So...We have to root for the Lakers on Sunday?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I bet the Lakers get up for this game because Portland a potential first round opponent and they've been very shaky lately.

[spursfan1000]

I could go either way really, I have no problem with Spurs playing Lakers first round.

[sa_kid20]

If Portland loses to LA & OKC and the Spurs beat Minnesota on Monday, then we would be guaranteed at least the 7th seed before we even play the Mavs.

So with that said I will definitely be hoping for a Portland loss tomorrow.

[honestfool84]

i could go either way really, i have no problem with spurs playing lakers first round.



+1

[jestersmash]

If you guys have "no problem" playing the Lakers in the first round, then..I honestly don't know what to say. Foolish arrogance/blind optimism? We won the most recent regular season game against them. It means something but I feel like ST members are highly overrating the win.

The Lakers are playoff/championship proven, just like the spurs. Why on earth would you guys so nonchalantly be OK with the lakers first round? It's absurd.

Maybe there are some of you who harbor the mentality of "Oh I just want to 'get it over with', if we lose to the lakers we 'would've lost to them anyway' later"

That's hogwash, in my opinion. Time and time again, parker has proven to be our "Laker killer" and we need to give him time to get back up to speed. That's precisely why we want to avoid the Lakers 1st round at all costs.

[duncan228]

Before tonight's game.


Asked on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad he wanted to face the Lakers in the opening round, Popovich simply answered, “Minus-5.”

[spurs1990]

Fuck this.

Why are we so afraid to play them in the first round?

We beat the shit out of them twice this season.

Gotta go through them eventually.

(I will grant you that the NBA/refs will not allow them be ousted in the 1st round w/o a herculean effort by the opponent)

[Avitus1]

i'll never root for the urine and purple.

+1

[toki9]

Asked on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad he wanted to face the Lakers in the opening round, Popovich simply answered, “Minus-5.”

I think Pop actually wants LA at this point. Probably figures we'll have to get through them eventually anyways, and it'll be better to catch them with Bynum still coming back from injury--so why not get it over with? Not saying this is smart or not, but it is gutsy.

[silverblk mystix]

never will I root for the lakers---under any circumstance.

[jestersmash]

Fuck this.

Why are we so afraid to play them in the first round?

We beat the shit out of them twice this season.

Gotta go through them eventually.

(I will grant you that the NBA/refs will not allow them be ousted in the 1st round w/o a herculean effort by the opponent)

And also, this. Kobe's going to get about 10 times his fair share of free throws in the playoffs by virtue of being "kobe."

I shudder to think of a Lakers vs OKC matchup. 60% of the points for both teams will probably be made at the free throw line by kobe bryant and kevin durant.

[tothrowed]

ill cheer for the lakers to jump off of a cliff fuck the lakers

[raspsa]

If you guys have "no problem" playing the Lakers in the first round, then..I honestly don't know what to say. Foolish arrogance/blind optimism? We won the most recent regular season game against them. It means something but I feel like ST members are highly overrating the win.

The Lakers are playoff/championship proven, just like the spurs. Why on earth would you guys so nonchalantly be OK with the lakers first round? It's absurd.

Maybe there are some of you who harbor the mentality of "Oh I just want to 'get it over with', if we lose to the lakers we 'would've lost to them anyway' later"

That's hogwash, in my opinion. Time and time again, parker has proven to be our "Laker killer" and we need to give him time to get back up to speed. That's precisely why we want to avoid the Lakers 1st round at all costs.
I don't think Parker's PF is going away any time soon.. maybe next season with enough rest.. but then again, there's the NT calling ..

[raspsa]

I think Pop actually wants LA at this point. Probably figures we'll have to get through them eventually anyways, and it'll be better to catch them with Bynum still coming back from injury--so why not get it over with? Not saying this is smart or not, but it is gutsy.

I think no other team will get the Spurs to focus more and play their best BB than the Lakers. That's all we can ask of the team, to play its best.. hopefully, it will be good enough. None guarantees asked, none give. Its just a game folks.

[baseline bum]

Fuck this.

Why are we so afraid to play them in the first round?

We beat the shit out of them twice this season.

Gotta go through them eventually.

