Game Preview #33: Detroit Pistons @ San Antonio Spurs
by CapHill on Jan 6, 2010 2:00 AM CST
in Game Previews
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PrintThat was fun, wasn't it? Just when you thought the Spurs were totally out of the game, they clawed their way back in, just to fall short at the end. I would have preferred to lose by double digits.
However, all is not lost - we have been playing well lately. The guys should have had enough time to recover, with fully rested legs. At least, let's hope so.
Someone gave me cookies over the holidays. In honor of me not having to bake, I give you this musical selection:
Now for the actual preview:
 Detroit Pistons @ San Antonio Spurs Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX When: January 6, 2010; 7:30 PM Spurs time Watch: FSN SW (San Antonio); NBA LP
How They Stack Up
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Matchups
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 Tony Parker Wee Frenchman |
Point Guard Tony seems to be back to normal and singlehandedly kept us in the game against the Raptors. TP's stats are still below normal, but he's bouncing back. Stuckey still seems to be struggling replacing Billups. His 12.5 ppg and 4.1 apg are okay, but not at Tony's level. Advantage: Spurs |
 Rodney Stuckey Not Chauncey |
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 Manu Ginobili The Chemist |
Shooting Guard Manu is playing the most minutes at this position, so he gets the head shot. Thank the FSM that Manu is finally playing to form. It would seem his lack of legs against the Raps was due to illness. Hopefully rest will cure that. Rip's ppg and shooting percentage(s) are down this year from his career averages. Manu has the more complete game, but has been ill. Hamilton is still more than capable of ripping the net, so it's a tie. Advantage: Tied |
 Richard Hamilton Face Mask |
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 Richard Jefferson Rage |
Small Forward RJ is showing promise on both ends. He was one of the few that showed up against the Raps. Prince's offensive numbers are down this year (this is a theme with the Pistons), but he still has those long arms that make George look like an alligator. I'll give Jefferson the offensive end, and Prince the defensive end, resulting in a tie. Advantage: Tied |
 Tayshaun Prince Freakish Wingspan |
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 Tim Duncan GOAT PUFF |
Power Forward It doesn't matter whether I put Timmeh at the 4 or the 5 - he's a better player than Maxiell, Wallace, Villanueva and Brown combined. However, tonight his counterpart will probably be Jerebko, a rookie averaging 8.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg. No matter how surprising Jonas' game has been, he's not Timmeh. The MSSW are finally starting to notice Duncan may not be washed up. Advantage: Spurs |
 Jonas Jerebko Unknown Swede |
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 DeJuan Blair DeBeast |
Center Did you know that Yahoo! Sports still doesn't have a head shot of Blair? That's not acceptable. Tonight Blair meets the original undersized, rebounding center. However, Wallace is old, and Blair's got more offense. Both are atrocious FT shooters. Advantage goes to the young buck based on production per minute. Advantage: Spurs |
 Ben Wallace Headband Man |
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 George Hill Ninja Bot |
Bench & Role Players George continues to show why RC and Pop drafted the unknown from IUPUI. Mason lit it up against his old team, pulling our fannies from the fire. And McDyess seems more acclimated from the bench. The majority of the bench minutes for the Pistons go to two chuckers - Gordon and Villanueva. BAM FTW! Advantage: Spurs |
 Ben Gordon Chucker |
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 Gregg Popovich GOML |
CoachOnce again, Pop's mind is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. I have no idea why he brought Timmeh off the bench, although that particular strategy didn't work in the last game. John Kuester has a reputation as an offensive mind, but the Pistons work on that end this year brings up a huge question mark. Pop may be crazy, but he's still better than a rookie. Advantage: Spurs |
 John Kuester Unknown Quantity |
| images via yahoo.com | ||
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Other Factors
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Intangibles |
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The Spurs are pretty good at home. The Pistons are very bad on the road and are in the midst of a very ugly losing streak. Advantage: Spurs |
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Mojo |
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Although that loss to the Raptors was gut-wrenching, for once the Spurs are facing a team with less continuity. Both Hamilton and Prince have only played 7 games this season, due to injuries. Advantage: Spurs |
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Winner: The Spurs |
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| Everything lines up for a Spurs victory, but who knows. Prediction: Spurs win.
