AT&T Center San Antonio, Texas 5/2/1012 , 6 p.m. TV: TNT- RADIO: WOAI
The Spurs and Jazz played a close game for the first half of Game 1 but the Spurs blew it open in the 3rd. Led by the veteran play of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson, the Spurs forced Utah to play at San Antonio's pace. The question for Game 2 is what adjustments, if any, the two teams will make.
The Spurs and Jazz played a close game for the first half of Game 1 but the Spurs blew it open in the 3rd. Led by the veteran play of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson, the Spurs forced Utah to play at San Antonio's pace. The question for Game 2 is what adjustments, if any, the two teams will make.
What can we expect from the Spurs in Game 2?
Tony, Tony, Tony. He has taken over the leadership mantle of the Spurs. His steady presence has been felt all season and will need to continue after a dominating performance in Game 1. The guard play from the Jazz has little hope of slowing the wee Frenchman down. "He is the reason that we have been successful thus far this season," Pop said at the end of Game 1. And he will be the reason for any continue success of the Spurs in these playoffs.
Not to be forgotten, Tim Duncan will be there as well, being once again the defensive anchor of this well-seasoned team. The future Hall-of-Famer may be on his final tour of the playoffs, but the way he has played this season could be an indicator of a returning Tim Duncan. One player in particular has enjoyed playing against the "old man." Before the start of Game 1, Al Jefferson told Tim Duncan that it was a great honor to play against him in the playoffs. And although the pundits will continue to marvel at the ability of Duncan to play at this level, Al Jefferson expressed that Tim is not as old as everyone seems to believe.
BONUS STAT *Tony shot 75% 9/12 in the paint against the Jazz in Game 1
BONUS STORY* Bottom of Page - Old Entellus of the Aeneid, dedicated to Tim Duncan
So what will the Jazz attempt to do in Game 2?
The arguments have been made, Here and Here that in order for the Jazz to win this series, they are going to have to slow the Spurs offense down. Yet, it is much easier to know what to do than to actually implement it.
Considering that the Jazz are a talented, up and coming team, they will have some growing up to do in this series if they have any hope of knocking of the heavily favored Spurs. They will be looking to slow down the smaller, faster Spurs. San Antonio loves to run and cut through the opposition's transition defense before they have a chance to set up. On the opposite side, the Spurs' transition defense is great at getting back and defending before the opposing offense can exploit them. Generally only one big man is left to rebound a missed shot by the Spurs. The other big man is already running down the floor with his other three teammates to set up the defense. Poor offensive rebounding is a direct result of Pop's tactic. Although poor offensive rebounding is a weakness, it is a detriment that Pop has chosen.
In order for the Jazz to slow down the Spurs they will be forced to counter-act this tactic of Pop's and change how they play their own game. Will Ty Corbin be willing to change his transition defense to slow the running Spurs? As a rookie coach, we have already witnessed his willingness to alter his starting line up to accommodate a superior foe. By startingJosh Howard, Corbin left a familiar, winning line up for an attempt at an advantage with an experienced veteran. Unfortunately for him, that experienced veteran had almost no positive impact on the game.
Corbin also failed to play his big lineup for an extended period of time."I had to change it a little bit because they went small a couple times, and I didn’t feel good about our big lineup," he said. "They ran out a little bit on us and then they spread the floor." Given that Corbin has no playoff experience as a coach other than Game 1, and he has already shown a tendency to adapt, it appears that Corbin would be willing to not only change his starting line up again but to also change how his players play their game.And once again, Corbin will be twisting and turning in the trap that he set for himself all the while second guessing himself with his hypnotizing mantra, "This team (Spurs) is great at taking advantage of any mistakes."
Lineups
Starters PG: Tony Parker SG:Danny Green SF:Kawhi Leonard PF: Tim Duncan C:Boris Diaw
Key Bench Players Gary Neal Manu Ginobili Stephen Jackson
Lineups
Starters PG:Devin Harris SG:Gordon Hayward SF: Josh Howard PF:Paul Millsap C: Al Jefferson
NBA Stats Cube Lineup Comparison Here. Utah Jazz perspective can be found here: SLC Dunk
Game Prediction: Spurs by 9
As always Tony must dominate Fisher, and 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.
Aeneid Book V
Then haughty Dares in the lists appears;
Stalking he strides, his head erected bears:
His nervous arms the weighty gauntlet wield,
And loud applauses echo thro' the field.
Dares alone in combat us'd to stand
The match of mighty Paris, hand to hand;
The same, at Hector's fun'rals, undertook
Gigantic Butes, of th' Amycian stock,
And, by the stroke of his resistless hand,
Stretch'd the vast bulk upon the yellow sand.
Such Dares was; and such he strode along,
And drew the wonder of the gazing throng.
His brawny back and ample breast he shows,
His lifted arms around his head he throws,
And deals in whistling air his empty blows.
His match is sought; but, thro' the trembling band,
Not one dares answer to the proud demand.
Presuming of his force, with sparkling eyes
Already he devours the promis'd prize.
He claims the bull with awless insolence,
And having seiz'd his horns, accosts the prince:
"If none my matchless valor dares oppose,
How long shall Dares wait his dastard foes?
Permit me, chief, permit without delay,
To lead this uncontended gift away."
The crowd assents, and with redoubled cries
For the proud challenger demands the prize.
Acestes, fir'd with just disdain, to see
The palm usurp'd without a victory,
Reproach'd Entellus thus, who sate beside,
And heard and saw, unmov'd, the Trojan's pride:
"Once, but in vain, a champion of renown,
So tamely can you bear the ravish'd crown,
A prize in triumph borne before your sight,
And shun, for fear, the danger of the fight?
