Post#754 » by ronnymac2 » Sat Jul 3, 2010 6:03 pm
Just to get a little early start on 83.....I watched the Spurs vs. Lakers game on youtube. It's the WCF, game 6. Some observations:
Magic Johnson dominated despite scoring about two points. He controlled the pace of the game and had about 15 assists, eight rebounds, and two steals (something like that...they didn't show stats a lot during games). He played disruptive defense. The Lakers offensive rebounding was fantastic, and Magic "Young Buck" Johnson was a major reason. He was the impetus with his physical play.
He didn't score a lot, but he played great in an elimination game in the WCF. His overall playoff averages in scoring suffer, especially with such a small sample size relative to a regular season. Just keep that in mind when looking at anybody's playoff stats.
Jabbar vs. Gilmore was actually a really good matchup. Gilmore's post game is mechanical and has no creativity, but he is long, lefty, and has a nice touch. Powerful, too. Sort of like Dwight without the explosion, though to be fair, this is Gilmore after leg injuries I believe. He is very good on the glass and on defense. Uses his length well, though his mobility is hampered by having to stand near Jabbar all the time.
Jabbar is great. Gilmore pushed him farther out than normal. Kareem was fantastic in iso's especially in the first quarter. Hit big shots in the second half. I've watched Finals game from this year, too, and I can see that Jabbar is better scoring the ball this year than 84 and 85 in isolation. He isn't as reliant on the guards. You can just throw him the ball even against Gilmore and Moses and he'll score on them. He was still fantastic in 84 and 85, but in 83, he was even better. Near 1980 form. He DID score an league playoff-high 27 ppg going up against two of the best centers in the game the majority of the time.
I really like San Antonio's team and style- they are cool to watch. Los Angeles is clearly the better team, but I like SA's build. Johnny Moore runs the team beautifully and allows Gervin to play off the ball all the time as a finisher. Mike Mitchell is very good, and Gene Banks is solid. Mitchell can score with versatility, and Banks can handle the ball well. Mike Dunleavy is the best shooter in the league this season and comes off the bench. Gilmore doesn't do anything outside of what he knows he can do, which SA can afford with their offensive talent. Powerful finisher and is the defensive anchor. He makes them respectable on defense.
Then, Gervin is the high powered scoring machine. He's always in attack mode. It's always better to make a scorer like that a finisher, and SA does just that. Gervin never holds the ball much. He gets it in good positions and attacks. He's not a bad passer either. Not elite, and definitely not able to play point or create like Kobe, T-Mac, Wade, etc., but all right. His ball-handling leaves something to be desired compared to other elite wings. Average rebounder. Absolutely no intensity on defense. For some reason, he's guarding Magic most of the game, and despite having height and length, he doesn't even put his hands up most of the time. He's the anti-Pippen. To be fair, he did make a couple of deflections off the ball.
Gervin really is similar to Kevin Durant. Great scorer. Amazing scorer. Same type of impact in other areas, except Durant is a better rebounder and defender.
Gervin didn't have a great shooting night in this game, or in game five apparently. He only averaged about 23 a game in the series I believe. Jabbar scored 30 in game 5.
Pay no mind to the battles you've won
It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle
Open your heart and hands, my son
Or you'll never make it over the river
