Im finally happy the Mavlosers are going down and will not be considered an elite team anymore, Spurs up next.
i had a dream the other day that i watched the entire 1st quarter of this game and the score after 1 was spurs-4 rox-6 so Rox-52 Spurs-48 we win it was a boring dream
It s going to be a hard one. We will have to work very hard to win this one and the defense against Tim is going to be the key.
I agree with the teams but would swap Utah for Warriors. No way we can't handle the warriors, not saying it'd be easy for anyone though.
HEY I NEED SOME HELP MY FRIEND IS GONNA BE SITTING RIGHT BEHIND THE SPURS BENCH WEARING A YAO MING JERSEY. HE WANTS TO MAKE A SIGN TO BE ON TV OR JUST ANY CREATIVE SIGN. I WAS THINKING A SCOLA ONE SINCE WE STOLE HIM FROM S.A. HE TOLD ME TO CALL HIM BACK WHEN I HAVE AN IDEA. PLEASE REPLY WITH YOUR IDEAS. THANKS.
big game to start off the road trip...gotta win this one. I wonder if RA is gonna make Shane come off the bench again to match up with Manu's minutes just like he did the last time we played the Spurs, and maybe start luther at SG and T-mac at SF.
Houston win by 2 points, Novak for the buzzer! In just noticed something, it doesn't have relation with the thread but who remember the Lakers game when T-Mac said with what legend player he would love to play and he didn't say Olajuwon ? It's only because he played with him in Toronto.
come on guys...lighten up a bit. you gotta admit, that's a pretty quality stab at us. i give the creator some props. as far as tomorrow, HUGE game, and i hope our boys treat it as one. i predict that tomorrow's winner ends up finishing in the 1 spot. probably wishful thinking, but: rockets 86 - spurs 81
The winner of tomorrow's game doesn't tell much about who finishes in the 1 spot. That is just in your head. There are still 9 or 10 games left and 2 games separating the top 6 teams. One game won't tell all.
I do agree that our best matchup is probably denver and dallas right now, but we have to see about golden state. Remember, we beat golden state with yao and without mcgrady at home. But we also beat golden state with mcgrady but without yao, on road, against a team that possibly have the biggest die hard won't turn on my team fans (i hope rockets fans were like GS). They are incredibly strong at home. Also, remember that GS made a lot of contested 3s, and alot of them were flukes (although bobby made one). The warriors can only fluke so much of their threes. So I say in a 7 game series, if their shots aint going in, they're screwed. Cause their small players are no match for our notorious inside defense. However, against utah, I have my doubts. But we have yet to see a good match between them with out refreshed team. Now that RA has worked up his rotations, we probably have a better chance against boozer with hayes, and alstons trash talk is great against williams to piss him off. I do agree that our worse matchups would be suns, spurs, possibly the lakers once gasol comes out, and possibly the hornets. We need a t-mac on fire against teams like hornets to win, and we usually only edge teams like spurs and suns even when t-mac is on fire. But I doubt he can keep his fire for so long, but we cannot forget that t-mac is one of the best playoff performers in nba history, so the challenge is layed on his teammates, something which he has done already . And thats good. So whatever happens this playoff. Ill be happy for my team as long as they put up a good fight.
i said it was my prediction. the winner of tomorrow's game will wind up in the 1 spot. i'm predicting it in my head i guess?
