Game Preview #38: San Antonio Spurs @ Charlotte Bobcats
by CapHill on Jan 15, 2010 2:00 AM CST
in Game Previews
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PrintThe Spurs are in the midst of their first FOGAFINI of the year. So far, so good, but tonight entails a trip to the East Coast, so let's see if the guys are ready to play against a nearly .500 team on the road.
We're playing the Robertcats tonight. In honor of their furry mascot (and to make Lauri smile), I'm going with a cat theme tonight.
Now for the actual basketball related stuff:
 San Antonio Spurs @ Charlotte Bobcats Where: Time Warner Cable Arena - Charlotte, NC When: January 15, 2010; 6:00 PM Spurs time Watch: FSNSW (San Antonio); FSCR (Charlotte)
How They Stack Up
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Matchups
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 Tony Parker Ain't gonna slow me down! |
Point Guard Although Tony's numbers are down this year, he's still above his career averages. Felton is not a bad player, but he's no Frenchman. The box goes to Tony, who showed the ability to play well, despite injury, against the Thunderclusters. Advantage: Spurs |
 Raymond Felton Larry loves UNC |
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 Manu Ginobili Did you see my cape during that save? |
Shooting Guard I love Manu's game and his ability to have an impact, even on nights when he can't hit the broad side of a barn. However, Captain Jack dropped 43 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in his last outing. He's a small forward parading as a shooting guard, and he has the strength to bowl over our defenders. Stephen gets the nod. Advantage: Bobcats |
 Stephen Jackson Aye, Aye |
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 Richard Jefferson How'd you like my jumper now? |
Small Forward I know some people are still disappointed in RJ, but I'm pleased with his play. He's not scoring 20 ppg, but he's been consistent this month and has really picked up the defensive intensity. Even though we lost to Dallas, Rage deserves a lot of credit for his defense on Noringski. However, Wallace has been insane this year. 17.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg and some seriously monster blocks. He may not get it, but dude deserves an Eastern Conference All-Star nod. Advantage: Bobcats |
 Gerald Wallace Should be an All-Star |
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 Tim Duncan My Old is better than your young. |
Power Forward Do I need to expound on this matchup? Seriously, is there any reason to even pretend Timmeh doesn't win this? Yadda, yadda, yadda. DUNCAN FOR MVP! Advantage: Spurs |
 Boris Diaw Charlotte Ain't Phx |
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 DeJuan Blair 37th Pick - Who's LOLing now! |
Center Nazr, we loved you when you played for the black and white (and still do). You were an integral part to our 2005 championship team, for which we thank you. However, we have this genial, undersized giant with no ACLs, who rebounds like a mother, instinctively puts the ball in the hoop, confuses Pop, and makes John Hollinger's head hurt. He's haunts GMs' dreams and destroys doctors' confidence. It's just not fair. |
 Nazr Mohammed Ain't Ringless |
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 George Hill Dunking is fun! |
Bench & Role Players Unlike Pop, Brown plays his starters significant minutes, and with Chandler still out, the 'Cats have fewer big men than the Spurs. Hill has continued his growth, especially on the defensive end. Dice is stepping up, Mace can shoot, and 9 non-injured players are averaging double digit minutes. BAM is the best bench in the league, and you won't convince me otherwise. Advantage: Spurs |
 Ronald Murray My name is Flip |
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 Gregg Popovich Doesn't Suck |
CoachLarry is a heck of a coach and has more basketball knowledge in one brain cell than I have in my entire head. But Pop gets the white box in this matchup. Despite numerous complaints about "small ball" and inconsistent lineups, the Spurs are rounding into form. This could only happen if Pop knows what he's doing. He has done a good job this month of defining roles, while allowing everyone to find his own comfort zone. Advantage: Spurs |
 Larry Brown Wanderer |
| images via yahoo.com | ||
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Other Factors
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Intangibles |
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This is the third game in a dreaded FOGAFINI, with three of those on the road. This is also an East Coast road game. Yes, we're coming off a day of rest, but the Robertcats have had two days. Advantage: Bobcats |
