Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Lakers - Nov. 13

[timvp]

LJ, if you're going to make a troll to pat yourself on the back, at least change more than just the first two letters of your regular screen name.

[naico]

my observations:

- I don't think u can call Bowen human..As the current nba ironman he keeps playin' at such a high level night in, night out and he's been doin' it for yeeeeaaaars now. Nobody in the nba is in better shape then he is. (Not even Kobe)

- Worst game ever for Duncan although he wasn't that bad on defense..It looked like he really had something on his mind. Hopefully he doesn't get into a slump, it'll be interesting to see how he does on thursday vs. Dallas.

- Manu; IF anyone on this team is the most valuable, it's Manu all right..If it's even possible to keep playin' like this and the spurs get 60 wins, then we could get the first ever 6th man of the year winning an mvp award.

- Tony is playing better and better and looks very comfortable and focused. I excpect him to only get better and that's a scary thought for opposing teams.

- Oberto has a rebounding problem and he'd better fix it or the spurs could get in trouble against teams such as Houston, Denver and even Washington.

- Finley is a great shooter. We know it, the staff knows it, the players know it. It's ok for him to keep shooting the rock but i have a problem with him forcing it. He attempted at least 3 3-pointers where he had one or two hands in his face.

- Watching Washington play, he has huge upside. If he keeps focused and determined to get better he could improve his game a lot. Don't be surprised if he contends for a sixth man award in a few years.

- LOL at Bonner and full court pressure. Thought that was funny as . Good shooting night for him. If he can position better on offense he's going to get even more open looks.

- Ian got the opportunity to play early into the game and wasted it. U could see he was tryin' too much in garbage time because of that. One very good thing i noticed: he has incredibly quick feet on defense, actually: I don't think i've ever seen a big man with such quick feet (No kidding). He obviously still has problems playin' back to back defense but he could turn into a great defender. Also snatched one good promising rebound where he extended his right arm to the max.

- Udoka looked lost to me, wandering on offense. He should use his mid range game more often.

- Elson didn't know what he was doing.

- Turiaf is insane in the nutbrain, for real. Bet he takes some kind of pills to calm his ass down.

- Walton really sucked out there. He did hit some shots but it's obvious he doesn't know the term shot selection. He's a guy that can mess up a game for his team.

- Farmer's playing like he's still mad at those high school bullies.

- LOL at Mihm using the only move he knows (and which he very obviously practised during the warm up) on offense, missing the hook and then get benched for almost the entire game.

- Like what Kobe brought. Didn't score a lot (thanks to Bowen ffcourse) but brought energy, smart play and leadership.

[MannyIsGod]

@ shoog pissing off the noobs.

[SpursWoman]

@ SB

[Kori Ellis]

@ SB

I got your text after I got home. I wasn't sitting in my regular place; I was sitting with LJ. Sorry I missed you.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Great commentary as usual, LJ.

Poor Mahinmi got totally OWNED by Bynum in that second quarter, as I'm sure some older pro did to Bynum 2 years ago...

This Spurs team looks like they've been together 6 months, not a couple, but the big early season test is next. They'd better show up, especially against Houston, or they may not be as far advanced as we think (I don't know whether that would please or displease Pop more... ).

Also, @ Shoogar.

[timvp]

Poor Mahinmi got totally OWNED by Bynum in that second quarter, as I'm sure some older pro did to Bynum 2 years ago...

The scary part about how good Bynum could be is he's a year younger than Mahinmi.

[TampaDude]

I think I'll jump on the Mavs wagon if Duncan has another bad game like this.

[thousandth]

my observations:

- I don't think u can call Bowen human..As the current nba ironman he keeps playin' at such a high level night in, night out and he's been doin' it for yeeeeaaaars now. Nobody in the nba is in better shape then he is. (Not even Kobe)

I agree. Bowen's the one of the best perimeter defenders in the history.

