LAKERS VS SPURS 2/3/11 7:30 PM TNT/FSN

[DEEP3CL]

34-15
VERSUS
40-8
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LAST MEETING
In their first meeting on December 28 in San Antonio, the Lakers lost 97-82. The Lakers shot a putrid 27% in the second half against the Spurs and were out scored by 14 points in the paint in the half.


KEY MATCH UP


The Lakers must contain Ginobili from the start, don't let him create off the dribble for others and also run him off shots he's comfortable shooting. Eliminating Ginobili from the game plan will handcuff the Spurs and put pressure on Duncan or Parker to be a big scorer.

Kobe must attack and get help from his guys while doing it. The Spurs will throw multiple looks at Kobe all game, he must pick his spots and counter. If he and Gasol can get their two man game going the Spurs will have a difficult time stopping them due to lack of depth up front. If Kobe facilitates early this will allow him to pick apart the Spurs when he needs to go to score mode. The Lakers have been more tougher to beat when he goes this route.

SEASON & SERIES NOTES
At home, the Lakers are 4-1 in their last five meetings with San Antonio. In the postseason, Jackson is 15-7 against the Spurs, advancing to the next round in four of five series meetings. The Lakers have a .507 winning percentage against the Spurs all time in 140 games played. The series stands at 71-69 in favor of the Lakers. The Lakers and Spurs have played 192 games total counting playoffs, the Lakers hold a 105-87 advantage.

[Edrees]

IMO this is a very very critical game. Lakers need to finally beat an opponent that can actually beat them in the playoffs. So far Denver's the only one we've done that to so far..

[Wavy Q]

show up you pieces of ****.

[LA Forever]

I expect a 10+ point win. Bynum is also listed day-to-day and might not play.

[Slava]

PJ said Bynum practiced and will be play but limited activity.

[Anklebreaker702]

We gotta have it!

[Dr Aki]

when we play enough of these good teams, eventually we're going to beat one.

time to have a good game

[Optms]

The spurs are very lethal offensively this year. The D needs to be on top of their game for all 48 minutes. Otherwise, this is going to be a long night.

[crimsonkb24]

imo there is no real key matchup here. gotta contain Parker, which will be a teameffort by chasing him off screens and our bigs closing the paint. Ginobili won't score more points than kobe

[Pablo Escobar]

I hope Blair doesn't destroy us on the boards, contain Parker and Ginobli and we should be able to win this game, Kobe needs to play like last game get your team involved and get yours when the offense is flat, and Pau needs to dominate I know he hears the criticism he's getting he needs to step up, with his talent no one should be able to stop him

[semi-sentient]

I would be shocked if we actually won this game. We've gotten torn apart by all the elite teams this year (all were supposedly statement games), and based on how we've played recently I see no reason for that to change tonight. We couldn't even slow the Rockets down on our floor and San Antonio's offense is actually better, not to mention they are more motivated to beat us than just about anyone.

Hopefully the Lakers can manage to make their first appearance of the season to an actual statement game, because we've been completely humiliated in all the others.

[Dalakerbox]

I would be shocked if we actually won this game. We've gotten torn apart by all the elite teams this year (all were supposedly statement games), and based on how we've played recently I see no reason for that to change tonight. We couldn't even slow the Rockets down on our floor and San Antonio's offense is actually better, not to mention they are more motivated to beat us than just about anyone.

Hopefully the Lakers can manage to make their first appearance of the season to an actual statement game, because we've been completely humiliated in all the others.

is it wrong that I am secretly hoping to get blown out at home tonight? I think this is the only way to force Mitch's hand in making improvements to this roster.

Sorry guys

[semi-sentient]

It might be a bit too early to hope we fail for the sake of Mitch making a move. We really don't know how this team is going to play when the stakes are the highest (playoffs), so I'm willing to wait until we fail in the playoffs before I start making serious trade proposals.

I don't know that making a move right now is going to help us that much (unless we get someone like D12, which is unlikely at best), because our attitude as a team is where the real problem lies. If we bring in someone else, they are just going to take on the same soft persona that has defined our team over the past 2 seasons. All we need to do is toughen up mentally and put forth a more consistent effort, and we'll be alright.

It'll be interesting to see if we actually do have this mysterious switch that we can flip in the playoffs. In past years we've had the advantage in just about every playoff series, but this year is going to be a different animal altogether.

[SashAlex]

GO LAKERS ! I'm expecting a loss, though.

[snaquille oatmeal]

when we play enough of these good teams, eventually we're going to beat one.

time to have a good game

I think the Cavs should hang this quote up in their rafters.

[MoLakers]

Lakers can win. Why are we expecting a loss? Spurs have been overall great this season, but they are not invincible. especially at home, we can and should beat this team. now if it was the at&t center, i would have more doubts. i think pau's gonna be more aggresive, and as long as we dont do iso's with kobe all day long, we should be fine. gotta guard the 3, sneaky shooters everywhere with bonner, hill, rj, manu, neal, even parker from the short corner.

[LApwnd]

man they better freakin win, if teams like depleted Por and a team like NOH who waxed their butts can beat them, I dont see why this team cant?

[semi-sentient]

Lakers can win. Why are we expecting a loss?

Because we got our asses kicked when the Heat and Celtics came to town, and those were both supposed to be statement games by us. Instead, our opponents came in and made a statement. Even when we go on the road and had statement games we've gotten beaten down (Dallas, San Antonio). We don't seem to perform well in statement games, and this is surely a statement game. I believe I might have set a record with the amount of times the word statement was used in a paragraph. Statement.

The Lakers can definitely win, but with the way they've played against some of the upper echelon teams this year I'm not going to hold my breathe. It's hard for me to believe we're not getting up for these games either, which has me wondering if we're just on the decline as a team. It happens.

Hopefully we win though. The last thing I want to have to deal with tonight after the game is text messages from my homies in S.A. bragging about how the Spurs kicked our asses again.

[crazy8ights]

I think all the players know how big this game is for their morale, gameplay & team work.

[96 Til Infiniti]

Only way to shut up the critics/b.s. trade talks is a solid win.

I'll be surprised if the coaches voted him in, so hopefully LO comes out with a chip on his shoulder if hes not named to the all star team.