Game #78 Preview: Spurs @ Hawks

The Spurs beat the Suns in the last game. Here's hoping that was the start of a new winning streak.

In honor of Matty finally breaking out of his slump (I really, really hope) last game, I present today's musical selection:

Major hack preview below:

San Antonio Spurs @ Atlanta Hawks Where: Philips Arena When: 04/05/2011, 6:00 PM Spurs Time - Timezone Converter Watch: FSSW By the Numbers Data sources: hoopdata.com | basketball-reference.com | John Hollinger's team stats
Category Offense (rank) Defense (rank) Efficiency Rating 109.1 (2nd) 102.0 (8th) Rebound % 24.9 (21st) 74.5 (13th) Field Goal % 47.4 (4th) 45.6 (12th) 3-Point % 39.8 (1st) 37.0 (24th) Free Throw % 76.5 (16th) 76.3 (15th) Turnover % 12.9 (8th) 12.7 (25th) Assist % 59.4 (10th) 54.0 (3rd)			Category Offense (rank) Defense (rank) Efficiency Rating 103.5 (19th) 104.3 (15th) Rebound % 23.5 (29th) 74.9 (9th) Field Goal % 46.3 (11th) 45.7 (14th) 3-Point % 35.3 (17th) 33.9 (5th) Free Throw % 78.2 (6th) 77.3 (25th) Turnover % 13.4 (16th) 12.3 (29th) Assist % 61.3 (4th) 58.4 (19th)
Record Wins Losses Overall 58 19 Conference 36 12 Division 10 6 Home 34 5 Away 24 14 Position Conference Division Record 1st 1st Lineups Starters PG: Tony Parker SG: Manu Ginobili SF: Richard Jefferson PF: Antonio McDyess C: Tim Duncan Key Bench Players George Hill DeJuan Blair Gary Neal Tiago Splitter Some Redhead			Record Wins Losses Overall 44 33 Conference 31 17 Division 9 4 Home 24 15 Away 20 18 Position Conference Division Record 5th 3rd Lineups Starters PG: Kirk Hinrich SG: Joe Johnson SF: Marvin Williams PF: Josh Smith C: Al Horford Key Bench Players Jamal Crawford Zaza Pachulia Jeff Teague Jason Collins

Matchup Analysis

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

Starters

PG: Parker needs to drive the paint against Hinrich. I'd love to see the OMFB again and again.

SG: I've always viewed Johnson as slightly overrated, but his numbers this year compare favorably to Manu's (go ahead and yell at me). Manu needs to stop shooting so many threes and get back to video-game-god mode.

SF: RJ torched Atlanta the last time we played. Give him the ball early.

PF: Smith has stopped shooting so many threes this year. Dice needs to start hitting his jumper again.

C: Timmeh is Timmeh, but Horford is a young beast.

Bench

Atlanta has a short bench, playing only 8-9 guys the last few games. BAM needs to continue living up to its name.

Coaching

As frustrating as Pop's rotations have been sometimes, I'll still take him over Larry Drew.

Intangibles

The Spurs finally won again, and the Hawks lost to the Rockets. Each team is coming off a day of rest, although this is a FIGABABA as well as FOGASINI for the Spurs.

Mojo

THE MOJO IS DEAD!

Prediction

The Spurs will win.

Key to the Game

Drive to the basket - The Hawks defend the 3-point line well, so the Spurs need to stop jacking so many three balls and attack the paint.

Play defense - Why not? It would be good practice for the playoffs.

Other Reading

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell

Spurs Planet - Our old friend Wayne Vore is back.

Project Spurs

Spurs Nation

OPPONENT

Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation)

Following Along

TV

FSSW

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.