Well some people are breathing sighs of relief that Manu isn't hurt too badly, and other folks are sighing with worry over the fate of Tiago. To be fair, there are some who sigh no matter what Tiago does, so this may have nothing to do with his calf and everything to do with the sparkles. Two weeks without those two may feel like an eternity. This is a tough stretch, no doubt about it. The Spurs are on the road, homesick, short-handed, facing some very good teams. Would I rather our Spurs were 100% healthy? You bet. On the other hand, I think every team in the league has had to deal with the injury issue. And I guarantee I know one group of fans that will not be shedding any tears for the Spurs' injury problems. Of all teams, the Portland Trailblazers don't want to hear it, and I don't blame them. That's a long-suffering set of fans over in Oregon, and my hat's off to them. The Blazers are always a tough and worthy opponent. So let's get it on!
Let’s keep…it…moving, Spurs fans! At the time I began this preview, our Spurs had just squeaked out another unnecessarily close win against Toronto for their 9th consecutive victory. Immediately following the telecast, I and a few other LP having basketball junkies - who know who they are - watched the Houston Rockets edge the Thunder by a single point at the Toyota Center, bringing our guys to within 1.5 games of the Western Conference's top seed. San Antonio then proceeded to luck their way out of LA after the Clippers gave Gary Neal the game and he took it. Tonight, the Spurs bus rolls into Salt Lake City for the 2nd match up of the season against a Utah Jazz team that started off strong, but has since hovered on the playoff bubble.
A breakdown of the Clippers 'Big 3'
Caron Butler is the third leading scorer for the Clips and before the Blazers game was averaging 20 ppg and 58% beyond the arc. He is essentially the Spurs Richard Jefferson but with more scoring. He shoots the second most amount of 3s per game for a swingman. He prefers the long jump shot or to shoot beyond the arc. It is understandable that he rarely drives to the paint because of his teammates, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. So instead of driving, he tends to settle for the outside shot. With Griffin in the paint and Paul driving, Butler is a great 3rd option, who is capable of draining the 3.
The Spurs are rolling into Canada playing good basketball (except for that 4th quarter in Mo-Town) just in time to get a SEGABABA trap game. The Raptors are not too good. They are 28th in the NBA in Offensive Rating and 18th in the league in Defensive Rating, according to basketball-reference.com. Which of course makes this a perfect trap game. A bad team at home getting the Spurs on the back end of a back to back, what could possibly go wrong?
It's official. Although Lin-sanity is the biggest story right now, once again, the San Antonio Spurs are the hottest team in the NBA that no one outside of Spurs fans knows about. And the Spurs would have it no other way. However, that's not the the best news. Manu is back! The Spurs weathered the storm better than anyone could have predicted (15-7 in LWM). The Spurs continue their Rodeo Road Trip to Detroit, to meet another former NBA Finals opponent. Like the New Jersey Nets, once a threat to make noise in the playoffs, the Pistons have fallen far from grace.
It's Saturday, and our Spurs are rolling into the Prudential Center for their only match up of the season against the New Jersey Nets. Our guys have won six straight, beating Memphis twice, the Houston Rockets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and most recently, the Philadelphia 76ers, who were torched at home by our own Tony Parker, continuing his All Star bid with 37 points. Fresh off of two days rest, what do the Spurs bring to the table tonight?
The Spurs are in Philadelphia to challenge the red hot 76ers in a showdown between the third place team in the West and the third place team in the East. Tonight's match kicks off four games in a row in the Eastern Conference for SA, who has only played three such games so far. While Philly is a legit three seed regardless of tonight's outcome, the Spurs still have some work to do to prove they belong that high. Coming back west with at least three wins out of four will help us hang on through Manu Ginobili's eventual return and the All-Star break.
OK kids, so this here is the part of the Venn diagram where the big red LWM circle overlaps the little green RRT circle, forming a brownish, non-symmetric lens of maximum difficulty. Now, while circle RRT is of a fixed and known size, the exact circumference of circle LWM is somewhat hypothetical. Conceivably, the overlap could transform into a full circle as RRT becomes entirely engulfed by LWM. Pity the thought, because the Spurs have certainly struggled away from home this season, and this month's road odyssey is by no means a cakewalk. Of the nine games, six are against very tough opponents. If there were ever a point in the season that it would be ideal for Manu Ginobili to return, this would probably be it. Are the Spurs ready to do this thing without him?
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