I just watched the Lakers-Celtics Christmas Day Game again. I had it on DVR and I wanted to closely watch it to see where the Spurs can attack each team.
Here's my observations:
First of all it was a good regular season game for late December. Obviously this game meant more to the Lakers because of what happened in last year NBA Finals.
The Lakers played with more energy, passion and defense than the Celtics. I will give them credit for that. However, the Celtics were able to grind the game to their pace and that kept them in it until about 2 mins left. And the Celtics 1st unit was better than the Lakers 1st unit most of the game.
Also, I have to give credit to Gasol. He stepped up and showed some toughness late in the fourth quarter. He hit a couple of jumpers, a three-point play and a block on Allen. Nice game by him.
Now, the weakness of both teams and where the Spurs can attack them when they play each other.
The Celtics: their weaknesses are their second unit, turnovers, and Rondo. I know Celtics fans will disagree with that last part of the previous sentence. I will get to my reason shortly.
The Celtics 2nd unit played with energy and hustle. But they were undersized for the Lakers frontline and couldn't score enough. I believe the Spurs can attack this unit with Ginobili from the perimeter and KT's toughness will help inside.
The Celts also commit a lot of turnovers and they are 29th in the league in that stat. The Spurs have the fewest turnovers and I believe can get a couple extra baskets from that stat.
Now, on to Rondo. He has played well and the media has been hyping to be in the All-Star Game this year. He will probably go because of that. But, the Lakers played off of him the entire game. Kobe was guarding him and basically played in the paint and dare him to shoot jumpers. He didn't and tried to force himself into the lane. He did have a couple of tough layups (I will get to Lakers' weakness about that shortly). That's about it for him.
The Spurs need to play him for the jump shot and keep him out of the lane.
Those are the areas where the Celtics can be attacked by the Spurs.
Now for the Lakers.......
Their weakness is interior defense and inconsistency. The Lakers are the most dynamic offensive team in the NBA. They have shooters in both their 1st and 2nd unit and great ball movement with the triangle offense. But they play in spurts and inconsistent defensively and that wont be enough to win a championship.
The Celtics in the first half got 2 Rondo layups, 2 Garnett dunks and 2 Perkins dunks in the first half against the Lakers interior defense. The Celtics were effective in moving Bynum out of the lane and going to the hoop. Gasol is not physical enough to be the last line of defense.
The Spurs can attack the Lakers interior defense with Tim (obviously) and I believe that Kurt Thomas can help with his jump shot or Oberto with his passing as well. Also, Bonner can pull Bynum out of the lane with his long range jumper.
Even though, the Lakers played with great energy and passion against the Celtics but it was inconsistent. It was interesting that Kobe played the entire 1st quarter and well into the 2nd quarter with the 2nd unit.
The Spurs can grind it out with any team in the NBA and they can attack the Lakers with their inconsistency when they go into a lull. This is where Mason, Finley, Hill and Bowen are the key. Mason and Finley have to score on that 2nd unit and Bowen and Hill have to play good pressure defense as well.
Lastly, I have come around somewhat and believe if we can get another big either Ian or Mutumbo that would help. But I believe the Spurs have a legitiamte shot with both teams.
Yes...I know it's only December and there is a lot of baksetball to be played and all these teams will get better.
But I feel a lot better about the Spurs chances this year to compete for a NBA le.
Alright...Spurs fans tell me what you think!!!!
good well thought out post, with good analysis
Spurs are still a very good team but there is still a few things missing to be able to beat either team. Both celtics and lakers would win in 5 as it stands right now...another shooter and defender is needed for S.A to be able to beat these two great teams.
spurs role players need to play amazing to beat L.A, the Lakers don't blow you away with the starting 5. It's the 2nd unit that does alot of the damage.
Thanks!
I still think especially with the Lakers will it go longer than 5 games. Remember we have two guys actually three guys that can get their own shot off the dribble(Manu, Mason, and Hill) besides TP. And we had no one else in the WCF besides TP after Manu went down. You can attack the Lakers' interior defense with dribble penetration.
The development of Mason will help Finley get better looks and the Spurs can surround Tim with shooters and that will make them an even more dangerous team.
Also, the Celtics need to get some size on their 2nd unit. They can be exploited there. Watching that game showed their weaknesses in that area.
The Spurs biggest obstacle and the main reason this two teams can and should beat the Spurs is their inside dominance. Both teams are very physical inside, with plenty of size and length. We got Timmy who is a handfull for both teams but when he sits we lose a lot of size, the Lakers don't, the Celtics do lose some when Perkins and Garnett are out, but they have tough physical guys in Powe and baby fat, whatever his name is. We have Thomas and a wily Oberto, not exactly guys who make you want to bet the farm on our chances. In any series with either of these teams Timmy is going to have to log a lot of minutes.
