We have a game today, against the best team in the league. At least, that's what their record and average margin would suggest(cue Hollinger getting all bug-eyed). They're better than the Spurs, but apparently that isn't bad enough for us - they will be highly motivated today, and did I mention they're the best defensive team in the league? And we suck on defense(not that our offense is much better).
These guys have lost two in a row, including getting an absolute drubbing at the hands of Orlando the other night. Think they'll be angry? Also, as noted in the preview below, they've won a gazillion games at home, as compared to only 1 loss to the Lakers.
For the spurs, winning this game would be a miracle of epic proportions, and therefore requires divine intervention. We can't really call on those well-known deities that all the "cool people" are hanging out with, because they're too busy with disease, war, etc. etc. But that's OK - we have the FSM!
We must be touched by his noodly appendage.
Obviously, there is another PtR deity we could call on. However, his Manu-ness must save his strength for the playoffs, as it will be sorely needed and better used at that time.
If you'll notice, the themes of this thread are negativity and blasphemy - and I've only just begun. You might consider me an "effort guy" today. Preview after the jump.
Let the PtR blasphemy begin:
 |
Game Time: 12:00 Spurs Time, 2:00 pm Argentina
8:00 pm Palestine,Egypt, 7:00 pm CET
2:00 am Perth, 1:00 am Philippines, Japan
3:00 am Guam
1:00EDT, 11:00 MDT, 10:00PDT/Arizona
TV: ABC | Officials: TBA
TBA
TBA |
49-26 | 
Tony
| 
Manu
| 
Tim
| 
Matt
| 
Fin
|
61-15 | 
Mo | 
Delonte | 
Zydrunas | 
Anderson | 
Lebron |
| | images via yahoo.com |
| | | | 26-12 | Home | ∞-1 | | 23-14 | Road | 25-14 | | 97.2 | Offense | 99.8 | | 93.4 | Defense | 91.3 | | 46.7 | FG% | 46.6 | | 38.8 | 3-pt% | 38.9 | | 76.7 | FT% | 75.6 | | 41.1 | Rebounds | 42.1 | | 11.8 | TO's | 12.7 | | 5-5 | Last 10 | 8-2 | | Won 1 | Streak | Lost 2 | | | | |  | PG | | | SG | | | C | | | | PF | | | | SF | | | Bench | | | | Coach | | | | Intangibles | | | | Mojo | | | | Winner | | |
Breakdown - Point Guard - Tony has been excellent for us, but struggled mightily the last time we played the Cavs. Mo Williams has been only slightly less excellent for Cleveland.
- Off Guard - Manu vs. Delonte West - do I really need to explain this one? This is pretty much the only advantage the Spurs are going to have in this game.
- Center - Big Z is a guy I wish the Spurs could have playing alongside TD. With that said, Timmeh should destroy him. But Timmeh just isn't himself. No dice.
- Power Forward - Sideshow Bob is better than Matt. Not better than Kurt, though. Gooden might be useful against his former team, too. Take the hint, Pop.
- Small Forward - Fin sees this matchup and says fmylife. Ime will likely get extended minutes to maintain a consistent level of suckitude. Bruce won't play at all, because he's a good defender. Oh, and the Cavs have this guy named Lebron.
- Bench - Both teams have a decent bench. Ours is slightly better, but not used properly. Nobody gets the edge here.
- Coach - Mike Brown and Pop know each other's ways very well. However, Pop listens to his beard when it tells him that the "ragged" look is good for the lineups he puts on the court, too.
- Intangibles - We suck. The Cavs don't.
- Mojo - see above.
- Winner - Cleveland by 40. That's right, I said it. But can they beat the spread?
Keys To The Game - Defense - It would be nice if we could play some. We'd probably still lose, but it wouldn't be an absolute atrocity.
- Turnovers - Wanna know what really doomed us against the NOOCH and OKC? Any time we turn the ball over today, Lebron will score. I hope I've made that clear enough.
- 3-Point Shooting - We need to shoot 75% to keep ourselves in this game. Lucky for us, Cleveland leads the league in 3-point defense. [facepalm]
Some other reading - Fear the Sword - SBNation Blog, but not very Active.
- Cleveland.com - most active Cleveland fan site I could find. Cavs fans are apparently very suspicious and not easily coaxed onto the blogonet.
- 48 Minutes of Hell - always recommended reading.
Other Things of Possible Interest - The Toros are going to kick some serious D-League ass - without Pops, even. At least Ian is healthy, even if we can't use him. Maybe some Toros highlights will take your mind off of the debacle that is the 08/09 Spurs.
- Things like this year's Spurs. Failing miserably, but impossible to look away from.
- Morans + bar stools = comedy.
- Google Street View is apparently a sign that your neighborhood will be burglarized.
Game feeds Check this game thead at gametime for specific links to good quality feeds. If you arrive late in the game, the game feed links are usually among the first 100 posts of the thread. ATDHE.net
PPNBA
MyP2P
OneNation (This is an archive of NBA games, but it hasn't been updated lately.)
BitTorrent Davka (A torrent site where you will find most of the latest games in the league. Bookmark.)
Recap: Stampler will be along for this one, I'm sure. And he won't spare his criticism of anyone, not even Manu. OK, maybe Manu. |
