Spurs at Lakers Previews

[duncan228]

Game is Tuesday, 9:30 CST on TNT.


San Antonio (61-19) at LA Lakers (55-25) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2011041213)
Tipoff: 10:30 pm EDT Tue Apr 12, 2011
TV: TNT, FSW
By Brett Huston

When the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their ninth straight win on the first day of April, it was becoming apparent they - and not the reeling San Antonio Spurs - had emerged as Western Conference favorites.

Five consecutive losses later, that’s a title even Phil Jackson can’t endorse.

The Lakers look to snap their longest losing streak in four years Tuesday night against the visiting Spurs, who will try for a fifth straight win that would put them a step closer to ensuring home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

San Antonio (61-19) has had the West’s best record all season, but from the All-Star break through April 1, Los Angeles had played like the conference’s top team.

The Lakers won 17 of 18 - including a 99-83 road rout of the Spurs - to pull to within 1 1/2 games of San Antonio for the West’s No. 1 seed, but five straight defeats have erased that possibility. After Sunday’s 120-106 home loss to Oklahoma City, Los Angeles could now finish as low as fourth.

“The measure of success is what you’ve just recently accomplished, it’s not what’s been accomplished in the past or what we did post All-Star break,” Jackson said. “So, for right now we’re back into the middle of the pack playing basketball.”

The Lakers (55-25) haven’t lost this many in a row since a seven-game skid March 2-15, 2007. Perhaps more importantly, though, they’ve had a total of two three-game slides in their five championship seasons since Kobe Bryant’s been in Los Angeles. They’ve had four alone in 2010-11.

“I think we started to actually look ahead and look above as opposed to just kind of staying in the present,” guard Derek Fisher said. “We lost that step and it’s tough to get it back when you’re playing against professionals. We’ll go back to work and get ready to try and win a game on Tuesday night.”

Bryant admonished the Lakers for playing “horrible defense” after Sunday’s loss, but they’ve been excellent on that end against the Spurs despite losing two of three. They’ve held San Antonio to 39.9 percent shooting, though they’ve shot just 41.7 percent themselves.

Tony Parker has averaged 19.3 points in the series, but Los Angeles has done an outstanding job against Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Ginobili’s been held to 9.7 points per game while shooting 28.2 percent, and Duncan has totaled 12 points and missed 21 of 26 shots in the three games while dealing with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

While the Lakers are struggling, San Antonio has bounced back from six consecutive losses with four victories. It’s shot a combined 59.2 percent in the last two, with Richard Jefferson’s 20 points leading six double-figure scorers in a 111-102 win over Utah on Saturday.

Two more victories would guarantee the Spurs home-court advantage throughout the postseason, though if they lose once and Chicago wins out, it’ll come down to a random draw.

Still, San Antonio seems as concerned with staying healthy as the league’s best record.

“We’ve played this well all season long. We’d love to finish at the top of the NBA,” Duncan. “We’re going to try to do the best of managing minutes, winning games and all that stuff … at the same time, so we’ll see what happens.”

The Spurs have been sharing the ball lately, averaging 24.3 assists in the four straight wins - 6.3 more than during the six-game skid.

When San Antonio has at least 22 assists, it’s 42-1.

*********************

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Manu Ginobili SA 17.6
Kobe Bryant LAL 25.2

Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 8.9
Pau Gasol LAL 10.1

Assists
Tony Parker SA 6.6
Kobe Bryant LAL 4.7

*********************

Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10

San Antonio 61-19 1st Southwest / 1st West 103.8 97.8 Road 25-14 Won 4 4-6
Los Angeles 55-25 1st Pacific / 2nd West 101.3 95.2 Home 29-11 Lost 5 5-5

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2011041213

[itsamanuthree]

Manu with the points, Parker with the assists!!!!

[DJ Mbenga]

hopefully charles and kenny are back. they have missed many things to comment on

[tdunk21]

lets get this win...after last night's loss, lakers will try very hard to win this or else they can forget about homecourt in 2nd round

[LakerHater]

Tim & manu are talkin bout winning, so i dont think Coach Pop will rest anyone.

