Happy New Year!
 San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunder Where: AT&T Center When: 1/1/2011, 7:30PM Spurs Time - Timezone Converter Watch: FSSW
By the Numbers
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Lineups
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Lineups
Starters
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Matchup Analysis
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Bench | |
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Coach | |
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Intangibles | |
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Mojo | |
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Winner |
Starters
PG: Tony had a down game against the stellar Mavs interior defense. OKC does not have such a defense, so Tony should be back to his old ways. Westbrook has continued his vast improvement shown with the national team this summer. The Thunder has two legitimate stars now.
SG: Manu was still under the weather against the Mavs, although he shot much better from behind the arc. Sefolosha is a rangy defender and a good rebounder, but he'll have his hands full trying to shut down The Sickness.
SF: I love what RJ 2.0 has shown this year. However, he has to guard the Durantula tonight. It might be a case of let Durant get his, but not anyone else.
PF: Green and Blair are both energy guys who grab boards. It'll be interesting to see how Blair responds to playing someone who isn't significantly bigger.
C: Timmeh is still capable of carrying the Spurs when needed (see Mavs game). Krstic is not Timmeh.
Bench
Hill, Neal and Bonner versus Harden, Ibaka and Maynor. I'll take BAM.
Coaching
Brooks has done a great job with a young team, but defense has struggled this year. Pop thinks our defense stinks.
Intangibles
The Thunder won last night, but are on a SEGABABA and are not great on the road. The Spurs are coming off two big wins and have been great at home.
Mojo
The Spurs are off to their best start in franchise history. The Thunder are a young team which hasn't made the leap yet.
Prediction
Even when the Spurs haven't played great this year, they've still won. The offensive machine should fare well enough against the Thunder defense to win.
Key(s) to the Game
Defense - The Thunder are not a high-assist team. The Spurs need to play tight defense and make buckets tough to come by.
3-Pt Shooting - The Spurs shoot a lot of 3 balls. The Thunder do not defend the arc well.
Other Reading
Spurs
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