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Mojo |
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The Spurs are coming off of two HUGE wins, and Timmeh has had two days of rest. And DeBeast is heading back east. Advantage: Spurs |
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Winner: |
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| This could easily be a loss, because of the scheduling quirks, but I'm trusting the Spurs will be ready to play. |
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Keys To The Game
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Strength of ScheduleThe 'Cats have a tough SEGABABA tomorrow, with Phoenix coming to Charlotte. The Spurs are playing a THIGAFONI on the road, with the FOGAFINI tomorrow, although our road record is much improved and now .500. Last Time They MetThese two teams last played on December 11, 2009, in San Antonio, with the Spurs with the blowout win, 104-85. Manu was the star of the game, with Timmeh, RJ and Hill all contributing double digits. |
Some Other ReadingBobcatsRufus on Fire - The SBNation home of the Bobcats. One-man show with great content - I don't know how he does it. Spurs48 Minutes of Hell: The best TrueHoop team blog is now even better, after adding two new writers. Congrats to Jesse and Andrew, who are already doing good work. |
Where to Tune In
TVThis game will be aired on Fox Sports SW in SA and on FSCR in Charlotte. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel. And of course, there's always League Pass for the haves. For the have nots, read on. OnlineAs always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Most Spurs games will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game 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. NBA League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out. RadioIf you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM). |
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Comments
Nice preview Cap. Very nice captions on the top picture. The lolcats were cool too. My favorite however was:
37th Pick – Who’s LOLing now!
LOL!!!
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
See! It’s not just me.
Hipuks, maybe you could make a FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU about this.
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Jan 15, 2010 3:57 PM CST up reply actions
confused with the acronyms
FOGAFINI?? THIGAFONI?? damn…..it took me a while to find out what BAM stood for!!!
FOGAFINI: FOurth GAme in FIve NIghts
THIGAFONI: THIrd GAme in FOur NIghts
PtR: Pounding the Rock
TP: Tony Paker
"Under the tutelage....of Randy Tutelage"
ACLsAO: Anterior Cruciate Ligaments Are Overrated
LOL!: Laughing Out Load
by spursfan_needs_counseling on Jan 15, 2010 7:29 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
hey spursfan_needs_counseling , you need some counseling in that spelling problem. hehe
If you liked it then you should have put a 5th ring on it. Oh oh oh.
yes, that and two-finger typing are affecting my otherwise superb blogging skills :)…
by spursfan_needs_counseling on Jan 15, 2010 9:48 AM CST up reply actions
Does this mean you laughed so hard you pooped your pants?
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." -Willy Wonka
seems like DeJuan’s not the only one who enjoyed home cookin’ at Pitt.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 15, 2010 9:03 PM CST up reply actions
It means you need to hang out with us more often :)
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 15, 2010 10:49 AM CST up reply actions
Cap, do you think Tony has to dominate Fisher for us to beat the Bobcats? I’m thinking yes.
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Jan 15, 2010 8:29 AM CST reply actions
I was wondering if that was some sort of game thread joke I missed
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
by LasEspuelas on Jan 15, 2010 12:16 PM CST up reply actions
Heh, you had the same qualms during the last Bobcat game, Blase. He’s not so spectacular this season. Sophomore slump?
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 15, 2010 10:51 AM CST up reply actions
Spurs are a Texas team so I think the UT and (I guess) A&M players should get some love. I think more Big 12 players should get a slight edge to represent their benches actually.
Aww, cute kitteh. Might miss the game because morning weekends are for hangover recuperation.
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 15, 2010 10:52 AM CST reply actions
On 48MoH, Varner wrote this about resting Duncan.
I’d much rather him rest tonight, and play against Memphis since it will be our first time playing them, a division opponent that is on a roll and has quite a few quality wins.
