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Preview & Chat: The San Antonio Spurs

by


Records: Lakers 3-4 (11th in the West), Spurs 6-1 (1st in the West)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 106.3 (6th in the NBA), Spurs 105.7 (8th in the NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 101.9 (17th in the NBA), Spurs 101.1 (13th in the NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Darius Morris, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard
Spurs: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan
Injuries: Lakers: Steve Nash & Steve Blake (both out); Spurs: Dejuan Blair (questionable), Manu Ginobili (questionable)

The Lakers Coming in: The Lakers are coming off their most hectic 48 hours in recent memory. In the span of two days they fired a head coach, courted a former legend, hired a nemesis to stalk their sidelines instead, and played a game in between. All in all, things will start to settle down soon but right now there’s a combination of let down (from those that wanted Phil Jackson), excitement (for those that love the prospect of D’Antoni), and relief that a decision has finally been mad (from everyone following this circus).

Where the team goes from here is pretty straight forward — or at least as much as it can be considering the circumstances. Bernie Bickerstaff will continue to serve as head coach through tonight’s game and possibly on Friday as well. D’Antoni will be formerly introduced at some point in the next few days and is targeting Sunday for his debut (though Friday against the Suns is still possible). In any event, the team hopes to continue its strong play from the past few games and get back up to .500 with a win tonight. Though, of course, that won’t be easy considering the team they’re facing.

The Spurs Coming in: What can be said about the machine that is the Spurs? Calling for them to fall off continues to be a sucker’s bet as they keep showing they’re nowhere near finished being a top team. Their 6-1 start to the season hasn’t garnered a lot of national attention — not with the Lakers’ drama taking over for the Thunder’s trade of James Harden as the league’s juiciest subplot — but here they are again, all Borg-like in their efficiency of taking out foes.

If there’s a real surprise to this team, it’s not that they’re playing well but who is carrying them. Tony Parker hasn’t quite looked himself yet this year and Manu Ginobili has been gradually returning to form after sitting out the start of the season with back spasms. That’s left the seemingly ageless Tim Duncan to propel this team forward and he’s been doing a fine job of it with a throwback season of averages that resemble his prime years: 19 points and 10 rebounds on 53% shooting.

Beyond Duncan, the Spurs once again show great balance with six additional players averaging at least 8 points a game and 12 players (including Duncan) averaging at least ten minutes a night. This team will come at you in waves and beat you down with discipline and execution. Needless to say, they again look like a contender to have one of the league’s top records by the time we hit April.

Spurs Blogs: 48 Minutes of Hell is a fantastic resource for all your Spurs news and analysis. Check them out. You can read a back and forth I did with them about tonight’s game here, as well.

Keys to game: The Spurs bring relative health (there’s a chance Ginobili sits this game out, but that’s not yet confirmed) and continuity to this game while the Lakers bring little of both. If there’s a difference in this contest, these two factors may very well be it.

With Nash and Blake out, Tony Parker will match up with the Lakers 3rd and 4th string point guards and will look to get back on track against Morris and Duhon. If it’s any consolation to the Lakers, Parker hasn’t looked his best yet this year and Morris has been surprisingly active on defense but this is still a mismatch. The Lakers’ defensive schemes will be tested in trying to contain the speedy Frenchmen both in isolation and when he turns the corner in the pick and roll. The best bet is to make Parker a jumpshooter, but as we’ve seen over the years he’s more than capable of hitting his mid-range shot with consistency. So, in some respects, the Lakers just have hope he’s missing while playing him as well as they can.

Where the Lakers still have an advantage is in the paint. Yes, Duncan has been fantastic but Howard and Gasol are no slouches. Both will get ample opportunity to attack the paint against both Duncan and Diaw at the outset and a major key tonight may well be if the Spurs’ frontline can defend without fouling well enough to slow down the Lakers’ bigs. If they can’t, the buckets will come easily or they’ll be forced to go to their reserves to off-set some of the defensive load. Splitter can be a guy who has increased value tonight and there’s a chance he sees time next to Duncan against the Lakers’ big lineups just to help defend the paint and clean the glass.

The other key will be outside shooting. The Lakers rank 19th in three point FG% (33.1%) while the Spurs rank 12th (35.7%). If either team gets hot, it can turn into the difference between a close game and one where starters are resting down the stretch. The Spurs thrive off their drive and kick game so the Lakers front line help and secondary rotations must be on point. If they let the Spurs find a rhythm, the shots will be bombed and run will occur. Meanwhile, the Lakers need to hit shots to create the spacing needed for their bigs to thrive. Ron, Meeks, Jamison, and even Morris will all need to chip in and keep the D honest.