[duncan228]

Hit the link for the practice videos.


Lakers keep even keel at Monday's practice (http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/04/lakers-keeping-even-keel-during-mondays-practice.html)
Mark Medina
Round-the-Clock Purple and Gold
LA Times

Mostly everyone on the Lakers demonstrated in their own way that their five-game losing streak isn't making them stress out.

Coach Phil Jackson let out a laugh and smiled to open up his interview following Monday's practice. Guard Kobe Bryant sneered at the idea their latest struggles will doom their chances of three-peating. And forward Pau Gasol slightly backed away from his declaration that the team's two remaining regular season games are must-win and instead praised the team's increased "focus."

That doesn't necessarily change the reality that the Lakers are facing. They're tied with the Dallas Mavericks at 55-25 for second in the West, while the Thunder (54-26) is only a game behind them. Though the Lakers hold both a tiebreaker over Dallas after locking up the Pacific Division and over Oklahoma City after finishing 2-1 in the regular-season series, that's not making the Lakers comfortable. Although Jackson told his team not to pay attention to the Eastern Conference teams because it promotes looking ahead to a possible NBA Finals matchup, it's hard not to notice the Miami Heat (56-25) have a one-game edge over the Lakers, while Boston (55-25) remains tied. But at least, according to the Lakers, they made the right step in correcting their problems before Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

"From one day, no," Bryant said. "But we're getting there."

Jackson began the practice stressing he liked the team's effort and execution for the first 44 minutes of the Lakers' 120-106 loss Sunday against Oklahoma City. The Lakers unraveled with a 17-2 lapse and nine turnovers in the final quarter. So the team went back to the beginning, dividing up the frontline and backcourt and ensuring there's no miscommunication and lapse in timing on defensive rotations.

Not everyone was happy, with center Andrew Bynum saying, "we are still needing to have a good practice" because Monday's session didn't feature any full-court scrimmages. But that doesn't jibe with Jackson's desire to rest the starters. It also doesn't jibe with the reality that Matt Barnes is considered to be still recovering from his surgically repaired right knee and missed Monday's practice, Steve Blake was also absent, because of a fever, and Devin Ebanks remained sidelined because of an injured left tibia.

That didn't prevent Jackson from reviewing film and going over defensive drills so that the Lakers improve what he called their "mental focus," an issue he said also affected his 1992-93 Chicago Bulls team that lost three of its last five regular-season games before defending their NBA Championship.

"It's a subliminal part of them saying we have to save it for the best, which is later on," Jackson said. "At their age, it's understandable."

Meanwhile, the Lakers don't have much to draw from in terms of late-season adversity. The Lakers championship years mostly featured strong finishes in April, including the seasons in 1999-2000 (6-3), 2000-2001 (8-1), 2001-2002 (6-3) and 2008-09 (7-1). The only exception was last season, when they finished 3-3. But that featured much different circumstances.

"Last year we didn't know what the hell was going on." Bryant said. "We had a lot of injuries. My knee needed to be operated on. There were a lot of question marks. This year we don't really have any question marks. These are executional things. These are correctional things. They're correctable errors so from that standpoint we feel comfortable about it. You don't really see anybody here feeling like it's doom and gloom. These are problems that can be corrected and will be corrected."

Still, even if the Lakers' five-game losing streak hasn't happened since March 2007, they can lean on past bumps to suggest this is nothing to be concerned about.

"I'm sure some of it has a little bit to do with it, the fact that we've been through a lot of things before," Bryant said. "Everybody wants to put the nail in the coffin, but we've been there before so it doesn't bother us."

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/04/lakers-keeping-even-keel-during-mondays-practice.html

[itsamanuthree]

Whatever you say, Kobe, I promise we won't put the nail in your coffin, we'll leave it open so anyone could do stuff with what's inside...

[TD 21]

hopefully charles and kenny are back. they have missed many things to comment on

If the Lakers win, Barkley will pull the "this proves the Spurs can't beat them in a series". If the Spurs win, Barkley will pull the "they still can't beat the Lakers in a series and they're not even the best team in Texas".

