<div align="center">San Antonio Spurs @ <font color="Red">Portland Trailblazers</font> Date and Time : 30th of December ; 10:30 PM(ET) Location : Rose Garden, Portland TV : TNT,KRRT</div> <u>Matchups</u> Center : Rasho Nesterovic vs. Theo Ratliff Advantage : Spurs Power Forward : Tim Duncan vs. Zach Randolph Advantage : Spurs Small Forward : Bruce Bowen vs. Darius Miles Advantage : <font color="Red"> Trailblazers</font> Shooting Guard : Emanuel Ginobili vs. Derek Anderson Advantage : Spurs Point Guard : Tony Parker vs. Nick Van Exel Advantage : Spurs <div align="center"><u> Key Matchup </u> Season stats Duncan : PPG : 22.4; RPG : 12.1; APG : 2.6; BPG : 3.1 Season stats Randolph : PPG : 20.8; RPG : 10.7; APG :2.2; BPG : 0.42</div> <font size="4">Spurs Key's to win the Game</font> *Dump the ball down low to Tim Duncan. With his size and talent, he could easily outplay Randolph. *Run the pick and roll with Parker/Ginobili and Duncan. All three of them can score easily when put against a defensive missmatch. *Let Rasho defend Zach some times, so Duncan doesn't get tired. *Kick the ball out to Barry and Bowen when Duncan/Nesterovic/Rose is double-teamed. <font color="Red"><font size="4">Trailblazers Key's to win the Game</font></font> *Isolate Van Exel or Anderson on Parker. Though he did a great job on Nash, I still see him as a defensive liability. *Get Abdur-Rahim off the bench and let him do some damage, together with Randolph. *Get Duncan in foul trouble. *Try to drive more when Duncan is on the bench. *Guard the perimeter tight. <font color="Blue"><font size="4">Phuzer's Prediction</font></font> This should be a blow out for San Antonio. They're playing great ball all season long, and with their win over Phoenix, they should be considered as the best team at the moment. Duncan shall abuse the undersized 'Blazers, and I expect him to have a nice 25-15 at the end of the game. Ginobili will be able to penetrate at will and take full advantage of his abilities. And if the Spurs can turn hot from the outside, this game could be over after the 1st or 2nd quarter San Antonio - 106 Portland - 77
Nice preview. The Spurs might have an advantage in every dimension of the game tonight, but the Blazers are pretty tough to beat at home. Randolph's offensive production might eliminate the presence of Duncan, so it will be up to Tony Parker and Ginobili to win the game. If Parker has another good performance, the Spurs should win, but not by a margin as large as you predicted. They're on the road after all. Spurs by 9.
Manu is out, he was a game time decision but Pop said It wasn't worth playing him. Brent Barry has taken his spot in the starting 5.
So no one's impressed by the Spurs winning by 34 on the road to a tough west team without Manu? the overall balence was great to see last night. I'm happy for Brent, he had a very good shooting game which should boost his confidence. It was his birthday too I believe.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">So no one's impressed by the Spurs winning by 34 on the road to a tough west team without Manu? the overall balence was great to see last night. I'm happy for Brent, he had a very good shooting game which should boost his confidence. It was his birthday too I believe.</div> Together with LeBron? Well, yet another comparison with Brent Barry
