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Do you think San Antonio should be favored if they meet up with LA in the WCF (assuming SA holds onto HCA)?
It's clear this year's Spurs team is better than 2008,2009,2010 teams. I like my chances vs. anyone with this team. Compared to the previous 3 years where I was hoping for miracles.
Do you think San Antonio should be favored if they meet up with LA in the WCF (assuming SA holds onto HCA)?
assuming HCA and health. No. And Pop, Duncan, Manu and Parker will agree. The champs are the favorites.
Lakers are favorites in any playoff series including the Finals.
BUT, as I said, Spurs are very, very close. Much much closer than in the previous 3 years.
Fair enough
this thread is full of fail....
Will the Lakers go inside-out for the length of the series (should they play)? That's going to determine whether the Spurs win or lose. Really the only hope that I have is that Kobe goes into chucker mode. Unless Tiago Splitter developes into a really good player over the course of the next 20 games or so, the Laker's height is going to be hard to overcome.
That said, I don't expect Duncan to perform the way he has against the Lakers so far this season in a playoff series. Same with Manu. Which changes the dynamics quite a bit.
How bout our bench? Way better than the laker bench. Timmy will step it up get bynum in foul trouble like he always does. Manu will step it up as well. And your right they have no match for Parker which will lead to fouls and open 3's.
John I would have taken you seriously if you said the spurs won't beat the lakers because of their size. I can definitely see how thats possible but lol when you said Kobe will shut down Manu thats when I lost you. Kobe is one of the worst defensive players in the league the guy is pure garbage when it comes to guarding elite perimeter players he sucks when even guarding scrubs. Have you noticed how Kobe will never guard a guy whose capable of scoring 20 a game that its Ron who guards those guys. Kobe is a terrible defender that even Bruce Bowen scored his playoff career high against him. If Kobe guards Manu I really like the spurs chances considering Kobe is an awful defender. For the spurs to win its really going to come down to RJ showing up since he's the guy that Kobe will guarding in a 7 game series. If RJ hits his open shots then the spurs will have a good chance to win.
Kobe is one of the best defenders in the NBA….Where do you “Homers” come up with this stuff…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5165424
He isn't what you would call a lockdown defender and most of his d consists of playing free safety. When he get these votes, it's more a vote based on past performance and not what's going on now. It's been that way for awhile now.Kobe is one of the best defenders in the NBA….Where do you “Homers” come up with this stuff…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5165424
Wouldn't one say that Ron Artest is the best defender and he didn't even make 2nd team last year.
I think that's a pretty realistic assessment. The Lakers undoubtedly pose matchup problems for the Spurs down low and I'm not a fan of relying on a decline in the other team's collective passion and effort as a factor. I'm sure that the Lakers will be playing very hard if/when these two teams match up. The other thing that concerns me is if the Lakers are rotating well on defense its gonna be hard to get those open three point shots. So not only do you have size to contend with in the paint, if they're on the ball on their perimeter D, it'll really pose a challenge.
What the Spurs can control will hopefully come on the defensive end. Hopefully the Spurs become better at on the ball defense...actually, hopefully they become a little better in every defensive statistical category!
No doubt it'll take a monumental effort and a few breaks for the Spurs to beat the Lakers, but we'll see what happens when they actually play the series.
NBA defensive teams are a joke.
Slice you lost me when you said Kobe wasn't a good defender.
He's been an elite defender the past decade, and has the hardware to prove it. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone over the course of the last 3 le runs (including our 08 loss to Boston) who's gotten the better of Kobe over the course of a series. Sure, players get hot from time-to-time, but not on him over the course of a series.
Did you even watch the playoffs last year? Westbrook was torching us, and Phil made the switch to put Kobe on him in Games 5 and 6...and what happened? In the finals Kobe neutralized Rondo and rendered him almost useless. Know of what you speak before you speak it.
As for a Lakers-Spurs matchup, of course Phil would put Artest on Manu. He's their best offensive threat and Ron is our best lockdown defender. Besides, why have Kobe expend excess energy on the defensive end when he's more needed offensively? Ron just shoots jumpers so is already pathetic offense won't be affected by chasing Manu around. Kobe only has to guard RJ--what a tough assignment
For the times Ron is out Kobe can more than guard him. Can Manu guard Kobe? Wait, best not to answer that
Kobe's regular season D mimics the Lakers' regular season D---not much effort. When the playoffs roll around he's lockdown. Numbers don't lie.
Solid post. The reason why this San Antonio team isn't feared like ones in the past is defense. Tim was an elite defensive anchor and Bowen was a lockdown perimeter defender. The Spurs could make teams go half a quarter w/o a fg, but that defense waved bye-bye long ago. They have to hope they make their jumpshots, that's it.
Kobe Bryant is five time First Team All Defensive. Maybe he's lost a half of a step, but he's still gotta be considered an excellent defender. I think that Ron Artest guards the opposing star because Phil Jackson has a brain. Why waste Kobe's energy clawing on defense when he doesn't have to?
Exactly.
Kobe winning defensive first team is more like a popularity contest and nothing else. If Kobe was a great defender he would guard atleast the second best wing players on the opposing team but he doesn't even do that. Just look a the finals he guarded the guy with the worst offensive game which is Rondo. Kobe never guarded Ray or Pierce for a full game but instead took on Rondo because Rondo was easier for him to cover. Kobe also against the suns shied away from guarding Jrich or Nash but instead guarded the 50 year old Grant Hill. Also how about the thunder last year when for most of the series he guarded Sefolosha instead of Westbrook. Kobe is a defender the guy is overatted. If RJ could show up consistently then I would like the spurs chances of beating the Lakers in a 7 game series due to Kobe being a crap defender.
Ignoring the facts won't win you this argument, but nice try.
Oh please I'm not even talking about guarding the best player I'm talking about guarding the second best player or a guy capable of scoring 20 points. If he was such a great defensive player he would take on the challenge thats why I don't buy that bs. in '03 he did a great job of Bruce Bowen I remember that game where Bruce drilled 7 3's in his mug. Kobe is defender thats one of the reasons why Phil puts him on terrible players. Just watch the Miami game tomorrow and watch how Kobe will be forced to guard Wade instead of Mario Chalmers who he probably wishes he could match up with.
If Rondo is such a non-threat then why did LeBron James (yes, runner-up for DPOY) switch from guarding Pierce to him for most of the ECSF?
lol...we get it, you hate Kobe. Time to get over it.
major troll lol
Sounds like the OP is betting the ranch on Bynum, who is already complaining about his pain. Saying Tim is "helpless" against Bynum is kind of tipping your hat that you don't want a serious discussion about basketball. Tim isn't as quick on his feet as years gone by, but he's got leadership, bbIQ, character, and an offensive game that Bynum will never have. Bynum is long, but isn't very durable for being a kid.
when the playoffs start i suspect kobe to take more control, leaving out the 3 stooges because he doesnt trust them.
and i think the key to beating the lakers to to have kobe shoot the ball more...that leads to 9 against kobe
in the majority of the spurs loses the other team has shot lights out and that is why i like their chances because that wont happen 4 out 7 times.
Lakers path would include, portland, Dallas
Spurs have a less difficult path of Memphis, OKC. that alone is worth one game in the WCF
No one knows what's going to happen... that's what is going to make it so fun.
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