I know the Lakers will be up for this game. I'm not convinced the Spurs will be to the extent they should be. But if they are, this should be an outstanding game.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

The Spurs have every reason to mail in tomorrow night's game, if only because an LA win assures that they will be either 2 or 3 and keep them out of the 4 spot.

Conceivably, if the Spurs win at Staples tomorrow, LA could end up with 27 losses and, if OKC wins out (@SAC, v. MIL), would drop LAL (v. SA, @SAC) to the 4 spot (assuming no similar swoon for Dallas (@HOU, v. NOH)).

No matter how great your belief in the Spurs' ability to beat LA, you'd have to guess that the Spurs would rather see LA in the Conference Finals and (assuming both can make it there) and not in the WCSF (assuming each would make it there).









Sometimes, when I post, my own genius amazes me.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Thanks FWD for making my posting SOOOOO easy.

[itsamanuthree]

Tanking games is like handling nitroglycerin

[duncan228]

Lakers, your NBA champs, say worrying is for chumps (http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-spurs-20110412,0,6166168.story)
It apparently takes more than a five-game skid and meltdown against Oklahoma City to ruffle Lakers' feathers. Says Kobe Bryant: 'These are problems that can be corrected and will be corrected.'
By Mike Bresnahan
Los Angeles Times

...Which brings up San Antonio, perhaps a friend of the Lakers?

The big, bad Spurs come to town Tuesday, only they might not bring all their six-shooters.

They have the luxury of playing their starters fewer minutes than usual, having wrapped up the Western Conference last week, and are hinting they might not go full-bore until the playoffs begin this weekend.

Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan each played fewer than 30 minutes in the Spurs' 111-102 victory Saturday over Utah.

The Lakers could use a break, even if it comes courtesy of a rival.

In the bigger picture, they insist there's no fear of the future. They don't even like comparing what they're going through now to their late regular-season swoon of a year ago.

"Last year we didn't know what the hell was going on," Bryant said. "We had a lot of injuries. My knee needed to be operated on. A lot of question marks.

"Here we really don't have any question marks. These are executional things, these are correctable things. From that standpoint, we all feel comfortable about it. You don't even see anybody here feeling like it's doom and gloom because these are problems that can be corrected and will be corrected."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-spurs-20110412,0,6166168.story

*********************


Up next for Lakers: Tuesday vs. San Antonio (http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-tonight-20110412,0,2148912.story)

...The Lakers pounded San Antonio last month, 99-83, becoming only the second team in the Spurs' history to outscore them by more than 20 in the first quarter of a game in San Antonio. The Spurs recently ended a six-game losing streak and have won their last four games.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-tonight-20110412,0,2148912.story

[duncan228]

Just the couple of quotes, hit the link for the whole piece.


Duncan in need of good vibes vs. L.A. (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/duncan-in-need-of-good-vibes-vs-l-a/)
Jeff McDonald

...“They clog it up inside,” Duncan said. “They do a good job challenging shots. With their length, they can do that.”


...For now, Duncan remains more focused on rounding into playoff shape after missing five games since late March, four of them with a sprained left ankle. In six games since his return, Duncan — who acknowledges the ankle is still not 100 percent — has averaged 15 points and 7.8 rebounds.

“I expect Timmy to play at his best once the playoffs come,” point guard Tony Parker said. “He’s always done it. I don’t see why it would be different.”

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/duncan-in-need-of-good-vibes-vs-l-a/

*********************


Tuesday: Spurs (61-19) at Lakers (55-25) (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/tuesday-spurs-61-19-at-lakers-55-25/)
Jeff McDonald

...Spurs own 2-1 lead in season series, looking to beat Lakers three times in same season for first time since 2005-06. … Lakers coming in on five-game losing streak, their longest since the 2006-07 season. Before that skid, L.A. had won 17 of 18. …

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/tuesday-spurs-61-19-at-lakers-55-25/

[tuncaboylu]

If we win this Lakers will move to 3rd place in west.

[duncan228]

Hit the link for the whole piece.


