Round 1 Spurs vs Lakers

[JordansBulls]

Need to see Tmac in this game 4 for the icing on the cake.

[KevinUrb]

Lakers in 9

[DEEP3CL]

Props to the Spurs and their fans, you guys took care of business...can't be upset. We were out gunned from the minute Kobe went down, so that took away the punchers chance we at least thought we had. I guess you guys paid us back for the 2001 sweep, it's all good. But our series are always much better when both teams are the behemoth beast of conference.

All I can say is continue your fight.....

[Nolan]

I hope Splitter isn't gone long.

Won't matter in this series but next round it will.

Sounds like its going to be about a week. We might be able to survive a game or two without him. But if we want to make a serious run we need him healthy.

[co_laper]

I know a lot of Laker fans are hating on Gasol too, but I found myself giving Pau Gasol an applause at my laptop when he was subbed out. Also has a whole new respect for Steve Blake after this series. He defended Parker incredibly well.

Other than that.. LOL at Dwight. Anybody notice how well Baynes defended him? I was surprised. And Baynes look bigger than Dwight on the court. Even though it was just one game and limited minutes, IMO he did better than Splitter/Bonner/Blair. Kept him off the boards and hold his ground.

On to the next series, I'm glad GS got the 3-1 lead. GS look like an easier matchup than Denver. Atleast Denver has incredible length both at the rim and the perimeter. That has the potential to disrupt our offense. Golden State doesn't have the personnel to do anything to us defensively. And then, Denver could give us trouble with their smallball (chandler at PF) because we don't have Jack anymore. But Golden state playing Barnes at PF is laughable. And we can play Blair againts Carl Landry.

[Donald Kaufman]

Yeah GS would be better, especially with Curry's ankle giving him trouble. Hopefully the Nuggets win the next one at least so we can get our guys like Diaw and Splitter healthy.

[imagump1313]

I hope the 2 of them beat each other up in seven games, no one likes playing in Denver. Agreed, GS is the better matchup for us.

[JordansBulls]

Who do you think the Spurs would need to use more of there bench for?

[co_laper]

Who do you think the Spurs would need to use more of there bench for?

Judging from the Lakers series, it went absolutely perfect. But if I was told before the series a few things like:
- Bonner needs to play good post defense and make his shots when it mattered most (instead of another disappearance act) to win, then I'll say we're screwed.
- Cory Joseph is our backup PG. Even during the season, he was simply a steady PG who played good defense. But let's be honest, his defense isn't going to be considered as one of the best in the league. He simply plays better defense than Neal or Mills (his competitions). And while he was making his jumpers againts LA, he showed a lack of shooting touch during the season.

So to conclude, while I thought Bonner and Cory played incredibly well againts LA, I still have my doubts if they can sustain it in the series going forward.

The 2 guys, I personally would like to see more of is:

Dejuan Blair, because as a guy coming off the bench, he can play alongside Duncan or Tiago and remain a PF. This way, he doesn't really have a height disadvantage and I feel that Blair has mostly produced when he's given playing time. As a bench guy, he really should be our best backup big. Bonner should be a 5-10 minutes specialist. Diaw's impact is inconsistent. Sometimes he makes such bigs impact, other times he's non-existent

Also Patty Mills, because everytime he's come in the game, he always contribute and make his shots. He can be sort of like a Nate Robinson/Earl Boykins type out there but he seems to have fallen off the depth chart despite always playing well when given the opportunity. I guess Joseph's defense was more important againts LA because the game was slower and the guards had extra duties helping the bigs down low defensively. But againts a running team like Denver/Golden State, I think Joseph's defense isn't good enough to factor. And Gary Neal is too slow defensively to keep up with Curry. of the 3 backups, Patty has the best combination of playing a good enough offense while also being pesky enough on the defensive end.

[Donald Kaufman]

What about de Colo? I actually thought his handles were better than Josephs based on what I saw this season. I'm surprised that Joseph got the nod over him.

I was impressed by our bench guys in the Lakers series, but I'm not reading a great deal into it. We were basically playing a lottery team with all the injuries they had. There's no way they're making the playoffs with the team that we played. So I'm not entirely sure our bench guys can sustain this when it comes to playing genuine playoff competition.

[co_laper]

What about de Colo? I actually thought his handles were better than Josephs based on what I saw this season. I'm surprised that Joseph got the nod over him.

I was impressed by our bench guys in the Lakers series, but I'm not reading a great deal into it. We were basically playing a lottery team with all the injuries they had. There's no way they're making the playoffs with the team that we played. So I'm not entirely sure our bench guys can sustain this when it comes to playing genuine playoff competition.

IMO, Nando has really fallen off since early in the season when everyone started calling him Mini-Manu. There was a period where Nando won the backup job, but I thought it quickly exposed his weaknesses.

For instance, as a so called shooter, he's not a better shooter than Neal or Mills. So you have to rank him 3rd in shooting, with Joseph as 4th.

You have to rate him last defensively because for someone his size (6'5''), he's not very quick and he's not very strong. Offensively, Nando is quick with the ball thanks to his ability to change gears much like Steve Nash is quick with the ball, but Nando is slow defensively. Mills is pesky defensively. Joseph arguably the best. Neal hasn't been exposed much defensively despite playing againts PGs. He's practically done a decent job.

Where Nando is better than everyone else is his court vision. That's practically the one NBA skill he has that can be considered above average. That's just not enough to earn him playoff playing time.

Right now, I kinda of understand why Joseph and Neal are the 2 primary backup PG. Neal provides the best offense, while Joseph provides the best defense. Nando and Mills are stuck in between.