(I will grant you that the NBA/refs will not allow them be ousted in the 1st round w/o a herculean effort by the opponent)

Because they'll likely take the Spurs in 4 or 5 easy if Parker's not nearing 100% (which he won't be by the time the series starts). At least the Spurs would have a puncher's chance with the big three healthy in a potential later series against them. Avoiding the 8-seed is an absolute necessity for the Spurs, and they better play these next 2 games like game 7 of the Finals.

[crc21209]

Go Lakers tomorrow! :lol

[alchemist]

Before tonight's game.
Even though this is clearly Pop's dry humor there's some truth behind his words. Phil already laid the ground work for Artest. Manu will get mugged and calls won't be made, facing the Lakers in the first round is like facing Goliath with infinite ammo and 99 lives :lol

[Boss]

Best case senerio for Spurs: Lakers beat portland and then Portland beat okc on monday and Spurs win out. We will be 6th seed and hopefully draw Denver or Utah 1st round

[pawe]

FTL!
I'd rather the Spurs play the Lakers in the first round. If the Spurs lose, they will get a better draft pick. If they win, other teams will send them fruit baskets for knocking the Lakers out of the POs.

[spursfaninla]

Because they'll likely take the Spurs in 4 or 5 easy if Parker's not nearing 100% (which he won't be by the time the series starts). At least the Spurs would have a puncher's chance with the big three healthy in a potential later series against them. Avoiding the 8-seed is an absolute necessity for the Spurs, and they better play these next 2 games like game 7 of the Finals.

I don't think people realize how different the lakers have been without bynum.

The lakers have a +135 five man combination with bynum. Four of their five best 5 man combinations are with bynum.

their others without him are good, but the spurs combinations are similar.

Without Bynum, the lakers are not nearly as big.

I think the lakers are pretty hurt. Odom, kobe, and gasol have traded off injuries all year. Bynum might not be able to go even during the playoffs.

I agree with your assessment if you think Bynum is going in the playoffs, but otherwise I think the Spurs are not far off with Hill and parker back, even limited. Parker is not going to get better than he will be during the first round.

[sa_kid20]

Best case senerio for Spurs: Lakers beat portland and then Portland beat okc on monday and Spurs win out. We will be 6th seed and hopefully draw Denver or Utah 1st round

Yeah I'm really hoping we can get the 6th seed. If we can win our 1st round series, It's not impossible to think that we would face the 7th seed with HCA in the 2nd round considering how close the west is this year.

[Cane]

Nobody wants to face the Lakers in the first round, even if Kobe isn't even 90%. They've got homecourt, ref reputation, and one hell of a combination of talent, length, and experience. However they have looked vulnerable as of late.

Imo Playoffs are a whole different beast so I'm expecting LA to ante up - remember that Cleveland swept the two game regular season series against the Spurs in the same year that San Antonio swept 'em in the Finals. :)

[TD 21]

Bryant is going to play, after sitting out the last two games. Call this reading into it too much if you will, but is this an indication that the Lakers (or maybe him specifically) would rather face the Trail Blazers than the Spurs in the 1st round? To put it another way, would they rather face anyone else in the West than the Spurs in the 1st round? I think they would. I'm not suggesting the Lakers or Bryant fear the Spurs, but if they had their druthers, I think they'd rather not face a team as experienced and talented as this one, particularly when they've hit their stride.

Deep down, I think the Lakers know that there's not nearly as much separation between the two teams as the standings indicate. Unlike a young team like the Thunder or the Trail Blazers, the Spurs aren't going to be just excited to be in the playoffs and they're not going to be in awe of the Lakers.

Bryant said in a recent interview (I'm fairly certain he wasn't asked about the Spurs, just the West in general) that he (to paraphrase) doesn't know why people continue to sleep on the Spurs.

[Fernando TD21]

I don't think people realize how different the lakers have been without bynum.

The lakers have a +135 five man combination with bynum. Four of their five best 5 man combinations are with bynum.

their others without him are good, but the spurs combinations are similar.

Without Bynum, the lakers are not nearly as big.

I think the lakers are pretty hurt. Odom, kobe, and gasol have traded off injuries all year. Bynum might not be able to go even during the playoffs.

I agree with your assessment if you think Bynum is going in the playoffs, but otherwise I think the Spurs are not far off with Hill and parker back, even limited. Parker is not going to get better than he will be during the first round.
I agree with this. I think people are forgetting or underestimating the fact that Bynum probably won't be fully recovered by the first round of the playoffs.

