Lock this thread 2 please :)

[EArl]

Congrats to the Lakers for making it to the Playoffs, but no time to settle just yet.

I made this thread so we can discuss anything Spurs Lakers playoff related before the playoffs start and days between games before the GT's are up. I will be posting the GT by Friday at the earliest.

*Haters and pessimist are not welcomed.

Also don't get baited on GB guys. We are all better than that.

[ROballer]

Kobe Bryant ✔ @kobebryant

Steve Blake = Vino Bianco ha!

[moonpie]

Time to unleash the secret weapon-the mini mamba.

[EArl]

The X factor in this game will be the SG position stepping up.

If Nash comes back I would roll like this

Nash, Blake, Metta, Gasol, Howard

Morris, Meeks/Glock, Clark, Jamison

Other factors

J-Hill?

Can Glock get some minutes and be the scorer of the bench that we need?

What we need to do to win

Howard needs to play superior defense and needs a 20/20. Also needs to make his free throws. Can decide games.
Pau needs to be more aggressive offensively when he has a wide open jumper.
Metta needs to play good D and hit the three pointer.
Blake needs to keep up that aggressiveness and cant be scared to shoot.
Nash needs to create, hit the open 3 and feed the bigs. Also needs to play some decent D.

Morris needs to keep up that D and bother tony Parker.
Meeks is to streaky. Needs to hit his 3s
Glock needs to come in the second unit If Meeks can't score.
Clark needs to bring in that hustle and play good D against Duncan or Splitter. Hit the open jumper/3
Jamison needs to be offensive minded. Score, Score Score. 3, cut in, lay up etc. We need his hustle.


Hill. If he comes in will he get playing time? I doubt it since mike has his 8/9 man rotation.

D'antoni: We need to see his brilliant offensive mind and play to our advantage. which means that we should only run when we need to, but mostly keep the tempo steady and slow where our bigs can do damage.

FInal thoughts
My prediction is Lakers in 6. It will a hard 6, but if we win give Howard the max!
In a way it is good that Howard is the leader that way we can see if he deserves to be in charge of the team when Kobe leaves. I also think that kobe will be more inclined to trust Howard if he plays good int he playoffs.

[anarchy24]

Is Nash even playing? He didn't sound positive in returning soon in his interview. But his 3pt shooting will definately help.

[Gervin]

Never Settle. Gonna be a different playoff experience minus Kobe but one I'm looking forward to watching.

[RyanStorm]

Lakers...You got this...Spurs think they are tough, but I think Popavich and his system are totally beatable. I mean you guys whooped them the other day.

I see Lakers in 2nd round if they play great basektball, and keep getting to the line.

If Lakers backcourt can step up, I know the frount court is set...

Gasol + Howard + Peace = Big 3 Course Meal that Duncan + Splitter + Leonard won't be able to take


If Parker and Ginobili stay injured, I see this done in 6 games Lakers 4-2!

[moonpie]

Here's my half assed scouting report based on only the games I've watched the Spurs play this season (not many)

Tim Duncan-The Big Fundamental. Need more me said? His footwork is second to none so our bigs will have to make sure they defend him closely. He has a very flat release on straight away jumpers but his elbow bank shot is usually money. We definitely need to make him work on the defensive end of the floor to tire him out. Still a great weakside defender but I'm not sure he has the strength to keep up with Dwight in the post. Obviously a tremendous passer and plays the PNR with Parker to perfection.

Tony Parker-Was a legit MVP candidate early in the season before injuries slowed him down. I doubt he'll be 100% in this series but he's still a dangerous threat. Has a solid mid range game and is very crafty around the rim. Will find his teammates for 3s off the drive and kick and off PNR. Nothing special defensively, if Nash/Blake can make him work on that end hopefully he'll have less energy on offense.

Kawhi Leonard-Has improved this year. He's got a lot of length and some big hands to be disruptive defensively. Offensively he shows a much improved 3 PT shot, which was a weakness coming out of college for him. Off ball slashing is likely a threat and he's pretty athletic in terms of ability to finish. I think the key will be playing physical on him, luckily we have MWP for that.

Tiago Splitter-Has some surprisingly decent touch when using the glass, seems to brick a lot without it. Probably will not get a whole lot of post ups against our bigs but he's always a threat on the offensive glass, MUST box out.

Danny Green-Solid defender with length, his role is the outside sniper on this team. Cannot leave him open for 3s PERIOD, he will burn you. Force him to drive and make plays for others.

Matt Bonner-Unorthodox release but is extremely effective. Another guy you absolutely must close out on. Force him to drive and you'll find he doesn't do much else.

Dejuan Blair-Doesn't seem to rebound at the rate he used to at Pitt and in his rookie year, still need to watch him on the glass. Has an array of floaters and flip shots around the basket but no lift so we should easily be able to swat them. His midrange jumper seems to be pretty inconsistent. Big body defensively but that's about it. He's only 6'6, should easily be able to shoot over him.