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Keys To The Game
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Strength of ScheduleThis is a home game after two days of rest. This should help our guys get their legs back. The Pistons are coming off of a close road loss to the Mavs. And this a road SEGABABA for them. Last Time They MetWe haven't played Detroit yet this year. Our last meeting was last year in Detroit, which the Spur won 83-79. Tony had 19 points and 11 assists, which Timmeh topped with 18 points and 18 boards. Here's the NBA TV recap:
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Some Other ReadingPistonsDetroit Bad Bays: The Pistons' SBN blog has a lot of content and game threads/previews rolled into one. And I love the name. Spurs48 Minutes of Hell: Best damn TrueHoop affiliate out there. Always a must visit Spurs site. Twitter Musings
I was too tired to figure out the LOLs, but you can always find all the official Spurs Sports & Entertainment Twitter accounts here: http://twitter.com/spurs/official/members |
Where to Tune In
TVThis game will be aired on FSN Southwest. 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
Is it just me, or is “Spurs win” in a smaller font?
Anyway, I’ve never seen Amish Rip in game before. Would love to see that tomorrow. Our tomorrow.
"Yes, it's important that I have good numbers, and I'm well-respected as a player. But I think it's more important that I'm respected as a man." - Some Tall Guy Who Wore #50
Bench ought to have a good game tonight.
Starting to feel a bit better. Tough trip, we all got sick
- Manu’s facebook
"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 6, 2010 6:53 AM CST reply actions
A note on Prince and Hamilton having played 7 games each:
Detroit’s record with:
Prince is 1-6
Hamilton is 2-5
Both (and Ben Gordon who has also missed games) is 1-4 with a win in Memphis to start the season and then their last 4 losses (@ Raptors, Knicks, Bulls, and @ Dallas).
They are currently on a 10 game losing streak after winning 5 games in a row.
Sorry, I found another one. I was intrigued by their road record of 3-14 so their 3 wins are…wait for it…..
@ Memphis (17-16, but started 1-8) season opener for both teams by 22 points
@ Wizards (11-21) by 3 points
@ Sixers (10-24) by 4 points
By contrast, our 5 home losses:
OKC (19-15) by 3 points
Utah (18-16) by 7 points
Boston (24-8) by 7points
Denver (22-13) by 7 points
Portland (22-15) by 4 points
I know Hamilton & Price have been out until just recently. But it is kind of surprising that mighty Joe Dumars’ team has not been able to put anything together.
The Lakers "Too big, too strong, too long, too good."
olf, can someone in Los Angeles pay for season tickets to the Clippers by selling their seats to the Lakers @ Clippers games?
Ha that’s funny. I bet you could at least do that for one of those ticket 4-pack or 6-packs. But then you’d still be stuck with 5 tickets to Clippers games – to me they’re unwatchable.
The Lakers @ Clippers games end up being at least 50% Lakers fans in the stands because the Lakers games always sell out early.
The Lakers "Too big, too strong, too long, too good."
by olf on Jan 6, 2010 3:50 PM CST up reply actions
Can anyone describe to me in two words how the Spurs have been playing lately? One of the words has to be “cheese”.
"Under the tutelage....of Randy Tutelage"
Thank you.
Oh hey, I saw Seabiscuit the other day. Sarah Jessica Parker gave the performance of a lifetime.
Seen Avatar yet?
"Under the tutelage....of Randy Tutelage"
Seabiscuit was incredibly boring.
No, I’m going to watch it this Sunday. Waiting for my bro. You?
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Oh, and since you brought up movies, here’s a good trailer. And here’s another. Same movie. Looks awesome, can’t wait.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
aaawwwwesome! when does it come out?
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
Seen it. In IMAX 3D. It’s amazing. From now on Avatar will be the standard by which CGI is judged.
I have a low tolerance for BS dialogue, but the sheer experience more than makes up for it.
"Under the tutelage....of Randy Tutelage"
That’s exactly what I want in that movie – ball to the wall CGI that will blow my mind. Can’t wait.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Hey Fishboy! A friend of mine sent this to me this week and I thought of you.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
Watching him dance, I think all I need in life to be happy is for LeBron to finish his career ringless.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Blair in the pre-game interview just now: “It looked funny out there with Tim not starting, but at the same time, he [Pop] did it for a reason. Coach Pop knows what he’s doing.”
I have flying monkeys at my disposal, and I'm not afraid to use them.
Game thread for all ye who dare enter.
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 6, 2010 7:14 PM CST reply actions
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