Where you can watch: 7:30pm start on TWC Sports Net. Also listen live on ESPN Radio 710 AM.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Snoopy2006 says

    Over at PBT, they have a nice article centered on Ding tweets that reasonably shows that Kupchak and the others may really have gone after Phil as a PR move, never really expecting him to want the job, and wanted MDA all along. That’s what I suggested from the beginning, very reminiscent of the Ariza-Artest episode.

  2. Jaz says

    I know PJ is the man. But my last memory, that Dallas sweep, was not good. That year was not good, the coasting, the complacency. I’m not disappointed he’s not coming back, intrigued by D’Antoni.

  3. LT mitchell says

    Snoopy,

    I firmly believe that Jim Buss wanted D’Antoni all along, and great comparison between Phil and Ariza….both victims of the Laker PR machine.

  5. Robert says

    Jaz: I do not think it would be quite fair to judge PJ on his last year. Clearly we would not want to do that with D’Antoni either : ) I hope that 2013 will be the D’Antoni year !

    Kevin: That summary of the PJ years was a little harsh : ) He was here 11 years, made the finals 7 times, and won 5 rings. In 2003, we were one Robert Horry in/out 3 pointer away from another ring. In 2004 we were a Malone injury away, and in 2008 we lost in 6 without much of Bynum. 2006 + 2007 could hardly be considered coaching failures. You and I usually agree on most things. You said that it was not all “roses”. Yes – there were some “thorns”. However there is no need for “Poison” : ) (hopefully you are up on 80’s rock)

    Lt Mitchell: I have enjoyed many of your recent posts. I am amused by the use of the term “Laker PR machine”. If indeed it is a PR machine – it is in dire need of a tune up : ) We are not long on PR wins right now. Hopefully we are saving the “W’s” for the court.

    Huge game tonight: I am expecting Kobe to treat it as such. 2000-2002 KB against the Spurs is a great memory and would like to see him re-live it tonight.

  6. DJ says

    When MDA was the coach of Phoenix Sun, at that time, SA was good defensive team, Phoenix Sun lost a chance to win championship that year,now MDA has a chance to revenge to beat them if Lakers play SA in this year playoff. SA did good thing to mix young players with Duncan, Mike Brown can’t see that and can’t do that.

  7. any_one_mouse says

    Though the last two games were wins, to paraphrase another blogger, it was “Fool’s gold” – neither Bogut, nor Cousins played against us, which made our size advantage down low that much more effective. Today, though, Dwight will have his hands full with Duncan. I’m hoping Kobe and Pau carry us through. A lot will depend on how effective Meeks and Jamison are.

    Let’s send Coach Bickerstaff out undefeated!

  8. Edwin Gueco says

    Lakers will get to .500 mark after the game tonight. Just bang on the post plays through Howard and Gasol and Spurs have no answer. They will go for speed of Parker against our rookie tho’ Manu is not that well, go with Kobe and MWP to take out Duncan with foul troubles. I think Bernie B. who has steady stewardship after he took over from MBrown is doing great with timely substitutions and game phasing for every player.

    Go Lakers, give us something to cheer.

  9. Kevin_ says

    Robert: Guess I was getting at hiring PJ it wasn’t a sure thing Lakers would win the championship. The Lakers FO has earned our trust by the great offseason and recognizing a mistake by firing Mike Brown. I’m willing to give D’Antoni a chance and let Jim bring us a ring his way not PJ’s.

    Nash, Dwight and D’Antoni. Can you imagine the devastation that will occur from a Nash/ Dwight PnR? Perkins just lost a lot of value with this hire.

  10. T. Rogers says

    The worst part of all this is there are still basketball games to be played. I love Lakers basketball. I have since I was a kid back in the 80’s. But the drama is a bit much at times. I really hope the players can focus on the floor and not the headlines. The team has a chance to break even tonight at 4-4. Not only would that be a boost psychologically, they could do it while beating a potential playoff opponent. A win tonight with all the extra distractions would be huge.

    A win tonight just may force the media’s Lakers conversation back to where it should be, on basketball.

