Pounding The Rock - Full Coverage: San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix SunsFor all your Manu Ginobili loving and San Antonio Spurs newshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/12497/ptr-fv.jpg2013-12-19T01:32:09-06:00http://www.poundingtherock.com/rss/stream/49895872013-12-19T01:32:09-06:002013-12-19T01:32:09-06:00Manu Ginobili finishes off the Suns for Spurs
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<p>The Argentinian jack-of-all-trades provided the lift the Spurs needed to put away the Suns in another turnover-fest. </p> <h4><br></h4>
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<h4><span>The Game</span></h4>
<p>With <span>Tony Parker</span> out nursing a shin contusion, Popovich started <span>Cory Joseph</span> in his place and moved <span>Marco Belinelli</span> into the starting lineup for Danny Green. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> didn't look very sharp with this lineup, and Pop inserted Ginobili, Diaw, and Mills halfway through the quarter. The offense picked up, but the Spurs' defense continued to allow the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Suns</a> to score at a high clip. The Suns finished the quarter with 34 points on 60% shooting, including 5-of-5 from deep. <span>Channing Frye</span> was great, going 5-of-5 in the first five minutes of the game, and he finished the quarter a perfect 6-of-6 with half of his attempts from distance. The Suns looked Spurs-y in the first quarter, and nine of their 12 makes were assisted.</p>
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<p>I'm not sure why Jeff Hornacek kept Channing Frye on the bench for so long after his incredible first quarter. He spent the first eight minutes of the second on the pine. That long layoff may have cooled him down, or it could have been the Spurs deciding not to give him wide open looks, but he missed his only shot of the second and turned the ball over on another possession. Speaking of turnovers, the first half of this contest was filled with them, and the teams combined for 22. Both teams were also lacking on the defensive end, and they combined for 117 first half points. The Spurs took a one-point lead into the break.</p>
<p>After another quarter of sloppy play by both teams the Spurs took a six point lead into the fourth. During the third this crazy sequence happened:</p>
<p><img src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3741523/crazy_sequence.gif" class="photo" alt="Crazy_sequence"></p>
<p>That was quite the ugly sequence. First, we see Plumlee decide to press Patty, who then sends a so-so outlet-pass to Ginobili who manages to miss a bunny. Manu immediately realizes he isn't going to score, grabs his own miss, and then make a weird sidearm cross-court pass to Danny, who by the time the ball gets to him is no longer open, but he jacks up a shot anyway. The ball takes an awkward bounce into Splitter's hands (notice the furious Popovich that wants a reset), and he feeds it to Manu who makes a great pass to Danny. I guess...that was <i>good? </i></p>
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<p>The Suns used a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to take a two-point lead. <span>Manu Ginobili</span> had an all-hustle put-back to stop the bleeding for the Spurs, who had not scored in over four minutes, and had only scored four points in the first eight minutes of the fourth. This knotted the game at 95 apiece. <span>Eric Bledsoe</span> then tried to sell a foul, and when he didn't get the call, he committed a frustration foul. Ginobili knocked down a three after the inbounds to give the Spurs a three point advantage.</p>
<p>Let's take a break from the game and talk about Manu Ginobili for a minute. The Manu had a great game tonight. What Manu brought tonight won't show up in the stat sheet, well, he did have a good night in a traditional sense, but more importantly, every time the Spurs needed a spark tonight , the Argentine delivered. Yes, he turned the ball over five times, but he kept his team in the game when they needed him, and he was the best player on the floor during the critical final-stretch of the game. I've seen enough of Manu this year to feel comfortable saying that he is having a bounce-back season. He looks strong and fearless, and his shot is falling. A resurgent Manu should cause the rest of the league to worry just a little.</p>
<p>Let's get back to the game, and more of Manu. Two possessions after the triple Manu hit to put the Spurs up three, he received a pass from Boris and scored. He then stole the ball on the ensuing play, and the possession unfortunately ended in a <span>Patty Mills</span> miss. Ginobili did draw two fouls that sandwiched a Timmy layup and he converted on all four of his free throws to put the game away.</p>
<p>The Spurs outscored the Suns 15-6 in the final four minutes of this game, with the Magician scoring 11. After all the talk about the bench, Tim and Manu have reminded us all that they are truly special players. I'll continue to remind everyone that we are an extremely lucky bunch, and I won't stop until they hang 'em up, sorry.</p>
<h4>Observations:</h4>
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<li><span>Tim Duncan. This is the fifth game in a row that Timmy has registered a double-double. Tonight he finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with his three blocks, three assists, and two steals. I caught yesterday's episode of The Mothership's <i>Pardon the Interruption, a</i>nd one of the topics was 'who would you take for this season, Tim or Blake?' Tony Kornheiser said that this might be the season you should take Blake Griffin, and Mike Wilbon responded with something like: <i>maybe, just maybe, during some season the correct answer will be Blake, but not this one. I still have Timmy in my top-10 players in the league.</i> Darn right! The Ageless One continues to get it done, just as he has for the previous 42,064 minutes he had played coming into tonight. </span></li>
