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Don't forget Oberto! our starter center. I think he'll do a great job against Bynum like the last game in L.A. against Andrew.
Bynum had proved an idiot rookie against Oberto in that game. Do you remember? He was ejected.
Spurs in 6.
Oh, like I've been saying all year long. The spurs should win based on experience and talent levels, especially now with the upgrade of verteran leadership and talent in KT and DS. If they lose, then it will definitely spell trouble in Spur land. But that's just my opinion.
Don't forget Oberto! our starter center. I think he'll do a great job against Bynum like the last game in L.A. against Andrew.
Bynum had proved an idiot rookie against Oberto in that game. Do you remember? He was ejected.
Spurs in 6.
Everyone forgets about Odom......he plays really well in the playoffs and is a miss match. He's the x-factor for the Lakers. Can't wait until the real season starts.
I will say that both teams have offensive mismatches to exploit. Current lakers "optimum" (ie. the alignment that is expected to see the most floor time) 5 is
PG - Fisher
SG - Kobe
SF - Odom
PF - Gasol
C - Bynum
The Spurs reply with
PG - Parker
SG - Manu
SF - Bowen
PF - Duncan
C - Thomas (I'm guessing he takes it over Oberto for post defense vs Bynum)
On Lakers Offence, the matchups look like this
Kobe - Bowen
Gasol - Duncan
Bynum - Thomas
Odom - Manu
Fisher - Parker
I'm not sure if Odom-Manu is an exploitable mismatch. Certainly if Odom can take it into the post it might be. However, can the Lakers other players live with their shot attempts being siphoned away to Odom? Gasol - Duncan might also be exploitable. If Gasol starts operating away from the paint, Duncan might not want to follow...
On Spurs Ball, the big men look like this
Duncan - Bynum
Thomas - Gasol
but then it gets all confused.
I don't think Odom or a 36 year old Fisher can stay with Parker or Manu just on speed/quickness. And historically, Kobe has taken Bowen so he can rest some on defense. I'm pretty sure that Phil will have to do some Fancy-schmancy scheming to avoid a blowout perimeter match-up. Also, he's going to have to give Bynum significant help on D...
It's not pretty for either team defensively, but I'd say the Spurs have an advantage overall, due to their only being 1 good perimeter defender on the Lakers "optimum" starting 5. If I were Phil, I'd be contemplating moving Ariza in for Odom (when Ariza's healthy).
Kobe will take the Manu defensive assignment. He doesn't have to carry the load offensively anymore, he'll have more energy to expend on the defensive end.
The only severe mismatch I see is Fisher on Parker. I expect Fisher to go under every screen and force Parker to hit his outside shot. I'd rather deal with that than Parker driving into the lane and creating havoc. Take away his assists and make him a scorer, it's exactly how we deal with Nash and CP3 and it works.
Keeping Parker out of the lane (if he's healthy) is going to require more than just Fisher going under every screen. Look at the last Spurs-Lakers series. Lakers basically ignored Turkeyglue, and Nesterovich (and a lot of Bowen), and collapsed the lane (Shaq and Malone dropping to Duncan, and Kobe & George coming to help off Bowen and Turkeyglue). That's what stopped Tony's penetration. But 1) Fisher's older and slower. 2) Collapsing off Thomas is bad (Unlike Nesterovich, he can shoot that 12-18 ft jumpshot). 3 ) Manu has MUCH more stones than Turkeyglue. Collapsing off him is just a bad idea...
Good take....I still like the spurs overall, however it may come down to benches and I like ours better.
Starters:
Fisher
Kobe
Vlad Rad
Pao
Bynum
Farmar
Machine
Odom/Ariza
Turiaf/Walton
Dbengabus
Laker's are a deep team - There bench is the X factor. Lakers Win
What the F? Ginobili in no way, shape or form is a Lamar Odom-type player. Odom is a soft, unmotivated, boneheaded, anti-clutch violet who shrinks when its time to step up. Manu is tough as nails, always takes the big shots, can step up and play other-worldly when called-upon who has won at so many levels.
Manu leads the Spurs in PPG and is a leader. Odom is the sorriest sidekick in the league. He couldn't even cut it as the 3rd option. The arrival of Gasol has made him the 4th option (you know, like Michael Finley or Damon Stoudamire on the Spurs). And even then nobody knows what he will do on a given day.
The only way people can make Odom look good is to point out his "balanced" stats in PPG, APG, RPG. But then again, Laker fans themselves have seen through this mirage. Hence the nickname "4-2-2".
