By Shawn Kirsch | May 21, 2008 | 2 Comments | Print Print

Most of America still hopes San Antonio will lose a series, but they just don’t give up. Kobe and Co. made this game interesting, and it came right down to the wire.

1Q Right out of the gates you can tell San Antonio isn’t in the same battle they were with New Orleans. The Lakers are far more finesse than the bugs. Odom appeared to come ready to play, with several aggressive hustle plays. Kobe would also be making things look easy. Despite not having any points, he had many great passes, leading to open looks for his teammates.

2Q Udoka came off the bench looking good at both ends of the court. However, as the Spurs offense fell into a lull, Vujacic provided an offensive spark for LA, as well as a steal. The Spurs would go back to Duncan, trying to get something going again. The Lakers, playing with their bench and Odom, would dig in and tie it up at 33. Popovich responded by digging deep into his bench, sending Barry out early in the game. As Duncan picked up his second foul, he looked hesitant at times, as if he was still waiting for a double team, or perhaps he was daring them to do it. Parker was playing excellent ball, getting points and assists, even a few offensive rebounds. As the half closed, Kobe was still looking to pass, but it wasn’t looking nearly as easy as it did for him earlier.

3Q Fab-O started the half very well, however, when Bowen subbed out, Udoka did not defend Kobe the way we hoped he would. Kobe began warming up, and Udoka soon had four fouls. With Kobe getting aggressive, LA quickly trimmed 14 points off of a 20 point lead, before Manu and Tim ended the drought.

4Q The Spurs were still holding a lead, but Kobe was single handedly keeping the Lakers in the game, and possession by possession, slowly chipped at the lead. By this point, Ginobili was clearly tired, not providing the fourth quarter spark he usually does, and with just over 3 minutes to play, the Lakers tied it at 81. Soon after, Bowen picked up his fifth foul. At 1:22 to play, the Lakers would go over the foul limit, as Fisher picked up foul number 5. Duncan would retie the game at 85, with 42 seconds left. Once the shot clock became irrelevant, Kobe would get into the lane to make a jumper. At the other end, Ginobili would miss a 3, and Vujacic grabbed the rebound and was fouled, making both free throws. With LA holding a 4 point lead, Finley fired an airball from long range, and with that, the game came to a close.

Review Both sides dug into their bench early, with San Antonio benefitting the most from it. However, in the second half, with this team from Texas tiring, the Lakers benefitted from their active bench. Kobe began aggressively looking for his shot in the second half, and once Udoka was placed on him, he began hitting those shots. This isn’t to blame Udoka, he did alright, but Bowen leaves some mighty big shoes to fill. It was also clear throughout that Fisher plays with a mental toughness that few players possess. There were several plays that didn’t go his way, calls that weren’t in his favor, but he kept his cool, and didn’t let it bother him. This is a huge plus for LA, where despite his lack of athleticism, he will provide heads up moments that will make life easier for Kobe.

Take Two Kobe will be looking for his shot a lot earlier next time. Popovich will likely give this group another day off, as well as give Manu more minutes on the bench, so he can give them a spark at the end of the game. Duncan may have had a big game, but nobody shot very well. Look for this to change next time, as a few more 3s will fall, Udoka will be better prepared to shift over to Kobe, and The French Flash will take a few more opportunities for the one man break. Kurt Thomas will definitely need to show up on Friday, as he brought nothing to the table tonight.

Highlights

Duncan: 30 pts, 18 boards, 4 blocks Parker: 18 pts, 10 boards, 6 assists Bowen: 12 pts, great defense on Kobe

Kobe: 27 pts, 5 boards, 9 assists Gasol: 19 pts, 7 boards Kobe: (yeah, again) second half takeover

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Spurs vs. Lakers Game 1 Liveblog

By Michael A. De Leon | May 21, 2008 | No Comments | Print Print

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More Spurs-Lakers Predictions

By Michael A. De Leon | May 21, 2008 | 3 Comments | Print Print

Shawn Kirsch

These two teams split the regular season battle, 2-2, with each side winning the home games. However, the first game in LA was a 5 point loss without Duncan and Parker. The second game in LA was an 11 point loss without Ginobili. Gasol was also there for that final game, although he only played for 28 minutes. This isn’t such a dramatic effect for the Spurs though, as they know the Lakers system, and they’ve faced Gasol more than a few times too. It is harder on the Lakers, who are still feeling each other out a little bit. Watch the Lakers lose this series for the same reason the Celtics won’t beat Detroit, they simply haven’t been together long enough. The Laker bench is also weak, especially compared to a San Antonio bench that is just starting to wake up. Spurs in 5.

