Well, how do ya like them apples? This is two games in a row that I get to preview against a once prominent Western Conference foe. As of the time of this writing, we escaped from the state of Florida with a 50/50 split (a big loss against the Heat, and an OT squeaker against the Magic), a home loss against the Kings on Friday, and another loss on Saturday night in Houston. Tonight we get our first look at the New Orleans Hornets, a team that has fallen on hard times, as of late. It’s no secret that our Spurs have been bitten by the injury bug and have been a bit sluggish at times, but hey, we could be the Hornets.
I mean this in the nicest way possible, but the cold hard truth is that New Orleans' fate this season was sealed before Christmas Day. The team is bankrupt, the NBA is still trying to sell them, and they more than likely would not have been able to keep all world-er Chris Paul. He had one foot out the door, no matter what face he put on for the media. After two plus seasons of speculation, on December 14th he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers Clippers. In exchange for Paul and two second round picks the Hornets received Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman and a first round draft pick. Oh, and they also lost David West via free agency to Boston Indiana, too.
Needless to say, the new players have struggled to mesh, and the team has sputtered to a 3-12 record - dead last in the West...-ern Conference, that is. Alright, that wasn't very nice. It's not to say that they haven't been in games, but losses are losses. They beat the both the Suns and Celtics to jump out to 2-0, but followed with six straight L's, then a W in Denver, and most recently 6 more L's a row. The Mavericks, Spurs, Thunder, Magic, Hawks and Heat will prove a tough row to hoe coming up as well. When it rains it pours, eh?
As of Friday, the Hornets rank 27th in points per game (86.7), fifth in rebounding, 24th in assists (18.5 per), and eighth overall in points allowed at 91.7. Our Spurs are currently fourth in points per game (100.6), 22nd in rebounding, second in assists (23.5 per), and 18th in points allowed at 96.1. Eric Gordon played on Wednesday, but reinjured his knee and is slated to miss about two to three more weeks, making New Orleans without its leading scorer tonight. On the boards they do not have a player averaging more than 8 per game, but two players over seven (Okafor and Kaman) and a third over five (Ariza). We have two guys pulling down more than six per (Duncan and Blair), and a third over five (Leonard). When it comes to the dreaded free throw shooting statistic, as a team, the Hornets are 16th in the NBA at 74.5%, while are Spurs are holding down the fort at 25th, shooting 71.7%. From the field our 47% (fourth overall) beats their 43% (21st overall). If all goes according to plan, we have the edge from down town as well - our 39.9% (third overall) to their 26.5% (third to last).
Thankfully, our guys had Sunday off. Tonight will be our third game in four days, and New Orleans' second in three. Our experience and a day off should give our regulars a chance to rest, but with these Spurs you just never know. Sometimes our guys insist on doing things the hard way (see: Heat, Miami and Magic, Orlando). This game could be a trap, and in order to avoid that, we must put it away early. We have New Orleans on the road tonight, off Tuesday, and then home to SA to face Atlanta on Wednesday. We'll need our guys nice and fresh for the Hawks who will have played Philly on Friday, Cleveland on Saturday, and Milwaukee on Monday (three possible wins in a row for them, coming into SA).
Keys to victory...
Let's rock.
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NBA Stats Cube Lineup Comparison Here. Hornets perspective can be found here: At The Hive
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.
0 recs | 34 comments
Since when are we no longer picking a winner?
alamobro - January 23, 2012
I pick YOU!
Jordan Leithart - January 23, 2012
lol….Hardy har har.
alamobro - January 23, 2012
grego21 - January 23, 2012
In Soviet Russia, winners pick youuu!
Spurs Yoda - January 23, 2012
I wish Tim could have rested this game instead of that one against the Rockets… well, I hope Tim sits this game out, too… and perhaps Tony could use a little rest as well. Pop could play Joseph to start at pg and perhaps use this game to provide opportunities for James Anderson, to get out of the funk he’s got himself into, and Thomas, to see if he really can play ball.
Tiago should start this game at C alongside Blair, who must slide down to PF.
Reylan - January 23, 2012
I think they’ll probably try to get out to a big lead and then rest guys. This is a nice bounce back opportunity and I think the guys will take advantage.
Big50 - January 23, 2012
Why does Reylan want to suit up the Toros? Are we tanking? When did this happen? I’m gone for a weekend and the panic button gets pushed.
Play the starters so we can win. We know we are capable of losing close ones without our best players, (thanks for that well-thought out experiment, Pop. It was well worth it.) Let’s just play the professional athletes that make millions to play sports. I know playing the best athletes in the world is a risky move, but let’s roll the dice and play them 30 minutes and pray that their bodies survive the 30 minutes of PLAYING BASKETBALL. We’re not sending them to Normandy. It’s not D-Day. We want them to jog up and down the court, hopefully putting a leather ball in a basket. Just play them.
Fred Silva - January 23, 2012
Cory Joseph cannot be trusted to start a PG. He has been about as good as I thought he’d be, which is to say not very good. Shelvin Mack would have been the better option. This could be a close game with the physical presence of Okafer combined with the inside scoring prowess of Landry and Caveman Islands. Also, Jack is one of the most improved players this year and will be a tough opponent for either Joseph or Parker.
Spurs win by 5.
DeJuan gets called for two push-offs, and 3 total fouls in the 1st quarter.
Tiago continues to excel with 16/10.
Jefferson goes 2-of-7 from the field, 1-of-5 3pt shooting.
wildcat110 - January 23, 2012
Over-reaction?