<li><span>I saw someone on Twitter remark that this was the worst game that Kawhi had played in his career. What?! Kawhi struggled a little when he was handling the ball, and he didn''t shoot well, but he had six rebounds, a couple of assists, and I never thought he wasn't playing well on the defensive side of the floor - even if I don't think it was a remarkable defensive performance. It's funny what non-Spurs fans can take away from a game. </span></li>
<li><span>The Suns ball movement didn't carry over from their crazy first quarter. They notched nine assists in that quarter and only seven for the rest of the game. </span></li>
<li><span><span>Goran Dragic</span> is having a fine season, and he is still annoying the Spurs. He didn't have the greatest game tonight, but he did have several drives to the hole where he finished pretty tough shots. He was also the only player for the Suns that managed to score in the last five minutes of the game. </span></li>
<li><span>The Spurs have won 80% of their games, but in the wild Western Conference they sit in third place at the moment. That's crazy. </span></li>
<li><span><span>Miles Plumlee</span> did a decent job against Duncan tonight. He stole the ball a couple of times and forced Tim into a couple of tough shots. Who is Miles Plumlee, you ask? He's just a guy that was relegated to the D-League last year, but has made the most of his opportunity with the Suns this year. He finished the night with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and a couple blocks to go along with his steals. This Suns team is playing well without having anyone that is even in the all-star conversation. Apologies to Eric Bledsoe, but there are way too many good guards in the West for him to be in the conversation.</span></li>
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<p>This was a good win tonight against a good team, and the Spurs go into the always rockin' Oracle Arena to face the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Warriors</a>, who just got <span>Andre Iguodala</span> back, tomorrow night. Getting a win in Golden State on a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/pages/ptr-lexicon#SEGABABA">SEGABABA </a>without Tony Parker seems like a much tougher task than beating the Suns tonight. With tomorrow night's late game being a SEGATENI (seventh game in ten nights) we might see Pop rest Timmy with Oklahoma City visiting the Alamo City on Saturday night. Who knows though, Timmy has been on a roll, and he might really fight to play.</p>
<p>For the opponents perspective visit <a href="http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Of Mind</a>.</p>
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https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/19/5226196/recap-spurs-finish-strong-beat-suns-109-101Chris Itz2013-12-18T22:38:06-06:002013-12-18T22:38:06-06:00Final Score: Spurs outlast Suns, win 109-101
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<p>In a sloppy game by both teams, the Spurs had Manu Ginoblili, and he propelled the Good Guys to victory in this one. </p> <p></p>
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<th class="td-left"> <span>Final - 12.18.2013 </span> </th> <th>1</th> <th>2</th> <th>3</th> <th>4</th> <th>Total</th>
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<td class="td-name"><span class="win"> <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">San Antonio Spurs</a> </span></td>
<td>29</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>21</td>
<td class="highlight">108</td>
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<td class="td-name"><span class="loss"> <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a> </span></td>
<td>34</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>20</td>
<td class="highlight">101</td>
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<p class="foot clearfix"><span class="link-more"><span>Complete Coverage ></span></span></p>
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<p>This was a tightly contested game. <span>Channing Frye</span> was unstoppable for the Suns early on. The Spurs were sloppy, and their defense wasn't effective in the way that we are used to. The Suns shot over 50% for most of this game.</p>
<p>In the end, we had The Manu, and he made several plays when it counted to lead the team over the young Suns. If you haven't already heard, <span>Tim Duncan</span> had played more career minutes than the entire Suns roster coming into this game. What?!</p>
<p>Your Spurs get a nice win and improve to 20-5 for the year.</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/18/5225978/final-scoreChris Itz2013-12-18T03:00:02-06:002013-12-18T03:00:02-06:00Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns
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<p>The Spurs matchup against the upstart Phoenix Suns, who have been surprising nearly everyone on their way to a 14-9 record. </p> <div id="preview-wrapper">
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<h4><b>San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns</b></h4>
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ<br>December 18, 2013, 8:00 PM Spurs Time<br> TV: FSSW - RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI</div>
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<p dir="ltr">The long week ended up costing San Antonio as the Spurs dropped Monday's road-contest with the Los Angeles Clippers, snapping a four-game winning-streak. Let's get this out of the way: there are no big wins or big losses for the Spurs in December. If the Spurs have anything to feel bad about going into tonight's game with a surging Phoenix Suns team, it's the health of Tony Parker's right shin, an injury that forced Parker to miss the final quarter and a half against the Clippers.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">The loss to the Clippers was more about the grind of the regular season and the injury to Tony Parker than an indictment of where the Spurs are early in the season. Los Angeles is a quality team that should be considered a contender in the West, so there is no shame dropping a road-game to a top-four team in the best conference in basketball. San Antonio turned the ball over and didn't get the 50/50 balls; two things the Spurs normally do a great job of, and it could have come down to the game being the fifth in seven days for the Spurs.</p>
