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This guy does realize that Splitter was drafter 3 years before Anderson, right?
Game is Wednesday, 8:00 CST.
San Antonio (2-1) at Phoenix (1-2)
TV: FSSW, FSAZ
Kickoff: 10:00 pm EDT Wed Nov 3, 2010
By Justin Einhorn
A playoff sweep by the Phoenix Suns in May seemed to spell the end of the San Antonio Spurs’ dynasty. However, their Big Three remaining intact and the addition of a few rookies have San Antonio thinking otherwise.
Few believe the Suns can produce a similar playoff run after their offseason of change.
These rivals meet Wednesday night for the first time since their postseason series, but this time Tim Duncan won’t have to deal with Amare Stoudemire and he could leave Phoenix as the second-leading scorer in Spurs history.
“It’s gonna be a tough game,” Phoenix’s Jason Richardson said. “They’re gonna come in here ready. We put them out of the playoffs last year. They still got a Big Three.”
A subpar 2009-10 from the 34-year-old Duncan, an up-and-down season by Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker missing 26 games led to San Antonio posting its lowest win total in 11 years. The Spurs did reach the second round of the playoffs before losing four straight to Phoenix, a team it defeated in four of the previous seven postseasons.
While Duncan is 23 points shy of matching George Gervin’s total of 20,708 for second in franchise history, he’s had a quiet start this fall, but Parker and Ginobili have been solid. Richard Jefferson (17.3 ppg) has stepped up after a bad first season with San Antonio, but it’s youngsters off the bench who may be a bigger reason the Spurs (2-1) could bounce back this season and post their best start since 2007-08 on Wednesday.
Undrafted rookie Gary Neal had 16 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of a 97-88 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. James Anderson, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, is averaging 7.7 points in 19.0 minutes per game and is 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
Brazilian big man Tiago Splitter, a former MVP in Europe taken eight spots after Anderson, made his season debut Monday after being sidelined with a calf strain and the Spurs believe he can be very productive.
“After all those years with so many vets, I think it’s time for us to rebuild,” Parker said. “We have great young guys, and we have to throw them into the fire - like (coach Gregg Popovich) did with me and Ginobili when we first came up. We have to be patient with them.”
The Suns (1-2) also know they need to show patience as their new mix of players gets acclimated to each other. With Stoudemire having left for New York via free agency, Phoenix has a big hole at forward that is being filled by newcomers Hedo Turkoglu and Hakim Warrick.
Turkoglu, averaging 9.3 points, hasn’t averaged below double figures since 2003-04. Warrick had 18 points and 11 rebounds in a win at Utah on Thursday, but he’s averaged 6.0 points and 3.0 boards in the other two games and Phoenix lost both.
The Suns, off to their worst start since 2006-07, have had three days off to work on their cohesiveness since losing to the team that ousted them from the Western Conference finals. Phoenix fell 114-106 to the Los Angeles Lakers, getting outrebounded for the third time in as many games.
“We’re still trying to learn one another and have a feel for what guys like to do and where they like to get the ball,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “I think people forget, Steve (Nash) and Amare played six years together. That’s a long time in this league. So obviously we had a feel of where people were, those two guys were on the same page. We’ve got to continue to try to get everybody in that situation.”
*********************
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Manu Ginobili SA 19.7
Jason Richardson Pho 18.3
Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 8.7
Robin Lopez Pho 8.3
Assists
Tony Parker SA 7.3
Steve Nash Pho 6.7
This guy does realize that Splitter was drafter 3 years before Anderson, right?
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...e-for-phoenix/Whiplashed Hill questionable for Phoenix
by Jeff McDonald
...Hill, who is dealing with a neck condition similar to whiplash after Monday’s run-in with Smith, is considered questionable for Wednesday’s game against Phoenix. Beyond that, the injury is not expected to be a long-term problem.
The official diagnosis: A spasm of the right trapezius muscle.
Parker averaging more dimes than Nash........
Sounds like it's short term. At least he didn't end up with a distended trachea.
Odd yes but Goran Dragic been doing the job of late when I've watched
No Stoudemire no win.
I'll be at this game bringin' da noize.
Not really sure what to expect from the Suns right now. The Spurs aren't so overwhelmingly large that the Suns will be fighting uphill all night, but the Suns haven't really figured out how to close out games without Amare. Duncan and Blair will have good games, but our perimeter D will limit Parker, Jefferson, and Manu from doing damage in excess.
That is astounding.
