Finch23

LP has both calls! Thank god, eventhough Sean is a big time homer, I can't stand the Rockets announcers....

This Spurs team is about 10x better than they were last year for a few reasons. The biggest reason, Pop is playing Tiago Splitter significant minutes. Instead of seeing Blair and Bonner on the floor for long periods of time (which is horrible defensively) you have another legit center to protect the rim. When Splitter and Duncan are on the floor together the defense improves drastically which is something we hardly ever saw last year. Another reason is the health of Manu Ginobili. In the last regular season game last year Pop was an idiot and played Manu, well he fractured his arm and was pretty ineffective in that Memphis series. People who don't watch the Spurs normally don't understand how much of an impact this guy has every game. He's been the Spurs MVP since 2005. Last reason is Pop is trusting the young guns. In years past rookies would spend most of their time on the bench (ie Splitter, Hill, Beno etc). In the first game the first player to check in off the bench was Kawai Leonard and James Anderson. That would have never happened in years past. It also helps that Kawai and Anderson can play, but it's a very good sign none the less.

Tough game on the 2nd night of a b2b. Scola and Martin usually light us up! Good thing Duncan and Ginobili only played 25 min last night, they will need to be fresh.

No way the Clippers make it to the Finals unless they drastically improve thier defense. Also Billups will be torched every game by above average SG's like he was tonight by Manu. Also thier bench is very weak.....

No excuses really for this Clippers team coming off of 2 days rest, they won't go far with this defense......

Im pretty sure I said this last game, but someone will look at the boxscore and look at Tiago's stats and say "he sucks". That couldn't be further from the truth. His defense has been stellar.

Spurs bench is just destroying the Clippers lack there of. It was the same in the first half, and now that I look at it the Clips bench is pretty weak...

Tiago is more mobile then he looks, im impressed he is being able to stay in front of Blake.

As much as I would love to have Duncan and Splitter on the floor at the same time this is for the best. The less time Bonner and Blair are on the court together the better.

CP3 is making Parker his bitch like normal, but the Spurs really don't have an answer for Blake. He's just way too athletic for San Antonio's bigs.

Super MANu

Clippers raining threes to get them back in the game

it's nice having a true back up PG again. TJ Ford has made some very nice passes, too bad nobody can make a wide open shot

Tiago Splitter plays great defense

Nice first quarter for the Spurs. Dejuan Blair needs to continue to use that power move in the post instead of his spin hook. Blake Griffin is beasting, but thats not surprising. CP3 looks lost IMO. The Spurs team defense has been great thus far, keep it up for 36 more minutes.

Caron Butler's jump shot looks horrible

It's Manu vs Clippers right now.... Ginobili is on fire

Not worried about CP3, it's the Clippers front line that scares me! Need a big game from Manu and Dick Jefferson if we want a chance to win.

Manu is definitely the key to this team. Pop needs to limit his minutes and have him sit some B2Bs, same with Duncan. I think the Spurs need to move Ginobili back to the bench and have James Anderson start who has shown to have a pretty smooth offensive game. I'd also like to see Kawai start over Jefferson. Jefferson seems to play better as the number 1 or 2 option instead of watching Tony, Manu, and Tim. When the Spurs ran plays for him he looked more comfortable. With Leonard, Splitter, and Duncan the Spurs are so much better defensively, this lineup should be the closers IMO. The young guns are going to get a lot of work this season, but are capable of taking pressure off of Manu and Tim. Gary Neal should also be coming back in a week or so!

^^^ your last statement about Kawai Leonard is half true. The kid has the tools to be a great defender and has already had some solid defensive plays thus far. However his offensive game is very limited. His ball handling needs improvement, his shot is flat, and he couldn't finish around the rim worth a damn last night. His defense and rebounding make up for that though.

Damn! Cousins with a monster put back dunk! Lakers getting worked right now. This "all white team" the Lalers have now is not very exciting.....

League pass is a must for me, i've had it for 5 years now and haven't missed a Spurs game.

That starting front line of Minnesota is BEAST, they are so big! Improvement and maturity of Beasly should do wonders, too bad thier back court and bench is pretty terrible.

I really like Denvers team this year, they seem to all have bought into "team basketball". Their depth and fresh legs should help them this season especially, they still lack that closer though.