duncan228
01-25-2009, 10:40 PM
Analysis: Lakers-Spurs rivalry unrivaled in the Association (http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/dave_mcmenamin/01/25/spurs.lakers.20090125/)
By Dave McMenamin, NBA.com
Los Angeles -- Even with a ho-hum game on a lazy Sunday afternoon, the Lakers and Spurs proved once again why they have the best rivalry going in the NBA.
And it's not even close.
Pipe down about San Antonio vs. Phoenix. Without Mike D'Antoni around, that matchup's about as over as Joe the Plumber's 15 minutes of fame.
And you can forget about LeBron James vs. Team X, too. Sure, Cleveland has a few budding annual adversaries in Boston, Detroit and Washington, but the truth of the matter is the Cavs-Wizards competition level is Soulja Boy to the Lakers-Spurs rivalry's Jay-Z.
With the Lakers' 99-85 win at STAPLES Center, Los Angeles and San Antonio have played 70 games against one another in the regular season and playoffs combined since the start of the 1998-99 season. Through those 70 games, the series score is now even, 35-35.
They are tied through TEN YEARS of playing each other.
Has there been anything in the last 10 years with that kind of staying power? Will Smith's Willenium made its debut back in '99 when these two teams were just starting to form the ying to the other's yang. When's the last time you queued Wild, Wild West up on your iPod?
Kobe Bryant called the Spurs a "measuring stick" and Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said that the two teams bring out the best in one another.
It makes sense then that the 35th win in the series was also L.A.'s 35th win of the season, giving the Lakers a half-game lead over Cleveland for the best record in the league and opening up a six-game lead over the Spurs for the No. 1 seed in the West.
L.A. is measuring up as the best team in the NBA.
The Lakers held San Antonio to sub-40 percent shooting, Jordan Farmar came back to score 14 points in 17 minutes after missing a month with a knee injury, and Andrew Bynum pumped in 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks (while stymieing Tim Duncan to just 15 points and eight boards).
"We've had a long rivalry with these guys," San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. "We've beaten them up at times and they've beaten us up at times. It's always been respectful and aggressive ... We enjoy beating each other."
The relationship between the two coaches has teetered more towards "aggressive" than "respectful" in the past. The jewelers (they do have 13 rings between them after all) have traded classic barbs through the media, most notably Jackson suggesting that the Spurs' first championship should have an asterisk attached to it because it came in a lockout-shortened season. Pop wished he could elect himself head of an emergency trade fairness committee so he could veto the Pau Gasol deal last year.
While other rivalries have come and gone (it's probable that both the Bulls and Knicks won't even make the playoffs for the second straight season), this one has stayed fresh throughout the years by new faces putting their stamp on the proceedings.
Roger Mason, playing his first season with the Spurs, became a part of the Spurs-Lakers lore two weeks ago by hitting an and-one jumper, plus the free throw with 10 seconds left to lift San Antonio to a one-point victory over L.A.
"[NBA players] all watch TV and see the rivalry that they've had over the years," Mason said. "I know it's huge and it's fun to be a part of it now."
On Sunday, it was Bynum adding his name to teams' collective history with a solid performance on both ends while matched up one-on-one against Duncan.
"I am running the court a lot better right now," said Bynum who is averaging 19.9 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last 10 games. "I am around the rim a lot more than I was before."
Back when the rivalry started, Bynum was an 11-year old living in New Jersey. In the second quarter on Sunday, Bynum looked like a man in full, blocking a perimeter jumper by the two-time MVP Duncan to ignite a 9-0 run by the Lakers that gave L.A. some momentum going into the half.
The rivalry goes unappreciated sometimes because there haven't been any dramatic Game 7s between the two teams and because any matchup involving the Spurs just doesn't seem to grab the public's attention the way it should. San Antonio concentrates on defense and as Popovich says, "That's not as much fun as offense."
More people tuned in to see the Lakers and Kings play back in the early part of the decade for the drama of Vlade Divac flopping, Doug Christie's face being treated like silly putty by Rick Fox's fist and Bryant's elbow, and Robert Horry polishing his big-shot reputation. But Bryant dismisses Sacramento as just another team.
"That wasn't a rivalry, the Kings never beat us," Bryant said. "The Spurs are our rivals."
Even though the Spurs have beaten the Lakers in the playoffs, L.A. has the edge in the postseason, winning four out of the six series the teams have played since 1999, including last year's Western Conference Finals.
During the decade-long span, one team or the other has made it to the Finals every year with the exception of 2006.
"With us being in the Western Conference Finals last season, [we] have to be [considered] the two top teams [in the West] until somebody proves otherwise," Bryant said.
And who is going to prove it? A Denver squad that was overhauled just a few months ago? An injured Utah or Houston? One of the young pups in Portland or New Orleans? One of the old dogs in Phoenix or Dallas?
