Greetings, £ers. I certainly hope you've enjoyed the great start to the Spurs' season. The team just finished off their best November ever last night, going 14-1 for the month. You certainly don't need me to tell you how awesome that is, but it's still fun to type. The Men in Black now stand at 15-2, with 2 fewer losses than their closest leaguewide competition.
Tonight, we have a game that's a potential trap. We've beaten the Clips 18 straight times, so they're sort of due. And LA's other team has had some good games recently, most notably when they knocked off the Hornets last weekend. Also, the Clips' new starting lineup is crazy athletic, a trait which traditionally gives us problems. Still, the Clipper curse is alive and well, and the Spurs are undefeated on national TV this season. Guess who's on national TV tonight?
Preview after the jump.
Here, have a song by a band you've probably never heard of:
Let's do this.
 San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers Where: Staples Center When: 12/01/10, 9:30PM Spurs Time - Timezone Converter Watch: NBA TV, FSSW
By the Numbers
Data source: basketball-reference.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lineups
Starters |
Lineups
Starters
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matchup Analysis
|
|
|
 |
Point Guard | |
|
Shooting Guard | |
|
Small Forward | |
| Power Forward | |
|
|
Center | |
|
Bench | |
|
Coach | |
|
Intangibles | |
|
Mojo | |
|
Winner |
Starters
PG: Tony's game has been a little off lately, but I still have more faith in him getting the job done than I do Bledsoe. But if he has to go up against B-Diddy, that's a completely different situation.
SG: Against most of his competition, Gordon's 21.5 PER would seem to make him the favorite. But Manu is sporting a gaudy 25.0 right now, putting him 1st among SG's and 6th in the league overall. Only Paul, Howard, Westbrook, Gasol and Horford(really?) are better than Manu in efficiency at the moment. Sorry, Gordon, but Manu's switched to God Mode again.
SF: Aminu is a promising rookie, but RJ 2.0 has been incredible thus far in the season. Let the Rage flow all over Staples. And maybe he can play cowboy with Griffin this time.
PF: Good game last night by Blair, which was a very nice sight for sore eyes. Unfortunately, Griffindor is insanely good, and DeBeast will not be nearly enough to offset him. Tiago, anyone?
C: Jordan has been a thorn in our sides a couple of time already, but let's be honest: nobody on that roster can stop the Timmy. I mean, he put in a triple double last night without breaking a sweat. Roll, Timmy, roll.
Bench
The ath-uh-leticism in the Clips' starting lineup in absolutely ridonkulous. That said, unless Kaveman and B-Diddy are back(both listed as day-to-day, but Kaveman's injury should have kept him out until at least another week from now), the Clips bench is pretty turribul. < /Sir Charles >
The Spurs, meanwhile, are back to having one of the best bench units in the league, with George seeming to be back at last season's level, and Splitter getting more and more comfortable. Good times.
Coaching
Pop has the Spurs off to their best start ever, and has made some of the best in-game adjustments in the league to come up with big comeback wins this season.
Intangibles
They're the Clippers. Also, guess who's the only team worse than the Spurs at defending the 3? Yeah, that would be the Clippers.
Mojo
We have the Manu, and the Timmy. Best road team in the league, etc.
Prediction
Hopefully the Spurs put this one away early.
Key(s) to the Game
Make open shots - Simple enough, but doesn't always seem to happen for us.
Defensive fundamentals - You know... boxing out, making the right rotation, etc. Pressing them would be a good strategy, too, since they turn the ball over alot.
Other Reading
Spurs
48 Minutes of Hell - Varner and company are kicking some butt this year. The advanced stat scouting report[posted every game day] is some of the most in-depth analysis you'll find anywhere.
Clippers
Clips Nation(SB Nation) - The Clips are blessed with some great blogging representation, and Steve is running an incredible one-man show. Show him some love.
Following Along
TV
NBA TV(yay!), FSSW(San Antonio), Prime Ticket(LA)
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.