Happy New Year, PtR readers! You know, we've been posting things along the lines of "It looks like just possibly the Spurs might perhaps be about to begin playing decent basketball" for what seems like weeks now. I'm just going to go ahead and make the leap--the Spurs are playing good basketball. Great basketball? No, not yet, not consistently, but I think we would all rather be on the way up than on the way down.
For our first game of 2010 we face the struggling Wizards. I'm typing this on January 1, as various reports are surfacing that teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the locker room while arguing over a gambling debt (the sound you just heard was David Stern's head detonating). I'm not sure what to say about all that but "sweet fancy Moses." Arenas denies it and is allegedly threatening to sue the New York Post. David Aldridge seems to have the best handle on the situation, but details and fall-out are still impossible to predict. Regardless of what further investigation reveals, the Wizards are all kinds of messed up. These are seriously unhappy times for Wizards fans.
But not for Spurs fans!
 Washington Wizards @ San Antonio Spurs Where: Verizon Center - Washington, D.C. When: January 2, 2010, 6:00 PM Spurs time Watch: FSN SW; NBA LP
How They Stack Up
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Matchups
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 Tony Parker Needs a better "Grease" wig |
Point Guard The last time the Wizards and Spurs met, Arenas led the scoring with 18 points. That was a different Spurs team, though, without Tony and without Manu. And at this point, it's unclear whether Arenas will be playing at all. He's still listed in the media notes as a probable starter. Advantage: Spurs |
 Gilbert Arenas Needs to ditch the guns, srsly |
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 Keith Bogans Defensive Specialist |
Shooting Guard Randy Foye, filling in for the injured Mike Miller, has typically been scoring in the low double digits. Bogans only played 19 minutes against the Heat--which is why we get the white box. Our bench gives us the advantage in this category. Advantage: Spurs |
 Randy Foye The BAM calls him "Dinner." |
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 Richard Jefferson It's coming together |
Small Forward Caron Butler has five double-doubles on the season and is apparently the de facto leader of this team, especially if Arenas is suspended or has his contract voided. He was quoted at length in the Washington Post yesterday, and he sounded like a man on a mission. I expect Richard Jefferson to continue improving, but Butler still has the slight edge over him. Advantage: Wizards |
 Caron Butler Cap probably still hates UConn |
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 DeJuan Blair Devourer of Worlds |
Power Forward The Spurs are listing DeJuan at center, but who am I to argue with the game preview template? And this way I can say, "That Blair kid puts the POWER in power forward!" Advantage: Tied |
 Antawn Jamison Captain Consistent |
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 Tim Duncan Player of the Decade |
Center Tim Duncan versus Brendan Haywood. Do I really need to break this one down any further? Advantage: Spurs |
 Brendan Haywood Cannon fodder |
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 Manu Ginobili Sparkle Motion |
Bench & Role Players The Wizards bench has been stone cold over the last three games. And even if they're at their best, the Spurs should still get the white box: The best scorer off the Wizards bench is Blatche, with an average of 9.2 points per game. Earl Boykins follows with 8.5. Meanwhile, the Sickness is averaging 13.1, and Sir Hotbod Handsomeface is at 9.8. Advantage: Spurs |
 Andray Blatche Rough going of late |
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 Gregg Popovich Kindly Old Cuddlebug |
Coach
Saunders isn't going down without a fight, and he's not going to let his team be swallowed up by despair. But there's only so much he can do with the tools at his disposal. Advantage: Spurs |
 Flip Saunders Don't blame him. |
| images via yahoo.com | ||
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OTHER FACTORS
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Intangibles |
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The Wizards haven't beaten the Spurs since 2005. This doesn't seem like the most likely time for that trend to be reversed, but I suppose stranger things have happened. This could turn into one of those situations where the Wizards come out determined to prove something. We'll have to be prepared. Advantage: Neither |
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Mojo |
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If we're talking about sheer momentum, the Spurs are holding all the cards here. This entire season must be feeling like a nightmare for the Wizards faithful. Advantage: Spurs |
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Winner |
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Prediction: Spurs win.
When both teams are on streaks (winning in our case, losing in theirs), it feels like tempting fate to assume both streaks continue. But that's just what I'm going to do.
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Keys To The Game
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Some Other ReadingWizardsBullets Forever - The guys who run this SBN blog are doing what they can to capture the emotional hell that comes with rooting for a dysfunctional team. Which means that all in all, it's a damn good read. Check it out. Truth About It - The TrueHoop affiliate for Washington. Not a ton of comments, but the writing is good. Spurs48 Minutes of Hell: The best TH blog around. Graydon's been doing a great job of manning the ship during the holidays, making us remember why it's the best TH blog.. Project Spurs: Lots of good folks in here. Visit, read, comment, come back. And don't miss their podcast, either. The (sort of) Daily Twitter
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Other things of possible interestTHE END: Super cool page displaying "The End" title screens from Warner Bros. spanning the years 1925 to 1975. Fascinating to scroll down the page and watch the history of graphic design spool out before your eyes. To see the specific films these are from, mouse over the title cards.
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Where to Tune In
TVThe game is available on Fox Sports Network Southwest, even if you have Time-Warner Cable (negotiations have been extended), as well as on NBA League Pass. OnlineAs always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. 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). |