West threats to Lakers are merely mirages

[Mel_13]

Brian Shaw

Great. We have an insider.

We'll have to assign your posts their proper weight.

[benefactor]

Thanks, Debbie Downer.

I addressed your flawed logic in the post. Even if one accepts your reasoning, it doesn't change the fact that the Spurs have a much easier schedule going forward.

Rascal is only happy when he is unhappy.

[TampaDude]

Great. We have an insider.

We'll have to assign your posts their proper weight.

Yeah, really...how much does bull weigh, again???

[21_Blessings]

Great. We have an insider.

We'll have to assign your posts their proper weight.

Thanks for sharing.

[Dex]

Quite frankly, I'm content to go ahead and settle this in May and see how it turns out.

[Lakers999]

injuries are part of the game im not debating that but when you want to break it down for the Lakers they have played without Big man andrew bynum for almost 2 months. just recently they put him the starting line up and the lakers went 8-1. you guys can justify any stats for the spurs success but the fact remains that the Lakers 3 Bigmen are playing and defending like all stars this year and they will continue to get better. if March comes around and you guys still pound the Lakers by 16 points than I will bow down but until than I think you guys are underestimating our inside prescence and our wing players in Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher... they play very differently when it comes to post season or late regular season and from past playoff experiences you guys should know that by now.

[21_Blessings]

Quite frankly, I'm content to go ahead and settle this in May and see how it turns out.

(don't get swept this time before it happens)

[K-State Spur]

No not really.

Health is the only thing that matters to the Lakers at this point. They definitely aren't sweating HCA throughout the West like San Antonio seems to be.

San Antonio is sweating HCA?

Lakers have played 3 starters more minutes than ANY single Spur. Who is trying harder here?

[21_Blessings]

San Antonio is sweating HCA?

Lakers have played 3 starters more minutes than ANY single Spur. Who is trying harder here?

The Spurs are playing like it's Duncan's last hurrah while trying to erase the stench of exiting the playoffs in total embarrassment. The writing is on the wall.

The Spurs need home court in order to make the WCF. The Lakers don't and they know this.

[lefty]

The Spurs are playing like it's Duncan's last hurrah while trying to erase the stench of exiting the playoffs in total embarrassment. The writing is on the wall.

The Spurs need home court in order to make the WCF. The Lakers don't and they know this.

Who cares ?

Boston is winning the le this season

[K-State Spur]

The Spurs are playing like it's Duncan's last hurrah while trying to erase the stench of exiting the playoffs in total embarrassment. The writing is on the wall.

The Spurs need home court in order to make the WCF. The Lakers don't and they know this.

So the Spurs are trying harder for home court by playing their key players less than the Lakers are in the regular season?

Do I have to be from LA for that to make sense?

[21_Blessings]

Boston is winning the le this season

Heard that one before.

So the Spurs are trying harder for home court by playing their key players less than the Lakers are in the regular season?

Do I have to be from LA for that to make sense?

Back to back champs that have completely dominated the Western Conference 3 straight seasons tend to coast and not care about home court. Not that the Spurs would know anything about that.

Not to mention Kobe and Phil Jackson specifically stating that these regular season games don't mean much to them.

[TampaDude]

The San Antonio Spurs are the 2011 NBA Champions.

It has already happened. We just have to wait a little while to witness it.

[Banzai]

Whats the deal with all the Laker threads

[K-State Spur]

Back to back champs that have completely dominated the Western Conference 3 straight seasons tend to coast and not care about home court. Not that the Spurs would know anything about that.

But YOU know all about that - seeing as how you root for them and all...

[lefty]

Heard that one before.

You mean before the rigged 4th quarter of game 7 last season?

[jjktkk]

Brian Shaw

Did he pat on the head and tell you to go sweep up the floor like a good little ball boy?

[21_Blessings]

You mean before the rigged 4th quarter of game 7 last season?

And here I thought you were going to make a 6-24 joke.

[Banzai]

Just wanted to mention I got an Ipod Touch 4g for my birthday..I have to say the device is really awesome! Anyone have one of these?

[lefty]

And here I thought you were going to make a 6-24 joke.

Oh yeah I forgot

6-24!


Haha !

[Lakers999]

Oh yeah I forgot

6-24!


Haha !

at least we made it to the finals...

[TampaDude]

at least we made it to the finals...

Yeah...last year...not gonna happen this year...

[Brazil]

wow the lakers / spurs threads are beginning early this year

[lefty]

at least we made it to the finals...

Yes !

[TD 21]

Not the case with 2 of your 3 best players. Manu is 33 and Tim is somewhere around there too...and Tim (even though he's still one of the better bigs in this league) has definitely showed signs of decline these past few seasons (especially defensively). I know you're going for the media disrespect angle, but it's going to take more than 41 games to undo the perception that's been created over the last 3 years. I think they are legit enough and deserve more respect, but I also think LAL is class of the conference.

Ginobili doesn't move like an old guy, though. Duncan does (by the way, he's 34; he'll be 35 on April 28), but Bynum is much more plodding than Duncan. Actually, Duncan has been a beast defensively this season. Probably the most underrated defender in the league. Sure, he doesn't move his feet laterally as well anymore, but as an anchor and an overall presence? Still easily elite. Offensively, he's actually slipped more. But the Spurs don't need him as much offensively as they have in the past.

Obviously, it's going to take more than 41 games to undo the perception; my question is why the hesitation/reluctance? There was none of that with the Lakers when they acquired Gasol and what had they accomplished at that point? Nothing.

If you think the Lakers are still the class of the conference, that's fair. Those who continue to pretend as if the Spurs aren't at the least very serious threats to their throne are being ridiculous, though. If they beat them, it's not going to be "because the Lakers ran out of gas" or any other excuse, even though that's how it's going to be portrayed. It's going to be because this is a damn good team that was built to beat the Lakers and outplayed them in a series.