Okay, I gotta ask. Who the is this "Machine" Guy. Is it "swishy" Sasha Vujacic? If so, what are they putting in the water down in LALA land? Or si that short form for something uncomplimentary like "Turnover Machine"?
In Phoenix - we like to refert to Sasha as:
Sasha Vuja
or
Sasha Such A Euro
Sasha "The Machine" Vujacic is a "Scoring Machine" was a nickname Stu Lantz gave him because that dude comes in and starts jacking up shots.
I've watched practically all of the Laker games this year and I've watched practically all the Spurs games this year (All the ones on League Pass)
When the Lakers had only Bynum, I thought they were already on the same level as the Spurs. With the addition of Pau, it's not even close.
Starters:
Fisher:TP > TP better +10 points, Fisher + .04 seconds
Kobe:Bruce > Bruce is a step slow this year, Kobe's a lot hungrier
Odom: Manu > This is a wash, they're both going to kill each other on opposite ends. Manu will score more, Lamar will get O Rebounds like Christmas
Pau:Timmy > Timmy has a much greater impact Offense/Defense, but Pau still gets 20 points
Bynum:Oberto > This isn't even close, Bynum was dominating everybody outside of Kevin Garnett
Bench Lakers:
The Machine, Farmar, Vladmonovic, Turiaf, Ariza, Luke Walton
Bench Spurs:
Finley, Bonner, Horry, Stoudamire, KT, Ime, JV
Machine<Finley
Vladmonovic>Bonner
Horry>Luke Walton
Farmar>Stouds>JV
Ariza>Ime
Turiaf>KT
In my opinion, it's not even close...Lakers are Long and Fast but easily play the half court game. Spurs missed out on an athletic small forward during trading season and it's gonna pay in offensive rebounds and points for Laker big men....(see last night's TWolves game as an example)
Lakers win in 5 and some games are going to be blow outs. We'll get a glimpse on April 13th.
For me it's a win-win. Lakers win great, Spurs win I'm rooting for Timmy.
Spurs in 6.
We all know by now that the Spurs haven't even began to get motivated yet. We see it time and time again...Spurs hit their stride headed into the playoffs. Right now the Spurs are simply ploding their way through another regular season.
I could care less if Bynum is in the lineup or not, the kid will be like a dear in the headlights against the onslaught of playoff mode TD.
Spurs get teams "best shot" every night as defending champs. Teams like the Lakers and the Hornets will not be able to rise to the challenge of playoff basketball.
Spurs in 6!
Playoff is a different season where experiences and wills and excutions could be more important than talents and skills. Spurs will own Lakers in the playoffs.
You're scared to play the Spurs huh?
Spurs in 5 if the refs call the game evenly, But if they don't in an effort to get the Lakers to the next round, Spurs in 6.
I'll be scared of the Spurs when they stop struggling to put away garbage teams like MIN, NYK, and MIA.
The playoffs is where it's at in San Antonio. Gasol will flutter and pussy out in June leaving the Lakers with no deep playoff experience on their bench.
Dude, your synopsis is way off base. Lakers in 5 is about the stupidest thing you said.
I don't know if we can say anything definitive either way at this point. Spurs aren't playing to their potential and Bynum has not come back for the Lakers yet. We play each other next on April 13th. Let's revisit this thread then, it will have far more relevance at that point.
Anyone claiming the Spurs/Lakers win in a sweep is a stupid homer.
Oh, I can see a Spurs sweep easy. If Kobe's finger goes out, Spurs take it in 4. I actually think that his decision not to get the surgery is one of the dumbest I have heard in a while. Theoretically you've got a weak schedule coming up (according to yourself, your SOS is #3 so far; therefore, your remaining schedule must be relatively easy.) Your're at 37 and 17. Go .500 the rest of the way, and you're at 51 wins. You should be able to do that without Kobe. That will get you into the playoffs, especially with Kobe coming back before the end of the season. Health >>>> Seeding, especially when your superstar player is concerned. As it stands, he's got 28 regular season games to get further injury accidentally, and then 4 playoff series (if you think you can go all the way) with people specifically targetting him... I'll say good luck to him, but I would not be surprised to see him missing games in the playoffs (and thereby ending the lakers season...).
Whatever Dude, we'll see.
If Manu plays anywhere close to the level he is playing at now combined with Timmy being his usual playoff self and Tony back healthy, i like the Spurs in 6.
NBA finals.
Lakers vs Boston
And final tv ratings are great.
The Spurs aren't supposed to win, are they? They never repeat and they certainly aren't the favorite. Add to that the fact that they play boring basketball and nobody likes them or watches. Talk about zero pressure.
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