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Way to make the thread before Manu!! Just teasing you.
Every game counts in the West now. The Spurs should not take any team lightly. Even the Clips. This is still and NBA team.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=280326024
Los Angeles (21-49) at San Antonio (48-23)
By JEFF MEZYDLO, STATS Senior Writer
The San Antonio Spurs have more than bounced back from their longest losing streak of the season.
The surging Spurs look to win their fifth straight game while trying to continue their dominance of the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
San Antonio (48-23) won 107-97 at Orlando on Tuesday, improving to 4-0 since losing four in a row March 12-17. The latest victory left the Spurs fifth in the compe ive Western Conference, but just one game back of the overall lead in both the West and the Southwest Division.
“We are headed in that direction,” said Tim Duncan, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds versus Orlando. “It is coming down to crunch time here and we are healthy. That is a big part of it.”
Manu Ginobili had 28 points while Michael Finley added 24 for the Spurs, who shot 54.1 percent from the field and topped the 100-point mark for the third time in four games.
San Antonio is averaging 99.8 points during its current winning streak after putting up 85.5 per game during the recent skid.
“We were really in a drought and over the last couple of weeks we’ve been making shots and our offense has been there,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Spurs will now look to sweep the three-game season series from Los Angeles (21-49). They are also trying for their eighth consecutive win overall against the Clippers, and 11th straight at home in the series.
Ginobili, who averages 20.2 points, has combined for 54 in his last two games. He had 23 points in the Spurs’ 88-82 road win over Los Angeles on Jan. 6 - the teams’ most recent meeting.
Duncan, meanwhile, is averaging 25.5 points and 17.5 boards against the Clippers this season.
Los Angeles fell 103-90 at Dallas on Tuesday to extend its longest losing streak of the season to eight games.
Though little has gone right for the injury-riddled Clippers, and they won’t have star Elton Brand in the lineup Wednesday, the forward is expected to play before the season ends next month.
Brand, the team’s leading scorer the previous two seasons, hopes to return for as many as the final eight games. He has missed the entire season thus far while recovering from a torn Achilles’ tendon.
“We’ve been ultraconservative with this,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We’re not bringing him back soon by any means. … If he didn’t feel like he was ready to do it, then I wouldn’t want to do it. He’s the one who’s chomping at the bit. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Without Brand on Tuesday, Corey Maggette had 21 points as Los Angeles dropped its sixth consecutive road game. Maggette is averaging 26.2 points over his last five games.
However, he is averaging only 14.2 points in his last six games versus San Antonio.
Gameday Matchup
W-L PF PA HOME ROAD STK L10
LAC 21-49 93.8 100.4 12-24 9-25 L8 1-9
SA 48-23 95.7 91.1 28-6 20-17 W4 5-5
2007-08 Season
San Antonio leads 2-0
Sat 12/22 @SA 99, LAC 90
Sun 1/6 SA 88, @ LAC 82
Mar 26, 2008 LAC @ SA 8:30 PM ET
Injury Report
LOS ANGELES
· Brevin Knight PG - Mar 25: Day-to-Day
· Elton Brand PF - Mar 24: OUT
· Tim Thomas PF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
· Josh Powell PF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
· Chris Kaman C - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
· Corey Maggette SF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
SAN ANTONIO
· Brent Barry SG - Mar 25: Day-to-Day
· Robert Horry PF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
Last 5 Games
LOS ANGELES
Mar 25 @DAL Loss 103-90
Mar 22 POR Loss 83-72
Mar 21 @POR Loss 107-102
Mar 19 GS Loss 116-100
Mar 17 @MIN Loss 99-90
SAN ANTONIO
Mar 25 @ORL Win 107-97
Mar 23 @DAL Win 88-81
Mar 21 SAC Win 102-89
Mar 20 @CHI Win 102-80
Mar 17 BOS Loss 93-91
Depth Chart
POS LOS ANGELES (PPG) SAN ANTONIO (PPG)
PG B. Knight 4.6 T. Parker 18.6
SG C. Mobley 12.8 M. Ginobili 20.1
SF C. Maggette 22.4 B. Bowen 5.9
PF J. Powell 5.2 T. Duncan 19.6
C C. Kaman 16.0 F. Oberto 4.7
Team Stat Leaders
LOS ANGELES SAN ANTONIO
Points C. Maggette 22.4 M. Ginobili 20.1
Rebounds C. Kaman 13.1 T. Duncan 11.5
Assists S. Cassell 4.7 T. Parker 5.8
Steals B. Knight 1.4 M. Ginobili 1.6
Blocks C. Kaman 2.9 T. Duncan 1.9
Today's Line
FAVORITE OPEN CUR UNDERDOG O/U
@SAN ANTONIO -0 -0 LOS ANGELES --
ATS Los Angeles San Antonio
Record: 21-49-0 (.300) 48-23-0 (.676)
As Favorite: 7-7-0 (.500) 44-12-0 (.786)
As Underdog: 14-42-0 (.250) 4-11-0 (.267)
At Home: 12-24-0 (.333) 28-6-0 (.824)
On Road: 9-25-0 (.265) 20-17-0 (.541)
Last edited by duncan228; 03-26-2008 at 12:29 AM.