Where is our Eryx now, the boasted name,
The god who taught your thund'ring arm the game?
Where now your baffled honor? Where the spoil
That fill'd your house, and fame that fill'd our isle?"
Entellus, thus: "My soul is still the same,
Unmov'd with fear, and mov'd with martial fame;
But my chill blood is curdled in my veins,
And scarce the shadow of a man remains.
O could I turn to that fair prime again,
That prime of which this boaster is so vain,
The brave, who this decrepid age defies,
Should feel my force, without the promis'd prize."
He said; and, rising at the word, he threw
Two pond'rous gauntlets down in open view;
Gauntlets which Eryx wont in fight to wield,
And sheathe his hands with in the listed field.
With fear and wonder seiz'd, the crowd beholds
The gloves of death, with sev'n distinguish'd folds
Of tough bull hides; the space within is spread
With iron, or with loads of heavy lead:
Dares himself was daunted at the sight,
Renounc'd his challenge, and refus'd to fight.
Astonish'd at their weight, the hero stands,
And pois'd the pond'rous engines in his hands.
"What had your wonder," said Entellus, "been,
Had you the gauntlets of Alcides seen,
Or view'd the stern debate on this unhappy green!
These which I bear your brother Eryx bore,
Still mark'd with batter'd brains and mingled gore.
With these he long sustain'd th' Herculean arm;
And these I wielded while my blood was warm,
This languish'd frame while better spirits fed,
Ere age unstrung my nerves, or time o'ersnow'd my head.
But if the challenger these arms refuse,
And cannot wield their weight, or dare not use;
If great Aeneas and Acestes join
In his request, these gauntlets I resign;
Let us with equal arms perform the fight,
And let him leave to fear, since I resign my right."
This said, Entellus for the strife prepares;
Stripp'd of his quilted coat, his body bares;
Compos'd of mighty bones and brawn he stands,
A goodly tow'ring object on the sands.
Then just Aeneas equal arms supplied,
Which round their shoulders to their wrists they tied.
Both on the tiptoe stand, at full extent,
Their arms aloft, their bodies inly bent;
Their heads from aiming blows they bear afar;
With clashing gauntlets then provoke the war.
One on his youth and pliant limbs relies;
One on his sinews and his giant size.
The last is stiff with age, his motion slow;
He heaves for breath, he staggers to and fro,
And clouds of issuing smoke his nostrils loudly blow.
Yet equal in success, they ward, they strike;
Their ways are diff'rent, but their art alike.
Before, behind, the blows are dealt; around
Their hollow sides the rattling thumps resound.
A storm of strokes, well meant, with fury flies,
And errs about their temples, ears, and eyes.
Nor always errs; for oft the gauntlet draws
A sweeping stroke along the crackling jaws.
Heavy with age, Entellus stands his ground,
But with his warping body wards the wound.
His hand and watchful eye keep even pace;
While Dares traverses and shifts his place,
And, like a captain who beleaguers round
Some strong-built castle on a rising ground,
Views all th' approaches with observing eyes:
This and that other part in vain he tries,
And more on industry than force relies.
With hands on high, Entellus threats the foe;
But Dares watch'd the motion from below,
And slipp'd aside, and shunn'd the long descending blow.
Entellus wastes his forces on the wind,
And, thus deluded of the stroke design'd,
Headlong and heavy fell; his ample breast
And weighty limbs his ancient mother press'd.
So falls a hollow pine, that long had stood
On Ida's height, or Erymanthus' wood,
Torn from the roots. The diff'ring nations rise,
And shouts and mingled murmurs rend the skies,
Acestus runs with eager haste, to raise
The fall'n companion of his youthful days.
Dauntless he rose, and to the fight return'd;
With shame his glowing cheeks, his eyes with fury burn'd.
Disdain and conscious virtue fir'd his breast,
And with redoubled force his foe he press'd.
He lays on load with either hand, amain,
And headlong drives the Trojan o'er the plain;
Nor stops, nor stays; nor rest nor breath allows;
But storms of strokes descend about his brows,
A rattling tempest, and a hail of blows.
But now the prince, who saw the wild increase
Of wounds, commands the combatants to cease,
And bounds Entellus' wrath, and bids the peace.
First to the Trojan, spent with toil, he came,
And sooth'd his sorrow for the suffer'd shame.
"What fury seiz'd my friend? The gods," said he,
"To him propitious, and averse to thee,
Have giv'n his arm superior force to thine.
'T is madness to contend with strength divine."
The gauntlet fight thus ended, from the shore
His faithful friends unhappy Dares bore:
His mouth and nostrils pour'd a purple flood,
And pounded teeth came rushing with his blood.
Faintly he stagger'd thro' the hissing throng,
And hung his head, and trail'd his legs along.
The sword and casque are carried by his train;
But with his foe the palm and ox remain.
The champion, then, before Aeneas came,
Proud of his prize, but prouder of his fame:
"O goddess-born, and you, Dardanian host,
Mark with attention, and forgive my boast;
Learn what I was, by what remains; and know
From what impending fate you sav'd my foe."
Sternly he spoke, and then confronts the bull;
And, on his ample forehead aiming full,
The deadly stroke, descending, pierc'd the skull.
Down drops the beast, nor needs a second wound,
But sprawls in pangs of death, and spurns the ground.
Then, thus: "In Dares' stead I offer this.
Eryx, accept a nobler sacrifice;
Take the last gift my wither'd arms can yield:
Thy gauntlets I resign, and here renounce the field."