Question:
Do other teams have sites like PTR that bring this much joy to their fans as PTR does to me? Because that’s hard to imagine.
Great preview. I needed a laugh at work. Even though I work at a laughing gas chemical plant.
Neither he nor Gob were prepared for the challenges of using cats to catch a seal.
no, other than team Katie..no
by spursfan_needs_counseling on Jan 15, 2010 11:53 AM CST up reply actions
I take offense that Jackson got the box over Manu. Manu is our most impactful player. If Jackson were on the team, I would much prefer Manu get the minutes/ take the last shot in a close game than Jackson. Manu gets the white box accoring to FARS, (while we are confusing everyone with crazy acronyms.)
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
I don’t agree with Fred on much, but on this we are simpatico.
Superman wears Manu Ginobili pajamas to bed. - CMoney
When you consider the minutes Bogans will get at the 2, I stand by my white box. It’s not like I said we should trade Manu.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
how shrewd Tim.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 15, 2010 9:05 PM CST up reply actions
Define you white box, then. Is this based on PER or simply game production? I would bet that Jackson scores more points, but if we are talking overall influence on winning the game, my money would be on Manu.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
I agree at the end of a game, I want Manu making the decisions.
And I thought you didn’t believe in the PER?
Superman wears Manu Ginobili pajamas to bed. - CMoney
Fred is a stats man for a living. He believes in whatever stat supports his current opinion. No, wait, I’m that way. Never mind.
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Jan 15, 2010 3:59 PM CST up reply actions
Nice Precap, Cap.
Just an FYI, Under Tonys matchup box. I dont think Tony needs to dominate Fisher. Not tonight anyway… =)
...Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is forty five.
One freaking mistake. Just one freaking mistake. Y’all Suck™!
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
by CapHill on Jan 15, 2010 2:11 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
hey, i want to celebrate it…we’ll call it accidental genius……i mean if it had been any of 98% of the other PG’s, it wouldn’t be funny at all, but the coincidence of it being fisher is too good
"...and programmed to save the day!"
by transgojobot on Jan 15, 2010 2:13 PM CST reply actions 10 recs
love it
"We suck on 'D. Both individually and team-wise, we suck. We're pretty consistent that way. I don't know if I have an answer to that. If I did, we wouldn't suck quite so bad." - Popovich
by Aaron "Hirschof" Preine on Jan 15, 2010 4:57 PM CST up reply actions
this may be my favorite
"We suck on 'D. Both individually and team-wise, we suck. We're pretty consistent that way. I don't know if I have an answer to that. If I did, we wouldn't suck quite so bad." - Popovich
by Aaron "Hirschof" Preine on Jan 15, 2010 5:03 PM CST up reply actions
This is great. Great. Make it a FanShot now so I can front page it.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
because my faith in fanshots is waning, check out box 5 of the weekend dime for a good little bit about TD
and if anyone can see if Hill made Thorpe’s rookie rankings on bspn insider, i’m interested
Thorpe ranked Hill as the #5 guard
He broke his listing into 10 bigs and 10 guards.
There’s a thread on ST where the sophomore rankings are listed.
The Spurs - now playing like sh*t again!
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3998741&postcount=13
The Spurs - now playing like sh*t again!
I will be at a bar tonight with a friend (watching the game of course) so no blair pics from me tonight. Can’t wait to see the new look cats with wild man jack.
"We suck on 'D. Both individually and team-wise, we suck. We're pretty consistent that way. I don't know if I have an answer to that. If I did, we wouldn't suck quite so bad." - Popovich
by Aaron "Hirschof" Preine on Jan 15, 2010 5:00 PM CST reply actions
Spurs give up more points per game (95) than the Bobcats average (92). Bobcat defense is excellent, gonna really test the Spurs offense.
Gotta make sure Spurs hold to a big lead if they get one. Past three of the four games they’ve gained big leads only to let the opponent back in. They should put this one away early and get ready for tomorrow’s game.
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