I don't know if the Spurs are playing well enough right now to give the Suns the epic, revenge fueled beatdown they deserve, but I hope they find the fire to get it done.
i agree with most of this but dont agree with ginobili being stopped, hes never been a super fast guy but he sure knows how to throw people off balance and when hes healthy always get his shot.
i also think nash will torch us on points.. i really do feel bad for the good fans in phoenix yall deserve better after such a positive postseason.
The RJeff match-up will be interesting to watch. I suspect it will help us figure out if he's now really and truly comfortable long-term in the Spurs system.
The Spurs D is way too poor right now to stop the Suns.
Suns by 8
Suns have some really good perimiter players, Spurs haven't really been able to stop anyone's perimiter players through three games. I'm gonna say Suns by 5.
Agreed. I miss the D this team once had.
I want the Spurs to kills these ringless mother ers tomorrow.
Not really expecting a win tomorrow. J-Rich and Nash will torch us with their 3's. Blair is still struggling. Hopefully Tim plays better than he's been the last two games.
Im expecting another good game from Neal since Hill probably won't be playing and be backed up by JA. Spurs by 10
Suns and Spurs aren't same teams that faced off in playoffs
by Greg Esposito/Sports 620 KTAR
The last time the Phoenix Suns saw the San Antonio Spurs they were wrapping up a four game sweep of their Texas rivals. That won't be on the mind of most of those on the court Wednesday at the US Airways Center.
That's because many of the players that will be in uniform weren't around during last year's Western Conference Semifinals.
Between the two teams, 11 of the 28 players weren't on either roster for any of the seven Suns-Spurs matchups last season.
Unlike the Suns, the Spurs, who are 2-1 on the young season, have kept a majority of their lineup intact. A fact that isn't lost on Suns' guard Jason Richardson.
"It's going to be a tough game," Richardson said. "They're going to come in ready. We put them out of the playoffs last year. They've still got a big 3 with Tony, Manu and Timmy. We'll have to be ready for those guys."
The Spurs also added an injection of youth to their lineup this offseason.
Undrafted rookie Gary Neal came up big in San Antonio's last game, a 97-88 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring 16 points and grabbing six boards. Rookie James Anderson, the 20th pick in June's NBA draft, is averaging 7.7 points in 19 minutes of play.
Tiago Splitter, the Brazilian forward and former Euro League MVP, was expected to have a major impact this season. In the first three games he has been hindered by a calf injury missing the first two games and being limited in their third.
One player who was with the Spurs last season that the Suns might not recognize is Richard Jefferson. The former University of Arizona star, after a horrible first season in San Antonio, has turned things around. He's averaging 17.3 points per game, five points higher than his average in the 2009-10 season.
Despite their 2-1 record not everything has been going well for the Spurs. For a team that prides itself on defense, they've struggled to keep the opposition's shooting percentage down.
Their first three opponents, the Pacers, Hornets and Clippers, have shot a combined 49.8% from the field and an impressive 42% from beyond the arc. The high percentage bodes well for the Suns.
While much of the focus this season has been on the Suns' undersized lineup and rebounding woes, they aren't the only ones who have struggled on the boards. The Spurs are 27th overall in rebounding only averaging 38.3 rebounds per game. The Suns are 26th in the league with 39 rebounds per game.
While the faces may be different, the Suns, whose 1-2 start is their worst since 2006-07, hope the results remain the same. Including the playoffs, they were 6-1 against the Spurs last season.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. tomorrow night at the US Airways Center and can be heard on Sports 620 KTAR with the Planet Orange Pregame Show starting at 6:30 p.m.
Spurs will win IMO..I'm assuming they will play hard and have revenge on their minds, at least I hope..
Hopefully Splitter will get more minutes, would make a significant difference..
Now that the Spurs have some decent 3 point shooters I expect the Spurs to win, not a blow out but a 5-7 pt win
Although athletes dont like to play the "revenge" card, I'm sure TD, TP, Manu, Blair, Hill, RJ, and Dice will be thinking about last years Playoff exit...they'll come out with a purpose.The Suns, other than Warrick and Lopez..are extremely small as well...
The faster Splitter gets conditioning and hits his stride the better the defense the Spurs put on the court if Monday was an indicator. He won't be ready yet, but then again the Suns haven't been very impressive either so it's a close call. If Neal and Anderson continue to prove they're the real deal Spurs win.
2 of my favorite teams playing so it will be a good night tomorrow for me. I hope the Spurs win though.
Jared Dudley on Manu is the matchup I'll watch very closely.
I hope Frye and Dudley brick ALL of their shots, I can't stand those guys after hitting all those shots against us only to go on to the WCF's and miss the same shots again the Lakers...wack.
Go spurs
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