Manu Ginobili-The X-factor no doubt. He just came back in the final regular season game after being out for a few weeks and didn't look great. I also doubt he'll be 100% for this series. Can't leave him open for 3s and need to watch out for flopping. Very crafty around the rim and has the step back as well as the eurostep in his arsenal. Earl Clark defended Manu pretty well when we played them at SA earlier this year, we should try it again.

Boris Diaw-Another guy who got injured late in the season. Don't know his status for the series but I'm going to assume not 100%. This is nowhere near prime Diaw that we remember from PHX, but he is still a multi-faceted player that can present some problems. Can hit the open 3, has some decent touch in the post, good position defender, can playmake a little. We should try to involve him in high PNR to expose his lack of foot speed.

Tracy McGrady-Recently signed. He did well in China but that doesn't say too much on what he'll do back in the association. Another multi-faceted player-he can shoot, handle, and pass. His mobility has been severely compromised because of all his injuries. I'm not quite sure what to expect from T-mac, but we have to be ready.

Nando De Colo-Combo guard at this level, his handles are a little shaky under pressure. He can hit open 3s but isn't the biggest outside threat on the floor usually. He can do a little bit of everything (notice the trend? These are Popovich type players through and through) but will likely see only sparse minutes.

Patty Mills-Probably won't see too many minutes but he can score the ball that's for sure. Probably won't do anything outside of the high PNR, but you need to respect his outside shot. Can put up points in a hurry so if he does check in, whoever is guarding him has to stick with him.

Cory Joseph-Not too sure about his game. He seems to be an undersized 2 that they're trying to mold into a PG. His outside shot doesn't seem to be all that great.

Gary Neal-A high priority threat off the bench. He can put up points in a hurry. Doesn't need a whole lot of room to rise and shoot. He'll play the point at times for them and will use high picks to free himself for open jumpers. Off the ball he'll run off a myriad of screens so we gotta be prepared to communicate and chase him down. Nothing special defensively.

Aron Baynes-Don't know much about this guy, I think he's a rookie that they signed this year from Australia or something. Extra big body though with 6 fouls to give and never doubt the Spurs scouting department in terms of the types of gems they find. Nevertheless, I don't expect him to play much if at all.

[EArl]

It's alright guys we have this in the bag

Both Jugs and AF picked the Spurs. Guess that means LA in 7.

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1245233&p=35460002#p35460002

[rhp1990]

Dwight/Pau DEADLY combination!

[Dr Aki]

the spurs are banged up

everything will come down to how well we control the interior and how much damage TP and ginobli (when he comes back) can do to our insides

[AcecardZ]

Oh will the haters be hatin' if the Lakers can miraculousy win this series.

The key will be....

Spoiler:

The whole team. We have zero margin for error due to Kobe being out.

It would be a pretty huge upset obviously but with Pau and Dwight out there playing well? Who knows?

[Kobe System]

[SaveTheHens]

Very likely upset to happen. Don't need to even say this but the Lakers are still one of the most talented teams in the league, even without Kobe. It's up to Dantoni & the guys to figure out a way to be efficient and effective.

As amazing as Kobe is, not having him in the lineup has a lot of negatives in some respects, but also provides a good amount of positives. Dwight and Nash will be a lot more effective without Kobe. Hopefully Nash won't be too rusty and can act as the closer with Pau.


Kind of interesting that Boston and the Lakers are 7th seeds this year and both have a good shot of an upset.

[Slava]

If we can control Parker and close down on the shooters, we got this in 6.

[Dr Aki]

this is a classic

[jigga_man]

It has to be ugly basketball for any chance at the 2nd round. The key is Parker's ankle and how much it's slowing him down.

[AcecardZ]

I still don't know how we got to this point. It seems like every game we got down by 8 or 10 points only to come roaring back and eek out a win. It's not pretty basketball but somehow they've been doing just enough to get the job done most nights.

To me the key for the Lakers will be how they officiate Dwight. If they call a bunch of ticky tack stuff on him while letting others hold and maul him the Lakers will have a very tough time winning. If on the other hand they call the games tight and don't allow SA players to hold D12 then SA could be in for a very tough fight.

Pau must stay aggressive even if shots aren't falling and of course our guards have to knock down open shots. It won't be easy but I do think the Lakers have some sort of shot to win this series with a little luck. Hey we've shot so poorly all year maybe our guys will finally heat up and start knocking everything down like the Mavs did two years ago.

[Gek]

I'm looking forward to the playoffs this year because even though we don't have much shot at winning it all, even if we lose in the first round, I'm anticipating effort and that'll be refreshing after last year.

[AcecardZ]

I'm looking forward to the playoffs this year because even though we don't have much shot at winning it all, even if we lose in the first round, I'm anticipating effort and that'll be refreshing after last year.

The effort lately has been impressive.