  11. lil pau says

    Really enjoyed the 48 MoH discussion. ‘All of them’… good one.

    As a huge fan of everything FB&G, I must say I find the placement of the advertising unpleasant and distracting. Any chance it could re-situated along the right side of the screen (perhaps so that it would always remain visible even as one scrolls down); as it is, it feels like it masks the most important material…

    I don’t begrudge the site getting paid via advertising revenue, but I just think it could be better designed. My 2c, and probably valued at less than that.

    Hard to see tonight as a win, but I’ll be there cheering my guts out. Go Morris! Go Meeks! Go Lakers!

  13. Darius Soriano says

    lil pau,
    The ad at the bottom of the page can be closed. There should be an “x” or a minimize arrow in the left hand corner of the ad. When I’m on the site, I close it.

  14. smoothaswilkes says

    Darius – I was just about to complain about the “Where to watch” section of the previews going missing. Thanks for putting it back in, same page, haha.

  15. MannyP says

    The only opinions on the Phil saga that matters are those held by Kobe, Dwight, Nash and, to a lesser degree, Pau.

    As long as they are OK and not angry, we are good.

  18. LBc says

    Can’t believe we picked DUi kid over CDR.

    CDR would look great in MD offense and would of of been our scoring punch of the bench.

  20. Joe M says

    So is Steve Nash going to play another game this season? First a few days, then 1 week, and now a couple of weeks and approaching a month. Grrrrrrrr

  21. Robert says

    Kobe Alert: KB tied James Edwatds for 34th on the all time games list. He is now 5 games behind Fish for 33rd. He also moved into 16th in the 3 point fg category. He is exactly 333 points away from 30k. Mike D’Antoni will be the 9th coach that Kobe has played for.

    D’Antoni played for the Spurs in 78

    Bernie Bickerstaff will be going for his 3rd win tonight which would tie him for 22nd, with Bill Bertka for career Laker coaching wins.

  23. sbdunks says

    Yeah Ebanks picked a bad time to get a DUI, though there really is never a good time for such a thing. He hasn’t played at all in the last two games, I heard a clip of Bickerstaff saying that it was out of his hands and in the FO’s, though with all this PJ-D’Antoni drama its pretty much gone unnoticed. Has he been formally suspended? I haven’t seen a press release or any word of anything formal. It’s a shame though, he could be getting minutes and showing his worth like Morris is now.

    Also, if you guys haven’t seen it, there’s a great breakdown, by the numbers, of Brown’s poor line-ups/rotations by SSR’s stats guru Actuarially Sound. Brown’s rotations were my biggest complaint, and when I heard he decided to go with Metta at the backup 2 and Jamison at the backup 3 and stick with it, it was the nail in the coffin in my book. Check it out http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2012/11/13/3638206/how-mike-brown-shot-himself-in-the-foot

  24. Kevin_ says

    Pau’s shooting 41% the only part of his game slumping. That has to pick up since he’ll likely be a floor spacer in D’Antoni’s system.

    Last 4 years: 56%, 53%, 52%, 50% so far this year 41%. Not being a primary post scorer the past few years has something to do with that steady drop. But it’s something to keep an eye on.

  25. Jerke says

    People keep thinking of Pau having to play as a floor spacer in MD’s system – that won’t be the case. He’ll play the same role as boris diaw – except even more skilled as a facilitator, passer, and scorer out of the high post/freethrow line – he’s not going to be turned into a stretch 4

  27. LT mitchell says

    Sndunks,

    Fantastic link…..pretty much confirms how awful Mike Brown’s rotations really were, and how good this team really is. D’Anotoni will look like a genius by simply not playing MWP and Ebanks at SG and Jamison at SF.

  30. Joel says

    Morris is doing a great job staying in front of Parker. Only mistake he’s made was getting hung up on that last screen.

  31. Chearn says

    Darius is doing a good job. Though he is not conditioned to play a constantly
    moving Tony Parker.

    I like the way he is keeping TP in front of him. Just got caught cheating
    under the screen.

  32. Jerke says

    Morris looks good as a change of pace pg – he looks like a ligitimate backup to Nash to provide some defensive energy and make the opposing pg work a little harder. He’s moving quick and keeping the pressure up – not offensively talented yet but a hard worker. Look for all the pgs aside from Nash to look and play a lot better under Mike D – Duhon had his best years under D”antoni and Blake will get play in smaller lineups beside Nash as a spot up 3 man w Kobe at the small forward spot at times.

