Two possible ways this series can go....

[td4mvp21]

1. The Spurs just choked. This was a vintage get up 20+ points, lose the lead, and lose by a couple of points. The Spurs will respond by winning the next game or two, and this was just a good win by the Lakers taking advantage of a Spurs team that choked in the second half.

or...

2. Suns-Spurs series, except we are the Suns and the Lakers are the Spurs. The Lakers toyed around for a half and then won. We will lose in 5 or 6 and it will not be pretty. The Lakers know how to beat us and we can't beat them.


I'm not too sure what to think. The Spurs defense was very good throughout-it was our offense that hurt us once again. If we hit our shots, this is a 10+ point victory. I guess I'll have to wait for Game 2 to be over until I make a decision. What does everyone else with a valuable, reasonable opinion think?

I'm rather calm after this game although I am really disappointed we didn't pull it out. I do want to bring up Game 1 of the 2003 WCF. Spurs were up by even more than 20 points against the Mavs and the Mavs came roaring back and won by three because the Spurs couldn't score. Spurs went on to win that series anyway

[mytespurs]

I thought the Spurs would be blown out tonight. I watched some of the game at the gym and I was surprised when the Spurs were up by 8 at halftime, Kobe was held to 4-5 points and Spurs went out to a 20 point lead and then it all fell apart.

I don't know which Spurs team will show up Friday........but it's not looking good.....

[lefty]

No way the Spurs "won't recover "

We are battle tested, we are not mentally weak like the Suns

[dbreiden83080]

Suns have no mental toughness to them at all. We won;t fold like they did. We had this game and we fucked it up. Gotta bring it in game 2, simple as that.

[mexicanjunior]

1. The Spurs just choked. This was a vintage get up 20+ points, lose the lead, and lose by a couple of points. The Spurs will respond by winning the next game or two, and this was just a good win by the Lakers taking advantage of a Spurs team that choked in the second half.

or...

2. Suns-Spurs series, except we are the Suns and the Lakers are the Spurs. The Lakers toyed around for a half and then won. We will lose in 5 or 6 and it will not be pretty. The Lakers know how to beat us and we can't beat them.



I think it's 2, they let a golden oppurtunity slip away and I think it will haunt them for the rest of the series. I would have much rather this team get blown out and blame it on fatigue than to lose like this...

[GSH]

If the Spurs come out shooting and win Game 2, we'll go back to LA up 3-1. The Lakers will know that they were lucky to even get a split at home. If we lose Game 2, I don't know how there could be enough gas in the tank to come back the way they did against the Hornets. It's possible... but it would be the stuff legends are made of.

I think Game 2 will decide the series.

[TampaDude]

If the Spurs come out shooting and win Game 2, we'll go back to LA up 3-1. The Lakers will know that they were lucky to even get a split at home. If we lose Game 2, I don't know how there could be enough gas in the tank to come back the way they did against the Hornets. It's possible... but it would be the stuff legends are made of.

I think Game 2 will decide the series.

Yup...whoever wins on Friday night is going to the Finals...book it.

[Princess Pimp]

What a freaking ckoking job

Bwahahahahahahaha!!

[TampaDude]

What a freaking ckoking job

Bwahahahahahahaha!!

Funny...we were saying the same thing after Games 1 and 2 of the first round against the Suns... :lol

[itzsoweezee]

i don't know. the lakers didn't look good in either half. the spurs dictated the tempo, outrebounded the lakers, and played great defense. the spurs couldn't score in the second half, but from what i saw, that had more to do with the spurs than the lakers.

[BruceLeeBowen]

this isn't just a fluke occurrence for the Spurs. The Spurs have had a problem with 2nd half collapses in the regular season and the playoffs. Their offense goes on these scoring droughts all the time. All the Spurs fans scoffed at everyone talking about their age or their offense, but they are real concerns.

[Darcus]

Who would have thought that a competition between two teams could end up with the possibility of either team winning?

[TampaDude]

this isn't just a fluke occurrence for the Spurs. The Spurs have had a problem with 2nd half collapses in the regular season and the playoffs. Their offense goes on these scoring droughts all the time. All the Spurs fans scoffed at everyone talking about their age or their offense, but they are real concerns.