<p dir="ltr">San Antonio received a day off to rest its legs and recover for a shockingly good Suns team that is riding a five-game winning-streak and most recently knocked off Golden State, 106-102 on Sunday. Phoenix is 14-9 on the season and would be the six-seed in the Western Conference if the season ended today. Not bad for a team most projected to compete for the top-spot in the upcoming lottery.</p>
<p><span>Instead, Phoenix is surging behind the stellar play of Eric Bledsoe and the emerging talent of Miles Plumlee. This is still a league that rewards teams with an inside-out duo and those two are becoming a Cinderella story of sorts. Bledsoe leads the team in points (19.5), assists (6.4), and steals (1.8). He is also has a PER of 22.2. Plumlee, on the other hand, has become a force on the boards and as a shot blocker, which is something Phoenix hasn't had in a very long time. Plumlee leads the team with 8.4 rebounds and two blocks per game. He averages just less than 10 points a game, but his offense is coming around, and he is a guy that Phoenix doesn't have to draw up plays for because of his activeness on the glass.</span></p>
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<p><span>Phoenix is an interesting team on offense because it has no point guard and two point guards at the same time. Technically, Bledsoe runs the point with Goran Dragic listed as the shooting guard, but either is capable of running the point while neither is a true point guard in an old-school sense. Dragic's ability to play off of the ball has turned the Suns backcourt into one of the more explosive units in the West. Dragic is averaging 19.1 points per game with 6.1 assists. Like Bledsoe, his PER is also over 20 on the season.</span></p>
<p><span>Channing Frye is a dangerous stretch-four that is still capable of putting up points in bunches, which he showed-off against Golden State in his last game out by scoring 20 points. He went five-of-seven from behind the arc. P.J. Tucker can be an offensive liability at small forward, but that is okay with the roster around him. He does the dirty work and has worked himself into a valuable NBA player.</span></p>
<p><span>The depth off of the bench for Phoenix can be light and that is what will play in San Antonio's favor if the Spurs can be close to full-strength in this game. Phoenix played just four guys off of the bench against Golden State with Alex Len out with an injury. That puts a lot of pressure on Markieff and Marcus Morris to be the top contributors off of the bench at forward with Gerald Green being the only guard that truly contributes.</span></p>
<p><span>Matchup to watch: It all comes down to if Tony Parker can play, because if he can't, Phoenix will have a decided advantage in the backcourt. Guarding Bledsoe and Dragic is a chore, but it becomes a task without your best guard. San Antonio should have an advantage down low and at the wing, so it comes down to the Spurs containing the production of Phoenix's guards.</span></p>
<p>[[Editor: After this was written Tony Parker was ruled out for the game against Phoenix and the game against the Warriors. ]]</p>
<p> </p>
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<td style="padding-top: 12px;" colspan="3"><center><img style="width: 120px; height: 76px;" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/img/2.0/sect/gameinfo/teamlogos/PHX.gif"></center></td>
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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 12px;"><b>Lineups</b></div>
<p><b>Starters</b><br><b>PG:</b> <span>Cory Joseph</span><br><b> SG:</b> <span>Danny Green</span><br><b> SF:</b> <span>Kawhi Leonard</span><br><b>PF:</b> <span>Tim Duncan</span><br><b>C:</b> <span>Tiago Splitter</span><br><br><b>Key Bench Players</b><br><span>Manu Ginobili</span><br><span>Boris Diaw</span><br><span>Marco Belinelli</span><br><br><b>Head Coach</b><br><span>Gregg Popovich</span></p>
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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 12px;"><b>Lineups</b></div>
<p><b>Starters</b><br><b>PG:</b> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/111516/eric-bledsoe#stories_tab" target="_blank">Eric Bledsoe</a><br><b>SG:</b> <span>Goran Dragic</span><br><b>SF:</b> <span>P.J. Tucker</span><br><b>PF:</b> <span>Miles Plumlee</span><br><b>C:</b> <span>Channing Frye</span><br><br><b>Key Bench Players</b><br><span>Markieff Morris</span><br><span>Marcus Morris</span><br><span>Gerald Green</span></p>
<br><b>Head Coach</b><br><p>Jeff Hornacek</p>
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<p>Suns perspective can be found here: <a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/" target="_blank">Bright Side Of The Sun</a></p>
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<p>Game Prediction: Spurs by 5.</p>
<p>As always <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/pages/ptr-lexicon#tonydominatefisher" target="_blank">Tony must dominate Fisher</a>, 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.</p>
<p>Get your San Antonio Spurs tickets from Daniel Farias with Spurs Sports & Entertainment:</p>
<p>Tel: 210-444-5607 | <span>dfarias@attcenter.com</span></p>
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https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/18/5221980/game-preview-san-antonio-spurs-vs-phoenix-sunsMike Craven