LAL-SAS, WCF game 4

[Erik Eleven]

TNT 6PM PST.

Keys to the game:

Fisher, Odom, Gasol

[MAMBAEMD]

I have a good feeling about this game too.
The Lakers will come out more aggressively.
It is important that they play competitive ball tonight even if SA wins.
The key will be to jump off to a good start and build a lead.
Lamar and Gasol will have to control the boards and play aggressively on offense and defense.

Ginobili cannot be allowed to go off like that again. Put Ariza on him for some stretches, or even Kobe.

Let's go Lakers

[incontrol__]

I really don't see Odom, Gasol, and Fisher playing like last game. I also don't expect Ginobili to be quite as on fire. I don't think we're going to allow the Spurs to bring it back to 2-2, like we allowed Utah to (which was largely because of Kobe's back anyway). I think we'll see a great game from Kobe today, too. He was good in game 3, but it wasn't a 'great' game (for him). No doubt it's going to be a tough game, though.

Ginobili cannot be allowed to go off like that again. Put Ariza on him for some stretches, or even Kobe.

Yeah, not that Sasha played bad defense on him (overrall), but i really thought Kobe or Ariza should have been put on him to try and cool him down last game. I think everybody did...

[UThinkUrSoGood]

Get some playing time for Mbenga!

Let's see Ginobli, Duncan and Parker try to take it into the Congo !!!!

[lakerboy]

Get some playing time for Mbenga!

Let's see Ginobli, Duncan and Parker try to take it into the Congo !!!!

well i think we should let one of the three players,manu,tp,duncan get off and not let the other two score.ig manu goes off again let him,as long as we stop the other two this game is ours for the taking.i really think this team has what it takes,the thing is neither LO or Gasol has steped up in this games like this.

[Flipdog69xxx]

Go Lakers!

[TommyTheCat]

go lakers!!

[Tommy Trojan]

We need Gasol, Lamar and Fisher to step up.

Lets go Lakers

[magicfan4life05]

LA needs to kill the spurs, and tonight would be a great start. If this thing gets tied up going back to LA, the defending champs have new life, and that could be deadly.

Historically in this series, going back to 2003, the home team has always won their 2 games at home, making the series tied up 2-2, setting up for pivotal game 5s in both series, one of which was horry missing a potential game winner after being down 20 in 2003 which the lakers lost, and the other was the infamous fisher 0.4 in 2004 which they won.

Will we see the trend continue this year?

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

Come on guys, let this be the last game in san antonio for this season!!!! GET ER DONE!!!!!!!!!

[milesfides]

Honestly, those 3's by Ginobili were tough shots. He had space for maybe or two of them. He's like Kobe-lite. What can you do when he's hitting those pull-up threes? You can only do so much without fouling.

Anyways, whatever Ginobili does, Kobe will negate, and then some.

Fish and Farmar need to offset Tony Parker's production.

But most importantly, it's up to Pau and Odom to counter Duncan's production.

Hopefully at least one of them comes through for us, that'll at least make us a bit more competitive.

[TylersLakers]

Pau, Odom, and Fisher have got to step up and play well.

And putting Ariza out there for defense would be great too. Give him some spot minutes during the second quarter, see how he does. If he's not ready yet, take him out.

[Erik Eleven]

We also need Kobe to be very watchful, he needs to make sure that he selects his shots and picks his defensive pressure moments with surgical precision. No steal gambling from Kobe today, please, just solid, intense and reliable help defense on Parker and Ginobili.

If I were the coach, I'd substitute Radman with Ariza or Sasha the second Ginobili set his foot on the floor, and move Kobe to the three to facilitate the offense and score on high percentage looks, setting up Sasha for jumpers and Ariza for cuts. Doing so would force Manu and Parker to work much harder on defense, and prevent easy fastbreak points from both of them.

Kobe at the three will lead to fewer turnovers. It always does. Radman's defense on Manu and offensive decision making is our starting unit's biggest achilles heal. He won't do as much damage with the bench mob, where he could have a bigger impact offensively.

[BlackMamba12]

I have a feeling Kobe will dominate the first half, setting the tone, and ride the wave on out. (Not a hard prediction though)

[snaquille oatmeal]

Pau, Odom, and Fisher have got to step up and play well.

And putting Ariza out there for defense would be great too. Give him some spot minutes during the second quarter, see how he does. If he's not ready yet, take him out.

seriously, I've had enough with this Ariza foreplay crap that Phil is giving us, I want to f*** already!!!!!

[magicfan4life05]

I have a feeling Kobe will dominate the first half, setting the tone, and ride the wave on out. (Not a hard prediction though)

Welcome to the Boards!

[milesfides]

I think Sasha would still do the best job on Manu. Maybe Ariza, but it's hard to see if he's ready for big minutes.

I still like Kobe on Bowen for several reasons:

1. It allows him to roam and play help defense, which has been effective this series. His double teams on Duncan in particular have been good at getting the ball out of Duncan's hands. Duncan has been abusing Gasol single coverage, which I believe also hurts Gasol's confidence on the other end.

I do think Bowen will hit a three or two, but I think that's a fair price to pay to avoid Duncan getting into a rhythm and feeling good about himself.

2. We need Kobe to be very aggressive on offense, either to score or create for his teammates. I'd like for his legs to be fresh, which it won't be if he's chasing Ginobili and Parker all night.

3. I like the idea of putting Kobe on Manu or Parker on key possessions to throw them off and get a necessary stop.

[Erik Eleven]

You and I should coach this game, miles. The Lakers would win this pivotal game.

[TNBT]

Good luck guys, hope to see a Lakers/Celtics finals series coming up.

[milesfides]

You and I should coach this game, miles. The Lakers would win this pivotal game.

If we could get seats close to the bench, can't you imagine yourself screaming at them to do this or that?