Yup...this happened frequently throughout the regular season...the worst one was blowing a 26-point lead to the Celtics...IN SA...it has to be fatigue...that's the only logical explanation...and yes, it is a real concern...it's getting so that the Spurs are never really safe, even up 20+...they just go cold and can't play well at all on either end of the court...it's maddening...

If the Spurs get Game 2, it's all good, though...NO MORE SCORING DROUGHTS...GO SPURS GO!!! :flag:

[mVp]

The Fakers didn't win this game... we lost it.

[TampaDude]

The Fakers didn't win this game... we lost it.

+1 The Spurs played like shit in the second half and still almost pulled it out...the Lakers are not as good as the Spurs.

SPURS IN 6...BOOK IT!!! :hat

[L.I.T]

If the Lakers lead had ballooned to double digits by the middle of the fourth, I'd be more inclined to believe they were coasting in the first half. But, the Spurs were right there in the end; no matter how exhausted they were or how poorly they were executing on the offensive end and had a chance to take it.

All things considered can't ask for much more than that on the road and after a hard-fought seven game series.

[Basileus777]

this isn't just a fluke occurrence for the Spurs. The Spurs have had a problem with 2nd half collapses in the regular season and the playoffs. Their offense goes on these scoring droughts all the time. All the Spurs fans scoffed at everyone talking about their age or their offense, but they are real concerns.

Hmm, this post seems familiar. I guess I should be flattered.

[MarceloM!]

The Fakers didn't win this game... we lost it.

Absolutely

[aka_USAPA]

If the Spurs come out shooting and win Game 2, we'll go back to LA up 3-1. The Lakers will know that they were lucky to even get a split at home. If we lose Game 2, I don't know how there could be enough gas in the tank to come back the way they did against the Hornets. It's possible... but it would be the stuff legends are made of.

I think Game 2 will decide the series.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Lakers step it up another notch and blow the Spurs away next game. Odom missed a lot of layups. Gasol missed a lot of layups. Kobe didn't play until the second half. Fisher had a so-so game. Down by 20 and still won. I'll take it.

[aka_USAPA]

The Fakers didn't win this game... we lost it.

The Spurs didn't lose it. The Lakers took it away.

[dg7md]

So... you're saying the Spurs will either win or lose?!

[tlongII]

I think that either San Antonio or L.A. will win this series.

[T Park]

The only part I would disagree with on the comparison with the Suns, is that the Spurs aren't as mentally weak as the Suns.

I could see it going either way, although I'm leaning twords number 1.

[mVp]

So... you're saying the Spurs will either win or lose?!

Fucking genius, isn't it? :lol

[lefty]

Who would have thought that a competition between two teams could end up with the possibility of either team winning?

:lmao

[Budkin]

When has a huge lead ever been "safe" for the Spurs? Does anyone not remember the 2003 playoffs? It's just the way it goes sometimes. But we've been through too much to just fold all of a sudden because of a choke loss. And Manu is too much of a competitor not to bounce back. We got this shit.

[ether]

1. The Spurs just choked. This was a vintage get up 20+ points, lose the lead, and lose by a couple of points. The Spurs will respond by winning the next game or two, and this was just a good win by the Lakers taking advantage of a Spurs team that choked in the second half.

or...

2. Suns-Spurs series, except we are the Suns and the Lakers are the Spurs. The Lakers toyed around for a half and then won. We will lose in 5 or 6 and it will not be pretty. The Lakers know how to beat us and we can't beat them.


I'm not too sure what to think. The Spurs defense was very good throughout-it was our offense that hurt us once again. If we hit our shots, this is a 10+ point victory. I guess I'll have to wait for Game 2 to be over until I make a decision. What does everyone else with a valuable, reasonable opinion think?

