Lakers @ Spurs

[Blame Rasho]

Damn those Bambis

[the southern dandy]

Seeing as I got to watch the game in it's entirety I'll put a few thoughts down.

Tony Parker - I thought he started off really well. He abused the Lakers defense a few times but he faded as the game went on. I think fatigue is becoming an issue for Parker. I also felt that he did a good job on Fisher, but Fisher happened to be shooting the ball extremely well.

Roger Mason - I thought Mason's defense on Kobe was extremely solid for the most part. Kobe hit some extremely difficult shots on top of being bailed out by the refs a few times. Mason's ballhandling and shot creation were also very nice. I can barely fault him at all for this game.

Michael Finley - Despite a few nice jumpers Fin was missing in action for the most part. He was respectable on D but his shot was off and he slowed down the beautiful ball movement. I'd have strongly preferred Bowen in the game.

Tim Duncan - Duncan seemed to struggle greatly around the rim and in the post for most of the game, which was really frustrating to watch. His defense was ok, but Gasol was just on fire. Duncan showed up in the clutch and his passign game was a joy to watch.

Matt Bonner - The best part of Bonner's game was his court sense and passing. He was instrumental to the ball movement and the perimeter game. His shot was decent enough and he chipped in on the boards reasonably well. Bonner seemed to be playing some pretty solid post defense for the most part, his arms are simply too short to be anything but an average post defender.

Manu Ginobili - His three point shooting returned but even more exciting than that was his movement and athleticism. It was a vintage Manu performance, he was all over the court defensively and he was slashing to the hoop very well. His random doubling was a bit irritating but it paid off at times. His defense on Kobe was also passable.

Kurt Thomas - He was struggling mightily with the size of the Lakers front court. He gave away quite a few fouls and seemed to be particularly susceptible to Bynum's spin move. Hopefully this isn't how he always plays. On the bright side, his midrange jumper was money in the bank and he pulled off a few really nice passes.

George Hill - His defensive energy seemed to spread throughout the team when he was on the floor. Despite the Lakers hitting their shots I was quite impressed with that. George was really very aggressive and confident on offense, even managing to nail a few jumpers off the dribble. His rebounding was a much needed boost and he seemed to deal quite well with the Big lineup the lakers put out there. George deserves some minutes at the expense of Tony Parker.

Bruce Bowen - Offensively there was nothing that stood out either way. I thought he played some very high quality defense on Kobe in his limited stint. He forced Kobe into some very difficult looks and denied the ball reasonably well. Bruce deserved a few more minutes, he definitely should have been in there over Finley in the fourth.

[Black_Jack21]

Man can you ask for anymore from a game like that, great game by everyone, Kobe doing his thing and bang Mason goes him on better.
It's really nice to see that he has a legit clutch stroke.
I don't think we can beat this team in a series, esp when their shooters get back. We're not far off though, we need another option in the post, one that can hold his own defensivly as well, but we have been whinning about that for ages, since...2004 so we all know it, i hope the front office swings some nice moves at the deadline.
Great game can't wait to get at them at STAPLES

[DBMethos]

It doesn't feel as good as it should, seeing as how the Lakers were on the road, 2nd half of a B2B, and missing most of their guard rotation. Still, a W is a W and I'll take it. Go Mason!!!

[wizardg]

It doesn't feel as good as it should, seeing as how the Lakers were on the road, 2nd half of a B2B, and missing most of their guard rotation. Still, a W is a W and I'll take it. Go Mason!!!

True but its not like we played a great game. We nplayed well but Tim can do more .... Parker can play better down the stretch.

I really need to look at that 4Q again.

[StClairBandit]

Yo.. Long time reader, first time poster (That's what everyone says)..

But I just had to sign up after that game last night, We beat those damn Lakers! Game of the year, it's been awhile since I've been so excited about the NBA (Maybe cause I was drunk aswell) and I haven't been that confident about our Spurs until now, but we're still not at the level we need to be at..

That's all for now,
One

[Blame Rasho]

I want to give some love to a blogger who I read with regularity with his recap...

via 48minsof hell

http://48minutesofhell.blogspot.com/200 ... -easy.html

* It's doubtful he'd admit it, but judging by his body language, scorching first half, and buzzer beating 3rd quarter triple, I suspect Ginobili earmarked last night's game as the end of his rehab stint. Welcome back, Manu. We missed you.