  33. Anonymous says

    wow, i cant beleive how much more active the Lakers look since the Brown firing. They aren’t playing STIFF, SLOW & ROBOTIC ANYMORE!

  34. Jerke says

    but amazing how much flow there is already to the Lakers. looks soooo much better from a week ago – and for all intents and purposes they’re playing w basic sets w no system.

  35. mindcrime says

    Small sample size—but I would love to see Morris get backup minutes over Blake when Nash and Blake are both back in action. His “upside” on the defensive end of the floor seems to be much higher than Blake’s–and he’s working hard on that end.

  36. Joe says

    To say this is a huge game for the Lakers is an understatement. A win here against a quality opponent could really give them solid momentum headed into the D’Antoni era, plus get them to .500.

  37. Kevin_ says

    2 horrible mwp 3s, bad decision on Pnr led to out of bounds then stripped by jackson on 4 straight possessions. Please take the ball out his hands.

  38. Zirk says

    This unit on the floor right now has been awful so far! Meeks can’t shoot and he turns the ball over every other time he touches it.

  41. AusPhil says

    This 2nd quarter is not prettty. I like the assists on so many buckets, but TOs are still rampant.

  43. Joe says

    Splitter just threw his body into Dwight AFTER Duncan was mugging him in the post, no call. NBA, where that stuff happens.

  45. Joe says

    Morris is playing solid D on Parker, not easy to do. He is also doing a competent job handling the ball. His 3 point shot has been decent. Perhaps the only thing Brown did that I thought was insane at the time, that I actually admit has worked out, was play Morris over Duhon.

  47. Zirk says

    Pet peeve: guards, especially PG’s that can’t shoot FT’s.

    Way to screw up a 5 on 3, Morris. Geez.

  49. kehntangibles says

    So… yeah. We’re leading by 5 against a very good team. If Mike Brown was coaching, what do y’all think the score margin would be? I’m thinking we’re down by 13, best case scenario

  51. Kswagger8 says

    Effort, energy, and sense of urgency from player 1-10. That’s the difference between the Lakers this game and all other games they played. Errors and unfamiliarity is understandable and they will clean it up as they get more comfortable with each other, but having this much energy and effort will negate most of the errors, will keep them in games, if not allow them to take leads into the 4th much like how it was this first half, especially like that last few mins of the 2nd quarter

  52. Tra says

    Zirk, I second that Pet Peeve comment in regards to PG’s who don’t take advantage of the Charity Stripe .. Otherwise, he’s been playing decent.

  54. Zirk says

    I think what I’m most excited about with D’antoni coming on board is the fact that maybe it won’t take 6 years to get into our offense anymore. Can we please stop getting into our offense with 5 seconds left on the clock??

    Kobe having a very efficient game tonight so far. And I like the bounce in Dwight’s step. But if Pau is gonna continue to shoot jumpers, I wish he would just be a few feet closer to the hoop. Seems like he’s taking jumpers a bit out of his range.

  56. Joe M says

    Gasol is just horrible now. Same old story, all Kobe and Howard, no one else doing anything to help.

  57. Zirk says

    Just go Kobe iso cuz the rest of these guys aren’t doing a thing. Dwight might be able to if he could just hold onto the ball.

  58. KenOak says

    Is it me or do the Refs seriously hate DH12? He gets called for so many iffy fouls and seems to get hacked all the time without getting the call.

  60. Joe says

    This game is U-G-L-Y.

    Except for Kobe, he has been great.

    Our D has looked so much better since we ditched the turnover prone PO and started playing people in their natural positions.

  61. harold says

    Wow, MB was really bad judging from how close this game is with an interim head coach.

    We’re looking exactly as we should have in the pre-season, learning the system while still playing to our strengths in spurts.

  63. Kevin_ says

    Pau and Metta 5-19. Can’t wait to get Nash back to get those guys easy buckets. They have struggled all season.

  66. Joe M says

    Like I said, Kobe, Howard, Nash is basically our team now. I am looking at our stats and it is absolutely disgusting to see what this bench has produced along with Morris, because it has been basically NOTHING.

  67. Joe says

    Meeks may be the worst ball handler in the NBA. The question is WHY is he handling the ball, he is a spot up shooter.

  69. Zirk says

    Four reserves with one starter again. And it might as well just be the one starter on the floor since the reserves have been garbage again.

