FanHouse

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Hornets-Spurs Western Conference Semifinals Game 3 this evening.

1. Choose To Abuse: Bruce Bowen tried to guard Chris Paul. He did. But the problem is, the guy is, well, Chris Paul. The common thought today is that he'll be switching to Peja Stojakovic, who torched the Spurs in Game 2. After saying "As long as Chris Paul doesn't go off, we're good" and then "As long as David West doesn't go off, we're money," apparently the thought is "As long as Peja Stojakovic doesn't go off, we've got this thing." The Spurs seem kind of surprised that the Hornets have more weapons than they originally thought. We'll see if the switch of Bowen allows the Spurs to maintain the same quality double they brought on West last week, and if they can keep their fingers in all the holes.

2. Gotta Rain Sometime: The Spurs talked a lot after Game 2 about the fact that they're getting the shots they want, they're just not going in. Now, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, unless the Spurs have planned to shoot 10 more threes per game than they did in the regular season. Yeah, you hear right. 10. What's worse is that they haven't fallen since the first half of Game 1. The Spurs are counting on those shots falling in the warm and comfy confines of the AT&T Center, and that's pretty likely. But the Spurs might be better off thinking about ...

3. The Will To Attack: The Hornets have been the more aggressive team throughout the first two games of this series. Even with their three point shooting in Game 2, they're getting those shots because of the interior collapse the Spurs are having to implement. Meanwhile, Chris Paul is in constant attack position, never hesitating. If the Spurs are going to retake the momentum at home, tonight, they have to get Paul back on his feet a little bit. Or at least force the ball out of his hands, something two Texas teams have failed to do so far.

4. About That "6th Man" Thing: Manu Ginobili isn't a bench player. He plays the majority of the minutes, he's on the billboards, etc. He has the game persona of a starter that doesn't play for 4 or 5 minutes. Tonight, he's actually a starter as Greg Popovich has moved him into the starting lineup and shifted Michael Finley to the bench. It's an interesting tactic that could provide the Spurs the immediate burst they need to come out and get this under control quickly, something they probably want to focus on. Of course, they can start as well as they want, but what they really need to do is...

5. Control The Third: The Spurs have been outscored by 30 points in the third quarters of this series, 65=35. That's kind of a lot. Especially for a quarter that is traditionally thought to be the most important by many coaches. Phil Jackson teams are almost always dominant in the third. The Spurs have led at the half of both games, so they're not completely out of this game. But something happens in the locker room and they come out stunned. If the Spurs can get out to a fast start to both halves, they can probably catch a Hornets team that may be coasting a bit up 2-0 and have a chance to get back into this thing proper in Game 4.