Michael De Leon

Gasol, defensively is soft and can’t handle Tim Duncan, nor can Lamar Odom. After two very frustrating series against Shaq, Amare, David West and Tyson Chandler, I expect Tim Duncan to have a great series scoring easily when he wants to. If the Lakers double him, Duncan is a great passer out of the post and the Spurs shooters have shown that they can knock down shots. My x-factor for this series is Tony Parker. If Tony can get to the basket consistently, which I think he can due to an older and slower Derek Fisher guardig him, he gives the Spurs a good chance to win this series. Kobe is Kobe and he’ll get his points, but he’ll have to work for them with Bruce Bowen guarding him. not only that, but the SPurs have never had another defensive stopper off the bench to relieve Bowen like they do now with Ime Udoka. The biggest question mark I have is how the Spurs will guard Lamar Odom. Either way, I think the spurs match up with the Lakers pretty well and will win this series in 7 to get back to the NBA Finals and defend their crown.

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Spurs vs. Lakers Series Preview Podcast

By Michael A. De Leon | May 21, 2008 | No Comments | Print Print

The Western Conference Finals series preview podcast is now up on The Spurscast.

Jeff and I review the West semifinal series against the New Orleans Hornets that ended with the Spurs winning the series in 7 games. We also play and talk about Jason Terry’s hate for the Spurs on the Colin Cowherd show on ESPN. After the break we break down the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, go over positional matchups, give our predictions of this series and the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Spurs vs. Lakers Prediction

By Jeff | May 20, 2008 | 9 Comments | Print Print

Here we go again. Spurs and Lakers meet for like the 100, 000th time to battle in the playoffs. Though gone is Shaq from the Lakers, David Robinson from the Spurs and Horry now wearing black and silver, these two teams still have players from the intense rivalry days in the late 90’s and early 2000. Kobe “The Rapist”, Fisher, Philip Jackson, Duncan, Parker, Bowen, Manu, and Coach Pop are still here.

Let’s look at this matchup. First the Spurs. They just went 7 games with the Hornets and at times looked terrible, especially on the road. Spurs will have to go on the road in this series since the Lakers finished with the top record in the West so this doesn’t bode well for the Spurs. In the playoffs so far, with the exception of game 1 against the Suns, Duncan has not shown up. He has been a 16 and 12 kind of player. He even laid an egg and scored 5 points in game 1 versus the Hornets. We haven’t seen a dominant performance from him in quite a while. Again going 7 games versus the Hornets told me a lot about this team. They couldn’t handle New Orleans in games this year and now imagine now taking on a similar team in the Lakers but now with Kobe “The Rapist”. Strong for the Spurs is their defense and 3-point shooting. This was key in the wins against the Hornets and will need to flex their defensive muscle against the high-scoring Lakers. If the Spurs can keep it a low scoring affair, Spurs win. But which team has been successful in doing that? Jazz looked inept and Denver, well, they just don’t play D.

Lakers. After sweeping the Nuggets, and handling the Jazz in 6 games, the Lakers have been resting and preparing for the next round. The Spurs will have a short turnaround and will face the Lakers this Wednesday night. This works to the Lakers advantage. With Gasol now in the fold, the Lakers have someone to counter Duncan and be a presense in the middle. Now granted the Spurs were the last team the Lakers wanted to see in this round. If you are the Lakers, you didn’t want this matchup. On paper, the Lakers seem to be the dominant team — shooting guard, center, small forward but this Spurs team will not go down without a fight. The Lakers have a potent offense. Odom, “The Rapist”, Gasol score and score a lot. Expect the Lakers to run on the Spurs often.

In the end, this comes down to………………………..coaching! Yes, throw out the player matchups, this series is all about the coaches. Pop vs. Jackson. Remember this season, Pop was vocal about the Gasol trade saying it was incomprehensible and wanted a trade committee. Jackson slapped the whole asterisk crap on the Spurs 1999 title. Game to game adjustments favors Pop and you know Phillip will love to ruin another chance at the Spurs getting thier first repeat (see the Fisher .4 shot).

Overall, the Lakers just present too many matchup problems for the Spurs. Who guards Odom…….Oberto? Radmonovic…….Manu? Kobe might get some defensive time on Parker and will frustrate TP. If Ime and Finley show up then Spurs got a good shot.