    I’m willing to eat crow. Maybe MB knew what he was doing by not playing Meeks when I was screaming for it.

  71. Joe M says

    For the love of god, this second unit can’t even go a few possessions without a turnover….get them out, please!

  74. sbdunks says

    To be fair to Meeks, his role is not that of a playmaker. He should be set up by the point guard, who, unfortunately for him, is our 4th string PG Duhon, who keeps dumping it to him.

    Bickerstaff is making the same mistake as Brown, playing Jamison strictly at the 3. And now he’s playing Kobe, Metta, Jamison, Hill & Howard together. C’mon Bernie!

  77. Joe says

    I agree, Meeks has not had an open look at a 3 tonight, for several plays he sat out there on the weak side, completely open and no one got him the ball.

    When we give him the ball there is a guy all over him and he has to put the ball down and then get funnelled right into the teeth of SA’s very good interior D.

    This is about not utilizing guys skills properly more so then the guys.

  79. Joe says

    If anyone looks at the tape, the League should be sending Splitter a flop warning, that was brutal, and of course the refs fell for it, and the circle of flops continues in the NBA.

  81. sbdunks says

    Just as I’m about to ask what Jamison is doing out there in crunch time he hits a 3. I’m glad to know he’s still alive.

  82. Joe says

    Seriously, how bad has Gasol’s offensive game become since he was forced out of the post. He has always been prone to terrible defensive lapses (such as having rebounds stolen from him because he falls asleep and he of course has never boxed out a guy in his life). Now he can’t dunk or lay the ball up.

  84. Joe says

    As long as refs keep rewarding it, players will keep flopping. NBA can stop flopping easy, fine refs who show a pattern of calling obvious flops as fouls.

  85. Ko says

    How in the heck can the Lakers continue to keep Metta on this team. 4 for 14 shooting 35% on the season and taking more shots then Howard or Pau.

    Stupid

  86. KenOak says

    Lmao! Are you guys seeing Sacre’s celebrations over there!? Friggen hilarious! Let’s see some defense on this last possession.

  90. Simonoid says

    Tough ending – but that wasn’t a bad look.

    I hope Kobe doesn’t get on Pau’s case. If I were Pau I’d have done the same thing. Good look > possibility of another turnover.

  91. kehntangibles says

    Disappointed with this loss, but not too mad. We shoulda played better but the team is starting to figure itself out. If we bring even a ‘B’ game, we win this. This is leagues better than the crap we saw two weeks ago.

  92. Gary says

    WOW…gasol shoots a 3! to end the game. Kobe beat his man and could have probably gotten a foul or made shot. Nope i’ll just shoot a 3 over Tim Duncan says Gasol…

  95. sald0gg says

    Not gonna lie guys. I’m pretty over the Pau gasol era in LA. Can’t squeeze rebounds or make bunnies anymore. (edited for trade speculation)

  96. Anonymous says

    This game accentuates Management’s failure to add another natural scorer to compliment Kobe.
    no one else on this team can create there own shot.

    Cant wait for Nash to return…. Morris and Duhon arent NBA quality players.

    World Peace is not a starting caliber smalll forward anymore.

  98. KenOak says

    The guys didn’t play too badly tonight against the best team in the Western Conference without a head coach.

  99. Joe says

    Let’s face it, we didn’t lose this game because Green made a tough 3 and Pau missed an open one. Game should not have been close, but 3/5th of our starting lineup shot 7 for 29.

    How much longer can the Lakers tolerate MWP’s chuck-a-thon. Earth to MWP, you last shot well at least 4 years ago, it isn’t going to happen, so just D up and take the occasional open 3.

    Pau’s terrible shooting percentage this year continues. This guy needs to get back in the post.

    Another brilliant Kobe game, how many more can he have?

  100. Joel says

    That was just awful. I do believe the lakers had a timeout out and pau could’ve called one. I guess we can say at least they didn’t get blown out.

    But pau has to step up. I see why the lakers tried to trade him all last season. He’s weak defensively and on the boards. I wonder how many rebounds hes gotten snatched out of his hands this season. He’s also getting weaker on the offensive end. He doesn’t produce in post isolations anymore. He almost always settles for an awful fade away jumper when he’s posting up.
    I know Nash is out but pau could soon find his way back on the trading block if he doesn’t start playing better. And can someone please tell mwp stop shooting so much. I hope dantoni will

  101. rr says

    The team kind of needs Nash, huh?