- Manu; IF anyone on this team is the most valuable, it's Manu all right..If it's even possible to keep playin' like this and the spurs get 60 wins, then we could get the first ever 6th man of the year winning an mvp award.

Manu' s our amazing pumping powerhouse.

- Oberto has a rebounding problem and he'd better fix it or the spurs could get in trouble against teams such as Houston, Denver and even Washington

I don't know. Oberto took six rebounds, (nothing awasone Timmy 5 Elson 6 Bonner 4) but his work helped to keep possesions alive several times as "Oberto offensive rebound and assist Finley"
The Oberto's regular season as good as it gets... anyway he played well vs Port Sac and NO.

- Udoka looked lost to me, wandering on offense. He should use his mid range game more often

He needs more time to adjust to play here we'll see after 30/40 games

- Elson didn't know what he was doing.

That's a good observation, we all want our boys playing well but... Cisco, What are you doing?

[whottt]

The scary part about how good Bynum could be is he's a year younger than Mahinmi.

Seriously...Bynum just turned 20 and he's averaging a double double playing only half a game from the bench.


To make it even scarier....he's not a Shaq or Kobe fan...he's a Tim Duncan fan.

[whottt]

Oh and...

Bonner's first non-choking game in a Spurs uni = jersey retirement candidate

[2centsworth]

Elson had a couple of really good defensive possessions where he was chasing people all over the court.

Frankenstein was very impressive tonight for about 8 minutes. The rest of the time he was equally as bad.


btw, i did watch this game. Tony was spectacular last night.

[ManuTastic]

Good notes, Timvp. Keep them coming. Two additions:

-Lakers were playing 5 on 6: 5 Spurs plus their turnover line. Really awful. I don't think they could beat Alamo Heights with all those mistakes.

-Tim again has trouble with a big tall team. Just like Houston, he was frustrated offensively by all the big bodies in his way. I hope a) he gets motivated to reassert his status as TIMVP, or b) the coaches figure this out and design some better plays for him, or c) the shooters continue to be lights-out and it doesn't matter. But here's what worries me: we're way more likely to meet Houston than LA in the playoffs, and SA needs to count on an effective Timmy in that scenario. Shooters can go cold.

I thought I saw Timmy once again going to his bad habit of scowling at the refs instead of playing through contact. This must stop.

[smeagol]

Bonner's offensive game is back and that is a good thing.

Bruce had a monster game. He added a nice O to go with his flawless D.

[Medvedenko]

Yes, good game by the Spurs indeed. We had way to many mistakes and must play close to perfect to even attempt to beat the spurs. Nevertheless, it was nice seeing Bynum, Turiaf and Farmar play....still a 1-2 years away, but this is a solid core of young guys. Kobe's shot was a little off and didn't attack as much as usual. He wasn't forcing it either and some of his passes were not rewarded. Good game by Bowen on the d end. We shut down the middle but gave up open shots, once Bonner, and Bowen start making shots, fan out and let TD beat you.....oh well, that's why the spurs are the best Team in the L. We got the rockets tonight....should be a dandy.

[Sportcamper]

TURNOVERS...

Spurs got lucky...

[SpursIndonesia]

Well, we made our own luck, didn't we ?

[drmvp]

@ shoog pissing off the noobs.

Hey, MannyIsGod. Come closer and peer down into the microscope. Look a little to the right. No, you overshot, back a smidgen to the left. There, that's me, the "noob" waving up at you.

Let me tell you how impressed I am with your post count. Why, you're now something of a pied piper as attested by the fact that a cascade of copycats in the clique re-used your phrasing " @ ..." after they saw it in your post. And, isn't it fun to sit back and watch lil' ol' Shoog toy with the new amoeba. What made it so funny, in fact, was to see just how easy it all was.

I won't ask you for advice on how to rise in competence, like you, around these parts because it would be impossible for me. A man can't teach a dog to appreciate Beethoven or Bach; the sighted can't impart in words to the blind what it's like to see. In other words, to reach your lofty perch would require the supernatural transcendence of my very nature. But, alas, I am what I am.

