Thursday, February 11th, 2010...2:38 pm
Game Preview: Spurs @ Nuggets
Pending any unforeseen (or speculated) trade, tonight offers the last opportunity for the Spurs to make the Rodeo Road Trip a success in the court of public opinion.
Chances are the Spurs sweep the remaining road games following the All-Star break at Indiana, Philadelphia and Detroit. But feasting on hapless opponents is nothing new this season.
For all the disappointing performances the Spurs have come up with against elite teams that have been less than whole, a win tonight with a relatively healthy Nuggets team would ease a lot of minds heading into the All-Star break.
The Nuggets are now widely considered the team with the greatest chance of unseating the Lakers in the Western Conference this spring. And given the performances of the Spurs and Nuggets in last year’s playoffs, perhaps that’s the way it should have been all along.
In the last meeting, Denver crushed any momentum the Spurs had after impressive wins over Atlanta and Memphis. This time the Spurs will have to answer to Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony returned from ankle injury on Tuesday, scoring 19 points in 30 minutes in a route of the Dallas Mavericks. Needless to say, small forward will be the matchup of the night and the Spurs will need Richard Jefferson to offset some of the damage Anthony will likely inflict.
Spurs fans have been complaining about Jefferson’s lack of production all season, but the national media has finally caught up. This past week nearly every major sports site placed Jefferson at the top of the biggest offseason busts list with some hints that Spurs are finally losing patience.
With the trade deadline looming, tonight is the last impression the Spurs will be able to make in deciding whether or not to shake up their roster.
23 Comments
February 11th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
At this point I’ll take Tyrus Thomas even if he’s packaged with Kirk Hinrich. Especially if the Spurs find some way to keep Ginobili as well. Think about it, Parker and Hinrich at the 1. Ginobili and Hill run the 2. I like it.
February 11th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
“…tonight is the last impression the Spurs will be able to make in deciding whether or not to shake up their roster”
I don’t really know what I should hope for then tonight…so if we win we probably won’t do anything? I somehow hope for a move though…
Even with a win tonight I still won’t think we’d be able to beat the Nuggets/Lakers/Mavs…in a 7 game series!
February 11th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Nuggets have earned the title of WC favorite, not just most likely to beat LA. If we’re going to judge teams on the categories of head to head wins, record vs opponents over .500 and ability to win when star players are injured, Denver is on top. They are currently the team to beat in the West and thus the team the Spurs most need to compare themselves.
In most playoff scenarios I imagine, Denver would also be a more likely first or second round opponent for the Spurs, meaning this is the team we’d have to beat to then reach the Lakers. So tonight is a measuring stick.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
I am excited for this game, although I am unsure why. I keep hoping that RJ will have just a half ass good game. Then there is also that miniscule part of my brain that wants him to come out and have a 30 point break-through night.
While it is highly probable that neither will happen, I am still anxious for 9:30.
I really wish that more Spurs games were nationally telivised, ATT U-verse doesn’t offer league pass.
On another note, has anyone noticed Timmy’s production dropping off? Right after Bonner broke his hand, we hit a good stride and were rolling. This is when Timmy was playing his best ball. Shooting was just over 50% and he was shooting his 14 ft jumper off the glass.
In other news - Malik Hairston is consuming the D-League. Dwayne Jones, another not good enough to earn playing time under Pop, is averaging 17 points and 15 rebounds on 61% shooting.
I am sick of all the young talent that gets wasted/traded away.
February 11th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Tydus,
There’s no way the spurs take back Hinrich. we’d never do it simply because it DESTROYS our cap for years to come. He’s way to expensive. More than likely, the capper on a deal would be if Chicago asked for Tiago Splitter.
If we could get Salmons/Thomas for Mason/Bonner/Finley, I say we do it. Mason is finding it harder to find PT now that Hill has taken his minutes, and I actively hate both Bonner and Finley. Adds youth, size, and athleticism
February 11th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Spurs are not going to take back Salmons contract. Spurs only take back a contract if the Cavs offer up Lebron for expiring deals.
February 11th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Parker is out tonight, “left hip flexor strain”. We’ll see how Hill does, especially guarding Billups who pretty much took him to school last game.
February 11th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
I read on espn I believe that Tyrus Thomas is only available for a 1st rounder and an expiring contract.
This is the game Jefferson finally needs to step up. The spotlight is on Jefferson now on a national level. Make or break time. I’m gritting for the former.
Not just Anthony, but Billups is who we also need to watch out for. Hopefully Nene doesn’t get too many touches and JR Smith does not get hot. A lot of hopes.
February 11th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I also think Timmy needs to step it up. I’m going to say it once more, he has not been playing all that well. We need more than 12 points from him.
I got Timmy down for 6 pts in the All-Star game… sorry … he’s just old.