Nice post. Pop can probably figure out what to do, but it's up to the team to execute. We have all the pieces, the question is whether or not those pieces will come together and win. One thing is for sure-our role players MUST hit their jumpshots. The Lakers will probably employ some defense similar to what the Hornets play against the Spurs, and it's up to our shooters to hit their open shots.
We need a Big.
Good post. I agree with some of what you said but not all.
On Rondo you are spot on. You play Rondo for the jumper, you beg him to shot. For the Lakers they have to back off big time cause dribble penetration from the PG spot kills the Lakers since they really don't have anyone who can stay in front of an average PG let alone a speedy one like Rondo or TP.
The 2nd unit for the Lakers is terrific, the Celtics lose a lot in that department. Starting 5 vs 5 the Celtics were better but their 2nd unit got the Celts in trouble. IMO the bench of the Spurs is going to have the same problem. The 2nd unit actually plays better D because Odom and Ariza are quicker and more versatile in dealing with different types of players. Gasol is too slow to guard the more mobile PF's.
The Lakers front line is pretty good when they are allowed to play within the Lakers defensive philosophy. Bynum must stay close to the paint for the Lakers to be effective. The problem the Lakers have faced with teams like the Kings and Jazz is that their big men stay outside and shoot jumpers. This causes Bynum to come out too far from the paint leaving the paint unprotected and it also gets him uncomfortable. IMO the Spurs do not have the ability to pull Bynum out of the paint. The other problem Bynum has is that he gets into foul trouble early and often when he guards a physical center as was shown vs Orlando. I think Bynum played all of 7 minutes in the first half. This is where the Spurs can get Bynum into trouble. TD can easily get Bynum into foul trouble and then on to the bench. In regards to the Celtics the Spurs should be able to consistently score inside with TD but they will have a tough time dealing with KG because TD can't guard two people at once. The Spurs are going to have to put some size on Perkins in order to allow TD to cover KG when it matters most. I really want to see how a defensive oriented team like the Spurs does against the Celts and Cavs. The problem with the Lakers is they have their championship formula backwards, the Lakers like to have their offense dictate their defensive intensity. That will not work, it's obvious to anyone who's watched basketball that teams are much more effective when they have their defense spark their offense.
I really don't think the Spurs have enough size to "out tough" the Lakers the way the Celtics are able to do. IMO only the Jazz and Rockets have a better shot at out banging the Lakers in the WC.
Good analysis.
The Lakers were the 1st team I've seen all season defend Rondo the way he should be defended. And they completely exposed their undersized 2nd unit. Powe could not even get a shot off against the much bigger, stronger, and longer Bynum. BBD was rendered useless by LO. And Tony Allen is just garbage.
The Spurs are missing a piece though to be able to contend with either team. They need more size upfront with Duncan. Also I'm not convinced Manu will ever get back to the way he was playing pre-injury.
apparently you need to be introduced to Matt Bonner.
-Mars
I haven't caught many Spurs games so I don't know much about Bonner. But you do need two front court guys who can play on the perimeter otherwise the Lakers just switch Bynum and Gasol, Bynum gets the post threat and Gasol gets the perimeter player. Pushing the ball against the Lakers also screws up their defense with cross matchups. The pick-n-roll has killed the Lakers forever and a day so the Spurs should be able to capitolize on that with TP at the point.
LOL, Gasol can't play defense at all.
-Mars
Great contribution...thanks....
Nice work...I hope Spurs organisation knows this as well.I just watched the Lakers-Celtics Christmas Day Game again. I had it on DVR and I wanted to closely watch it to see where the Spurs can attack each team.
Here's my observations:
First of all it was a good regular season game for late December. Obviously this game meant more to the Lakers because of what happened in last year NBA Finals.
The Lakers played with more energy, passion and defense than the Celtics. I will give them credit for that. However, the Celtics were able to grind the game to their pace and that kept them in it until about 2 mins left. And the Celtics 1st unit was better than the Lakers 1st unit most of the game.
Also, I have to give credit to Gasol. He stepped up and showed some toughness late in the fourth quarter. He hit a couple of jumpers, a three-point play and a block on Allen. Nice game by him.
Now, the weakness of both teams and where the Spurs can attack them when they play each other.
The Celtics: their weaknesses are their second unit, turnovers, and Rondo. I know Celtics fans will disagree with that last part of the previous sentence. I will get to my reason shortly.
