Didn’t we just see this movie? And we didn’t like the ending?
On the optimistic side, if you look at the game flow the Lakers played the Spurs pretty evenly except for a stretch at the start of the third quarter. Of course, that part of the game counts too. That’s just one of the differences between teams like the current Lakers and Spurs — we have lapses, they don’t and pounce on them. Still, that was not a bad Laker outing, they just lost to a better team.
While he scored 21, the Lakers did a fairly good job on Tony Parker. The bigger problems were what Tim Duncan brought, particularly on defense (which is why he was a game-high +28) and Ginobli, who was 5 of 6 from beyond the arc and finished with 21 points and a +19.
The Lakers need to steal a game from one of the top two (seeded anyway) teams in the West, San Antonio and Phoenix — they account for 20% of the Lakers last 20 games. The good news is the Lakers are now tied for the seventh seed and it is the Hornets that look to be falling back to Sacramento.
One more bit of optimism — last night the Spurs played a track meet against a Nashless Suns team (and won), so this is a back-to-back for them and we are certainly the half of it they could be looking past.
I imagine much to KD’s envy, I’m gone for a couple days again, out to watch tennis in the desert. I’ll be back Monday.
chris henderson says
you might get lucky and see some great thunder-storms in the desert, but watch out for flash floods on the way out there.
I’d really like to see Smush step up to the plate and do something to slow the other Parker down a little bit. he was taken to school by Chris Paul, I expected Smush to show more against him, with all the Rook of the year hype, but no…I was very dissapointed in his performance at least until late in the game when he came up with those steals.
another guy who should be looking to make some noise, get noticed, is Kwame, he played pretty solid D against Duncan, he really doesn’t go for those head fakes, holds his ground, and if smart about his position, he’s a tough guy to push around on the floor.
we know Kobe will get his…
so who else should we be looking at?…???…
heeellloooo??? Lamar??? are you going to show up tonight?
if we can get yet another strong performance from LO, especially on the boards, trying to limit second or third chance opportunities at their end, we just might be able to get by these guys. we really need to see him looking to do that left handed drive, not hesitate when he has an open outside shot…etc… when LO plays hard, get’s decent numbers, we can be a tough team to beat.
notreallyimportant says
Great game by everyone except Kobe. I hope he ragains his shooting touch by the time Sacto rolls around or Artest will eat him alive.
john says
what a dream game. almost every player showing their possible potential at once. awesome.
after the portland game i thought they wouldn’t make the playoffs. i’m still not sold that they will. but man i hope they do.
it was nice to hear that the spurs have winning back-to-back problems too. thursday marv said they were 4-6 in them. the lakers must be around that range. that was comforting.
chris henderson says
told ya…watch out for that Smush-Kwame alley-oop which we saw late in the 4th qtr! they have been working on this after practice I bet, good for them!
what I’d like to see more of is a 2 man game, Kobe and Lamar playing off each other, pick and rolls, etc, since they both have great hands, are fast, have the hops, and (can be) great finishers, (I can’t believe I’m saying this about LO, but he can do it…it’s just , does he want to do it?)
anyway, best road game of the season, maybe the best game overall, let’s see how this team, under Phil, finishes… (we already know it won’t be like last year…so don’t make plans this spring, unless you hav tivo, cause we will be playin’ after the season ends).
now..how do we follow this up??? one thing we cannot do is let up and play down to the level of a lesser opponent, (Atlanta, Portland) gotta win those gimmes!!!
keep up the intensity.
another nice thing, Kobe was very cold in the second half, yet the team maintained the lead, which means to me…
DO IT WITH DEFENSE!
john says
i sure hope they’re playing in the spring. and they’ve looked impressive for the past week.
i just don’t trust this team as far as i can throw them.
sacramento’s coming on strong. i mean, they just don’t lose now. was that whipping they gave the nets in new jersey? i hope their schedule gets real difficult.
but maybe not just yet. they’ve got the lakers focused like a laser. keep it close for 2-3 weeks so these awesome new habits get engrained.
what a week. it was like the good ol’ days. we’re spoiled again.