Big50 - January 23, 2012
What the… I don’t even….
Tim C. - January 23, 2012
Right.
Big50 - January 23, 2012
rec’d
spursfan87 - January 23, 2012
Damn, Chris Kaman really looks like a caveman! Fear the Beard 2.0?
TDzilla! - January 23, 2012
I’m really having a very hard time understandng what Blucas is trying to say about Duncan in his quote on your sig…
Reylan - January 23, 2012
Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDP6WMmmHko
TDzilla! - January 23, 2012
Nice work Ed. I think this is a good chance for the Spurs to take out some frustration and hopefully get some young guys (Anderson) some burn.
Big50 - January 23, 2012
Fuck it, Spurs by 20
spursfan87 - January 23, 2012
hopefully we’ll see Thomas and &erson play!
TDzilla! - January 23, 2012
Two years ago I sat behind the Houston Rockets bench (about 3 row) during a Spurs game in SA. Spurs just closed it out with 8 minutes left and the Rockets pulled all of there starters.
I very much hate the Lakers and Mavericks. Soooooo after about 3-4 extra large Dos Equis, (which I only have 1-2 budlight now) I stand up and let Trevor Ariza know a few choice words saying, “That’s right Ariza! Sit down! Game over! You suck! You should have never left LA!”
For those of you that followed him, his agent really screwed the entire situation up with the Lakers. I and my drunk self knew about this, and I usually know what to say to best get under a players skin to help get them off their game. (Lets just say I was 3rd row for the Mavs home game this year too.) Also its reflective of how much hes been passed around the league since.
Ariza did not take this kindly as a normal jab since he wished he was still in LA. He quickly turned around and pointed at me saying, " Why don’t you shut the F%^$ up! I don’t give a F%$$ what you think! Shut the hell up and sit the F@$% down!" — I was just amazed and my jaw dropped and started laughing. My friends were on the floor laughing hysterically. That would easily be a 10k fine if the NBA was aware of the conversation.
Spurs Yoda - January 23, 2012
+1 for humiliating a rival player.
ironm8 - January 23, 2012
do that again, against the Lakers and on Kobe :)
TDzilla! - January 24, 2012
Good write up Ed.
I think we are going to see Tiago and Tim play together tonight when the Hornets go big with Kaman and Okafor.
Edg5 - January 23, 2012
Hopefully we can jump out and maybe even rest TP for the 2nd half.
MiniMegaMoose - January 23, 2012 via mobile
I agree, but Joesph doesn’t instill complete confidence in Pop or us yet.
We really TJ back.
Spurs Yoda - January 23, 2012
A lot of people are throwing the, “Let’s blow them out and rest our starters” thought. I don’t think the Hornets are a team that will allow a blow out. They’ve lost 7 in a row, yes, but it’s deceiving. The teams and the point differential.
vs OKC 10
vs Wolves 7
@ Memphis 9
vs Portland 7
vs Memphis 6
@ Houston 2 in OT
vs Mavs 2
Now, that doesn’t seem like a team that we should expect a blow out against, especially in our current injured state. They played a lot of tough teams well, even though they failed to come up with a W. I expect a tough, close game. Hopefully Pop will close with our starters so this isn’t another close loss for the Spurs.
Fred Silva - January 23, 2012
Good point. I’m still hoping for a blowout win, but I’ll take a W in a close one as well.
Big50 - January 23, 2012
If Spurs lose, I want them to be blown out. I’d prefer that so the main guys don’t get taxed so often. That and Pop can use the games as practices. That said, I hope they pull out some of the close ones…
grego21 - January 23, 2012
I think we’ve had enough of these “practice” games. We are going to “practice” ourselves out of the playoffs if we aren’t careful.
Fred Silva - January 23, 2012
The standings are fine, at the moment. There’s no big separation in the west due to injuries, schedule, etc.
Lakers just lost 3 straight for example…
If Spurs stay at around .500 until TJ/Manu come back, that’s pretty good, given the circumstances.
I’d prefer the Spurs show up in the post season not banged up as they have in the past few seasons. It doesn’t matter if they make the post season if they show up like a mash unit.
grego21 - January 23, 2012
Though it looks like if the playoffs began today, the Lakers would be out of it with a .556 record and Portland would be edged out by Houston while both have a .563 record. The Spurs are a 1/2 game against Houston. Losing tonight would give the Spurs the same .556 record as the Lakers, possibly putting them behind Portland. If anyone in the West drops down to a record that it is around .500 they’ll likely be out of the playoffs. In the East, on the other hand, Milwaukee and Boston currently hold the 7th & 8th seeds with a .400 record with Cleveland in 9th having the same record, and the Knicks are challenging for one of those spots being a 1/2 game behind with a .375 record. Toronto and Detroit are only a few games away from the 8th seed with records of .235. So a .500 record would have you solidly in 7th seed in the East, but having to climb past a couple of teams in the West to even make the playoffs.
Alamo - January 23, 2012
Well, I meant playing .500 without Manu. They obviously had games before him getting injured. That said, we can’t expect other teams to win, so the records will shift back up and down. No one has really won on the road in the west except Denver and OKC. Dallas just got it’s 3rd win on the road. Portland, shows its weakness is on the road after looking stellar at home before they went on their road trips.
I expect the Spurs to have more moments that are positive, but I also expect that they will have more moments like these past few games as well.
grego21 - January 23, 2012
Great point. Let the starters play and focus on winning.
Heman - January 23, 2012
Oh wait, I dont get to say who plays when. Let Pop play the starters :)
Heman - January 23, 2012
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