San Antonio Spurs (31 - 18) <font size="1">Road: 13-11 Last 10: 4-6</font> Utah Jazz (24 - 23) <font size="1">Home: 19-6 Last 10: 5-5</font> Previous Game San Antonio 85 @ Utah 81 Team History Last team they played, San Antonio beat them 85-81 at the SBC Center on Saturday. Tim Duncan went off in a 30/15 night for him. The highest scorer on the Jazz were Bell and Kirilenko, with 11 a piece. Probable Starters Spurs PG: Tony Parker SG: Manu Ginobili SF: Bruce Bowen PF: Tim Duncan C: Rasho Nesterovic Jazz PG: Carlos Arroyo SG: Deshawn Stevenson SF: Andrei Kirilenko PF: Michael Ruffin C: Greg Ostertag Key Matchup vs. Bruce Bowen: 6.9 PPG (.401 FG%), 3.30 RPG, 1.5 SPG Andrei Kirilenko: 16.5 PPG (.470 FG%), 8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.58 SPG, 2.23 SPG Injuries <u>Utah Jazz</u> Matt Harpring Keon Clark Ben Handlogten Curtis Borchardt <u>San Antonio Spurs</u> Jason Hart Alex Garcia Sean Marks Keys to the Game: <u>San Antonio Spurs</u> <ul> [*]Keep Kirilenko and Ruffin off the glass [*]Contain Raja Bell and Andrei Kirilenko [*]Force Arroyo into tough, contested shots [*]Don't turn the ball over [/list] <u>Utah Jazz</u> <ul> [*]Contain Tim Duncan [*]Keep Charlie Ward and Hedo Turkoglu from getting open threes [*]Force Nesterovic to leave the paint on both ends [*]Clean the offensive glass and don't allow the Spurs second chance points [*]Make Duncan beat you with free throws [/list] Just a reminder... There's no Matt Harpring here now, so the leading scorer is gone. Last time, Kirilenko was ineffective, so the Jazz's other role players must step up. Crossover's Prediction Okay, this time they're actually playing in Utah, where the Jazz are pretty strong. As usual, the Spurs need to feed to Tim Duncan, who will gather more attention this game, and make sure they drill those open, outside jumpers. Kirilenko has to score at least 20 and be effective on the glass if they want to have any sort of shot at winning this game, as well. Ginobili was clutch last time, and I see him setting up more tonight. Spurs by 6.