I can already hear myself cursing at the TV
“f***** JEFFERSON”, lol
That said, I do hope we see a huge turn around today, but I’m being pessimistic these days…
GO SPURS GO
February 11th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
SpurredOn
February 11th, 2010 at 3:45 pm Nuggets have earned the title of WC favorite, not just most likely to beat LA. If we’re going to judge teams on the categories of head to head wins, record vs opponents over .500 and ability to win when star players are injured, Denver is on top.
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I’m confused. What does this actually mean? I know you must hate the Lakers, but living your dreams of Laker domination through another team (Nuggets) is kind of funny. You list 3 criteria,
1) head to head wins
2) record vs opponents over 500
3) Ability to win when star player is injured
Well, i’m not sure why you picked these three. Obviously they were not at random, but pre-determined to reach your end goal (saying the Lakers are not good). If you’re being fair, only 1 of those even matters and that’s the 2nd one. The other 2 are almost meaningless. head to head matters why exactly? The last 2 NBA champions (Lakers 09, Celtics 08) both played their opponents twice in the regular season of that year. The Celtics played the Lakers twice in 08, and the Lakers played the Magic twice in 09. Guess what, the loser of the NBA finals swept the champion both times. Yes, the Lakers beat the Celtics twice in 08 and never lost to them, and the Magic beat the lakers twice last year and never lost to them…of course until the NBA championship. Not to mention that we are talking about just 2-4 games anyways. No way 2-4 games actually has any signficance. But your 3rd criteria, “winning without your star,” is absolutely and completely meaningless. Why would it matter? If the star is not there, then they won’t win anyway, and if he is there, then your point is moot.
February 11th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Wow! What a quandry I’m in. Do I root for the Spurs to win or lose this game? I think we see major changes if the Spurs are embarrassed tonight which is what I believe we need in order to be competetive in the future. If the Spurs eek out a win, then everything probably stays the same including losing 8 out of 10 games to playoff teams.
In reality, the Spurs lose this game especially with Parker out. I can see the Spurs losing easily by 12-15 pts. Gang, we really do need to fold this year and begin to stock up for the next couple of years. A win tonight would just perpetuate the misery and encourage the pipe dream that they can turn this disaster around. I love this team, but its time to move on…
February 11th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
I remember alot of talk like this when Robinson was getting to old. It only takes a great pick and some determined players to win it all, and who cares if your team is favored to win it all. If the spurs were favored would that change how we felt about them, I would hope not. Then again I’ve been a spurs fan for a long time, a couple losses won’t change that.
February 11th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I hope the outcome of this game does not affect what they do before the trade deadline….Plus if we lose this game I am gonna have this sick feeling for the whole weekend….oh well…
Ww need to make a move….we need a big to help TD and a TT,Camby,Murphy or Amare(not gonna happen) to get us to the next level…
February 11th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
man… I love Spurs defense… they are playing pretty damn decent so far..
February 11th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
can you guys add a live chat to this website during game time?
February 11th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
i’m ready to trade Parker so I really rooting for a win tonight against a team with billups and melo both playing, but not k-mart (who destroyed the spurs the last time around.)
February 11th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Live chat would be great, especially for games not on ESPN/TNT in the non-San Antonio region. My best “watching” of the game at that point is ESPN Gamecast, not the most exciting.
But a live chat at anytime with questions from fans would be awesome!
February 11th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
I personally hate the chat from the Spurs.com since the moderators are annoying and their system is super slow (maybe they take too long to moderate) and I feel like by the time you see the message it is already irrelevant. Chat!! Chat!! Chat!!
February 11th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Why oh Why can’t they play this way every night!!!
February 11th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Nice win! RJ didn’t play half bad…earned about 1/3 of his game pay. Keep it up dude! We would have won by 30 or more, except for a bunch of crappy/phantom calls from the home refs…
Unfortunately I don’t think this quite washes away the stain from the losses to LAL and PDX. Let’s hope our guys don’t come back from the break with too much rust.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Tyler,
True, I don’t think the Spurs take Hinrich back either. I’m just saying that at this point i’d do it. Although you bring up the point of Splitter, if the only way to get a deal done is to ship him out then I’d be fairly hesitant to do it.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I think it’s now time for all us spurs fans to get off them for the rest of the season and get behind them. Let’s see how good they can become as a team. They absolutely dismantled the nuggets mile high. Come on !!!!!!!
February 12th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
This game only shows a little of what the Spurs can do when They play hard. I’m hoping this can be a jumping off place for them. The problem has never been about the quality of the players its been about exuction and hustle. The Spurs in the past have had off nights of shooting but becuse of thier defense they often as not would still win the game. Against Denver they looked like a championship caliber team the only question is which team comes out of the allstar break. Cross your fingers.
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