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I love when Lakerfan acts like some light has suddenly been shed on the Spurs because the Lakers decided to treat a regular season game with playoff intensity and the Spurs didn't.
DeJuan Blair is 6'6". We've known this for some time.
Pop won't play Splitter. We've known this for some time.
The Spurs have hitched their wagon to three point shooting. We've known this for some time.
The offense doesn't go through Tim Duncan anymore. We've known this, well you get the picture.
Bruce Bowen is on ESPN and there's not anyone in the league with a prayer of replacing him at this point, so the defense isn't as good as they were.
The main goal going into this season was to increase team depth, develop young players instead of bringing in vets, and keep everyone healthy and rested for the playoffs by limiting minutes. The focus was also put on starting off a little more seriously than last year so there wouldn't be a need to push just to make the playoffs. Surprise, the Spurs accidentally went out and went on a historic start. Whoops.
News flash for Laker Nation: Getting blitzed by LA didn't change a single one of the team's long term goals. This takes nothing away from the great performance the Lakers put on, but there's simply not a big-picture scenario that's bad for the Spurs as a result of that game. I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear. If anything, it might make Pop consider forcing some more minutes on Splitter over the last part of the season in case he wants to rethink his defensive strategy a bit, but he's pretty set in his ways, so I doubt it. The Spurs know they came out flat, and they've historically been blown out on Sunday afternoon games. They're embarrassed, but that's about it.
LA is not the only team with a veteran championship core that has aspirations beyond the regular season. I assure you that a playoff game would not have gone down the same way, much as you wish to believe otherwise on March 8. Again, sorry, but this isn't the Heat we're talking about here.
If the Spurs and Lakers get to meet in the playoffs, and the Spurs lose, the seeds of that loss were sown months, if not years, ago. So those of us who have actually been paying attention aren't going to suddenly be alarmed by a single blowout loss to a team that seemed to think they had something to prove in the regular season. Lakers played great. Lakers dominated. Lakers won. It was embarrassing. But, as with every loss the Spurs have suffered this season, they're still in first place afterward. The only thing the Lakers really achieved was to gain a game in the standings. The Spurs have a few days to let it stew, then they can try to get back on track by finishing the homestand up strong.
