Game Thread GAME# 40: BLAZERS @ SPURS - JANUARY 16, 2015 - FRIDAY, 5:30 PM (PST), CSNNW

[Darkwebs]

PROBABLE STARTERS

VS

WHEN: 5:30 PM, FRIDAY, 1/16/2015​

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

TV BROADCAST:

RADIO BROADCAST:

​

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BENCH

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

BLAKE , MCCOLLUM , CRABBE , BARTON

WRIGHT , CLAVER , ROBINSON , LEONARD

SAN ANTONIO SPURS

MILLS , JOSEPH , GINOBILI , ANDERSON

DAYE , DIAW , AYRES , BONNER



INJURIES
TRAIL BLAZERS
▪ Joel Freeland (right shoulder strain): OUT
▪ Robin Lopez (fractured right index finger): OUT
SPURS
▪ Kawhi Leonard (Bruised Right Hand): PROBABLE
▪ Marco Belinelli (Mild Strain, Left Groin): OUT

HEAD COACHES

- VS –

TERRY STOTTS --- GREG POPOVICH




OFFICIAL BLAZERS' GAME NOTES ​

• Friday marks the third of four matchups between the Trail Blazers and Spurs in 2014-15.

• The Trail Blazers have won three of the past four games against the Spurs played at AT&T Center.

• Both teams are ranked in the top-6 in the NBA for 3-point shooting. Portland is ranked fifth in the NBA at 37.4% shooting from beyond the arc, while San Antonio is ranked sixth in the league at 37.3%.

• Portland has won both of its previous matchups against San Antonio this season, with the latest one coming in a 129-119 triple overtime victory in San Antonio on Dec. 19.

• In that triple overtime game, Damian Lillard recorded a new career-high of 43 points on 16-of-29 shooting and made four of his nine shot attempts from beyond the arc. Lillard also set a new career-high of 10 rebounds in the first matchup on Dec. 15.

• LaMarcus Aldridge has recorded a double-double in both games against the Spurs this season and has now compiled six double-doubles in the past seven games against San Antonio.

• Dating back to the 2008-09 season, the Trail Blazers are 16-7 in regular season games played against the Spurs.

• Including this season, the Trail Blazers have defeated San Antonio at least twice in six of the past seven seasons.

• Terry Stotts is 6-3 against the Spurs since being named Portland’s Head Coach.

• Entering this season, Wesley Matthews had made 15 of his 27 3-point fi eld goal attempts (55.5%) in five seasons against the Spurs. Matthews shot 6-of-7 from beyond the arc against the Spurs on Jan. 17, 2014 (W, 109-100).

• San Antonio defeated Portland four games to one in the Western Conference Semifinals last season.

• In that five-game postseason series against the Spurs in 2013-14, LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 21.8 points and 10.0 rebounds. He logged four double-doubles in fi ve games.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 78-76
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 49-28
AT THE SPURS: Spurs lead, 48-29

OFFICIAL SPURS' GAME NOTES


GO BLAZERS!!!​

 

[Darkwebs]

Game 40: POR @ SAS (24-16, 4th in Southwest Division, 13-6 home), 1/16/15

Our last game: L v. LAC, 100-94 1/14/15

Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts cautioned that it's January, a little early for NBA regular-season games to be played with playoff intensity.
Not too early for the Los Angeles Clippers, who admitted Wednesday night's game had a postseason feel, as they rallied during the final six minutes to beat Portland 100-94.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 37 points and 12 rebounds for Portland (30-9). Aldridge, who missed his season high by two points, went 14 of 28 from the floor.
Both teams went to their benches sparingly. Eight players played for each and neither team led by more than nine points. There were periods, particularly the end, when things turned physical and incredibly intense.
"It's one of those rare regular-season, playoff-type of games," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. "They're a lot of fun to get into, but you don't get a lot of those. We didn't go into it that way, but it turned into that."
The Clippers ended Portland's four-game winning streak after falling behind 85-79 with 6:41 remaining. They went on a 10-3 run, taking an 89-88 lead on two Paul free throws, then grabbed the lead for good on Crawford's fourth 3-pointer of the game.
Each team had a key contributor from its bench.
For Portland, it was center Meyers Leonard, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds. For the Clippers, it was Crawford, who led the team in scoring after hitting 10 of 22 shots.