Lakers in 6.

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Spurs vs. Lakers Positional Breakdown

By Shawn Kirsch | May 20, 2008 | No Comments | Print Print

Point Guard: Derek Fisher returned to the Lakers this season, giving them that push over the edge they needed to win, a lot. Fisher may not be the best point in the game, but he’s smart, he understands Kobe, he’s well acquainted with Jackson, and knows Parker all too well. He only played between 22 and 31 minutes in their season matchups, but being the playoffs, he’ll spend a lot more time on the court in the conference final, plus, he has the added virtue of making a clutch shot against the Spurs, and he could be called on to do it again. Parker is obviously a better guard then Fisher. He also knows his team, his coach, and Fisher. Parker consistently plays close to 40 minutes, but he’ll have a blast blowing by Fisher, having just finished up with the much quicker Paul. Look for The French Flash to put up big numbers in this series, as he’s very much in tune with his game, after a hard fought, 7 game battle. Advantage, Parker.

Shooting Guard: Kobe, enough said. Ginobili will have a tough time getting points off against Bryant, who is one of the best two way players in the league. However, he’s done it before. Several years ago, during the first game of the season, against a star studded LA lineup that included Shaq, Ginobili torched them for a ton of points in a double overtime game, without Duncan. Look for Manu to rise up to the challenge and get his 20 a game, while drawing a couple of fouls on Kobe. Advantage, Kobe.

Small Forward: Lamar Odom is the glue factor for the Lakers offense. He’s a more versatile version of Scotty Pippen, but lacking the scoring numbers. He’ll fade into oblivion, until Kobe passes him the ball, at which point, he’ll fire a rapid pass into the post, shoot, or pass it to Kobe, who’s now flying in for a dunk. Odom will be there doing all the little things, putting numbers in 5 stat categories. He may also spend some time guarding Ginobili, as Kobe might shift onto Parker for stretches. Bowen is here for one purpose, to shut down Kobe. If he gets a few points, a rebound, a steal, it’s a bonus. His only mission is to keep Kobe from scoring, and to frustrate him, and he is VERY good at it. Advantage, Odom.

Power Forward: Vladimir Radmanovich doesn’t play many minutes, as this is a hot spot in the rotation. Odom will also spend a lot of time here, although I suspect the bench will play a larger role to help on Duncan than they did on Boozer. Radmanovich will do what he can, but he’ll likely be guarding Oberto, who is good enough to punish him. On the offensive side, Radmanovich will step outside often, but that won’t pose a problem for the Spurs D, which will challenge him to hit from out there, only coming all the way out if he is having an on night. On the Spurs side we have Duncan, who will likely guard, and be guarded by, Gasol. Gasol doesn’t like playing physical, and Duncan grew far too used to that game against many series with Shaq. The Big Fundamental will obliterate Gasol offensively, who will suffer on both ends of the court because of it. Advantage, Duncan.

Center: Oberto will likely continue to start, although Thomas will get a lot of minutes to come and make Gasol’s life miserable. Remember what Thomas did to Duncan a year ago, and that’s what he’ll do to Gasol now, only more thoroughly. Oberto will play for large stretches when either Ginobili or Parker are out, to take advantage of his passing acumen. When the going gets tough though, Thomas will enter for his defense and baseline shot. Gasol is just going to have a rough go of it all around. With the type of finesse game he likes, every big man the Spurs have will cause problems for him, even Fab-O, who likes to disrupt passes. Even so, Kobe viciously attacking the rim will open up some bunny shots for him, and with this, he will still get 20+ points a night. Advantage, regretfully, Gasol.

Bench: Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf will get ample opportunity to prove themselves in this round, as they both have skill sets that could benefit the Lakers against San Antonio, far more so than against the Jazz. Jordan Farmar will need to prove he can shoot the lights out when they need him most. However, the Lakers bench is known more for cheerleading than on court production, so we’ll see how well this works out for them. Horry, Finley, and especially Udoka just recently remembered how to play fundamental basketball, and are used to how the Lakers operate, probably better than most of the Lakers. Udoka is also a capable Kobe stopper, and Horry still has some inside information he can use to his advantage. This is a no brainer, Spurs bench trounces the Lakers Bench.

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Bench Shows Up, Spurs Win!

