The San Antonio Spurs didn't play their sharpest in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round but played well enough to grab a 12-point win. However, both teams will now have two days off to try to improve their play.
The Lakers will try to come up with a different game plan, but the Spurs will have a different mentality through the rest. They'll have to work to play better against a severely beaten up Lakers team to close the series out early and Tony Parker knows a few days can make a difference. The Spurs were sharp for a few months and then started slowly sinking in categories that were their strengths early on.
"Until the beginning of April, we were in the top five in every category," Parker said. "Then for various reasons and some injuries, we had a tough month of April. We know that if we want to beat the Lakers, we are going to have to play our best defense and tonight that is what we did. We have to do that three more times."
The next two days off will help the Spurs look at game film and look to fix any cracks in the defense.
It will also help the Spurs get a little bit healthier, like Parker. His health has been questionable since he came back from his shin injury which looks like it's hindered him from playing at the high level he was at early on in the season. This rest will benefit the Spurs and have them look at the series in a "one game at a time" fashion, especially remembering the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs last year and how San Antonio burned out after being up 2-0 in the series.
Another player that will appreciate the rest will be Tim Duncan, who played 35 minutes in Game 1 at 36 years of age. Duncan's knees have been a worry the past few seasons and the two days off will be huge in taking pressure off of them for the next game, especially if the team wants to get three more wins like Parker stated.
What do you think Spurs fans? Will the upcoming rest play a huge factor in the team's play or could it affect their play in Game 2?
