by TyLawesome (unofficial 4th Denver Stiffs Writer)
Since It's not out yet, I'm going to help out the who ever is off the ball writing today, ______(insert name here).
While we see the older teams such as the Lakers, Mavericks and Celtics floundering under the pressure of a shortened fast paced season and of course father time, the Spurs continue to be an anomaly staying strong and fighting for home court in the playoffs once again.
The particulars ...
Game: 9
Records:
Denver: 6-2 (2-2 on the road)
Streak: Won 4
San Antonio: 5-2 (5-0at home)
Streak: Won 2
Injuries:
Denver: Birdman's crushed soul
New Orleans: Manu Ginobili (hand) is out 6-8 weeks.Television: Altitude
Season Series: 2010-11: 1-3
Opposition's Take: Pounding the Rock
The Spurs are still a contending team compared to last year. Since Last year, they've added rookies sf Kawhi Leonard and pg Corey Joseph. It will be exciting to watch Leonard, as many stiffs were hoping he would continue his draft night slide to where the nuggets could have drafted him. They've lost pg George Hill to the Pacers via trade. The rest of the team is one year older.
Moving onto matchups, without Ginobili, we would expect Denver Stiffs favorite Gary Neal to start at sg, but no it will be James Anderson. I see Arron Afflalo as effectively shutting him down and not nearly as much of a threat that flop happy Ginobili is. Moving on, Tim Duncan is still the best power forward of all time. It will be interesting to see how Nene is able to guard him. Another interesting matchup will be starting center Timofey Mozgov vs. DeJuan Blair. Mozgov has at least 5 inches on Blair, but Blair is very crafty and able to use his body to effectively get fouls. This doesn't bode well for foul happy Timofey. Gallinari has in the past few games impressed me immensely on the defensive end. He should have the clear advantage over the older and slower Richard Jefferson. Moving on to the matchup at point guard, we get to who I believe is the best and most dangerous player wearing a spurs uniform, Mr. Tony Parker. HIs ability to penetrate and kick out as well as score as very similar to our very own Ty Lawson. Will Ty be able to stay in front of Tony without falling into Tony's amazing ability to draw fouls? We will find out tonight.
On another note future hall of fame coaches Greg Popovich and George Karl will continue their rivalry tonight. Which of the two will take advantage with another win over the other? We all know what result us stiffs are pulling for.
Nuggets of wisdom:
The nuggets will look to extend their winning streak to 5, and move to a winning record on the road. The spurs are always good at home, currently 5-0 and will try to continue spoiling their fans with a gorgeous winning record at home. The spurs were 36-5 at home last year.
It will be interesting to see what Karl does with Kosta Koufos. The big 7 footer had a coming out party against the Kings with a double followed up with 8 points 5 rebounds and 3 blocks along with great defense in 17 minutes of work against the Hornets last night. Will Karl permanently add the big man to the rotation?
The Nuggets are currently tied with OKC for the 1 seed in the west. A quality victory over the San Antonio Spurs will put more legitimacy in our campaign to capture the elusive top seed for the playoffs. This is feet I have never seen the nuggets fulfill before.
