Good with a little bit of yogurt and OJ in a smoothie
Why the picture of fruit, Cap? Because this is what I feel like doing: blowing razzberries, Bronx cheer, whatever you want to call it. And I'm out of beer. And the sports gods really, really hate me. More after the jump.
Warning: Massive amounts of crankiness and negativity ahead. Please keep your arms and legs within the car at all times as we plummet down the rollercoaster known as Spurs basketball fandom.
First, a musical selection that I feel appropriately symbolizes our current predicament:
Free Fallin'
Or to help you get through the next game, perhaps this is more to your liking:
Okay, this is really just for me.
And for the more hardcore, I present something completely different:
I am in awe.
Before I jump into the nitty gritty of the actual preview, let's take a little trip back to the summer:
Delusion Dwellers (thanks, LD)
Remember when we were all gushing over the trade for RJ, ecstatic when DeBeast fell into our laps on Draft Night, giddy over Cubits' improvement and new role as Pop's favorite player? Well, throw that out the window. We stink. This is not "the glass is half-empty"; this is "not a drop of liquid was left in the glass before it shattered on the kitchen floor". We really, really suck.
So to steal from At The Hive, here's a visual recap of our season to date:
Ability to Box Out and Grab Rebounds
Win-Loss Record
We need to win a freaking game. Not after Thanksgiving, but RIGHT NOW! Or even the annual Rodeo Road Trip won't be able to save us. I'm so depressed.
 Washington Wizards @ San Antonio Spurs Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX When: November 21, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time Watch: NBA TV; My35 (SA)
How They Stack Up
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Matchups
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 George Hill Foul Prone |
Point Guard Tony's probably out, along with our chances of winning this game. Sir Hotbod has done a decent standing in for him, except for the excessive fouling issue. Tonight he's going against Arenas, whose lack of defense is countered by his 23 ppg and 6 apg. Plus, our backup PG is Mason. It doesn't even matter who the Wizards' backup is - they automatically win the battle. Advantage: Wizards |
 Gilbert Arenas Finally Earning His Paycheck? |
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 Keith Bogans Not Manu |
Shooting Guard Manu is definitely out. The Boogeyman almost fouled out last game and the SGs shot a combined 2-11 from the 3-pt line. Even before I saw that Miller is shooting 60% from the field (57% from 3-pt land), I knew we were overmatched. Advantage: Wizards |
 Mike Miller Get a Haircut |
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 Richard Jefferson Shoot the frickin' Ball |
Small Forward Butler shoots over 80% from the FT line; RJ does not. Butler averages over 15 field goal attempts per game; RJ does not. Butler grabs almost 8 boards a game; RJ does not. Advantage: Wizards |
 Caron Butler Cap hates UConn |
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 Antonio McDyess Only Option |
Power Forward Dice has played decently lately, but Jamison's season debut was out of this world. His first game back from injury, Antawn drops 31 points and grabs 10 rebounds in the Wiz' upset of the Cavs. He wins. Advantage: Wizards |
 Antawn Jamison He's Back |
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 Tim Duncan The Big 1 |
Center Haywood is actually averaging a double-double this year. (Yeah, that surprised me too.) However, he ain't Timmeh. The only one of the Big 3 left standing, Duncan has taken on more of the load, but at what expense to his body? 40 mpg during a SEGABABA ain't gonna help Duncan get to the playoffs healthy, Pop. Advantage: Spurs |
 Brendan Haywood Not Awful |
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 Michael Finley No Defense |
Bench & Role Players Other than SAM, our bench played like crap against Utah. Blatche and Foye are providing good production off the bench. In addition, tonight marks the return of the tip out king himself, Fab. Advantage: Wizards |
 Fabricio Oberto ARGENTINE |
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 Gregg Popovich Bring back The Beard |
CoachI thought Flip did a good job in Detroit, until he was unceremoniously shown the door. His job in Washington is still a work in progress. Even though Pop finally played Malik some minutes in the last game, his inconsistent lineups are driving everyone crazy. Pop needs to start taking the regular season seriously. Advantage: Tie |
 Flip Saunders No Caption |
| images via yahoo.com | ||
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Other Factors
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Intangibles |
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| Both of these teams are below .500. However, the Wizards did pull a big upset this week against the Cavs, and the Spurs have been One Stud and a bunch of suck. Advantage: Wizards |
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Mojo |
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| We have none. Advantage: Wizards |
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Winner: Wizards |
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| We shouldn't lose this game; therefore, we will. Probably in a heart-breaking double OT loss where Timmeh plays 50 minutes. Prediction: Wizards win. |
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Keys To The Game
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Strength of ScheduleThe Spurs had a day of rest after a SEGABABA. Timmeh played waaaay too much in both of those games (losses). Tonight is a home game, so rest shouldn't be an issue. The Wiz lost in Oklahoma City last night, so they're on a road-and-road SEGABABA. Brutal, but they're young and athletic - except for Fab.
Last Time They MetThe Spurs last played the Wizards March 6, 2009 (last season). Here's the boxscore for anyone who cares. We won. Yippee. Doesn't matter - they were decimated by injuries and were already out of the playoff race. We didn't suck at that time. We do now. |
Some Other ReadingWizardsBullets Forever - The Wizards SBN blog. They are happy Jamison is back. And can we get some Bullets throwback unis going this year? Spurs48 Minutes of Hell: I think Tim and Graydon are just as frustrated and disappointed about the season so far as we are. But they still kick ass with the blog. The (sort of) Daily TwitterCap was uncooperative on this section, so you're stuck with Tim C. Good News: MRI was negative, so nothing serious. Will be back soon. Bad News: Out for a week and we lost again. //...http://bit.ly/2x5BxP Now its time to get back to some wins! Who's coming tomorrow? And these are for Hipuks: Hey facebook world did anybody see new moon i was thinking about going??? http://bit.ly/07ai5rb LOL!!!!!! You can also find all the official Spurs Sports & Entertainment Twitter accounts here: http://twitter.com/spurs/official/members |
Other things of possible interestAs we in the States are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving, I bring you The Thanksgiving Letter. If this woman were in my family, she'd probably have been brained by a can of jellied cranberries by now. |
Where to Tune In
TVThis game will be aired nationwide on NBA TV (which means I get to watch it), and in the San Antonio area it will also be on My35 HD. OnlineAs always, NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game 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. Spurs 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). |