GT: Spurs (35-25) vs. Cavaliers (35-23)

[Nolan]

When: Feb 25th 1:30 PM MT
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland OH

The rodeo road trip continues! Next stop Cleveland for a tough matchup against the new look Cav's!

We demolished this team the last time we met but this isn't the same team. They've got younger, faster and more versatile. Transition defense is going to be important in this one, can't let this team run all over us.

Go Spurs!!

[ducler]

[imagump1313]

We need someone to score besides LMA. Problem is, we don't have anyone who can score 15-20 consistently. Plus this is a National TV game in the afternoon. I'll be cheering on my Spurs but this game has bad timing written all over it for us. Hopefully Cleveland doesn't show up.

[G R E Y]

Read on Twitter

Another game, another opportunity for other guys to step up. Looking for a full team effort again. Loved our compete level last game, just need to play cleaner, mitigate mistakes. And play hard and smart for 48 minutes on both ends.

EDIT: Patty in for Danny in the starting line-up. Interesting. Same starters as last game. So, it's Murray, Patty, Kyle, Pau, LMA with Danny coming off the bench at some point.

I love our team.

GO SPURS GO!

[imagump1313]

Wow, that was an awesome surprise! Everyone played well and we gutted that game out. We needed guys to step up offensively and Danny Green and Dejounte Murry did just that.

I cant say enough how well Kyle Anderson played again, especially his defense on James. If Kawhi ever does come back, a three punch of Leonard, Anderson and Gay will be frightening for opposing teams.

I see Pop found a fix for us regarding having Mills and Parker on the floor too much at the same time. Having Mills start with Green off the bench I think makes perfect sense.

We still have problems with scoring and turning it over but even without Leonard, if the rest of this team is healthy it can beat most NBA teams if they play well and not turn the ball over. This was a fun game to watch if you are a Spurs fan.

[G R E Y]

^Agree! Quality win. I loved loved loved our fight. It's been a trying losing streak, especially since we've been playing better the last couple of games, so to gut this one out after being down 9 and shooting badly for stretches was great so see. Pop called timeouts after each breakdown (had to burn a couple, but that's what they're for), we regrouped, got key stops and made key shots to neutralize their mini runs and that's game. Danny off the bench was huge for us - good balance for us with Patty and Murray, like you said, but also he was key in taking advantage of their weaker bench. Second highest scorer for us, great on D, one of seven Spurs in double digits. For a team that has had trouble scoring, we've been well above our average most recently - with Patty and Danny switching. It'll depend on the matchup, I guess, but this is a great spark at just the right time.

LMA was interviewed after the game, and though I understand the Kawhi questions, honestly, reporters ought to focus on what the players on the court are doing. That's not a slight on Leonard, but he's been gone long enough that the whole 'how are you coping with him out' really should not be asked. We've been answering it with our play all season long.

Pop had some complimentary pre-game insights about LeBron as a voice that so many look up to as a counter to that hideous, dismissive "He should just shut up and play" comment.

It seems we've turned on a switch, and we're rallying with and for one another. Great team win. Love. Our. Team.

GO SPURS GO!

[Ballings7]

Great team win, guys played like needed, and with Gay getting back into the scheme of things.

Four days off between Monday and Sunday, two games... Pelicans and Lakers. Both those should be wins next week.

[Nolan]

Excellent win and a terrific team effort. We just ground the Cav's down in this one; it was a death by a thousand cuts type of win for us and we haven't had many of those performances as of late.

LMA was a horse in the low block, Danny couldn't miss, Murray was under control and alert on both ends, Forbes gave us a nice scoring punch off the bench and Slo-Mo was his crafty self.

[Nolan]

Wow, that was an awesome surprise! Everyone played well and we gutted that game out. We needed guys to step up offensively and Danny Green and Dejounte Murry did just that.

I cant say enough how well Kyle Anderson played again, especially his defense on James. If Kawhi ever does come back, a three punch of Leonard, Anderson and Gay will be frightening for opposing teams.

I see Pop found a fix for us regarding having Mills and Parker on the floor too much at the same time. Having Mills start with Green off the bench I think makes perfect sense.

We still have problems with scoring and turning it over but even without Leonard, if the rest of this team is healthy it can beat most NBA teams if they play well and not turn the ball over. This was a fun game to watch if you are a Spurs fan.

I can't wait to see that trio in action. I firmly believe the plan heading into the season was to play more small ball with those 3 rotating through the forward spots and have Pau play more backup five.

[jptremblay]

Wow, that was an awesome surprise! Everyone played well and we gutted that game out. We needed guys to step up offensively and Danny Green and Dejounte Murry did just that.

I cant say enough how well Kyle Anderson played again, especially his defense on James. If Kawhi ever does come back, a three punch of Leonard, Anderson and Gay will be frightening for opposing teams.

I see Pop found a fix for us regarding having Mills and Parker on the floor too much at the same time. Having Mills start with Green off the bench I think makes perfect sense.

We still have problems with scoring and turning it over but even without Leonard, if the rest of this team is healthy it can beat most NBA teams if they play well and not turn the ball over. This was a fun game to watch if you are a Spurs fan.

I can't wait to see that trio in action. I firmly believe the plan heading into the season was to play more small ball with those 3 rotating through the forward spots and have Pau play more backup five.

LMA/Pau
Gay/Bertans
Kawhi/Kyle
Green/Manu/Forbes
Murray/Parker/Mills

This one is a superdeep team that would fit well at both ends of the floor. Maybe insert Bertans in the first unit to give more power to the second unit, and giving more shots to Rudy.