. You think any of those trolls actually believe that? They said that to rile you Spur fans up and it clearly worked.
I will agree with you about that!!
The regular season is a grind and the games are like groundhog day!!
I know the players do get up and want to play well against the better teams in the league....but to call them statement games is overblown. Especially for a team whose core has won three of the last 6 championships!! They have played in a lot of big playoff games and tough regular season games on the road.
key for spurs is to limit the lakers' production. they had a very good shooting night last game going 56% 3pt FG. bynum + gasol had 39 pts on 65% shooting. bryant had 29 pts over 57%. their bench also produced well, going 55% for 25 pts. all this is way to high. spurs can't play to outscore the lakers. they need to play defense and make lakers work for it. i'm hoping duncan will play good defense this time around because he let a few people wide open the last time. mistakes he should not be making.
This game won't be close. The Lakers have had time to prepare for the Spurs and will want to avenge their last game. They'll come out tomorrow pumped and ready to make a statement.
Just another regular season game but I believe the Lakers will want it more.
Lakers 120
Spurs 93
Just another game the Lakers will wim. I don't know who the Spurs think they are, but they aren't. Nobody is expecting the Spurs to do anything this season, and they wont.
That is a ridiculous statement to say the least. So what league have you been watching for the last several years?
Though I believe that the Lakers will probably win the game expect to see the Spurs come playoff time.
Ftl
One would like to think so but unfortunately the glitz of glamor of LA attracts a lot of bandwagon fans. You only need to watch a game at Staples and see half the fans on their cell phones either pointing fingers and asking questions or ignoring the game completely. Half of them probably don't know the starting 5 much less a bench player like Vujacic. Rest assured they are indeed that stupid unfortunately. I don't think you are one of those fans.
Alas, all teams have their share of colossally ignorant fans that true fans would like to sweep under the rug but the Lakers just happen to have a healthy surplus due to their mass market appeal.
"What we have here is failure....to communicate. Some people you just can't reach."
Fakers, you need 2 7footers to deal with TD......you suck. and that trade was bunk for gasol........maybe when the league hands you a player like gasol, you should at least try to win the finals.
Lakers get all the calls and you win.
The Lakers worry about the Spurs, no matter what all of you have to say. If the shots are falling tomorrow, the Spurs will win. There are more "shooters" on the Spurs than on the Lakers. I would never bet against a team that has scorers like the Spurs have.
I just want to hear one Spur fan be man enough to say the Lakers were a better team last year. None of this, "IF MANU WASN'T HURT" or "THE REFS CHEATED US!" excuses. Just someone man up and admit the better team won that series.
Lakers were the better team last year*
^nice logic (Thick sarcasm). By the by, are you Derrick Zoolander?
"You think that you're too cool for school, but I have a newsflash for you Walter Cronkite... you aren't".
I agree that people need to quit with the excuses, but seriously shut the up already. The Laker fanbase is one of the absolute WORST when it comes to admitting defeat-it's always the refs' fault, Stern's fault, or injuries. So don't give us this bull about manning up when your fanbase doesn't ever ing do it.
mason with a dagger 3 to win the game. book it.
Lakers' Sasha Vujacic has full backing again
The reserve guard has returned to full strength after missing two games because of back spasms. If a little good-natured name calling comes with the territory, he can take it.
By Broderick Turner
They called him names -- with affection, of course.
They questioned his toughness -- with affection, of course.
Sasha Vujacic took it all in stride.
Back spasms took him out for two games, so Vujacic knew the name-calling was coming.
In many ways, he's used to it. He earned the nickname "The Machine," and has heard many times this season that the machine has been broken.
"They called me names, but I'm not going to put them out there," Vujacic said, smiling. "But it was very frustrating sitting at home and watching the game. Unfortunately I didn't get to play against San Antonio."
He missed back-to-back games Jan. 13-14 at Houston (a Lakers win) and San Antonio (a one-point loss).
When Derek Fisher tweaked his hamstring at San Antonio, not having Vujacic to play the backup point-guard role pushed the Lakers to the limit.
The team already was without Jordan Farmar (surgery on left knee) and was counting on Vujacic to handle the duties in the backcourt.
But during a Jan. 11 game against the Miami Heat, Vujacic's back stiffened, causing him pain.
"I couldn't move," Vujacic said. "The next day . . . I woke up and I couldn't get out of bed. I was struggling. Then I came [to the practice facility] and tried to get treatment. I knew then they were going to call me names."
