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Phoenix Suns At San Antonio Spurs Game Preview: Playing for Pride

Tonight, the Suns will take on their rival and arch nemesis, the San Antonio Spurs deep in enemy territory. Will the Suns be able to dig deep and come away with an upset victory in Texas?

By Sean Sullivan
USA TODAY Sports

What: Phoenix Suns (18-40) vs. San Antonio Spurs (45-13)

When: Wednesday, February 27nd, 2013, 6:30 PM local time/8:30 EST

Where: AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX

Watch/Listen: TV: FSAZ, Radio: 620 KTAR

After losing Sunday night's game to the Spurs at home, 87-97, in game that wasn't nearly as close as the score may indicate, the lowly Suns will once again take on the top ranked evil empire...but this time on a back-to-back while the Spurs have had two days of rest. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

In any case, the Suns, who are currently dead last in the Western Conference, will be taking on the Spurs who currently have the best record in the entire league. That's basically what this game boils down to, all excuses aside. But still, just like in any other sport, the underdog always has a puncher's chance. Maybe the stars will align for the good guys tonight?

The Weigh In:

Points/Game: Suns 94.4 (23rd), Spurs 104.3 (4th)

Rebounds/Game: Suns 41.5 (18st), Spurs 40.9 (25th)

Assists/Game: Suns 22.2 (15th), Spurs 24.9 (1st)

Steals/Game: Suns 7.7 (17th), Spurs 8.7 (4th)

Blocks/Game: Suns 5.5 (9th), Spurs 5.2 (15th)

Fouls/Game: Suns 20.7 (9th), Spurs 17.6 (30th)

Turnovers/Game: Suns 14.9 (14th), Spurs 14.6 (19th)

Field Goal %: Suns 44.2% (17th), Spurs 48.6% (2nd)

3pt. Field Goal %: Suns 32.6% (29th), Spurs 37.9 (5th)

Free Throw %: Suns 74.6% (19th), Spurs 79.0 (4th)

Stats:

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Goran Dragic 56 32.9 5.0 11.5 43.3 1.2 3.8 31.6 2.9 4.0 73.4 0.6 2.3 2.9 6.8 2.5 1.5 0.4 2.8 14.1
Luis Scola 58 27.1 5.4 11.4 46.8 0.0 0.2 8.3 2.1 2.7 77.4 1.9 4.4 6.2 2.3 1.5 0.9 0.5 3.2 12.8
Marcin Gortat 58 31.1 4.9 9.3 53.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.3 66.9 2.1 6.4 8.5 1.3 1.7 0.7 1.7 2.1 11.4
Jared Dudley 56 29.4 4.1 8.9 46.7 1.4 3.6 38.5 1.6 2.0 79.6 1.1 2.4 3.5 2.7 1.4 0.9 0.1 1.7 11.3
Shannon Brown 53 25.2 4.3 10.3 41.8 0.7 2.6 27.3 1.8 2.4 78.4 0.8 1.9 2.7 2.0 1.3 1.1 0.3 1.6 11.2
Michael Beasley 54 21.6 4.1 10.5 39.5 0.6 1.9 33.3 1.3 1.7 78.0 0.9 3.1 4.0 1.7 2.1 0.4 0.5 1.6 10.2
Marcus Morris 57 20.8 3.1 7.2 42.6 1.3 3.4 38.3 0.9 1.5 63.5 1.1 2.9 4.0 0.8 0.9 0.5 0.3 2.1 8.4
Markieff Morris 58 20.6 3.0 7.6 40.0 0.5 1.6 29.3 1.0 1.4 71.2 1.5 2.9 4.3 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.7 2.6 7.5
Jermaine O`Neal 42 16.9 2.9 5.8 50.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5 1.9 79.7 1.3 3.7 5.1 0.7 1.2 0.4 1.3 2.1 7.3
P.J. Tucker 56 23.1 2.3 5.0 45.4 0.2 0.8 31.0 0.7 1.0 69.1 1.5 2.6 4.1 1.3 0.7 0.7 0.2 1.9 5.5
Wesley Johnson 26 9.8 1.4 4.0 35.0 0.4 1.5 28.9 0.3 0.4 70.0 0.4 1.2 1.7 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.7 3.5
Kendall Marshall 24 11.1 0.8 2.1 40.0 0.4 1.1 33.3 0.0 0.1 50.0 0.1 0.3 0.4 1.7 0.9 0.3 0.0 0.7 2.1
Hamed Haddadi 13 6.6 0.5 1.6 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.8 1.1 1.8 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.5 1.2 1.2
Diante Garrett 9 5.7 0.3 1.3 25.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.7 50.0 0.1 0.6 0.7 1.3 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.1 1.0


FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Tony Parker 54 33.0 8.3 15.5 53.6 0.4 1.1 37.9 4.1 4.9 83.1 0.3 2.8 3.1 7.6 2.5 0.9 0.1 1.4 21.1
Tim Duncan 48 29.5 6.7 13.5 49.6 0.0 0.1 33.3 3.3 4.0 80.4 1.8 7.9 9.6 2.7 2.0 0.8 2.7 1.8 16.7
Manu Ginobili 45 23.2 4.0 9.0 44.4 1.5 4.0 36.7 3.0 3.7 80.7 0.5 3.2 3.7 4.4 2.1 1.4 0.2 1.9 12.4
Kawhi Leonard 38 29.6 3.9 8.1 48.5 1.3 3.3 38.7 1.6 1.8 84.3 0.8 4.7 5.5 1.2 1.0 1.8 0.5 1.8 10.7
Danny Green 56 27.6 3.8 8.3 45.2 2.3 5.3 43.1 0.8 0.9 86.5 0.5 2.7 3.2 1.6 1.1 1.2 0.7 1.6 10.6
Tiago Splitter 58 23.8 3.9 6.6 59.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.7 3.6 74.2 1.6 4.2 5.8 1.3 1.2 0.8 0.8 2.1 10.5
Gary Neal 51 22.4 3.6 8.8 40.8 1.3 3.6 35.5 1.0 1.1 86.2 0.2 1.9 2.2 1.7 1.1 0.4 0.0 1.4 9.4
Stephen Jackson 38 20.7 2.3 6.2 37.2 0.8 3.2 25.8 1.1 1.5 69.0 0.4 2.5 2.9 1.4 1.4 0.7 0.3 1.7 6.4
Boris Diaw 58 23.4 2.4 4.3 56.9 0.4 1.1 42.6 0.7 0.9 70.9 0.9 2.8 3.7 2.5 1.1 0.6 0.3 2.0 6.0
DeJuan Blair 43 13.3 2.2 4.3 49.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.3 65.5 1.2 2.6 3.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.1 1.7 5.2
Patty Mills 47 10.1 1.7 3.7 45.3 0.8 2.0 37.9 0.3 0.3 93.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.9 4.4
Matt Bonner 50 12.6 1.6 3.3 47.6 0.8 1.8 42.2 0.1 0.1 57.1 0.4 1.5 1.9 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.2 1.2 4.0
Nando De Colo 50 11.9 1.3 3.0 43.2 0.4 1.0 36.5 0.5 0.6 76.7 0.3 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.1 0.5 0.1 1.0 3.4
Cory Joseph 10 6.7 0.8 1.9 42.1 0.1 0.6 16.7 0.2 0.2 100.0 0.4 0.6 1.0 1.3 0.8 0.3 0.0 0.1 1.9
Aron Baynes 8 5.6 0.8 1.5 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.5 75.0 0.5 1.1 1.6 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.4 1.4 1.9


Starting Line-Ups:

PG - Goran Dragic v. Tony Parker

SG - Jared Dudley v. Danny Green

SF - P.J. Tucker v. Kawhi Leonard

PF - Luis Scola v. Tim Duncan

C - Marcin Gortat v. Tiago Splitter

Key Match-Up:

Goran Dragic vs. Tony Parker.

Although the Spurs have already shown they are more than capable of beating the Suns even without their all-star starting point guard, there's no question they are a much better team with Parker at the helm. Likewise, the Suns live and die by Goran Dragic, who just so happens to play the same position. When Dragic is on his game he is one of the most electric and exciting point guards to watch in the league. However, he has had trouble stopping opposing star players including Parker in the past, and has let his frustrations take him out of the game offensively as well. If the Suns are going to have any chance of stealing a victory in San Antonio tonight, Dragic will need to step up big and not only take over offensively, but control Parker on defense as well.

Final Thoughts:

Whether or not the Suns can actually win this game is almost beside the point at this stage of the season. What really matters is seeing the continued development of the young players, and finding some semblance of chemistry and consistency from this team. Don't get me wrong, I'd like nothing more than to see David take down the mighty Goliath tonight, but I think most of us would be content to see the Suns play with some heart and hustle, and put forth a respectable effort above all else. Besides, even with a loss the Suns just get that many more lottery balls...It's a win-win!

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