I'm rather calm after this game although I am really disappointed we didn't pull it out. I do want to bring up Game 1 of the 2003 WCF. Spurs were up by even more than 20 points against the Mavs and the Mavs came roaring back and won by three because the Spurs couldn't score. Spurs went on to win that series anyway

Good post. My personal opinion is that this will be a very closely contested series and will be long either way. Unfortunately for the spurs I think this was a devastating loss. It reminded me a lot of the suns-spurs series opener and I sincerely believe that if the suns had held on and won game 1 in SA, it would have gone 7. (Not to change the subject but I thought that was a much more competitive series than 4-1) However, once they lost that game I knew they were in trouble long term. (whether or not they managed to take the spurs to seven which they of course did not) The reason I felt that way then and the reason I feel that way now is simply that it is always easiest for the lower seeded team to steal game 1 or 2 versus having to try and breakthrough on the road in game 5 or 7. Also, when there are two elite teams playing each other as is the case in this series (and really was the case in the spurs last 2 series for that matter), each team can usually be counted on to dominate one of their home games. (I personally could see this happening in game 2) Thus, this would only give the spurs two more chances to win in LA and winning either a game 5 or game 7 in LA will be extremely difficult. Especially since the spurs just did this to the hornets. (I mean think about it. How many teams can u think of in NBA history that have won back to back game 7s on the road? - I can't think of any) Finally, I have always thought that having more rest actually HURTS for a game 1 of a best of seven series but HELPS LONGTERM. It always sesms that the "well-rested" team comes out flat and the team that just played an emotional elimination game comes out firing on all cylinders because they are fully in sync. I always notice that the more rested team struggles on offense and usually shoots a below average percentage from the field. A perfect example of this was in game 1 of the Detroit - Boston series. I can't tell you how many people I heard giving Detroit a huge edge because of their rest. Look how that turned out. The fact that the spurs didn't take advangtage of this reality will really hurt them in my opinion. How many more times this series do you expect Kobe Bryant to play as listless of a first half as he played tongiht?

I guess I just think that anytime you have an opportunity to steal the homecourt early in a series and you blow it in the heartbreaking fashion that the spurs just blew their opportunity, it really hurts your chances long term. I personally think that game 2 is HUGE for the spurs. I think it would be incredibly hard for them to come back from 0-2 in back to back series without the homecourt. (Again, I can't think of ANY team that has done this back to back)

[ecksodia]

Nice post.

[MambaJuice2408]

The Spurs didn't lose it. The Lakers took it away.

I agree. I dont think true Championship teams give games away. Spurs were on a run and still made Lakers work on offense. Kobe's offensive game was just too good and the Spurs seemed like they never tried to double him and cost them. When Kobe woke up, THe Lakers D woke up and they were swarming, taking a page out the Spurs book.

Spurs fans seem confident, as they should. But they underestimate this team and Kobe's mission overall if they think we're the Suns or Hornets. Spurs fans keep saying why do we keep having these droughts. Well fellas its because your team is old, I remember this is how it was for our team in 2003. Long ass droughts due to old players. Thats all it is.

I expect the Lakers to win Game 2 relatively easily. Kobe basically sent the message to his young teammates that we can beat them. Im not sure the rest of them believed it aside from Kobe and Fish. Now they can relax and I expect a better game from everyone else not named Kobe because I think Spurs might try to get the ball out of his hands more and thatll free up shots for the others.

[Man of Steel]

Funny--I saw it in a different way.

With lack of sleep--a totally fucked up Manu--playing tough game 7 two days ago

v.

Team on its home court--with nearly a week off--with the MVP--well rested...

Spurs beating the fucking crap out of the Lakers so bad their own home fans boo them--to be neutralized by their own stupidity of having Finley sub for Bowen, allowing Kobe to soar like a bottle rocket--lost a lead but still had a chance to steal game 1 in last 20 seconds.

The Hornets were 100 times more difficult.

Spurs in Five

[LA24]

1. The Spurs just choked.

I really disagree with that notion. 6 minutes left in the 3rd is an eternity in the NBA. Had you guys lost a 20 pt lead in the 4th with 8 minutes left...then yeah, I would call it a choke.

[YellowFever]

Funny--I saw it in a different way.

With lack of sleep--a totally fucked up Manu--playing tough game 7 two days ago

v.

Team on its home court--with nearly a week off--with the MVP--well rested...