Late-season tilt big for Lakers, less so for Spurs (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/late-season-tilt-big-for-lakers-less-so-for-spurs/)
Jeff McDonald

...Though history would suggest a heavy prescription of rest for Spurs regulars over the next two games, coach Gregg Popovich seems to be leaning toward employing a quasi-standard lineup.


...More pertinent to Popovich’s lineup decisions, the Spurs would like to sustain the positive momentum wrought by their four-game winning streak, which came immediately on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

“Everything becomes a question mark,” Popovich said. “It’s the same thing at the end of a (NFL) football season. Everybody talks about whether Team A is going to play their guys or rest them. Are they going to get rusty, or are they going to stay in their rhythm?”

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/late-season-tilt-big-for-lakers-less-so-for-spurs/

*********************

Spurs see who they want, and it's no one (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/buck-harvey-spurs-see-who-they-want-and-its-no-one/)
By Buck Harvey

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/11/buck-harvey-spurs-see-who-they-want-and-its-no-one/

[spursbird]

I hope the Spurs can get a rest in the upcoming two games. The Lakers will be able to beat the Mavs even without HCA.

[shelshor]

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html
Referee Assignment
Tue. Apr. 12
San Antonio @ L.A. Lakers: Scott Foster; Bennie Adams; Rodney Mott

[Giuseppe]

Whatever you say, Kobe, I promise we won't put the nail in your coffin, we'll leave it open so anyone could do stuff with what's inside...

...3 Back-2-Backs in the Century withstanding.

[duncan228]

Advanced Scouting: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers – Who’s playing tonight? (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Scott Sereday
48 Minutes of Hell

San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers 9:30 CST April 12, 2011

Not too long ago, the Spurs were coping with a six game losing streak while the Lakers were tearing through the NBA. Now it is the Lakers who are mired in a 5 game losing streak, while the Spurs have reeled off 4 straight wins. In fact, the argument could be made that the Lakers’ losing streak is more severe. In the Spurs 6 game skid, several starters missed time (most notably Duncan) and the losses were close contests against tough opponents. Although the Lakers’ losses have generally been close, they blew a couple easy matchups and their starters played significant minutes throughout. Of course, history has shown that streaks can reverse in an instant. All that matters is how the teams are playing once the playoffs begin.

I can think of 5 potentially significant implications of tonight’s game:
The Lakers’ and Spurs’ confidence
The Spurs’ playoff road (the Lakers’ seeding)
Home Court against the Bulls
Injuries and rest
Game 1 of the 1st round

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/spurs-stats-advanced-scouting-los-angeles-lakers-4-11#more-13653)

*********************

Andy Kamenetzky wants the Spurs at full force (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/lakers-spurs-2011)
by Timothy Varner
48 Minutes of Hell

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/lakers-spurs-2011

[duncan228]

Pop still non-commital on lineup plans tonight. Won't be shocked if this game is left to the JV.



Pop says coaches go back and forth "every 10 minutes" about who to play and who to sit tonight in LA.

Asked if race for overall best record would affect his thinking, Pop said: "No."

[JR3]

I think we should win this game. Who knows, maybe chicago loses one. Then we can definately rest against phoenix and get the best of both worlds. There are no back to backs anymore... I'd rather be rolling into the playoffs than rested. If we are rolling in, we can blow out the first round and get some rest then!

[Anonymous Cowherd]

what does "left to the JV" mean?

[DesignatedT]

what does "left to the JV" mean?

It means that Jacque Vaughn is likely going to suit up tonight to fill in for the big 3.

[boutons_deux]

Bulls don't seem to be in a losing mood.

But a couple years ago, neither were the Nuggs, as hottest team since ASB, starting vs the Spurs and got ousted 4-1.

otoh, Spurs and Lakers, who knows what weirdness awaits?

Of course, if DR rolls an ankle, Bulls out in first round.

[Mel_13]

what does "left to the JV" mean?

JV= Junior Varsity, a team comprised of underclassmen not quite good enough to play on the senior team.