I think the Spurs has a better chance of beating the Lakers if they go against them before they get healthy again, even though the Spurs aren't completely healthy either. At this moment, I believe the Spurs are playing well enough to beat the Lakers.

That said, we can't really predict how the teams are going to look a few weeks from now. A lot of things can happen, including injuries in the last games of the season or at the beginning of the playoffs.

[florige]

If you guys have "no problem" playing the Lakers in the first round, then..I honestly don't know what to say. Foolish arrogance/blind optimism? We won the most recent regular season game against them. It means something but I feel like ST members are highly overrating the win.

The Lakers are playoff/championship proven, just like the spurs. Why on earth would you guys so nonchalantly be OK with the lakers first round? It's absurd.

Maybe there are some of you who harbor the mentality of "Oh I just want to 'get it over with', if we lose to the lakers we 'would've lost to them anyway' later"

That's hogwash, in my opinion. Time and time again, parker has proven to be our "Laker killer" and we need to give him time to get back up to speed. That's precisely why we want to avoid the Lakers 1st round at all costs.

So what? We will have to more than likely play them anyway. Might as well get it over with now while we are playing good.

[baseline bum]

I don't think people realize how different the lakers have been without bynum.

The lakers have a +135 five man combination with bynum. Four of their five best 5 man combinations are with bynum.

their others without him are good, but the spurs combinations are similar.

Without Bynum, the lakers are not nearly as big.

I think the lakers are pretty hurt. Odom, kobe, and gasol have traded off injuries all year. Bynum might not be able to go even during the playoffs.

I agree with your assessment if you think Bynum is going in the playoffs, but otherwise I think the Spurs are not far off with Hill and parker back, even limited. Parker is not going to get better than he will be during the first round.

I think all they really need to be a nightmare matchup is for Bynum to be a warm body. Gasol just gives this team hell, and the Lakers right now just strike me as a team without a whole lot to play for. Perhaps they could really be slipping like the 07 Mavs did after they wrapped up their seed early, but I just don't believe Phil Jackson would ever have a team not ready to go when the games really matter.

I don't buy that Kobe's all that hurt. He's a drama queen who lets the world know when he gets a hangnail.

Still, my main concern is Tony's rust. He still doesn't look anywhere near playoff-ready, and 2 more games aren't going to be enough to play into shape to be able to take out our worst matchup. There's just no way I want them right when Tony's out of shape and George is playing his first games back.

[phyzik]

We will have to face the Fakers eventually. I say lets go first round while they are reeling without Bynum.

Fuck it, if we take them out in the first round, that may put some fear in the other teams....... if we get knocked out, who gives a shit? This season has been a huge disapointment from the begining, its time for this team to put up or shut up. Might as well start it off with the Fakers.



FTL!!

[florige]

We will have to face the Fakers eventually. I say lets go first round while they are reeling without Bynum.

Fuck it, if we take them out in the first round, that may put some fear in the other teams....... if we get knocked out, who gives a shit? This season has been a huge disapointment from the begining, its time for this team to put up or shut up. Might as well start it off with the Fakers.



FTL!!

Thats my thinking. Its not like the other teams in the west are slouches either. I would much rather lose to the Lakers in the first round than lose to the Mavericks. Just think, somehow we beat LA in the first round, our confidence is driving high knowing we just knocked off the champs. The pressure would be on LA more than us in the first round. I want another ring. I could give two shits how far we go without winning it all.

[baseline bum]

We will have to face the Fakers eventually. I say lets go first round while they are reeling without Bynum.

Fuck it, if we take them out in the first round, that may put some fear in the other teams....... if we get knocked out, who gives a shit? This season has been a huge disapointment from the begining, its time for this team to put up or shut up. Might as well start it off with the Fakers.



FTL!!

Do you really believe Bynum affects the matchup more than Parker? If you do, then I could understand this sentiment. I don't believe that at all though, and hence, a 60% Parker for a 60% Bynum is a pretty raw deal for the Spurs IMO.

[Mark in Austin]

Do you really believe Bynum affects the matchup more than Parker? If you do, then I could understand this sentiment. I don't believe that at all though, and hence, a 60% Parker for a 60% Bynum is a pretty raw deal for the Spurs IMO.