Vujacic put his faith in the Lakers' training staff. He said his work with Alex McKechnie, the Lakers' athletic performance coordinator, has paid off. The back pain has subsided.
"I'm good, I'm feeling really good," Vujacic said. "Our training staff -- especially working with Alex -- has helped me keep it straight and I'm working on making it stronger."
Vujacic started slowly in his first game back. He played 13 minutes against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 16 but didn't score, missing all three of his field-goal attempts, two of which two were three-point shots.
On Monday he played 21 minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers and was four for seven from the field, four for five from three-point range. He scored 14 points.
Against the Clippers on Wednesday, Vujacic played 23 minutes, but was just one for seven from the field, one for five from three-point range. He scored three points.
The next night he played 25 minutes against the Washington Wizards and was four for seven from the field, two for five on three-point shots. He had 13 points.
Slowly, Vujacic said, he is getting his rhythm back, something he hopes to keep when the Lakers play host to the Spurs on Sunday at Staples Center.
"As long as I get involved in the ballgame early and I kind of get the feel for the game, early in the game, I feel really good," Vujacic said. "I feel really comfortable."
Sunday's game: Lakers vs. Spurs preview box
By Janis Carr
Lakers (34-8) vs. Spurs (29-13)
• Date/time: Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
• Site: Staples Center
• TV/radio: KABC/7; KLAC/570, KWKW/1330
Lakers Spurs
107.8 Points scored 96.9
99.1 Points against 93.9
47.7 Field goal percentage 46.4
76.7 Free throw percentage 76.1
Outlook: The Spurs will be looking to make it two victories over the Lakers this season after winning on Roger Mason’s late 3-point play, 112-111. But the Spurs need to find a way to stop an energized Andrew Bynum, who has posted back-to-back double-doubles. The Lakers won the inside battle the last time, outscoring the Spurs, 56-34, in the paint and 11-2 in second-chance points. San Antonio ranks sixth in the league in limiting opponents to 93.9 points a game. Ian Mahinmi (ankle) is out for the Spurs. Jordan Farmar (knee) is out for the Lakers.
Spurs FTW, Lakers FTL
Fakers were te better team last year - they WON the series. That's all that matters. No excuses allowed. And you'll never hear Pop drum up any either. However, last year was last year. It will have NO bearing on what happens this year.
The Lakers WHERE better last year, but that doesnt change the fact that if Manu was healthy it wouldnt have been such a blowout, never mind the Fisher no call.
I already know what your going to say, you guys didnt have Bynum or Ariza, but thats a completely baseless complaint. Bynum or Ariza for the Lakers is not what Manu is for the Spurs. Take away Kobe and you have an arguement but Bynum and Ariza being out doesnt impact the game for the Lakers as much as Manu being inured to the point he porbably should have been out for the Spurs.
Lakers where better last year, they would have won if we had a 100% Manu or not.
This year the Spurs have a more-than-servicable suprise backup PG as well as Roger Mason Jr. who is proving to be arguable the best pickup of the offseason. Bonner is playing pretty good, much better than Horry last year IMHO.
This is a different Spurs team who is still learning their new iden y. Same for the Lakers getting Bynum and Ariza back. Basing your arguements that the Lakers will dominate the Spurs on last years WCF's is an excercize in idiocy.
Last edited by phyzik; 01-24-2009 at 10:18 PM.
lakers lost to spurs at atnt several days ago so they won't allow themselves to lose again, they need to revenge on the spurs at home and It's expected to be a demolishing considering it's their home game at staples.
I love this series of tough games that the Spurs will be facing over the next several weeks. Pop should have a pretty good feel for his rotation by now and the players. For the most part, they are healthy or have recovered enough from injuries for this to not be a factor. The cohesiveness of the defense is the number one concern and the way to strengthen the defense is to test it against potent teams like the Lakers. Shooting droughts have become less of an issue as the Spurs now have more weapons, but they can still occur specially on the road. Should be a terrific game.
Spurs by 1 in OT, thanks to last second shot by Mase.
I'd say Ariza+Bynum = Manu in terms of overall impact. What Manu brings to the Spurs offense is what both Ariza+Bynum bring to the Laker defense. And like I said before at least Manu got to play every game, and he certainly was healthy enough to drop 30 in one of the games.
Making excuses makes you all look foolish. Just accept the loss and move on. Laker fans could throw out the same injury excuse to the Celtic fans but it doesn't change history. The Lakers lost and the Celtics won. History does not care who was injured.
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