Game #9 Preview: Spurs @ Thunder

So the Spurs are 7-1, and have won 6 in a row. Last night, the very thought of this made me positively giddy. But then I realized it's only good enough for 3rd in the insane Western Conference, and some good teams are going to come knocking soon. Starting with the first SEGABABA of the year, tonight in Oklahoma City.

Here's a look at the rest of the Spurs' November schedule, just in case you were getting used to playing bad teams every single game.

Nov. 17th: Chicago
Nov. 19th: @ Utah
Nov. 20th: Cleveland
Nov. 22nd: Orlando
Nov. 24th: @ Minnesota
Nov. 26th: Dallas
Nov. 28th: @ New Orleans
Nov. 30th: @ Golden State

If we can survive that stretch and still be 3rd in the West, I'll be shocked. Shocked, I say. Am I right to be so concerned? It's hard to say, so here's a song for your listening enjoyment:

Paging Mr. BlaseE...

Tonight's opponent is a bit easier than our next two, so it would be awesome if we could start off this rougher part of the schedule with a win. The Thunder are actually much, much worse on defense than I thought, and worse than they were last year. Also, their greatest weakness is the 3-point line, on both sides of the ball. Which is good, because we're the best team in the league at making threes, and the worst at defending them. So, look for that to be one of the big keys to tonight's game.

And now, your regularly-scheduled preview.

San Antonio Spurs @ Oklahoma City Thunder Where: Ford Center, Oklahoma City When: 11/14/2010, 6:00PM Spurs Time - Timezone Converter Watch: FSSW By the Numbers Data source: basketball-reference.com
Category Stat Rank Offensive Efficiency 111.2 4th Defensive Efficiency 103.9 8th Defensive Rebound Rate 73.2% 14th Offensive Rebound Rate 27.6% 11th Field Goal Percentage 47.3% 7th 3-Point FG Percentage 42.5% 1st Free Throw Percentage 76.7% 15th Turnover Percentage 15.1% 22nd			Category Stat Rank Offensive Efficiency 107.8 9th Defensive Efficiency 111.0 29th Defensive Rebound Rate 72.4% 20th Offensive Rebound Rate 27.6% 10th Field Goal Percentage 43.9% 25th 3-Point FG Percentage 23.1% 30th Free Throw Percentage 87.8% 1st Turnover Percentage 13.3% 9th
Record Wins Losses Overall 7 1 Conference 4 1 Division 1 1 Home 4 1 Away 3 0 Position Conference Division Record 3rd 2nd Lineups Starters PG: Tony Parker SG: Manu Ginobili SF: Richard Jefferson PF: DeJuan Blair C: Tim Duncan Key Bench Players George Hill Tiago Splitter Antonio McDyess			Record Wins Losses Overall 5 3 Conference 2 2 Division 2 1 Home 3 2 Away 2 1 Position Conference Division Record 7th 2nd Lineups Starters PG: Russell Westbrook SG: Thabo Sefolosha SF: Kevin Durant PF: Jeff Green(?) C: Nenad Krstic Key Bench Players Serge Ibaka James Harden Eric Maynor

Matchup Analysis

	Point Guard
	Shooting Guard
	Small Forward
	Power Forward
	Center
	Bench
	Coach
	Intangibles
	Mojo
	Winner

Starters

PG: Russell Westbrook is on my fantasy team in the PtR league. This is how I know he's having a really good year so far. Also having a good year, Frenchie McWonderbutt, averaging (so far) more assists than he has any other season. Oh, by the way, both of these guys are incredible scorers.

SG: Thabo is a great, great defensive player. But Manu is a member of the FSM's family. Any questions?

SF: With all due respect to how well RJ 2.0 has been playing this year, he's up against the league's leading scorer(for the second straight season), who also happens to be a very good defensive player. I only hope RJ 2.0 can hold his own.

PF: Whether it's Green(listed as day to day because of a mild left ankle sprain) or Ibaka, both are better defensively than our Beast. Blair hasn't been playing very well thus far in the season, save for the last two games. I may start giving him the spur if he starts playing better consistently.

C: Let's see... Duncan vs. Krstic. I'm gonna go ahead and pick the GOATPUFF.

Bench

George, Tiago, Gary Neal and company will look to maintain a high level of play for us off the bench. This bench has some incredible players, and the Thunderclusters actually look a little thin. Not that those young whippersnappers in the starting lineup need a lot of rest, but still...

Coaching

Brooks seems to be a good coach, but this year will be a big test. His team isn't sneaking up on anybody this season, so it'll be interesting to see how even-keeled he can keep the team. On the other side, Pop has our guys off to their best start in a long time.

Intangibles

OKC gets to the line more than any team not names the Miami Heat. And once they get there, nobody's better at making the freebies. So basically, let's not foul a lot tonight, OK?

Mojo

Once again, we have Manu.

Prediction

Even though this is a tough test for our guys, I believe in them. Let's get the W.

Other Reading

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell - You know the drill. Best analysis on the Spurs-o-net.

Thunder

Welcome to Loud City(SB Nation) - Mr. P may not be there, but the guys who took over have done a really good job. Go check it out.

Following Along

TV

Fox Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass

Radio

WOAI 1200AM; Audio League Pass[streaming]

Online

As 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. You can also shoot an email to poundingtherockmail@yahoo.com(IMPORTANT: Please include your PtR username in the email for reference) for further assistance.