Duncan Schools Gasol In Loss
By J.A. Adande | ESPN.com
LOS ANGELES -- On the first day the Lakers really needed Andrew Bynum, he was on the other side of the country, recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his knee earlier Wednesday.
Bynum is eligible for a contract extension this summer, and after the Lakers have rolled on without him, he might want to send them a DVD of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals to remind them of what they're missing.
Things were a lot different from the last time the Lakers played the Spurs. In their final regular-season meeting, Pau Gasol convinced Phil Jackson to give him an extended run at guarding Tim Duncan solo. You wouldn't ask Gasol to be the bouncer at your nightclub, but his long arms can serve as a deterrent -- or maybe just a distraction -- to Duncan. At least they did on that day, when Duncan shot 6-for-19.
It didn't work out that way for the Lakers on Wednesday. The Lakers stuck to their old policy of waiting until the fourth quarter to double-team Duncan, and he had his way with Gasol and his teammates for most of the night, finishing with 30 points on 12-for-25 shooting, plus 18 rebounds.
"He was consistent during the game and he was able to feel a little too comfortable, I think," Gasol said. "Hopefully next time I will give him a little more trouble, make him put the ball on the floor a little more. Don't let him take that easy jumper."
It will all depend on Gasol, because Bynum won't be back in a Lakers jersey until training camp.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...t&lid=tab2pos1
This is one of the main things that gives me confidence that the Spurs will win this series. Gasol can't stop Duncan. Timmy totally abused Gasol last night, and that was a tired Tim Duncan. Wait for Game 2...Timmy might drop 40 on the Fakers.
Spurs in 6.
If the other Spurs would have hit their jumpers when Tim was doubled, the Spurs would be up 1-0. Oh well. Its time to move on.
Agreed, this is exactly how I felt heading into the series and last night kinda brought it home. Tim always has, and at least for the rest of this series, always will own Gasol. Time for the shooters to step up and actually make a damn shot now. Can't be wasting 30-18 performances from Duncan by blowing a 20pt lead.
I'm surprised Adande was able to get Kobe's out of his mouth long enough to write that.
Yeah, where is that Laker fan who was trumpeting how Gasol=Duncan and the RS game(s) proved it?
Duncan >>>>> Gasol
Adande hates Kobe. He's a Shaq guy. Since Shaq left town, he hasn't written a complimentary word about Kobe. I think he even voted for CP3 for MVP as ridiculous as that sounds.
Duncan had his usual amazing game. He may play until he's 50.
This series is not going to be based on one player though. Its going to be a case of two heavyweight teams trading blows. This series is going to 7, I don't see any road wins happening.
I do. Game 2.
Spurs in 6.
LOL.....you're so wrong. The Lakers are perfectly happy turning Duncan into a jump shooter (as they did last night). Also, Gasol put up 11 fewer points than Duncan, but took 9 fewer shots and 9 fewer free throws!! I'll take Gasols shooting average of 57 % against Duncan (verse Duncans 48%) with a guy like THE BLACK MAMBA scoring at will all day!!
I'd say 25 points in the second half is more deserving for a term like "abused". "Kobe played with the Spurs like a yo-yo" and will continue to impose his will at any given time.
This series will be over in 5 (4-1 Lakers).
You'd really like to believe that, wouldn't you???
Yup, TD played awfully well on Gasol....but just like Kobe, the greats beat themselves and lack of consistency has plagued TD in the playoffs. Hopefully for the Lakers TD has a poor shooting game.
That's all you got? Run along now.You'd really like to believe that, wouldn't you???
Nope, but I try not to feed the trolls.
Spurs in 6. Deal with it.
Ok.....I'll deal with Kobe playing the Spurs like a cheap .
Last night was a bitter, bitter loss for the Spurs and their fans. You're obviously having a hard time coping today. Better luck next year.
THE Black Mamba can you please just close your mouth man, come on your acting like this series is over by saying good luck next year. What happens if they come out and win the next four and we go down 4-1!
I feel lucky to get that win last night and im not afraid to admit it, I though you guys had us beat but i kept my hope and we pulled through! But this is the worst i've felt after a win for awhile.
Are you kidding me? To get a win that we had no business getting? To rip the Spurs hearts out like that? To send them back to their hotel reeling, tired and confused? THOSE are the types of wins that propel teams on to the next round.
Good luck with that.
Lakers in 5.
I've always liked Adande. He's a Laker fan, but not otherwise sinister.
Duncan will continue to dominate the Lakers' front-court.
Spurs in 5!
I don't recall Duncan abusing a guy so much as he did last night with Gasol - there was a time he was just hitting from every angle and behaved like the guy wasn't even in front of him. He completely and utterly ate his lunch all night.
Also it's worth noticing that we can clearly see they can't stop Parker either - Fisher was filled up with fouls all night and Parker roamed around at will.
I think vujacic bothered Manu a little bit, he was aggresive on D and owned manu several times on 3pt shots.
Timmy is going to be dominating this series. He just needs some help.
We'll gladly let Timmy go off from 20-30 pts so long as none of your shooters get touches. If we can contain Ginobli and Parker the way we did in the 2nd half Duncan do whatever he wants down on the block.
He did score 30, but he also took 25 shots.
Oh yes they can stop Tony. Did you watch the 2nd half of the game last night?
It's getting to the point where I think that Phil Jackson is inside Pop and Tony's heads now.
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