Spurs vs. Lakers Previews

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Thurs. Mar. 12
L.A. Lakers @ San Antonio: T. Washington, B. Spooner, Z. Zarba

[YoMamaIsCallin]

I think it's informative to look at the Duncan era (98-99 season to now). If I'm counting right (please correct if not):

Head-to-head in playoffs: Lakers lead in series wins, 4-2. Three of their wins were in the Shaq era.

(Lakers won in 01, 02, 04, and 08. Spurs won in 99 and 03.)

Championships: Spurs lead 4-3. All 3 of the Laker championships were in the Shaq era.

(Lakers won in 00, 01, 02. Spurs won in 99, 03, 05, 07.)

To put it another way:

Duncan Spurs vs. Shaq/Kobe Lakers:

head-to-head playoffs: Lakers 3, Spurs 2.
Championships: Lakers 3, Spurs 2.

Duncan Spurs vs. Kobe/no Shaq Lakers:

head-to-head playoffs: Lakers 1, Spurs 0.
Championships: Spurs 2, Lakers 0.

[NRHector]

Referee Assignments
Thurs. Mar. 12
L.A. Lakers @ San Antonio: T. Washington, B. Spooner, Z. Zarba

what, no joey crawford tonight?

[Spursmania]

what, no joey crawford tonight?

Yeah, I was really surprised about that. It's predictable, they're saving "Queen Crawford" for playoff games against the Lakers.

[duncan228]

From Hoopsworld, but it was so enthusiastic I couldn't resist.

Evening Scoop: Clash Of The ans!
By: Bill Ingram

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. It doesn't get any better than this. The top two teams in the NBA's Western Conference square off for bragging rights, but more importantly for the edge in the season series.

Tonight's game is in San Antonio, where the Spurs last beat the Lakers 112-111 despite a big fourth-quarter surge by the visitors. Andrew Bynum scored 18 points in the game for the Lakers, while Manu Ginoboli had 27 for the Spurs. Neither player will be in uniform tonight due to injuries, but both teams still bring plenty of heat.

Paul Gasol has been a force on both ends of the floor, even getting the better of Yao Ming last night, and averaging basically 20 points and 10 rebounds since Bynum hit the injured list. The Lakers also got 17 points and nine rebounds from reserve forward Josh Powell against Houston, as he started in place of the suspended Lamar Odom.

In San Antonio, it's been all Tony Parker. The Spurs have gone through a couple of stretches where they had neither Tim Duncan nor Manu Ginobili available, and in each case Parker has kept them winning with his dominant play. He's averaging 26.1 points and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 52% in Ginobili's absence this time around.

The Lakers are coming off of a huge win in Houston, where the Rockets dominated them in the first half and then folded under tremendous defensive pressure in the second. The Spurs just ended the longest winning streak in Charlotte Bobcats history with a 100-86 win on Tuesday night.

Tonight is also a match between two of the top head coaches of all time, and it will be interesting to see how they play things. San Antonio's Gregg Popovich is notorious for placing long-term health over wins this time of year, but you have to wonder if he'll make an exception tonight. Tim Duncan is averaging just 30 minutes per game over the last five, three of which were blowout wins by the Spurs. Duncan was averaging better than 37 minutes per game prior to that stretch and played 38 in the Spurs' earlier win over LA. You'll know how badly Popovich wants to win the game by how many minutes Duncan plays . . .barring a blowout one way or the other. If the Lakers open up a big lead in the third, don't be surprised to see Duncan call it a night early.

The Lakers' Phil Jackson, on the flip side, understands the importance of owning home court advantage throughout the playoffs, and will fight for every win. He played Pau Gasol all but about 30 seconds of the second half last night in Houston and if he needs to play Kobe 40+, he'll do that. The Lakers have already set their calendar through mid-June, and understand that home court can be the difference between winning and losing the Finals.

This one tips @ 8:00PM Eastern on TNT - you won't want to miss it!

[iggypop123]

no bynum and no manu. looks like we have an even matchup now unlike last time at san antonio