The 2-0* Phoenix Suns will take on the 1-0* San Antonio Spurs, the reining Western Conference champions, in a rivalry-fueled game with great consequences. Well, not really...but a Suns-Spurs match-up should be enough to get you excited, right? Even last year's abysmal season featured a fantastic duel between the two teams in which Wes Johnson made perhaps the only memorable play of his Suns career.
*Preseason records
Who: Phoenix Suns vs. San Antonio Spurs
What: An NBA preseason game
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
When: 11:30AM PST, October 13, 2013
Why: Because Suns vs. Spurs
How: Listen live on AZ Sports 620. Follow the game live on this game thread!
Probable Starters
Suns:
The Suns went with a fairly normal starting five in their first preseason game, then shuffled pieces around in their second by moving Goran Dragic to the bench and starting Marcus Morris for the sake of experiment. Since it's pointless trying to predict what changes Hornacek will make to his lineup today, let's just go with the probable regular season starters (this will not likely be accurate).
PG - Eric Bledsoe
SG - Goran Dragic
SF - PJ Tucker
PF - Markieff Morris
C - Marcin Gortat
Spurs:
The Spurs have only played one game thus far in the preseason, an overtime thriller against CSKA Moscow in which Patty Mills hit a game-winner to lead the Spurs to victory. Yes, CSKA Moscow. Yes, Patty Mills. There's another reminder that this is preseason.
PG - Tony Parker
SG - Danny Green
SF - Kawhi Leonard
PF - Tim Duncan
C - Tiago Splitter
Key Match-ups
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Eric Bledsoe vs. Tony Parker - This is the match-up I'm most excited about. Both players are small, quick guards with somewhat similar offensive styles. Obviously, Parker is far more experienced and is the better player at this point in their respective careers but this should be a good (preseason) test for Bledsoe.
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Goran Dragic vs. Danny Green/Manu Ginobili - Dragic is sure to see at least a few minutes against both Green and Ginobili. The former is a catch-and-shoot guard with size who loves shooting off screens, which is the type of player Dragic and the rest of the Suns team often had trouble defending last season. Meanwhile, Ginobili is a crafty veteran who plays similarly to Dragic. The contrast between Green and Ginobili greatly helped San Antonio last year.
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Marcin Gortat vs. Tiago Splitter - Splitter received a nice extension from the Spurs this offseason, while Gortat hopes to earn a contract at least in the same range in 2014. Although this is just preseason, match-ups like these are the ones Gortat needs to use to showcase his skills and prove his worth in this season of audition.
- Alex Len vs. Tim Duncan? I'm not sure if we'll get a chance to see this match-up at all today but it would sure be an intriguing one. It probably wouldn't end well for the rookie but it would a great learning exercise for him to go up against one of the best big men of all time and one of the players he personally loves to watch.
More from Bright Side Of The Sun:
- Phoenix Suns NBA Rank 2012 vs. 2013 - Garbage in, garbage out
- Former Phoenix Suns Michael Beasley has Miami Heat basking in the Tease of Beas
- Phoenix Suns Practice Report: The Suns are going to "run the sh*t out of it" this season
- Phoenix Suns need steals by Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic for quick offense
- BSotS Community Meetup scheduled for Friday, November 1st @ Majerle's Sports Grill before game vs. Utah Jazz