So turn up the magnification a little bit more, Can you make it out now? I'm not actually waving at you; I'm giving you a double-barreled bird-flipping "right back atcha." Of course, it's done with a good-natured, big ol' slobbering smile just like God does it.


(Brownie points now go to the first person who ever so creatively -- and, inaccurately since I wasn't "pissed" then or now -- writes " @ MannyIsGod for doubly pissing off the noobs." )

[diego]

i only watched through the 3rd.

just a couple things i want to say:

- I'd never seen parker make so many nice passes. sure, once in a while he would make a couple, but last night was something else. the speed, accuracy, timing, it was all perfect. i hope the trend continues! (for the record, i'd been critical of his passing before, and i'm not talking about assists, I'm talking about passes, and parker never looked as good as last night to me- granted i've only just recently acquired the means to watch more games).

-when bowen hits those corner 3's like last night, he becomes my favorite player on the team.

- somebody remind tim how the semicircle works. i know he isnt the best from the line, but at least get the other guys in foul trouble, thats better than getting stuffed or bricking it.

[Mixability]

The fingerhut catalog is selling PHD's now?

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Hey, MannyIsGod. Come closer and peer down into the microscope. Look a little to the right. No, you overshot, back a smidgen to the left. There, that's me, the "noob" waving up at you.

Let me tell you how impressed I am with your post count. Why, you're now something of a pied piper as attested by the fact that a cascade of copycats in the clique re-used your phrasing " @ ..." after they saw it in your post. And, isn't it fun to sit back and watch lil' ol' Shoog toy with the new amoeba. What made it so funny, in fact, was to see just how easy it all was.

I won't ask you for advice on how to rise in competence, like you, around these parts because it would be impossible for me. A man can't teach a dog to appreciate Beethoven or Bach; the sighted can't impart in words to the blind what it's like to see. In other words, to reach your lofty perch would require the supernatural transcendence of my very nature. But, alas, I am what I am.

So turn up the magnification a little bit more, Can you make it out now? I'm not actually waving at you; I'm giving you a double-barreled bird-flipping "right back atcha." Of course, it's done with a good-natured, big ol' slobbering smile just like God does it.


(Brownie points now go to the first person who ever so creatively -- and, inaccurately since I wasn't "pissed" then or now -- writes " @ MannyIsGod for doubly pissing off the noobs." )

@ drmvp getting doubly pissed @ Manny for him @ Shoog pissing off drmvp aka "The Noob"

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Where are my brownie points, ?

[drmvp]

Where are my brownie points, ?

Sorry for the iness. Here's your brownie points: +10.

[ChumpDumper]

@ the noob for using lots of words.

[Darkwaters]

Yes, good game by the Spurs indeed. We had way to many mistakes and must play close to perfect to even attempt to beat the spurs. Nevertheless, it was nice seeing Bynum, Turiaf and Farmar play....still a 1-2 years away, but this is a solid core of young guys. Kobe's shot was a little off and didn't attack as much as usual. He wasn't forcing it either and some of his passes were not rewarded. Good game by Bowen on the d end. We shut down the middle but gave up open shots, once Bonner, and Bowen start making shots, fan out and let TD beat you.....oh well, that's why the spurs are the best Team in the L. We got the rockets tonight....should be a dandy.

So what is the plan for the Lakers future right now? Obviously it depends on whether or not Kobe is traded...but the Lakers seem to have some nice pieces. Farmar looks like he could be a pretty wicked piece down the line, but I'm not sure how he fits in with Crittendon. Bynum is a given as the future of the team, but you also have Marc Gasol overseas that could pretty easily be a solid center prospect as well. Lastly, I was a big fan of Sun Yue this last draft and I was dismayed that the Lakers snatched him off the board. Between these players you look to have some intriguing prospects.