Houston vs. San Antonio -- An X’s and O’s Perspective By Kevin Loughery Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images Shane Battier will likely have the assignment of trying to slow Manu Ginobili. Rockets-Spurs Sunday at 1 ET The Mutombo Factor We have two teams that are going to be very defensive minded in this game. It should be very low scoring. One key for Houston defensively is how long Mutombo can play. I think he’ll guard Duncan which will allow the Rockets to avoid double teaming him. That’s huge because if you double team Duncan, then he’ll find the open man on the perimeter, usually Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen or Manu Ginobili. Their three-point really opens up the game. That’s the way they get a lot of easy shots on the perimeter. Bowen even shoots better from the three point line than (42 %) he does from inside the arc. But it really has been fantastic what Mutombo has been able to do. He doesn’t have to get involved offensively, just play one end of the floor. That is a big advantage. But to be able to block shots and control the middle defensively at his age is fantastic. Remember, too, that he hadn’t been playing much with Yao in there and to stay mentally focused and ready and in condition to step right in, you have to give him an awful lot of credit. And he’s such a great teammate. That’s another addition to his worth to the team. The Battier-Ginobili Matchup For Houston, who is going to play Manu Ginobili? I think it will be Shane Battier. He guarded Kobe Bryant two weeks ago and played him pretty well. Ginobili is definitely the key to San Antonio. First of all he’s their best foul shooter so they like him to have the ball in his hands. And down the stretch of games he goes one on one almost all the time. Either he takes it to the hoop or to the wings for an open shot. When he goes to the basket, he’s got so many acrobatic shots. He doesn’t take it to the basket and just try to lay it in. He’ll spin and twist and jump at you. If you look at Ginobili, he’s not an imposing physical specimen but he’s extremely strong and physical. Now he shoots the three-pointer better than average, better than 40 percent. What you have to do is play a little off him and try to push him to his right hand as much as possible. When he comes back left, he’s impossible to stop. So play back a little bit and if he’s going to hit the outside shot, you have to live with that to try and keep him from penetrating. Battier’s size and strength will definitely be factors and his concentration to detail is as good as anybody in the NBA. If they tell him to force Ginobili one way, he’s going to do it. It’s not an easy task, though, because Ginobili is so tricky and unusual to play. The New and Improved Rafer Alston When Yao went down and they lost 22 points a night, someone had to pick it up and he has been that guy. His percentages are not very high, but he’s picked up his game. He’s playing with so much more confidence and I think a little bit of it has to do with him being able to get to the basket better without Yao Ming clogging up the middle. Obviously Ming was the first option. To me the toughest thing to do in the NBA is to score when your opponent is concentrating on you. Alston has stepped it up. He thinks it’s his team now. I’m really impressed by the way he’s played. And he’s also picked up his defense which fits their style. If you don’t play defense with that team, you’re out of sync. It’s All About the Defense The one thing that is amazing about these two teams is that they have better individual defenders than most teams. The good teams have good team defense, which you have to have, but if you have good individual defenders plus team defense, that is a major plus. San Antonio has basically won with that over the last couple of years. Looking at Houston, Battier is good; we talked about Mutombo; McGrady is not tough, but he can defend when he wants to; Landry has really surprised me as a rookie as a tough-minded guy; Bobby Jackson plays hard every minute he’s on the floor and for good or bad he’s willing to take big shots; even Hayes is good. Scola is another physical guy who the Spurs probably made a mistake on by letting him go. This is a very tough minded team. If you go up and down their roster, offensively outside of Tracy McGrady and now Alston, they’re not really impressive, but they’ll dig in and they’ll play hard. So they’ll pound you, they’ll be aggressive and to do what they’ve done, obviously they have great chemistry. The Return of Brent Barry It’s very important for San Antonio that he’s back on the squad. It gives them some power off the bench. With him in the lineup he makes three-point shots, he opens up the defense and he knows the system. And the pickup of Kurt Thomas has helped them also. He can make the outside jumper, he’s got toughness and he can defend. If you look down both rosters, there is no backup center on either roster, so Kurt Thomas can play center some. Kudos to Rick Adelman Take this roster they have in the Western Conference and for them to win 22 straight games is one of the best coaching jobs I’ve seen in years. When you lose your best player like they did with Yao, there is usually a real quick decline because the guys get down and start feeling sorry for themselves. Instead, they went and won 10 straight games without him. Houston’s done a great job and Adelman’s done a great job keeping this team afloat. Playoff Implications This game is a little bit more important for Houston. Even though they won 22 straight, they can go on a substantial losing streak. San Antonio won’t go on a substantial losing streak. That’s a guarantee coming down the stretch. Houston could because they’re not a loaded team. If McGrady isn’t on, it’s tough offensively. This is a tougher game for Houston especially since it’s going to be on San Antonio’s home court where they’re awful tough. I think San Antonio will win this game pretty convincingly. It won’t be a major blowout because they don’t blow anybody out. San Antonio has a way to play ugly and win, and I guess you can say the same thing about Houston.
From what I have heard and seen all the so called experts pick the Spurs for Sunday's Game. Go Rockets and once again prove them wrong!!
Hmmm, seems like we can notch first place if we beat spurs. And right now, first place is looking good. GS has dropped to ninth and DEN has advanced to 8th. GS will also face dallas twice next week. So whatever happens in those 2 games, its win-win for us.
