
MORNING NOTES
Head coach Scott Brooks said he will give extended minutes to the starting five of Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Jeff Green, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka tonight against the San Antonio Spurs, although Brooks is not sure how he will handle minutes and lineups in Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
Forward Kevin Durant said he’s looking forward to more playing time.
“We’ve been getting more comfortable because we’ve been playing in spots, the starters,” he said. “We’ve been playing 17 minutes here, 18 minutes here, but we’re not playing with each other as much as we do in the regular season. It’s going to be good to get out there and play at least 35 to 40 minutes. We’re excited so we have to take advantage of it.”
Brooks said the objective for the last three preseason games is to maintain its defensive pressure and cut down on turnovers.
“When we don’t turn the ball over, we put a lot of pressure on teams,” he said….
Asked how some of the offseason additions have adjusted during training camp, Brooks said: “I think we’ve been blending the new guys in well. It still takes some time to get accustomed to what we’re doing. But I think the returning guys are in a good place right now. Their conditioning is good, their mindset is good.”…
In case you missed it, I had a feature story on Royal Ivey’s impact on his new teammates that ran on the site this weekend. Click here to read it.
I don't guess they're saying anything about whether Splitter will play.
Tonight's game should be a good barometer as to where we stand. With the Thunder's starting five playing extended minutes , it will be interesting seeing the rotations Pop comes up with. Will Tiago get any pt? Hope so, as it would be great to see him get acclimated a bit before the real thing. Can't wait!
Don Nelson is beaming with pride.“We talk about it every year,” head coach Greg Popovich told the paper. “This year, I’m demanding it.”
Seeing that our defense will never be what it was for obvious reasons, trying to be more up tempo will only benefit us and the certain personnel that we have. I for one, am glad to here this.
First thing that came to my mind when I read that.
Harden & Serge are starters this year?
Yeah that's all great but in reality, it's just fool's gold. That type of play might lead to extra points, extra wins in the regular season but in the playoffs, the game slows down and that's when the Spurs' above par but not great defense will be exposed. I hope I'm wrong and the Spurs return to be a great defensive team but sometimes I feel like making the game a little bit more uptempo is just a disguise.
Should be closer to regular season minutes tonight. Will be interested to see how the rotations start shaking out.
I'm guessing Splitter will play tonight. From the scattered reports, Splitter wanted to play Saturday night, but it was believed that Pop would probably hold him out (and that's what ended up happening). I'd like to believe that they would want to give him at least a couple exhibition games to get some conditioning and familiarity out on the court, so now is the time to do it. If Tiago doesn't play, then that injury might be a little worse than initially speculated.
If i understood well serge is starter but harden should come off the bench.
Today we'll be a good test for Blair. He'll have to guard Green. Let's see how he does.
Anderson will have tough test against KD
Perhaps Coach Brooks has finally made the change that was long suspected. Swapping out Harden for Sefalosha and Ibaka for Kristic. We see tonight.
With the manner in which the Spurs blew out the Spanish team on Saturday night, it probably would've been a good idea for Splitter to have gotten some burn. However, we all know that Pop plays these situations very, very, cautiously - which isn't a bad thing.
Is this going to be the game blog?
I understand defense wins championships but in reality our defense is not going to get back to what it was. Even a prime Bowen wouldn't all of a sudden make our D #1 in the league. Manu and Duncan are nowhere near the defensive players they once were. Changing the offense is a must and will benefit the type of players we have like Tony and RJ. Our defense will still need to be in the top 5-10 for us to have a chance and I'm confident it can be but running more and improving our offense is a necessary step. We can't pound it out with Duncan anymore
I'm not saying we can turn into some run and gun team but hopefully the little edge we lose on defense we can make it up on offense. It's our only chance really
i'll be at the game tonight as part of my yearly visit to pay homage to the all mighty 21
Here is the obligatory post:
Any video feeds?
http://www.nba.com/thunder/schedule/
Doesn't list any provider for local or national television.
Video feed may or may not be up but I found this.
www.nenggeulis.com/watch.php?livestream=936
Dont make plans for this though as chances are they might only give us a radio feed.
Harden is having an amazing preseason (minus some nasty turnovers). He seems to be turning into the player they hoped.
He already had some very good stretches during his rookie year but he was very inconsistent with his shooting and already TOs prone.
OKC has tried last year to start him but the team missed the defensive presence of Selafosha (or whatever you write his name). I can see the same kind of scenario with the start of the season with OKC trying harden in the starting 5 because of his upside and coming back to the old option because of the Defense. Anyway James will be a nice sleeper to have in fantasy if u don't care TOs and erratic FG%.
For Serge I think he will get the starting job and will keep it all way long.
why in the is it so hard to watch a pre season game?? pisses me off
all you have to do is plug in the AT&T megatron screen to a computer or tv station and let it run screw it haha
They will be really undersized up front if they start Serge. I think if Harden keeps playing like this, he will keep the job. His defense is not that bad and he has active hands. He plays passing lanes and gets steals.
I like Serge, but as far as starting him, that would be a front court of Durant/Green/Serge. I don't like that at all as a starting unit. I like the idea behind it (meaning play a center that is defensive minded), but I am not sure this is the answer.
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