Back Spurs vs Rockets
Game Time: 1/24/2007 9:00:00 PM
By: Al McMordie
With renewed focus and playing at home, take the San Antonio Spurs tonight against their I-10 rivals from Houston.
The Spurs have had many problems this year - - lack of production off the bench, decreased ball movement, and poor defensive rotation - - but perhaps the Spurs' greatest shortcoming has been a lack of urgency.
Their key players - - Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker - - are so talented, and their record is so good, that they have fallen into the trap of thinking they can just turn it on and turn it off. San Antonio has been the best franchise in all of American sports since 1998, yet are fairly anonymous.
But this year has proven that the Spurs are not that good, unlike Dallas or Phoenix, who have played extremely inspired ball for all but the first week of the season. However, after losing at home to the Mavericks and Lakers, coach Gregg Popovich finally has the attention of his players. Pop has been ripping his team for the last month, but it was not until Kobe Bryant & Co. (minus Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown) handed San Antonio its seventh home loss this season, after just seven losses at home all last season, that the players started to listen.
San Antonio then went out and throttled New Orleans and Philly, and now play this game tonight following a Monday game at Boston. Rest assured that Houston will have the Spurs' undivided attention. The Rockets destroyed San Antone 97-78 in the teams' last meeting on December 22, but that was with Yao Ming who led Houston with 22 points and without Tracy McGrady, who was injured. Still, Yao presents match-up problems for San Antonio who doesn't have a big body to put on him after letting Rasho Nesterovic loose in a trade with Toronto.
But before that win, Houston had lost 17 straight games at San Antonio dating back to April 1997. After the game, Tony Parker lamented that the Spurs "were definitely flat, [and] had no energy." That won't be the case here, as the Spurs are now (finally) playing at a high level. And this will be a key measuring stick for San Antonio as wins vs. cruddy teams like the Hornets and Sixers aren't important; it's against the league's elite units that the Spurs have to raise their game.
Play: Spurs -8
Game Time: 1/24/2007 9:00:00 PM
By: Al McMordie
With renewed focus and playing at home, take the San Antonio Spurs tonight against their I-10 rivals from Houston.
The Spurs have had many problems this year - - lack of production off the bench, decreased ball movement, and poor defensive rotation - - but perhaps the Spurs' greatest shortcoming has been a lack of urgency.
Their key players - - Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker - - are so talented, and their record is so good, that they have fallen into the trap of thinking they can just turn it on and turn it off. San Antonio has been the best franchise in all of American sports since 1998, yet are fairly anonymous.
But this year has proven that the Spurs are not that good, unlike Dallas or Phoenix, who have played extremely inspired ball for all but the first week of the season. However, after losing at home to the Mavericks and Lakers, coach Gregg Popovich finally has the attention of his players. Pop has been ripping his team for the last month, but it was not until Kobe Bryant & Co. (minus Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown) handed San Antonio its seventh home loss this season, after just seven losses at home all last season, that the players started to listen.
San Antonio then went out and throttled New Orleans and Philly, and now play this game tonight following a Monday game at Boston. Rest assured that Houston will have the Spurs' undivided attention. The Rockets destroyed San Antone 97-78 in the teams' last meeting on December 22, but that was with Yao Ming who led Houston with 22 points and without Tracy McGrady, who was injured. Still, Yao presents match-up problems for San Antonio who doesn't have a big body to put on him after letting Rasho Nesterovic loose in a trade with Toronto.
But before that win, Houston had lost 17 straight games at San Antonio dating back to April 1997. After the game, Tony Parker lamented that the Spurs "were definitely flat, [and] had no energy." That won't be the case here, as the Spurs are now (finally) playing at a high level. And this will be a key measuring stick for San Antonio as wins vs. cruddy teams like the Hornets and Sixers aren't important; it's against the league's elite units that the Spurs have to raise their game.
Play: Spurs -8