By Shawn Kirsch | May 19, 2008 | 4 Comments | Print Print

In what may have been the biggest game thus far in the 2008 playoffs, San Antonio’s bench finally showed some production. Bucking the trend of the second round, the Spurs won on the road, in game 7.

1Q The game would open evenly amongst both teams, but would show Duncan being double, and occasionally triple teamed, as his teammates missed open 3s. Soon enough, New Orleans would be making easy baskets, and San Antonio would be giving up easy defensive boards. The Spurs would prove to be making questionable passes in traffic, leading to several turnovers. Their luck would soon change though. Kurt Thomas entered the game, and quickly grabbed several offensive rebounds, and Ginobili would foul Chris Paul at the quarter’s end. He would escape being charged with a foul, however, as it happened just after the quarter had ended.

2Q The Spurs would continue making silly mistakes, but their role players were PRODUCING, even as the Hornets bench was scoreless. It would continue in the Spurs favor as their careless turnovers were matched with the Hornets careless turnovers. Unfortunately, New Orleans would grab the momentum with 5 minutes to play, as Stojakovich started to get into a shooting groove. Udoka would display endless energy though, as he ran end to end and side to side, showing great hustle and good defense. The Spurs would turn it around as Ginobili ended the run with a 3, followed by a fast break by The French Flash. Ginobili would be on fire from beyond the arc, building up a lead, before CP3 weaved around the defense to make a buzzer beating layup. Going into the half, San Antonio had a 9 point lead, which was good, but their 10 turnovers would be a bad sign.

3Q In the third, Chandler was playing some great defense, making things difficult for Duncan. However, West would show less aggression, as he started shooting more outside shots. Parker would seem to be a little scared to take a charge, as Paul got by him too easily at times, but the Spurs finally played a good third quarter anyways. With 4:40 in the period, Duncan would go to the bench with his 4th foul, and a 10 point lead. It worked out well, as Finley and Horry combined to make 3 huge shots from long range. San Antonio would come out with a 15 point lead.

4Q San Antonio would need every one of those 15 points, as New Orleans slowly chipped away at the lead. When Pargo made a floater, it became apparent that he had found his shot again. Udoka would stave off the run with a big hustle play, coming up with an offensive board, and getting a steal right away at the other end. Not long after, Paul would take a shot to the face off of an offensive foul by Ginobili. Manu would make ammends quickly, as he drew Chandler’s second foul. With 4:15 in the game, Duncan would pick up his 5th foul, but Pop would leave him in. Pargo would hit a 3 to cut the lead to 6, and for a few moments, the game would have a foul on every play. San Antonio would relapse for a moment, giving up gobs of rebounds, leading to the Hornets slashing another 3 points off of the lead, from another Pargo 3. With 50 seconds to play, Parker would push the lead back to 5. Paul would miss a layup, and immediately foul Ginobili, picking up his fifth. Manu would make 2 free throws, the first of several as he would be fouled in the closing moments of the game. With 25 seconds to play Paul would foul out, a first in his NBA career. San Antonio would finally win in New Orleans, 91-82, and shall go on to face the Lakers, in the land of milk and ‘hunnies.’

Review West’s back didn’t seem to bother him, but his impact on the game dwindled after the first quarter. San Antonio was plagued by turnovers, but was able to overcome it, as their bench showed up with huge plays, yielding 18 rebounds (8 offensively) and 22 points. With their bench stepping up in every way they hadn’t over the previous 6 games, San Antonio had all the punch they needed to put them over the top. Paul and Chandler had solid games, West had a great first quarter, but Pargo showed up just a little too late to recover from the steady play of the San Antonio bench over the game’s duration. Pargo also seemed to dominate the ball at the end of the fourth, yielding nothing on a few plays that Paul probably could have milked a basket out of.

Staples Center We all know the history of the Spurs and Lakers. Hopefully, San Antonio will be able to wrap this series up quickly, winning the first two in LA, slapping the ‘easy button,’ and finishing it with two at home.

Highlights

Duncan: 16 pts, 14 boards Giniboli: 26 pts, 5 boards, 5 assists, 10-11 free throws Parker: 17 pts, 5 assists Udoka: 8 pts, 4 boards, 2 steals, lots of hustle plays Thomas: 5 offensive boards

Paul: 18 pts, 8 boards, 14 assists, 5 steals West: 20 pts, 9 boards Chandler: 13 pts, 15 boards Pargo: 18 pts, 4 boards, 2 steals

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