[duncan228]

Lakers vs. Spurs: What to watch with 48 Minutes of Hell (http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/17936/lakers-vs-spurs-what-to-watch-with-48-minutes-of-hell-2)
By Andy Kamenetzky

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/17936/lakers-vs-spurs-what-to-watch-with-48-minutes-of-hell-2

[duncan228]

Should the Spurs take a dive tonight in L.A.? (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/12/should-the-spurs-take-a-dive-tonight-in-l-a/)
Jeff McDonald

...As of this morning’s shootaround at Santa Monica College, Popovich still didn’t have a definitive answer.

“We’re trying to figure that out right now, to see what might be best for us,” Popovich said after the walk-through. “We change our minds like every 10 minutes. Hopefully, by the time we get to the arena, we’ll know what the heck we’re doing.”

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/04/12/should-the-spurs-take-a-dive-tonight-in-l-a/

[toki9]

It's a good thing that the Spurs play after the Chicago/NY game...if somehow NY beats Chicago, then I say the Spurs play the JV squad and hope the Lakers win...and then try to close out the best record in Phoenix tomorrow night with regular guys getting minimum time...but Chicago has to lose first...

And I hope Memphis takes Portland...

[duncan228]

How would the Lakers match up with San Antonio in the playoffs? (http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/04/how-would-the-lakers-match-up-with-san-antonio-in-the-playoffs.html)
Mark Medina
Round-the-Clock Purple and Gold
LA Times

This is the last thing the Lakers should be reading or discussing.

They're in the midst of a five-game losing streak. They aren't even sure whether they'll finish as a No. 2 seed or drop down to No. 4. And they've demonstrated such a riddling amount of inconsistency, that it's plausible they wouldn't even advance this far in the postseason to see such an outcome.

So why on Earth am I analyzing how the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs would match up in the playoffs? Give me a break. The Lakers will turn things around. They just have to prove that they will. As Kobe Bryant said, "Everybody wants to put the nail in the coffin, but we've been there before and it doesn't bother us."

That's why it's plausible that the Lakers and Spurs matchup Tuesday at Staples Center won't be the last time they meet this season. The Lakers can take care of their responsibilities, secure the No. 2 seed and meet the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Or they may end the season on a seven-game losing streak, drop down to No. 4 and face a tougher road by playing the Spurs in the West semifinals. Either way, it would be one great series.

"I love those guys, but at the same time, I want to beat the hell out of them," Bryant said of the Spurs. "But I have a lot of a lot of respect for what they do and how they do it."

After the jump, I size up how each team could win.

Keep reading... (http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/04/how-would-the-lakers-match-up-with-san-antonio-in-the-playoffs.html)

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/04/how-would-the-lakers-match-up-with-san-antonio-in-the-playoffs.html

[Strategic]

No mercy!!!!

[Brazil]

Quite disturbing to me to see a HOF coach who don't how to set his lineup few hours before the game. I would have thought he had a plan or something

[crc21209]

Quite disturbing to me to see a HOF coach who don't how to set his lineup few hours before the game. I would have thought he had a plan or something

I'm pretty sure he knows, he's just not going to tell anyone....

[Anonymous Cowherd]

Quite disturbing to me to see a HOF coach who don't how to set his lineup few hours before the game. I would have thought he had a plan or something

Definitely couldn't be playing media games so the Lakers have to sweat our line-up and their players don't know if they're up against our first-team or suiting up merely to play the reserves...

[Brazil]

I'm pretty sure he knows, he's just not going to tell anyone....


Definitely couldn't be playing media games so the Lakers have to sweat our line-up and their players don't know if they're up against our first-team or suiting up merely to play the reserves...

yeah could be the reason but with Greg I'll play Matt Bonner 20 mn no matter what Pop we never know

[alchemist]

go for the win, don't be a pussy

[duncan228]

Quite disturbing to me to see a HOF coach who don't how to set his lineup few hours before the game. I would have thought he had a plan or something



@ @dudasun I think Pop already knows what he's going to do. Just usually doesn't announce such things at shootarounds.

[duncan228]

Doesn't always mean anything, but no game jerseys hanging in lockers for duncan, parker, manu, mcdyess at staples center.

[duncan228]

spurs starters: hill, neal, rj, blair, splitter. expect regulars to return in PHX.

[beirmeistr]

That would be a conservative, safe way to play this game.