Game Previews

Game Preview #78: San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns

By silverandblack_davis Apr 7, 2010, 6:00am CDT

Somebody needs to go all SuperNova for this one.

I kinda said I got some more comics for the preview, but I'm feeling the heat to take this game veeery seriously. I don't know why, but I want to beat the Suns so bad.

Just five more games left, fellas. Jump in for a SEGABABA-affected, bare-bones preview.

Some pump-you-up music to put you in the proper state of mind.

San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns
Where: US Airways Center - Phoenix, AZ
When: April 7, 2010, 9:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: ESPN (National TV? FFFFUUUUUU); My35 HD

How They Stack Up


28-11	Home	29-9
20-18	Road	21-18
101.1	Offense	110.4
95.9	Defense	105.8
47.3	FG%	49.2
36.3	3-pt%	41.1
74.6	FT%	77.2
42.6	Rebounds	43.0
12.9	TOs	14.2
7-3	Last 10	9-1
Won 4	Streak	Lost 1
2nd, Southwest	Position	2nd, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	11:30 PM
West Coast	7:30 PM
Philippines	10:30 AM
Central Europe	3:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	4:30 AM
East Coast	10:30 PM
The Land Time Forgot	8:30 PM
Perth, AUS	10:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	12:30 PM
Sydney, AUS	12:30 PM

Spurs (48-29)	Matchups	Suns (50-27)
Garrett Temple Shirley	Point Guard You know what? I don't give a shizzo if Tony might be starting or getting the bulk of minutes at PG. A man named Garrett Temple earned his keep last game and deserves some air time. That being said, Steve Nash is still the heart and soul of 7SOL basketball and a future hall of famer. Advantage: Suns	Steve Nash Floppy

Manu Ginobili Sunny Disposition	Shooting Guard And I quote the man himself - "I’m feeling really confident right now." That's all we need to know, right? Advantage: Spurs	Jason Richardson Misses Breakaway Dunks

Richard Jefferson Rich-J	Small Forward Took him awhile, but RJ's finally gotten in the flow of things. I say 'bout time, you $14-million Peanut. Grant Hill, oldness and injuries aside, is still a solid player with good BBIQ. If RJ can take advantage of his ath-u-leticism, he can easily take over this matchup. Advantage: Spurs	Grant Hill The Original G-Hill

Tim Duncan Stoudenightmare	Power Forward It's a SEGABABA and we can only hope that Timmeh's 22 minutes against the Kings didn't tire him out much. Robin Lopez is out so there will be one less big man to contend with. Amare's on a pretty hot streak and just won Western Conference Player of the Month honors for March. His defense, however, is still the same old friend the Spurs know and love. Advantage: Tied	Amar'e Stoudemire Horace Grant Glasses

Antonio McDyess Solid Snake	Center Dice played another good game against the Kings, contrary to the letdown I predicted. Let's hope he brings the same contribution against a Suns team that will probably play smaller and faster with Sideshow Mel out. Advantage: Spurs	Jarron Collins Another Twin from Stanford

Tony Parker BAM Newbie	Bench & Role Players Alvin Gentry has done a good job integrating a solid bench to finally ease the burden on the Suns' starters. Picture this - against the loss to Milwaukee, only two players played at least 30 minutes and one of those came off the bench (Jared Dudley). It also wasn't a blowout by any means. The hot shooting troika of Dudley, Goran Dragic and Leandro Barbosa might give our slower players fits, so the Tony-powered BAM should really step it up. Advantage: Suns	Leandro Barbosa Brazilian Blur

Gregg Popovich CIA Agent	Coach Time to show the Suns who still rules the West, Pop. Advantage: Spurs	Alvin Gentry Better Than Mike D
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles Both teams are on amazing surges, but the Suns haven't played this late season version of the Spurs before. Advantage: Spurs
	Mojo ::tumbleweedcrickets:: Advantage: None
	Winner The high-scoring Suns are always a threat to run away with this one, considering it's also their home court. But the Spurs are sending out statement wins across the league and don't expect that to change one bit. Spurs

Keys To The Game

Defense - The Suns bring the league's most efficient offense to the table - we have to slow them down. In years past, this wouldn't be a problem, but we've been pretty inconsistent on D this season. It has gotten much, much better of late, and this should be a good test to measure how we'll defend run-and-gun teams like Phoenix in the playoffs.
Attack The Paint - Robin Lopez' presence has been a major factor for the Suns' improved play, but now that he's injured and Channing Frye is a softie, the interior might be the Suns' weakest spot right now.
Bench - Before, the Spurs' bench was vastly superior, but now things are different. Their guards need to be contained.
George Hill - He's not here. But I miss him. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

Last Time They Met

The last duel was mostly remembered for the fortuitous missed dunk by Jason Richardson, allowing the Spurs to escape with a 113-110 victory on February 28. Amare torched us for 41 points, but we managed to hold everyone else in check. It also helped that six Spurs reached double figures.

Strength of Schedule

After this SEGABABA, we enter into the third game of a FOGAFINI versus the no-pushover Memphis Grizzlies, and then round out the hellacious schedule with a visit to CapHill and SiMa's crib.

The Suns schedule isn't any easier, as they are still scheduled to square off against 3 more Western Conference playoff teams, starting with the Thunder on a day's rest after this one.

Some Other Reading

Suns

Bright Side of the Sun - These guys are our SBN siblings for Phoenix, and they do a phenomenal job.

Valley of the Suns - Here's the TrueHoop blog dedicated to the Suns. These other teams' THN blogs seem to be getting better over time, which is a very encouraging sign. Worth the read.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, Tim, Graydon, Jessie and Andrew are still the best.
Project Spurs: Good Bloguin blog with lots of good content. Be sure to check out their podcasts and live chats.

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be on ESPN, but for those who don't have access, you might want to read on below...

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. You know, when we're not at the games.

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 poundingtherockmail@yahoo.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).