Game Primer: Spurs vs. Lakers - Jan. 12

[timvp]

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers might not be totally healthy by Tuesday night, the San Antonio Spurs need a win against a quality opponent any way they can get it. Beating the Lakers would indeed be a big win and could theoretically give the Spurs the confidence they need to make a run up the Western Conference standing.

Keys to a Spurs Victory

1. Make Kobe Bryant work. Keith Bogans will get first crack at Bryant, with Richard Jefferson and George Hill being other options Pop may throw at the league's best scorer. Bogans won't back down but he needs to defend without racking up the fouls. Hill may be too small and Jefferson may be too big, though we'll have a better idea after the game.

2. Bench play. Even short-handed, the Lakers can fill their starting lineup with star power. Where the Spurs have an advantage is off the bench. Pushing the action and wearing down L.A. should be a top goal for San Antonio's bench unit.

3. Fourth quarter offense. Phil Jackson is the master of changing defensive tactics in the fourth quarter to short circuit his opponent's offense. Against the Spurs, he usually manages this by switching from man-to-man defense on Duncan to sending hard double-teams. To have success in the fourth, the outside shooting from the Spurs will need to knock down shots when left open.

Matchup to Watch

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3746.jpg vs. http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.e1d/img/4.0/global/basketball/nba/players/3118.jpg

Bogans has played well as the Spurs designated perimeter stopper. That said, he now faces the one matchup that really matters. If Bogans looks helpless against Bryant, the Spurs might have to consider going in another direction. On the other hand, if Bogans looks like a legit defender against Bryant, Pop could very well increase his role going forward. It is undoubtedly the biggest night of the season for Bogans to date.

Inside the Numbers

Bogans has played at least 25 minutes in a game against Bryant five times in his career. In those five games, Bryant is averaging 35.2 points per game. To compare, Bryant averaged 26.3 points in his career against Bruce Bowen.

Did You Know?

While Michael Jordan gets blamed for picking Adam Morrison third overall in the 2006 NBA Draft, he wasn't the only NBA person enthralled with Morrison's game. In an interview before the draft, Pop gushed about the potential of the Gonzaga star (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35322). Morrison is now with the Lakers and could even start if both Pau Gasol and Ron Artest don't play.

[lurker23]

Good job timvp. :tu



2. Bench play. Even short-handed, the Lakers can fill their starting lineup with star power. Where the Spurs have an advantage is off the bench. Pushing the action and wearing down L.A. should be a top goal for San Antonio's bench unit.

This is a very big one to me. The Spurs bench of Hill, Mason, Ginobili, McDyess, and Ratliff is better than anything the Lakers can scrap together once Kobe and Bynum hit the pine. If the first three continue to play well, McDyess plays up to his potential, and Ratliff gets into a game-time rhythm, the Spurs could use this bench to produce a quick 10-2 run and force the Lakers to bring their stars back in the game with less rest than they would like.

[ffadicted]

Bogans has played at least 25 minutes in a game against Bryant five times in his career. In those five games, Bryant is averaging 35.2 points per game. To compare, Bryant averaged 26.3 points in his career against Bruce Bowen

onoz :(

I agree with what you said though, this is without a doubt Bogans' biggest night of the season, and could very well be a make it or break it situation for him. I'd love to see Bogans control Bryant and keep him under 1.0 points per shot. :wakeup

[polandprzem]

Right on a money with jax 4th q change. It frickin can kill and esp when you have a guy in the middle it's so easy to control what's going on inside and outside. 4q treys are tougher then the 2q treys.

With the matchup problem - Kobe. Kobe is easier to play team defense against then Nowitzky, but in NBA man-to-man is so much important that it creates a problem for the spurs esp. when LA has a guy like Artest on the team.
Artest would blew by Gino all the time and I think Jefferson is the right guy for RonRon (talking 4thQ). Artest is no Tayshan Price which was well covered by manu wehen we needed Bruce for other assigments.

[benefactor]

Without Gasol, this is a very winnable game for the Spurs. In fact, if this is not very close or a win I will be pretty disappointed. There is no good reason to lose when all of the big 3 are healthy and Gasol is not playing.

Besides the Bogans/Bryant matchup, Jefferson is my x-factor for this game. Ron's injuries(concussion, plantar fascitis) have undoubtedly robbed him of what little bit of lateral quickness he has left, so RJ should be able to use his driving ability to get by him and get to the rim for an easy bucket or a trip to the line. He will also need to put in work on the boards, as winning that battle is going to be key in getting this win.

[EricB]

Not expecting a win, however, if they do win I don't think it's a turnaround game due to a potential loss tommorow night bs a damn good Thunder team.

[timvp]

This is a very big one to me. The Spurs bench of Hill, Mason, Ginobili, McDyess, and Ratliff is better than anything the Lakers can scrap together once Kobe and Bynum hit the pine. If the first three continue to play well, McDyess plays up to his potential, and Ratliff gets into a game-time rhythm, the Spurs could use this bench to produce a quick 10-2 run and force the Lakers to bring their stars back in the game with less rest than they would like.

Yeah. And even when the Lakers are 100% healthy, the Spurs will still have the deeper team. The Lakers have more talent and the higher ceiling but depth is where the Spurs might be able to make it competitive.

[polandprzem]

Yeah. And even when the Lakers are 100% healthy, the Spurs will still have the deeper team. The Lakers have more talent and the higher ceiling but depth is where the Spurs might be able to make it competitive.

This game or in the playoffs?



btw. A scary thought came through my mind. Bonner in the frontline for the spurs at the end of a game. Against Bynum and Gasol how it will be possible to get a rebound ?