The Celtics 2nd unit played with energy and hustle. But they were undersized for the Lakers frontline and couldn't score enough. I believe the Spurs can attack this unit with Ginobili from the perimeter and KT's toughness will help inside.
The Celts also commit a lot of turnovers and they are 29th in the league in that stat. The Spurs have the fewest turnovers and I believe can get a couple extra baskets from that stat.
Now, on to Rondo. He has played well and the media has been hyping to be in the All-Star Game this year. He will probably go because of that. But, the Lakers played off of him the entire game. Kobe was guarding him and basically played in the paint and dare him to shoot jumpers. He didn't and tried to force himself into the lane. He did have a couple of tough layups (I will get to Lakers' weakness about that shortly). That's about it for him.
The Spurs need to play him for the jump shot and keep him out of the lane.
Those are the areas where the Celtics can be attacked by the Spurs.
Now for the Lakers.......
Their weakness is interior defense and inconsistency. The Lakers are the most dynamic offensive team in the NBA. They have shooters in both their 1st and 2nd unit and great ball movement with the triangle offense. But they play in spurts and inconsistent defensively and that wont be enough to win a championship.
The Celtics in the first half got 2 Rondo layups, 2 Garnett dunks and 2 Perkins dunks in the first half against the Lakers interior defense. The Celtics were effective in moving Bynum out of the lane and going to the hoop. Gasol is not physical enough to be the last line of defense.
The Spurs can attack the Lakers interior defense with Tim (obviously) and I believe that Kurt Thomas can help with his jump shot or Oberto with his passing as well. Also, Bonner can pull Bynum out of the lane with his long range jumper.
Even though, the Lakers played with great energy and passion against the Celtics but it was inconsistent. It was interesting that Kobe played the entire 1st quarter and well into the 2nd quarter with the 2nd unit.
The Spurs can grind it out with any team in the NBA and they can attack the Lakers with their inconsistency when they go into a lull. This is where Mason, Finley, Hill and Bowen are the key. Mason and Finley have to score on that 2nd unit and Bowen and Hill have to play good pressure defense as well.
Lastly, I have come around somewhat and believe if we can get another big either Ian or Mutumbo that would help. But I believe the Spurs have a legitiamte shot with both teams.
Yes...I know it's only December and there is a lot of baksetball to be played and all these teams will get better.
But I feel a lot better about the Spurs chances this year to compete for a NBA le.
Alright...Spurs fans tell me what you think!!!!
I didnt really see celtics play so i didnt know...its really nice to know that they got weakness after all, hopefully they meet spurs in final and spurs will able to manipulate that. About Rondo, he is young ...when he is hot,he is hard to stop..but i guess he got problem if being guarded by an athletic longer person so thats good. Just dont challenge him on public tv coz he might do unexpected breakthrough,just stay quiet and hopefully he slip and fall. I hope celtics lose
As for Lakers, i actually live in LA so i saw them playing every single time on tv. Kobe is still the dynamo of LA. However u wanna put it, Kobe factor is always what really lift the team spirit up...once he got hot,then it will be contagious. Now LA also got sparks from ariza,luke...guys who sucked last year( i think its the key,when second unit works normally W comes natural) . Gasol still their guy down low..bynum occationally rise up (he is inconsistent)..fish also looking young couple of last games. Lamar is still inconsistent,but he didnt forced his shots as much as last year ( I still remember when kobe really Pissed off because lamar took buzzer beater contested and under durressed...and missed badly!).
Basically if Kobe goes down gasol will be forced to take over the game and i think gasol is a type of guy who didnt create plays, he simply finished it (but he definitely understand how to put the ball into the hoops); so if gasol try to force the issue things might look good for smart team like spurs who got few turnovers and knows how to play D. That spaniard got frustated quickly and quite emotional. I saw couple of times when gasol tried to froced the issue and banged up in the inside he often frustated and stare the reff asking for fouls...i think SA really knows how to play under that situation (making others frustated without fouling..which i think some of Spurs D strategies). Its a pity some lousy guys accused SA before for dirty or all other BS due to their frustation. I hope SA can take advantage of Lakers weaknesses since Phil is a legendary coach..hopefully they havent got time to fix the issues.
Celtics do have a major weakness that everybody is giving them a free pass on so far.
Lakers backup point guard "The Machine" 6'7 is almost as tall as the Celtic backup Centers/Power Forwards (Big Baby 6'7, Leon Powe 6'8). Every time KG/Perkins are out of the game, the Celtics are in big trouble.
The Spurs aren't really a BIG team as in the past but they also have a size advantage on the Celtics off the bench.
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