Spurs beating the fucking crap out of the Lakers so bad their own home fans boo them--to be neutralized by their own stupidity of having Finley sub for Bowen, allowing Kobe to soar like a bottle rocket--lost a lead but still had a chance to steal game 1 in last 20 seconds.

The Hornets were 100 times more difficult.

Spurs in Five



Originally, I tried to be civilized and just talk basketball without the flame wars that happens 99 times out of a 100 when posting in the "enemy's" forum.

Guys like you are making it extremely difficult because guys like you and (I find out sadly) most of the people that post here are no better than Sun's fans or Blazers fans or even Celtic fans.

Have fun guys.

Oh, and a parting shot:

Just remember...whatever you Spur's fans think of Suns fans..just remember..we Lakers fans think exactly the same of you. :lol

15 games out of the last 22, bitches....

That is a definition of being owned.

Go back to your "we were tired" excuses for the next two days.

[Man of Steel]

Originally, I tried to be civilized and just talk basketball without the flame wars that happens 99 times out of a 100 when posting in the "enemy's" forum.

Guys like you are making it extremely difficult because guys like you and (I find out sadly) most of the people that post here are no better than Sun's fans or Blazers fans or even Celtic fans.

Have fun guys.

Oh, and a parting shot:

Just remember...whatever you Spur's fans think of Suns fans..just remember..we Lakers fans think exactly the same of you. :lol

15 games out of the last 22, bitches....

That is a definition of being owned.

Go back to your "we were tired" excuses for the next two days.



Just stating a fact. The Hornets beat the living shit out of the Spurs in first two games. It was a complete dismantling of the Spurs.

Is that true or not? THat my friend is a fact. Go back and look at the scores.

And yes--you guys did a great job coming back in the second half. The Lakers are to be commended. We are the underdogs in this series according to nearly all the pundits.

But I think it is undisputed that the Lakers had many factors in their favor.

That is a fact.

And yet--the Lakers barely survived on their home court with a win.

That is a fact.


A win is a win is a win.

But I am merely stating what I consider to be facts.

You may disagree. THat is your right.

I am not stating my opinion to disparage the Lakers or their fans. I believe the Spurs as a team is superior to the Lakers and we will see whether I am correct or not in the coming days.

To be fair--I haven't read your posts. You may be a great poster here. Sorry you have taken offense to my opinion.

Both of us are entitled to our respective opinions. We have different teams and we will interpret facts differently. That is life.

But all due respect--this is a SPURS website. People can get crazy here, vent like hell, etc. This is our family. We win together. We lose together. But this is designed for Spurs fans to be together through the internet.

If our opinions are offensive because according to your point of view, some of us are biased, you should reconsider whether you should be here. You are biased as well. We're only human. All human beings are biased.

I think you probably would be more comfortable being with Laker fans. Lakersground is a place that you may enjoy more than Spurstalk.

As for your "parting shot," I could stoop to your level, but I won't.

I won't.

Oh fuck...the hell I won't.

The Hornets were and are a lot tougher than you guys showed last night.


Hornet fans were a lot classier than your "parting shot" reveals you to be.




Not saying that to be offensive.

Just stating a fact...

Cheers.


:flag:

[LA24]

The Hornets were and are a lot tougher
I have a feeling that if you guys lose this series you'll still be saying that.

But don't forget you guys also won by pretty big margins against the Hornets in 2 games. Let's see if you can do that against the Lakers.

[Man of Steel]

I have a feeling that if you guys lose this series you'll still be saying that.

But don't forget you guys also won by pretty big margins against the Hornets in 2 games. Let's see if you can do that against the Lakers.

How many points did the Lakers win by last night?

[ForeignFan]

Oh, and a parting shot:

Just remember...whatever you Spur's fans think of Suns fans..just remember..we Lakers fans think exactly the same of you. :lol

15 games out of the last 22, bitches....

That is a definition of being owned.

Go back to your "we were tired" excuses for the next two days.

total B/S, most Lakers fans -and players- agree that the Spurs are not a good matchup for the Lakers and are scared of these series. Whereas Spurs fans were pretty confident before the Suns series.