[EricB]

This game or in the playoffs?



btw. A scary thought came through my mind. Bonner in the frontline for the spurs at the end of a game. Against Bynum and Gasol how it will be possible to get a rebound ?


Bonner wouldn't finish unless mcdyess ratliff or Blair were fouled out or playing horrible.

[polandprzem]

Bonner wouldn't finish unless mcdyess ratliff or Blair were fouled out or playing horrible.

Blair is foul prone and is a rookie, this is playoffs.
Theo is playing, well he is more sitting then playing, and Antonio seems to be out of any kind of rythm

[EricB]

Blair is foul prone and is a rookie, this is playoffs.
Theo is playing, well he is more sitting then playing, and Antonio seems to be out of any kind of rythm


Bonner is hurt and out. I don't understand your point.

[polandprzem]

Bonner is hurt and out. I don't understand your point.

First you came out to answer the question and now you recognized Bonner is out? ...


I was thinking about playoff matchup. This game right now is not a measuring stick.

Also i asked timvp "this game or playoffs" for a reason. In PO you play your best 8 [or even 7] men, then the longer bench aspect does not have a big meaning.

[Brazil]

I hope Bogans can slow down Kobe but I'm not optimistic about this one. Kobe is not playing good since a few games now, he is going for a monster game in no time. I really hope it will be after the spurs.

[SpurNation]

Yep. How well the bench plays will be all the difference.

[anonoftheinternets]

I hope Bogans can slow down Kobe but I'm not optimistic about this one. Kobe is not playing good since a few games now, he is going for a monster game in no time. I really hope it will be after the spurs.

i hope kobe has a monster game and the spurs still win. Now that would be a morale booster.

[igruex]

Yeah. And even when the Lakers are 100% healthy, the Spurs will still have the deeper team. The Lakers have more talent and the higher ceiling but depth is where the Spurs might be able to make it competitive.


Who's gonna guard Kobe in the 4th? Pop might be forced to go small ball, humph..

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Nice preview. :tu

For mine it's all about the bench - ours is great and theirs is weak as piss, and if we can't take advantage of that we don't have a hope.

It'll be interesting to see how Pop handles his bigs tonight - I'm intrigued by putting Mahinmi out there if they play both Gasol and Bynum, and curious to see whether Blair can frustrate Bynum. Also, time Dice showed us his mettle.

[Obstructed_View]

I think another big key tonight is for the Spurs to finally recognize who they are, which is a decent offensive team and and average defensive team. If they want to win, they're going to have to make sure not to sacrifice offense for defense, because it'll put them at a disadvantage. They're going to have a better chance of winning a game that's in the 100s than they are of winning one that's in the 80s IMO.

[Brazil]

i hope kobe has a monster game and the spurs still win. Now that would be a morale booster.

:toast

[TD 21]

Without Gasol, this is a very winnable game for the Spurs. In fact, if this is not very close or a win I will be pretty disappointed. There is no good reason to lose when all of the big 3 are healthy and Gasol is not playing.

Besides the Bogans/Bryant matchup, Jefferson is my x-factor for this game. Ron's injuries(concussion, plantar fascitis) have undoubtedly robbed him of what little bit of lateral quickness he has left, so RJ should be able to use his driving ability to get by him and get to the rim for an easy bucket or a trip to the line. He will also need to put in work on the boards, as winning that battle is going to be key in getting this win.

So the Spurs figure to be more desperate, they're at home and they're not missing one of their core players, yet a close loss or a narrow win would be okay with you? And it's not just you, I've seen others echoing your sentiment and I don't get it. If this is not a convincing win for the Spurs, given the factors in their favor, then that's both alarming and telling. I'm not expecting a blowout win, but this game shouldn't come down to Bryant with the ball in his hands, shooting for the win as the clock winds down. If it does, even if the Spurs win, that's just not good enough.

The start is crucial. Too often in recent years the Spurs have started extremely slow against elite opponents and the rest of the game becomes an up-hill battle just to make the deficit manageable. The problem with this is the Spurs expend so much energy coming back that they usually run out of gas by the end and fall a play or two short of getting over the hump. The Spurs need to be the aggressors early.

[Technique]

Interesting, I don't have NBA TV yet the channel is on air right now. Are they promoting because of the good game right now? Or is every tuesday free?

[DAF86]

IMO the key of the game will be both Manu and Tony having a good night.

[The Truth #6]

Bogans vs Kobe: I'm curious to see Kobe's supposed change in style this year. Evidently, he's playing more in the post this year to help make the game easier. If that's the case, then I wonder how useful Bowen would have been. At the same time, I'm curious if Bogans is strong and tall enough to handle Kobe in the post.

I think RJ should get a shot at defending him just to see - he's athletic and strong which in theory makes him a good candidate. And if Kobe guards RJ, I'd like to see RJ take it back at Kobe to keep him honest, which is something he hasn't had to worry about when playing the Spurs since basically forever.

[LakerHater]

Surprised the flakers havent used the injury card, but I'm sure after the flakers lose it will be wavin!

[Solid D]

Kobe defending Manu has been a wet blanket thrown over the Spurs offense the past year or so, but Manu wasn't 100% then. Kobe really has taken that assignment very seriously. Bryant is a great defender when he gears-up for it.

It will be interesting if Kobe, and not Artest, takes it upon himself to guard Manu, particularly in the 4th.

[iggypop123]

Surprised the flakers havent used the injury card, but I'm sure after the flakers lose it will be wavin!

there is a big difference between somebody playing hurt and somebody not playing at all due to injury

[LakerHater]

there is a big difference between somebody playing hurt and somebody not playing at all due to injury
Well, now hes out you can add him to your long list of excuses!!:lol