Totally and completely related to this preview
Levity, misinformation and the secret to Youngetivity , after the jump:
Just kidding: No one knows the secret to Youngetivity.
Los Angeles Clippers @ San Antonio Spurs (Preseason) Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX When: October 14, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time, 9:30 PM Argentina... and people will have to help me with the rest Watch: It's probably on local TV in LA, but the rest of us are out of luck. How They Stack Up
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Vs |
Matchups
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George Hill |
PG |
Baron Davis |
Tony Parker said in his Facebook account that he'd be sitting this one out, so George gets the start against a guy that usually gives Tony problems. This should be a good test for Pop's new favorite player, if not a test for Davis as he returns from last season's injury. Advantage: Clippers |
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Coach's Pet |
Dr. Hollywood |
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Manu Ginobili |
SG |
Eric Gordon |
Manu already proved he's got his extra step (the not-quite-Euro step, let's call it) back, but hopefully he'll get a few more minutes today and start trying to get involved in the team's offense instead of working solely as a facilitator. In the meantime, I can't look at Gordon's face without cracking up. Advantage: Spurs |
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FSM's favorite son |
Life's a sandy shore |
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Richard Jefferson |
SF |
Al Thornton |
We all know Richard Jefferson is a great player, and maybe even better than Al Thornton (who is not chopped liver). Instant offense, our 4th big, etc. etc. etc. - am I the only one that wants to see something more from RJ by now, beyond a sweet reverse layup? I'd settle for good passing to the perimeter shooters and the hint of a budding chemistry between him and Tim. Advantage: Spurs |
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Make me love you |
I'm on the Clippers? *@%#! |
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Tim Duncan |
PF |
Marcus Camby |
Camby is an injury risk, but he's a still one of those players that does a little bit of everything, and he does it all well. I'd still love to see him in black and white, but I guess it's time to move on. As in Manu's case, I want to see Tim try to look for his shot more often when he's playing - mainly so we can find out how effective the role players can be when they're not monopolizing the game. Advantage: Spurs |
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Skinny dude |
Trade for Bonner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Antonio McDyess |
C |
Chris Kaman |
I have nothing. McDyess over the caveman. I imagine that Ian will be taking the bulk of the minutes at the 5 tonight, and he's been showing steady improvement so I have high hopes for him. Advantage: Spurs |
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Savvy |
Post Haircut |
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DeJuan Blair |
Bench |
Blake Griffin |
Griffin against Golden State: 15 points and 9 rebounds, despite foul trouble at the half. Pretty good for a rookie, yes, but not DeJuan Blair numbers. Hmm, I wonder if Pop will let DeJuan compete for the ROY award. Rasual Butler is the only other Clipper likely to get significant minutes, while most of the Spurs bench will probably play a good number of minutes. Advantage: Spurs |
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Breaking arms |
Not breaking arms |
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Gregg Popovich |
Coach |
Mike Dunleavy |
I give Dunleavy points for effort: he has stayed steadfast at the helm of the Clippers while they evolved from a perennial loser to a playoff team in 2005-06, and the following rapid decline to the utter mess it is today. Advantage: Spurs |
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Before Beard (B.B.) |
Clipperized |
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images via yahoo.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Intangibles: At home, with a crowd excited about the team's potential and the new players, and riding a seemingly endless wave since that first RJ trade in July. Advantage: Spurs Mojo: Anyone who has watched the Clippers in the last few seasons knows that they drink a special, extra-strong blend of bad luck coffee. Their starters are all mostly healthy right now, but can that last? Does it matter? Advantage: Spurs Winner: Have I ever picked against the Spurs? I'm such a homer. |
Keys To The Game
- Blaircalypse: The story of the game will be the first head-to-head matchup between DeJuan Blair and Blake Griffin. So far DeJuan has been the star, but Blake is a baller. I give this matchup 5 broken arms out of 5.
- Rosters: "Preseason? What's that?" In their win against Golden State the Clippers used a rotation that wouldn't seem out of place during the regular season. In the meantime, Pop isn't a moron and has been finetuning our roster in these ultimately meaningless game. Dunleavy wants these games more... for some reason.
- TV: If the Spurs win thanks to Blair's 30-20 performance and no Spurs fan can watch it because of the lack of TV coverage, does it really happen?
Last Time They Met
These teams last bumped heads on March 27th, and the Spurs took care of business by winning 111-98. The big three were facing a depleted Clippers team that has since been rehabilitated and reloaded. Here, have some higlights:
Some Other Reading
Clippers
Clips Nation: SB Nation blog. The owner, Steve Perrin, is a workhorse and every day he makes us look bad by producing tons of great content on his own.
ClipperBlog: Part of the TrueHoop network, but it's no 48MoH.
Spurs
48 Minutes of Hell: The lair of Tim and Graydon. Go and seek wisdom.
Project Spurs: Nice guys, good content, a solid Spurs blog you should visit.
Head-to-Head Analysis
Check out BlaseE's story on why the Spurs are better than the Clippers.
Twitter Spurs
Sunday Bloody Sundaaaaaaaaaaay... http://pic.gd/d62bef
@manuginobili
on the plane after a nice win in MIami. The young fella Blair looked good!
@moneymase
I am playin 2K10, getting ready to go to bed after this game... got practice in the am!
@dejuan45
is this on? hello?
@coachpop
Some Other Viewing
Hill gets some luv from the bearded Buddha ("I like him a lot better than I liked Tony at the same age"), Hill provides the laughs ("French? Nah, I'm still trying to learn English all the way"), and the first video quickly becomes a must-see. I'm starting to believe Pop when he says Hill's his favorite player.
Other things of possible interest
- Blake Griffin is No DeJuan Blair - Good article, but a bit too soon.
- DeJuan Blair FACTS - My homepage as of today.
- The Count: College’s Kings of Glass - Why tonight could be special.
- Blake Griffin Is Not the Best Big Man in the Country - Old article, but it's nice to read now that we know how the crazy, crazy the draft went.
- Yahoo Answers - is never wrong.
Where to Tune In
TV
We're out of luck on this one. Preseason games are not even being aired locally, unless Spurs.com is wrong.
Online
Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in this thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.
Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, but won't be working until the regular season. Bookmark it now, especially if you don't have the video league pass.
Radio
If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM). Yahoo might have an audio link at gametime, and we'll post that here if it becomes available.