* Other than RMJ's go ahead shot in the 4th, the play of the game goes to Popovich. At about the 4:30 mark in the 4th, the Lakers cut the lead to 2. Pop called a timeout and drew up a play that gave Ginobili the ball on the inbound, two high screens, and a dribble drive down the left side of the lane. It resulted in an unconverted And-1. It was a simple play, but it allowed the Spurs to stem the tide of a Lakers run that threatened to up end the game. As usual, Popovich's in-game adjustments and work in the timeout were masterful.

* The Spurs played last night's game with basically one swing player: Michael Finley. Ime Udoka didn't make it off the bench and Bruce Bowen logged a mere 6 minutes. The Spurs used a trio of Hill, Mason, Ginobili at one point. In the '08 Western Conference Finals, Kobe Bryant averaged 29.2 points on 53% shooting. Nothing had changed last night. It looks as if Popovich has decided that Bowen can't slow Bryant, so he might as well put his team in a better position to trade baskets. In my season preview, I noted that the Spurs needed another rotation big and a wing who could score. That remains the case. Great win, but their roster needs attention.

* Mason has marbles too. After hitting a daggers three that would have been the game winning play, Bryant drew attention to the fact that he had elephantitic testes. Mason returned the favor, hitting his third game winning shot of the season. Swing low sweet chariot. Do you think Kobe felt emasculated?

* The Lakers are an incredible 7-2 on the back half of back to backs this season. Last night's game was played with a depleted bench on the heels of a tough game in Houston. Splitting the Rockets-Spurs with a short bench is still impressive. Spurs fans should temper their morning after enthusiasm.

* Of regular season contests, Popovich vs. Jackson now stands at 18-17, in favor of Pop. Phil Jackson is now 24-26 lifetime against the Spurs. How many teams does he have a losing record against? Two. The Spurs and Bobcats. Yet, he's 4 out of 5 in postseason series against San Antonio. Is there any doubt that these two coaches are in a class of their own? Rarely are games worth watching simply to observe the coaching. But in this case, I'd watch if these two were coaching little league teams against one another.

* George Hill. He's good. But he's still a rookie with a sometimes sloppy handle. He had two way preventable turnovers last night that sullied what was an otherwise remarkable performance in his first "felt like the playoffs" game. If he plays as well in the postseason, the Spurs will roll right back into the Western Conference Finals.

* Only 3 bigs? Pop gave Oberto a DNP-CD, limiting his rotation to Duncan, Bonner, and Thomas. My point here echoes the third bullet in this list: the Spurs roster needs tweaking. Ian Mahinmi's odd ankle injury and the waiving of Anthony Tolliver raise many more questions than answers for the Spurs frontline. Because of his relationship with Ginobili, I've always assumed that Oberto was quasi-untradable. I'm beginning to wonder. His contract is only partially guaranteed for next season, which might make him a prime trade and buy out candidate in a salary dump for another team. I'm a little stymied that the Spurs still haven't signed a D-League try out to replace Anthony Tolliver. There is a puzzle piece on the table that doesn't fit. In short, the Spurs frontcourt is not yet set. Update: Robert Horry was cheering for the Spurs last night with a view from R.C. Buford's press box. We're not reading too much into this, but it's on the radar. We're hoping it falls off the radar too.

* This is the Spurs first victory of the season against an elite opponent. On the season, 7 victories are by 3 points or less, four of which were on final shots. The Spurs have won a remarkable three games by way of double overtime. I'm not sure if that's championship moxie or a sign of decline.

* Playing the positive spin on the previous bullet, this team is all kinds of clutch. Just from a personnel standpoint, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Mason, and even Finely are good candidates for last second heroics. That has to be tough on opposing coaches.

* The front office really did a fine job last offseason. This is the stuff of a future post, but the Hill selection and Mason Jr. are looking like smart plays. Kudos. Update: Marc Stein is all over this angle.

* The final play: Ariza missed the shot. The traveling call controversy is straining at gnats. And to further extinguish the flames of that silly little fire, Duncan grabbed the board. Had Ariza made the shot and received a whistle for traveling, I'd give Lakers fans a greater hearing. Otherwise, let's not pretend it was something it's not.