Their last game: W @ CHA, 98-93 1/14/15

Manu Ginobili said he needed a game like this.
Maybe it's the game the San Antonio Spurs needed to get things turned around, too.
Ginobili was the focal point of the Spurs' offense Wednesday night, scoring 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in San Antonio's 98-93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
When the Spurs needed a big play, they didn't hesitate to turn to the 13-year NBA veteran.
"In the past few games I've had the opportunity to have the ball in my hands a lot of times," Ginobili said. "Sometimes it is not that easy against very athletic teams. Today I made a couple of shots and made better decisions, so I am happy about it."
The Spurs, seventh in the Western Conference standings, played for the second straight night on the road. The defending NBA champions will look to make a push when the play eight of their next 10 games at home.
"We had an opportunity to win some other games and we've blown them," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Tonight we came through so it feels pretty good."
Danny Green scored 18 points and Tim Duncan added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Spurs snap the Hornets' five-game win streak. The Spurs have won eight straight against the Hornets.
"Nothing seems to be easy for us this year," Ginobili said. "We are playing a lot of close games. But we are learning from it."
Ginobili was the key to this win.

Popovich said after the game the Spurs "stink on defense" without Kawhi Leonard. "That's the bottom line," Popovich said. "He does all kinds of stuff for us. He guards the best player. He guards a couple of different guys. He rebounds the position. He makes steals. He covers for his teammates. He is huge on D."

Previous season games: POR 2-0, including 129-119 (3OT) last game

(Aldridge and Lillard) have excelled in recent regular-season meetings, however, and the Trail Blazers are 6-2 against the Spurs when Lillard and Aldridge both play. Lillard has averaged 27.8 points on 50.0 percent shooting in nine meetings, his best and second-best marks versus one opponent, respectively. Aldridge's 56.5 career field-goal percentage at San Antonio is his highest on the road against one team, averaging 25.4 points in his last five visits.
Portland won the first two meetings this season, most recently a 129-119 triple-overtime victory in San Antonio on Dec. 19. Lillard scored a career-high 43 while Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds. Tim Duncan had 32 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
The Trail Blazers (30-9) have won 15 of the last 21 regular-season meetings, but they haven't swept the series since 1996-97. The final matchup this season is Feb. 25 in Portland.

Injuries: POR - Crabbe (out), Lopez (out), Freeland (out). SAS - Bellinelli (groin) - out

Matchups:

Lillard v. Parker (14.8ppg, 4.7 apg, 56% 3pt)
Matthews v. Green (12.6ppg, 4.4rpg, 2.1apg, 40% 3pt)
Batum v. Leonard (15.2ppg, 7.6rpg, 2.5apg, 2.0stl/g)
Aldridge v. Duncan (15.1ppg, 10.3ppg, 3.1apg, 2.0blk/g)
Kaman v. Splitter (7.7ppg, 4.7rpg)

Power Rankings:
ESPN (7) This is the first time in a long time -- going all the way back, in fact, to 2009-10 -- that the Spurs will lose more than 15 games before the All-Star break. Their 23 wins in 38 games is actually tied for the lowest win total through 38 games in the Tim Duncan era, matching a 23-15 start in 2000-01.

NBA.com (4) Pace: 95.4 (20), OffRtg: 105.0 (11), DefRtg: 100.2 (6), NetRtg: +4.7 (7)
The Spurs know drama. They've played the most games that were within five points in the last five minutes and are just 13-13 in those games after a brutal loss against Detroit and a comeback win against Phoenix. Tony Parker is back and Kawhi Leonard is back to traveling with the team, but they've added two more injuries (Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli).

CBSSports.com (8) Uh-oh. Since the Spurs held Star Wars night this week (their only loss in the past five games), here's a quote: "That's no moon." The loss to the Pistons disguised the fact that Spurs, after beating the Suns on Saturday, have won four of five. I'm half-convinced they lost to the Pistons just to throw us off the scent. They're coming.

Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
Link to MediocreMan's Over/Under Game

Final Thoughts: Obviously SAS is good, but they don't seem to care much about the regular season. Kawhi is cleared to play, so while he may be rusty he's a defensive force and someone you can't sleep on on offense. Duncan is still Duncan and can grab ORBs, but isn't going to cause you to double him. SAS has a couple of good 3pt shooters (especially Parker and Green), but POR is generally pretty good at taking that away. Normally I'd go with a relatively high-scoring game, but I think that POR D holds the Spurs down a bit while the offense does slightly better than average. They have 3 starters who average over a block or steal per game (Duncan and Green do both) and POR will have to play disciplined ball. I still think they squeak it out, though.

POR 104
SAS 100

 

[dreamcloud]

Oh sweet, didn't even realize they are playing today! Could've sworn it was over the weekend, but anyway been really looking forward to this game

 

[magnifier661]

I'm gonna sit this weekend out guys. I'm on my way to Vegas.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I'm gonna sit this weekend out guys. I'm on my way to Vegas.

Put $100 down on the Blazers to win it all for me! haha

 

[KeepOnRollin]

This will be the first game back from his latest injury for Kawhi Leonard will it not?

 

[Boise Blazer]

This will be the first game back from his latest injury for Kawhi Leonard will it not?

Yep

 

[BrianFromWA]

Preview updated in post 2.

 

[blue9]

In the predictions thread I put us down for a loss. However, we generally play some of our best ball against SAS. And Lillard is going to be pissed after the LAC game - I think it's entirely reasonable to expect him to win the game in the 4th...or maybe even come out gunning from the tip.

 

[riverman]

I'm gonna sit this weekend out guys. I'm on my way to Vegas.

I believe they have internet service in Vegas, have a great time!

 

[riverman]

In the predictions thread I put us down for a loss. However, we generally play some of our best ball against SAS. And Lillard is going to be pissed after the LAC game - I think it's entirely reasonable to expect him to win the game in the 4th...or maybe even come out gunning from the tip.

I think LA and Wes will be X factors in this game. Parker is no cakewalk for Dame and he's rested.

 

[DUB]

Sean Elliot called LA "the best power forward in the game".

 

[Boise Blazer]

Ya know I think Batum may have a good game tonight. He seems get motivated playing his French brethren. Let's hope so.

 

[DUB]

We've put Batum on Parker from the start.

Wes on Leonard, Lillard on Green.

They've put Leonard on Wes, Green on Batum.

 

[KingSpeed]

Winning three straight vs champs is gonna be tough, let's go!!

 

[DUB]

Both team are going with LA v Splitter, and Kaman v Duncan.

 

[DUB]

So the only straight up position match up is Parker defending Lillard.

 

[PDXFonz]

Man that's why I feel so fortunate to have seen that series vs the Spurs last year. tony Parker is such an amazing player.

 

[KingSpeed]

Damn, we scratched Parker good

 

[KingSpeed]

Oh shit Leonard!!!!

 

[Boise Blazer]

Nice Dame

 

[BlazerBeav]

Meyers just backed Duncan down and scored over him. Wow.

 

[PDXFonz]

I love that no call on Duncan. Let them play this like a playoff game, Spurs seem to want it bad. Could be an amazing measuring stick for the team mid season.

Not the kind of opportunity that comes often.

 

[KingSpeed]

Leonard is a beast

 

[BlazerBeav]

M3y3rs!

 

[KingSpeed]

Sean Elloitt says Leonard is like Sabonis

 

[DUB]

Leonard is a beast

He's killing them.

 

[KingSpeed]

LEONARD

 

[PDXFonz]

I never dissed Meyers, but I didn't think he had as much potential as I've seen. He could be an All-Star 4-5 years from now.

 

[KingSpeed]

I never dissed Meyers, but I didn't think he had as much potential as I've seen. He could be an All-Star 4-5 years from now.

Agreed