Look at the standings and see L.A. and San Antonio seeded 1-2 in the West yet again. These two teams, like their rivalry, are unrivaled.
By Dave McMenamin, NBA.com
Los Angeles -- Even with a ho-hum game on a lazy Sunday afternoon, the Lakers and Spurs proved once again why they have the best rivalry going in the NBA.
And it's not even close.
Pipe down about San Antonio vs. Phoenix. Without Mike D'Antoni around, that matchup's about as over as Joe the Plumber's 15 minutes of fame.
And you can forget about LeBron James vs. Team X, too. Sure, Cleveland has a few budding annual adversaries in Boston, Detroit and Washington, but the truth of the matter is the Cavs-Wizards competition level is Soulja Boy to the Lakers-Spurs rivalry's Jay-Z.
With the Lakers' 99-85 win at STAPLES Center, Los Angeles and San Antonio have played 70 games against one another in the regular season and playoffs combined since the start of the 1998-99 season. Through those 70 games, the series score is now even, 35-35.
They are tied through TEN YEARS of playing each other.
Has there been anything in the last 10 years with that kind of staying power? Will Smith's Willenium made its debut back in '99 when these two teams were just starting to form the ying to the other's yang. When's the last time you queued Wild, Wild West up on your iPod?
Kobe Bryant called the Spurs a "measuring stick" and Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said that the two teams bring out the best in one another.
It makes sense then that the 35th win in the series was also L.A.'s 35th win of the season, giving the Lakers a half-game lead over Cleveland for the best record in the league and opening up a six-game lead over the Spurs for the No. 1 seed in the West.
L.A. is measuring up as the best team in the NBA.
The Lakers held San Antonio to sub-40 percent shooting, Jordan Farmar came back to score 14 points in 17 minutes after missing a month with a knee injury, and Andrew Bynum pumped in 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks (while stymieing Tim Duncan to just 15 points and eight boards).
"We've had a long rivalry with these guys," San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. "We've beaten them up at times and they've beaten us up at times. It's always been respectful and aggressive ... We enjoy beating each other."
The relationship between the two coaches has teetered more towards "aggressive" than "respectful" in the past. The jewelers (they do have 13 rings between them after all) have traded classic barbs through the media, most notably Jackson suggesting that the Spurs' first championship should have an asterisk attached to it because it came in a lockout-shortened season. Pop wished he could elect himself head of an emergency trade fairness committee so he could veto the Pau Gasol deal last year.
While other rivalries have come and gone (it's probable that both the Bulls and Knicks won't even make the playoffs for the second straight season), this one has stayed fresh throughout the years by new faces putting their stamp on the proceedings.
Roger Mason, playing his first season with the Spurs, became a part of the Spurs-Lakers lore two weeks ago by hitting an and-one jumper, plus the free throw with 10 seconds left to lift San Antonio to a one-point victory over L.A.
"[NBA players] all watch TV and see the rivalry that they've had over the years," Mason said. "I know it's huge and it's fun to be a part of it now."
On Sunday, it was Bynum adding his name to teams' collective history with a solid performance on both ends while matched up one-on-one against Duncan.
"I am running the court a lot better right now," said Bynum who is averaging 19.9 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last 10 games. "I am around the rim a lot more than I was before."
Back when the rivalry started, Bynum was an 11-year old living in New Jersey. In the second quarter on Sunday, Bynum looked like a man in full, blocking a perimeter jumper by the two-time MVP Duncan to ignite a 9-0 run by the Lakers that gave L.A. some momentum going into the half.
The rivalry goes unappreciated sometimes because there haven't been any dramatic Game 7s between the two teams and because any matchup involving the Spurs just doesn't seem to grab the public's attention the way it should. San Antonio concentrates on defense and as Popovich says, "That's not as much fun as offense."
More people tuned in to see the Lakers and Kings play back in the early part of the decade for the drama of Vlade Divac flopping, Doug Christie's face being treated like silly putty by Rick Fox's fist and Bryant's elbow, and Robert Horry polishing his big-shot reputation. But Bryant dismisses Sacramento as just another team.
"That wasn't a rivalry, the Kings never beat us," Bryant said. "The Spurs are our rivals."
Even though the Spurs have beaten the Lakers in the playoffs, L.A. has the edge in the postseason, winning four out of the six series the teams have played since 1999, including last year's Western Conference Finals.
During the decade-long span, one team or the other has made it to the Finals every year with the exception of 2006.
"With us being in the Western Conference Finals last season, [we] have to be [considered] the two top teams [in the West] until somebody proves otherwise," Bryant said.
And who is going to prove it? A Denver squad that was overhauled just a few months ago? An injured Utah or Houston? One of the young pups in Portland or New Orleans? One of the old dogs in Phoenix or Dallas?
Look at the standings and see L.A. and San Antonio seeded 1-2 in the West yet again. These two teams, like their rivalry, are unrivaled.