Lakers Set for Spurs in San Antonio
by Mike Trudell
During the offseason following L.A.’s 2009 NBA le, San Antonio added veterans Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess and drafted effective rookie big man DeJuan Blair, moves at least in some part intended to better match the length of the Lakers.
With Manu Ginobili coming into the season healthy, and Tony Parker and Tim Duncan still sporting silver and black, most expected the Spurs to be among the Lakers’ toughest road blocks to a potential championship repeat.
If it were possible, the Spurs slid off the league-wide radar a bit after a 9-9 start, but are back on it after winning 13-of-17 games on the back of Tim Duncan, who’s averaging 20.0 points and 10.4 rebound as one of the NBA’s three 20-10 players.
“I think they’re playing probably the best ball they’ve played all year,” said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson. “Maybe they were disappointed with their Dallas loss last week, but they’ve been playing well enough to sit right in there. After a slow start, they have come back.”
The Dallas loss is indicative of the fact that the Spurs have had trouble beating good teams, going only 4-12 against teams at or above .500, and beating up on the weaker sub .500 teams to an 18-2 extent. Yet the principals for what made them successful throughout the decade remain.
“They’re a good defensive team, (and) they always stay in ball games defensively,” said Jackson. “They have three-point shooting concept in their offense; you have to be able to cover the penetration of Parker and still be able to recover to three-point shooters in the corner.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers aren’t exactly the Lakers, not without All Star Pau Gasol still on the shelf with a left hamstring strain (L.A. is 10-5 without him), Finals MVP Kobe Bryant nursing a fractured finger and Ron Artest still recovering from a concussion.
Of course, you won’t hear any excuses out of Jackson or Bryant in particular, who - as always - expect a fully competent effort out of the purple and gold.
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Injury Update: Kobe’s Finger
by Mike Trudell
Kobe Bryant made just 1-of-14 shots in the first half and 4-of-21 for the game in L.A.’s 95-77 win over Milwaukee, struggling to hit from the field for the fourth consecutive contest (33 percent combined).
The difference in that first half was that Bryant was attempting to play without a splint on his right index finger, on which he suffered an avulsion fracture earlier in the season that he said he aggravated against Sacramento (he also appeared to take a swipe to the finger against Houston on Tuesday evening).
Bryant explained after the contest that playing without the splint afforded him increased range of motion, but made his finger too weak to support his shooting stroke.
“It’s just not strong enough,” he said of the finger, which will of course not keep him out of any game action.
Phil Jackson blamed Bryant’s finger almost exclusively for his shooting struggles:
He has been fiddling around with his “prosthetic” for his broken finger. He went from hard to semi-hard protective plate that was in there and made from lead that was conformed to nothing at all now. It is noticeable in his shooting and he knows it so I think he is going to go back to what worked before.
In short, the splint will go back on until Bryant feels strong enough to shoot without it.
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should be a battle, Spurs need this game confidence wise with their heavy schedule this week.
the lakers! 
