Charlotte (1-6) at San Antonio (6-1): Game Thread

Charlotte (1-6) at San Antonio (6-1)
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Game Info: 8:00 pm EST Wed Nov 15, 2006
TV: MyCH, FxSW

By ANDY LEFKOWITZ, STATS Editor

Two of the San Antonio Spurs' best players should be well-rested for a matchup against one of the league's worst teams.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will try to keep San Antonio (6-1) perfect against the Charlotte Bobcats when they meet Wednesday at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs have won all four matchups from the Bobcats by an average of 18.0 points.

San Antonio got huge contributions from its bench to post its fifth consecutive win overall and seventh straight over Houston, 92-84 on Tuesday.

After the Rockets built a 74-55 third-quarter lead, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich benched Duncan and Parker. San Antonio responded with a 20-1 run, during which Beno Udrih scored eight of his 11 points.

Francisco Elson finished with 12 points and Robert Horry added 10 as San Antonio's bench accounted for 41 points.

"Our bench did one heck of a job to get us back in it," said Duncan, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds for his third straight double-double. "Pop took us out because we were turning the ball over and not making shots. But our bench came in and they were the difference."

Duncan is averaging 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games against Charlotte. He missed the first-ever meeting between the teams in February 2005 with a sprained ankle.

Parker, who shot just 4 of 13 from the floor for a season-low eight points before being benched, saw his scoring average drop from 24.5 points to 21.3.

In the Spurs' 104-76 win Jan. 24 over the Bobcats, Parker had only eight points in just under 24 minutes while Udrih had season highs of 17 points and eight assists. Even with that poor outing, Parker is shooting 61.4 percent (35-of-57) and averaging 18.8 points lifetime versus the Bobcats.

Charlotte (1-6) opened a three-game road trip Tuesday with its fourth straight loss after falling to New Orleans 94-85.

"We're hurting ourselves," Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "There is nothing wrong with the effort. It's the turnovers. They have been at critical times and they've killed us. We have no value for the basketball."

The Bobcats, who had 18 turnovers in their latest loss, are tied with the Magic for the league lead with 19.7 turnovers per game. Charlotte has played one less game than Orlando.

Emeka Okafor, limited to 26 games last season by an ankle injury, recorded his fourth straight double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds. Okafor, the 2004-05 rookie of the year, has played well during the losing streak, averaging 23.8 points and 16.0 rebounds in that span.

Okafor, though, has just eight points and 19 rebounds in two career games versus the Spurs.

Adam Morrison, the third overall pick in past season's draft, matched a season high with 21 in his second career start. Morrison, who went 9-for-18 from the field and grabbed his first offensive rebound in Tuesday's defeat, is shooting just 36.0 percent from the field but leads all rookies in scoring at 13.1 points per game.

The Bobcats and Spurs will complete their season series Dec. 6 at Charlotte.


San Antonio Notes
Nov 15 The Spurs now have won seven consecutive games against the Rockets, the longest active winning streak against Houston. ... San Antonio's bench outscored Houston by a 41-16 margin. That total was the second highest against the Rockets this year. ... San Antonio dominated the boards, outrebounding Houston, 51-36, the first time Houston has been outrebounded in a seven-game stretch. ... The win by the Spurs marks the first time in franchise history that San Antonio has won its first four road games since joining the NBA in the 1976-77 season.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid ... 24&prov=ap

Okafor has been a beast this season. It will be interesting to see how he does against the Spurs. I believe the Spurs have not lost a game against the Bobcats in their 4 meetings. Lets keep the streak alive.

I'm rooting for a Spurs win as always, but I'm also kind of secretly hoping for Gerald Wallace to do well. I took him pretty high in my fantasy draft and he and Kirilenko haven't done much for me this season.

man Okafor is a monster shot blocker

What's up with an opponent's swingman having a career night against us every single game? I'm starting to wonder if Bowen has slowed down. T-Mac just started missing every shot last night. It wasn't because of great defense (for the most part).

Pop set a goal for the Spurs to at least reach 80 points in every game this year. Will that goal fall short already?

VWolf wrote:What's up with an opponent's swingman having a career night against us every single game? I'm starting to wonder if Bowen has slowed down. T-Mac just started missing every shot last night. It wasn't because of great defense (for the most part).

And what's up with the weak home showings this year?

this new ball is doing some crazy s***

Both home losses have been after back to backs, but still. Really weak performance tonight. The Spurs could not buy a three point shot and their D on the 'stache was pathetic.

24 offensive rebounds and we still manage to lose? Now that takes real effort.

man I dont want to start the nba ball controversy but man everytime duncan went in for a layup or tip the ball just didnt seem to hit the rim like the old ball did; I'm thinking it has to do with the new grip(edging) in the ball.


I mean duncan missed a important and 1 because of that. I will give credit where credit is due


I never realize Okafor was such a monster shot blocker, first time I have seen him play in a long time(didnt watch much college basketball)

but let me say that duncan missed about 12 1 ft tip in/layups tonight; and the ball did not look natural

I don't know what's up with Manu's shooting. He did alright with getting 12 rebounds and 7 assists, but he hasn't really had one really good game (other than last night). Supposedly he said he's working on it but his shot and his 3 point shot is worse than before. I just hope he gets it back soon.

We were lucky to get to overtime in this game. Manu's late game execution has been horrible...well I guess so has his mid and early game execution.

Manu wake up! Forget about that boneheaded foul on Dirk Diggler that prevented the Spurs from cruising to another championship! It's in the past.

speaking of manu, he has not found the range yet this season and is obviously still trying to incorporate the mid-range shot more to preserve the body for the playoffs. still, damn man hit some buckets 3/14 FG!!

his pattern to good shooting nights has always been to get it going inside early, like those games where he gets a dunk off the opening tip even. hits a couple of 3's in the first half. 3rd quarter he becomes playmaker manu, then takes over down the stretch of the 4th and seals the deal with free throws or a layup.

but you know, when has manu hit a game winner? I can definitely remember game-clinchers, but never a buzzer-beater to win it (beating Serbia-Montenegro w/ARG doesn't count, that was sweet revenge tho). He is waaaay due for a break. The Dirk thing, man, I don't know that could give someone a complex...

I'm wrong or in most of the games there are low % in FG? I mean, is not only the Spurs...
Thanks Stern for the new ball... another brilliant idea...