Does anyone else find the Burger King as creepy as I do?
This weekend is the Super Bowl, a reason for everyone to get together at parties and watch commercials. Let's hope that Burger King didn't buy any time. Their mascot really creeps me out. If that was the first thing I ever saw in the morning, I'm fairly certain the King would no longer be with us.
One of the quarterbacks in the Super Bowl is Peyton Manning. Manning just might be the best famous athlete pitchman of our times. Although I can never remember what products he endorses, I generally like his commercials, as Manning is more than willing to poke fun at himself and to let his geek flag fly. But what does this have to do with basketball? Absolutely nothing, except that the Burger King mascot is the first thing that popped into my head when I realized that I was previewing the Kings. Plus, this lovely discussion about commercials allows me to embed this parody, one of the best skits ever done by SNL with a pro athlete. Enjoy. Warning: There is some bad language, but it's all bleeped out, so everyone should be good. I just didn't want to upset the sensitive natures of Hipuks and Romes.
Now onto the actual basketball related stuff. And since this is the first game of the annual Rodeo Road TripTM, feel free to fret/comment more about the state of the Spurs here.
 San Antonio Spurs @ Sacramento Kings Where: ARCO Arena - Sacramento, CA When: February 3, 2010; 9:00 PM Spurs time Watch: FSNSW (SA), CSN-CA (Sacramento)
How They Stack Up
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Matchups
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 George Hill Pop's Favorite |
Point Guard Beno has found some success in Sacramento, despite what we thought of him while he was a Spur. George has played well in Tony's stead. Although The Wee Frenchman would definitely get the white box, Udrih and Hill are pretty even. Also, Tony needs to dominate Fisher.
Advantage: Tied |
 Beno Udrih Not Pop's Favorite |
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 Manu Ginobili The Chemist |
Shooting Guard Martin has been inconsistent since coming back from injury, although he has dropped over 20 points in his last 3 games. Manu didn't have his best game in the last outing. Gino needs to not worry about scoring or forcing his shot on the offensive end. However, our favorite ARGENTINE is a superior facilitator who brings the intangibles. Advantage: Spurs |
 Kevin Martin Back from Injury |
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 Richard Jefferson Realized Potential? |
Small Forward Green might turn into a good NBA player, but I don't remember his game at all from any of the Kings games I've seen this season. Rage has strung together some good games lately, showing an all-around game. RJ no longer looks lost on the floor and I've seen some glimpses on why Pop wanted him as a Spur. Advantage: Spurs |
 Donte Green Potential |
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 Tim Duncan The Man |
Power Forward Thompson has improved his numbers from his Rookie campaign, averaging 13.3 ppg and 8.8 rpg. He seems to be a positive example of a big man reaching his potential. However, the old man is still averaging a 20-10 (yes, I rounded up). Timmeh gets the white box. Advantage: Spurs |
 Jason Thompson Good Young Big Man |
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 Antonio McDyess Dice! |
Center Dice had a heck of a game against the Nuggets. And his reinsertion into the starting lineup has had a positive effect on the interior defense. Dice should try to take advantage of Hawes' lack of mobility on defense. However, Hawes has offensive skills in the low post and has a significant height advantage. The Kings have two good, young bigs - not fair.
Advantage: Kings |
 Spencer Hawes Yet Another Young Big Man |
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 DeJuan Blair Needs More Burn |
Bench & Role Players The bench has been a strong point for the Spurs all season, however with the return of Bonner and FinPerro, the rotations have been out of whack. Hill is starting, taking away some of our firepower. And for those who are still unsure, DEBEAST NEEDS MORE PLAYING TIME! The Kings have a group of solid bench players, with the veterans Nocioni and Rodriguez and the young rookies Casspi and Brockman (who would both be great Spurs), not to mention Fatality. It's a tie. Advantage: Tied |
 Andres Nocioni Not Our Argentine |
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 Gregg Popovich Angry |
CoachWestphal had his young team playing well earlier this season, but the Kings had an awful January, winning only 3 games. Pop showed emotion after the last game. Let's hope it lights a fire under the players. Advantage: Spurs |
 Paul Westphal Killer Horse Game |
| images via yahoo.com | ||
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Other Factors
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Intangibles |
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Although the Spurs didn't look great on Sunday, the Kings have been positively awful lately. Advantage: Spurs |
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Mojo |
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I probably won't be able to watch the game, which is good news for the Spurs. Advantage: Spurs |
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Winner: |
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| If the Spurs can't get it together for the first game of the Rodeo Road Trip, when will they? | ||
Keys To The Game
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Strength of ScheduleThis is the first game of the annual RRT, with a SEGABABA at Portland tomorrow night. The Spurs are coming off a tough loss to the Moonmen on Sunday, but have had two days of rest. The Kings lost a close one to Denver Monday night. Sacramento is coming in with one day of rest, and don't play again until Friday evening. Last Time They MetThe Spurs won their first meeting with Sacramento back in December, winning 118-106. The Spurs won 3 of the 4 quarters, and this was one of RJ's best games of the year. A repeat of this performance would make Romes really happy. |
Some Other ReadingKingsSactown Royalty - The Kings' SBN blog. Run by Ziller, it's a very active site with some great chops. Spurs48 Minutes of Hell: The best TrueHoop team blog. If you haven't been visiting lately, shame on you. Their insightful musings have been otstanding lately, especially with the addition of Jesse and Andrew. |
Where to Tune In
TVThis game will be aired on Fox Sports Net SW in SA and CSN-CA in Sacramento. 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. OnlinePlease 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 poundingtherockmail@yahoo.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). |
Note:
With all the great content created lately, posts are falling off of the front page faster than ever. I just wanted to let everyone know that under your profile, in the Edit Settings tab, you can expand the number of stories, FanPosts, and FanShots that show on the front page when you log in. This should prevent you from missing any of the great published stories, especially from LatinD and Wayne
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