Game Previews

Game 3 Preview: Spurs vs. Suns

By Josh Guyer (completely deck) Updated May 7, 2010, 1:00pm CDT

It all starts with one win.

We need some of this:

and this:

Phoenix Suns @ San Antonio Spurs [Game 3]
Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
When: May 6, 2010; 8:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: ESPN

How They Stack Up


3-0	Home	4-1
1-4	Road	2-1
102.0	Offense	110.5
110.5	Defense	102.0
48.1	FG%	47.0
29.7	3-pt%	41.0
69.8	FT%	77.3
40.8	Rebounds	42.3
12.4	TOs	13.2
4-4	2010 Playoffs	6-2
Lost 2	Streak	Won 4


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	10:30 PM
West Coast	6:30 PM
Philippines	9:30 AM
Central Europe	3:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	4:30 AM
East Coast	9:30 PM
Mountains	7:30 PM
Perth, AUS	9:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	11:30 AM

Spurs (0-2)	Matchups	Suns (2-0)
George Hill Albatross lost at sea	Point Guard What in the world has happened to Cubits? In the past two games he's MINUS by double digits in the +/- stat. I hope I'm wrong by putting him as a starter for game 3. I hope the Spurs coaching staff see this. The game plan is to usually stop Nash. By doing this, it creates a domino effect to the rest of their team. This hasn't been happening in this series. Nash has been doing whatever he pleases and it frightens me. Now, if Pop starts TP, the white box goes immediately over to the left. Advantage: Suns	Steve Nash Most effective lazy eyed PG

Manu Ginobili Ready to unleash.	Shooting Guard He's due. Richardson had a quiet(er) game in game 2. He might try to bring it more, since the ~~media~~ Doug Collins wouldn't stop telling us about how when he scores more then 20 they never lose. Advantage: Spurs	Jason Richardson ♥ Doug Collins' lover ♥

Richard Jefferson Raged against the machine	Small Forward RJ brought the rage to game 2, but it wasn't enough to get us a win. Not his fault though, he really played well. Grant Hill reminds me of an old grandpa who wakes up yelling and throwing things. He has those kinds of spurts. He also plays like an old man compared to RJ. Advantage: Spurs	Grant Hill Wayy over the hill

Tim Duncan Wants to win	Power Forward The Suns are making Timmeh work for his shots, but he has been shooting it pretty well. I'd expect the same in game 3. Apostrophe hasn't hurt us as much as he used to, nor in the same way he used to. Now he's getting to the line and making me throw things at the TV. Advantage: Tied	Amare Stoudamire Causes too many painful shots of alcohol

Antonio McDyess Destroyer of big-men worlds	Center Dice continues to bring it to the playoffs. Let's hope he continues and his efforts don't go unrewarded. Does Collins have a pulse? I could have sworn I've seen Nash pushing him up the court in a wheelchair. Advantage: Spurs	Jarron Collins This guy really sucks

Tony Parker A-hoh-hoh-hoh (French laugh)	Bench & Role Players WHEN TONY PLAYS AGAINST NASH, NASH SUCKS. HINT HINT, POP. Great, now you've gone and given this Dudley guy confidence. Sigh. Advantage: Tied	Jared Dudley Go away

Gregg Popovich Drunk off his ass still	Coach Little known fact about me is that I am such a Popovich fan that I have an autographed picture of him framed and hanging on my wall. I also have the Jacob Riis quote in a frame. I really love you, Gregg, but you've got to wake up and smell the losses. Tony must dominate Fisher and help us get the mother flipping win. Oh, and stop the three point shots, for crying out loud. We're better than this. Give it to Gentry, he has a sound game plan against us. Advantage: Tied	Alvin Gentry Enjoying this
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
Intangibles
The Suns are two wins away from a sweep and they know it. The Spurs are two losses away from a sweep and they know it. Expect this to be a fight to the very end. This is, in essence, a game 7 for both teams. Advantage: Tied
Mojo
Pray..for..mojo. Advantage: Spurs
Winner:
Because we have to win this one.

Keys To The Game

3 Point Shooting Defense - We lost game 2 mainly because of all of the threes we gave up. If the Spurs can limit them to 3 or 4 max, expect a W.
Rebounds/Second Chance Points/50-50 balls - The Suns went +12 in rebounds in game 2. The way our current defensive scheme is ran, this is unacceptable and will almost always result in a loss.
Focus/Aggression - Something is terribly wrong when Dudley comes into the game and out hustles our bench. We have to come into game 3 as if it were a game 7 and get at least one win under our belts.

Strength of Schedule

We're at home, finally.

Last Time They Met

A great writeup of a terrible loss can be read here.

Some Other Reading

Suns

Bright Side of the Sun - Bright Side of the Sun - These guys are our SBN siblings for Phoenix. It seems like a few of their trolls are showing their *shudder*--support--for Phoenix.
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: The best TrueHoop team blog is still going strong, "pounding" out some of the best analysis there is on our beloved Spurs.
Project Spurs: Check out their regular podcasts. I think they love Manu as much as we do, if that's possible.

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be aired nationwide on ESPN. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel.

Online

As always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Most Spurs games 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. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to poundingtherockmail@yahoo.com for more assistance.

NBA 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).