Way to make the thread before Manu!! Just teasing you.
Every game counts in the West now. The Spurs should not take any team lightly. Even the Clips. This is still and NBA team.
“We were really in a drought and over the last couple of weeks we’ve been making shots and our offense has been there,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
Except for the Dallas game Pop, except for Dallas.
I guess the Clippers shld be both be happy and weary at the same time. Rumors are circulating around Elton is contemplating asking for a trade next season.
http://sportsnetwork.com/default.asp...ws/preview.htm
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (21-49) AT SAN ANTONIO SPURS (48-23), 8:30 P.M.
(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs try to keep pace in the rugged Southwest Division when the defending world champions return to the AT&T Center tonight to take on a Los Angeles Clippers squad in the midst of its longest losing stretch of the season.
San Antonio maintained a one-game deficit behind division leader New Orleans with Tuesday's 107-97 victory at Orlando, the Spurs' fourth consecutive win. The Hornets stayed on top in the race by posting a 114-106 over Indiana last night.
Manu Ginobili exploded for 28 points and five assists to pace San Antonio, while Michael Finley dropped in a season-best 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The Spurs also received 19 points and 15 rebounds out of All-Star Tim Duncan and moved past the Magic for good with a 15-0 run during the third quarter.
San Antonio also moved into a tie with Southwest rival Houston for the third playoff seed in the West. Each club has identical records of 48-23 for the season.
The Spurs kick off a four-game homestand tonight and have been their usual tough selves at the AT&T Center this season. San Antonio is an outstanding 28-6 at home in 2007-08 and has won eight of its last nine outings as the host.
San Antonio has also dominated this series in recent years, having won 15 of its 16 most recent matchups with the Clippers, including the last seven encounters. Los Angeles has also tasted defeat in each of its last 10 visits to the AT&T Center and hasn't won in San Antonio since January 31, 2002.
The Clippers are also hoping to end another lengthy losing streak, an eight- game slide that continued with Tuesday's 103-90 loss at Dallas.
Corey Maggette had 21 points for the Clippers, which failed to take advantage of the Mavericks having to play without the injured Dirk Nowitzki.
Los Angeles has also dropped six in a row on the road and is a woeful 9-25 as the visitor in 2007-08.
My second favorite team is in town. I love the Clippers. They have unfortunate mishaps. I hope they prevail soon.
I don't like a back to back against a team with nothing to lose s/p a long trip home but Spurs will gut this one out.
http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/080326.html
Probable Starters:
Parker
Guard
18.5 PPG
Finley
Guard
9.6 PPG
Bowen
Forward
6.0 PPG
Duncan
Forward
19.6 PPG
Oberto
Center
4.6 PPG
Spur in the Spotlight
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili, who averages 20.2 points, has combined for 54 in his last two games.
Did You Know...
Tony Parker became the youngest player to ever appear in a game for the Spurs when he suited up on 10/30/01 vs. the Clippers … the 19-year-old Frenchman had nine points and three assists in his NBA debut … with a 93-84 Spurs win on 3/13/07, the Clippers became the first NBA team San Antonio has recorded 100 victories against … the Spurs scored 163 points vs. the Clippers on 11/8/78, the most points ever scored by the Spurs in regulation in an NBA game … Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy appeared in 79 games for the Spurs during the 1982-83 season and led the league in three-point field goal percentage … he also served as a color commentator for Spurs television broadcasts during the 2002-03 season … David Robinson became the fourth player in NBA history to eclipse the 70-point mark with 71 points at Los Angeles on 4/24/94.
So do we need to wait for you to start preview threads or can we start our own if you haven't yet?
Injury Report
LOS ANGELES
· Brevin Knight PG - Mar 25: Day-to-Day
· Elton Brand PF - Mar 24: OUT
· Tim Thomas PF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
· Josh Powell PF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
· Chris Kaman C - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
· Corey Maggette SF - Mar 23: Day-to-Day
the Clips need a witch doctor
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