"In a world where carpenters get resurrected, everything is possible."
The last time our old, jaded Spurs played the Clippers they were embarrassed at home, as the Clippers took it to them. Reading the postgame comments (from Pop) you can see that the Clippers simply wanted it more:
"I just told you that our competitiveness was poor, our execution was poor, we didn't play very smart and that's why we lost. If you want to do a basketball clinic, we'll have to do it another time."
The Spurs were outhustled and outplayed in ever facet of the game (they were outrebounded by 20). The Spurs, had they won that night, had the opportunity to get Pop his 1000th win at home, by beating the the lowly Magic and Heat (which they did). But this game goes way beyond being a revenge game for the Spurs. It is the start of a new beginning, a new season, so to speak. It is, in short, a symbol of hope. After a season full of peaks and valleys, bumps and bruises and several false starts, the Spurs are finally ready (and healthy) to make that final push to recapture some of that magic from last year. Currently, they are 7th in the standings but only two games behind the Blazers (currently 3rd) in the loss column. That’s not a lot of ground to make up and if the Spurs can get that 3rd spot they guarantee themselves at least one series with home court advantage. And as tough as the West is, they could get home court in the 2nd round if the team above them gets knocked out in the first round.
So these first few games are very important to the Spurs. If they falter against the Blake-less Clippers, and then lose to the Warriors, the task will become that much tougher. Beating the Clippers and Warriors (back to back) would be ideal but getting a split is the realistic goal here. That’s why the Spurs simply can’t afford to overlook the Clippers in this spot. And if history tells us anything, this Spurs team has been pretty good at taking care of business and not overlooking teams. The annual rodeo trip has also been very kind to the Spurs over the years, as they’ve put up some staggering numbers (especially in the last game before all-star break and the first game after the all star break):
Since 2002 the Spurs are 19-5 in games before and after the all star break. 2 losses in OT, 2 back to back, one was the 9th road game of a long road trip
They are 9-3 on the front end of the all star break (one OT loss in the 8th game of the road trip, 2 losses in a b to b situation)
10-2 on the back end of the all-star break. 6-1 at home 4-1 on the road (the one loss was in OT)
The Spurs have a 70% win record on the rodeo road trip (7 games or longer)
rest of NBA just 43% (in such situations)
Spurs on non-rodeo trip win 59% of their games on the road (which is still good).
Additionally, NBA champs (who often win the 1st game of the following season, when their banner is raised) also have a great record after the all-star break, which marks another beginning (or the beginning of another push towards a title):
In the past 14 years, NBA champs are 12-2 in the 1st game after all star break (Mavs and the Shaq Heat being the exceptions. And let’s face it, those teams were one and done teams that were not great to begin with.)
The Clippers, meanwhile, already had their little bounce-back games, where they overachieved without their superstar (Blake). They beat the Mavs (who lost Ellis and Chandler in the 1st quarter) and then the Rockets off a back to back, at home. So they’ve beaten two of the Texas teams already (without Blake) and now face the 3rd. Spenser Hawes should fill in nicely here as he has put up some good numbers against the Spurs over the years. Jordan should also be pretty motivated after being snubbed yet again for the all-star game (when Dirk was chosen to go last week). But the grizzled Spurs will be a team on a mission on Thursday, not only to get revenge, but also to make a statement as they re-start their season and make one last push towards an improbable back-to-back title.
Spurs +1 for 5 units (LC style)
Also a big lean towards OKC (for some of the same reasons I like the Spurs). I just don’t see how Rondo, who had barely started to integrate himself in the Dallas system, and has now missed 3 weeks of basketball, along with Ellis and Chandler (who will also be extra rusty) and Stoudemire (if he plays) will be able to mesh/harmonize enough to beat an OKC team that is starting to peak.
Good luck.