I'm worried that Parker is still dealing with PF. In that case, what we're seeing now is what we're going to get.

But even if he's healthy there a concern: I think in the past the Spurs when matching up against LA have fallen into the same trap that Van Exel did against Kerr in the '03 WCF's. Just like Van Exel tried to take it at Kerr every time down court, I think Parker vs Fisher is the matchup that gets focused on too exclusively and the ball movement goes to shit.

[spursfaninla]

I'm worried that Parker is still dealing with PF. In that case, what we're seeing now is what we're going to get.

But even if he's healthy there a concern: I think in the past the Spurs when matching up against LA have fallen into the same trap that Van Exel did against Kerr in the '03 WCF's. Just like Van Exel tried to take it at Kerr every time down court, I think Parker vs Fisher is the matchup that gets focused on too exclusively and the ball movement goes to shit.

Correct, unfortunately.

Although we have few games to judge this with, I take it that Parker is limited b/c of his PF. I don't think he will improve much more than his passing and his shooting.

If that is the case, then does that change your mind Base?

[baseline bum]

Correct, unfortunately.

Although we have few games to judge this with, I take it that Parker is limited b/c of his PF. I don't think he will improve much more than his passing and his shooting.

If that is the case, then does that change your mind Base?

I don't think Parker looks anything like he did right before the injury, so I'm not going to chalk up his slow start to the PF; he still looks rusty and out of shape to me. If his PF is acting up as bad as the beginning of the season though, then a first-round beatdown is inevitable, independent of whether the Spurs get the 6,7 or 8 seed.

[Strike]

I got no problems rooting for the Lakers if it can help improve the Spurs seeding.

[Whisky Dog]

The Lakers morivation for winning lies with Orlando. The Magic and Lakers have the same record, so LA, knowing a possible finals rematch is a possibility, want to get HC over them.

[Whisky Dog]

I think our worst matchup would be Utah, followed by Lakers then Dallas. Getting Denver would be a godsend as they are easily the most beatable 1st round matchup for the Spurs. The Spirs own them historically, just dusted them off in their place, and the Nugs have the whole Karl health distraction plus a guy in JR Smith who always takes bad shots when it matters most.

[poop]

id much rather just play LA right off than have to play the damn gay Mavericks, who will no doubt go into Dream Team 65%FG mode once they see the Spurs jerseys.

[Spurminator]

I'd feel better about facing the Lakers if our coach wasn't continually and publicly undermining our chances in the press.

[Budkin]

So who rooted for the loser Lakers?

[exstatic]

Ricockulous no-call on Fisher's NFL style block.

[spursfaninla]

Lakers finding a way to go to OT, looking bad doing it. Missing 3/4 ft down the stretch. I think a lakers win with them looking bad is a win-win.

Damn, fisher manages to foul a 3pt shooter, they nail all 3 and now the lakers need 3pter with 3 seconds. dumb.

[exstatic]

You gotta make your FTs. Portland did, LA didn't.

[Cherry]

Oh Fisher, seriously :(

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Why the hell were the Lakers laughing and joking around at the end.

They must've thrown this game

[baseline bum]

Well, fuck.

[TD 21]

Why would they have thrown this game? Do you really think they want the Spurs more than the Trail Blazers? Ideally, they probably want the Thunder, but I can't imagine that they want the Spurs.

Here's the other thing: Has anyone tried to intentionally miss a free throw before? I'm not talking about putting the ball in one hand and wildly throwing it off the backboard, like to avoid getting poison in 21, I mean narrowly missing? If you're even a decent shooter, it's not as easy as you think. Especially for a pro, who shoots almost daily. It's all about muscle memory, so it's got to be tough to intentionally narrowly miss, because they're not used to it.

If the Spurs take care of business (and they should, considering the urgency of their situation, the fact that they're playing the worst team in the league at home and a Mavs team that may be resting players), then they'll more than likely finish seventh and get the Mavs.

I'd have preferred to see another team than the Mavs, because we've seen it a few times in recent years, but I see it as an even series and it would be nice to get revenge on them and shut up their ignorant fan base that gloats over their less than impressive victory last season. Statistically, the Spurs are actually a better team.