    I also think they need another bench player, and we will see plenty of spec about Pau.

  102. Zirk says

    I’ll never ever consider losing a good game. Never.

    When did we become the Clippers and into moral victories? Actually, I shouldn’t say the Clips. At least they destroyed the Spurs.

  104. Kevin_ says

    Pau and Metta 7-24. Have under performed all year. Dwight’s getting a pass because we all assume he’s going to return to form. But Kobe has been the only player on the Lakers that has performed up to fans expectations. Everyone other than Kobe has to pick it up.

  105. Joe M says

    No, lets not harp on the, “oh what improvement for the Lakers.” Facts are, this is a 3 man team when Nash comes back. Gasol is bad, Metta is beyond bad, and the bench basically don’t exist with the exception of maybe Hill. This team is now a 3 man show basically. We were in this game due to one reason, Kobe was lights out.

  106. Gary says

    Did anybody see the wierd rotation of Bryant, MWP, Jamison, Gasol, Howard? Is mike brown the head coach again?

  107. sbdunks says

    I’m not too disappointed with the loss, it would have been big if they were able to hold on for the win. I’m just glad they were able to compete as well as they did considering they went 14-22 from the line and Pau and Metta combined to shoot 7-24. They’ve got to set Pau up on the block more, especially when he’s in with the reserves.

  111. radius says

    apparently, post game interview: Parker said Pop drew that play up specifically because of Kobe’s habit of drifting and cheating in the paint.

    Nash would have been helpful on that last play. You can deny Kobe. You can deny Nash. Doubt you could deny both in the same game.

    Looked better than last week. process is working. And now a new coach. Excited for the season.

  112. Pinch says

    The team has played well ever since Brown was fired, played against a well coached Spurs team and lost a close game. Move onto the next game and continue with this effort.

    A couple of things I wasn’t happy with, there is no backup for Kobe. I thought it was going to be Meeks, I’ve seen nothing from him so far to even suggest Kobe will be well rested come play-off time.

    If Pau continues playing like this, he’ll be traded. We need a stretch PF and SHOOTERS!

    Oh and one more point, CUT DOWN ON THE DAMN TURNOVERS. They’re shooting themselves in the foot by giving away cheap points.

  114. Anonymous says

    what good is Nash going to be if these guys cant hit open shots?
    Think it’ time to try and ship out: GASOL, PEACE, EBANKS, MORRIS, MEEKS…
    reshape the roster with some guys at can actually put the ball in the basket!
    Howard is here for Defense, now we need some OFFENSE!

    the reason for the wierd rotation of Bryant, MWP, Jamison, Gasol, Howard is because MEEKS, MORRIS, DUHON, EBANKS ALL SUCK! There was no one else to play.

  115. Joe M says

    Trade Pau and Metta for some shooters and this team will kick a#*. Until then, I can’t have faith in a team with only 3 players giving you consistent production. Gasol and Metta in my opinion are hurting this Lakers team more than helping them along with that god awful bench.

  116. Kevin_ says

    Who is giving Mwp the green light to shoot? Another game where he takes more shots than Dwight 14 to 9.

  117. DJ says

    I still think Lakers need one more player ( SF or backup PG) to be championship team. Gasol and Metta are bad, and salary of Gasol is too big, if you pay the guy 19 mil, he has to give you 19,20 pts a game, so don’t blame Mike D’Antoni if this Lakers team can’t win this year , Lakers FO got to do a better job..

  118. Gary says

    Yup Metta and Pau are washed up. U cant have kobe, howard or maybe nash the only ones consistently producing every game. MWP took more shots than Gasol and Howard. Huh?? Hes shooting like 30% and u want him taking 14 shots..it just doesnt make sense. And Gasol…hes just there to get rebounds. Hey, Hill can do that and shoot 3-10. Maybe Lakers should see what trading Gasol will get us.

  119. Rt says

    Maybe I’m wrong, but it didn’t really look like Pau’s last shot was THAT wide open? I’ve come to terms that it was obviously just a bad play, but I can’t shake wishing that Dwight had gotten the right timing to grab the offensive board.

    Agree with radius that Nash is missed. Chances are higher that the last play might have gone through either him or Kobe. Like I said, tough loss.

  120. radius says

    oh, and small sample size, but I was wrong when I said this team needed more time with Coach Brown. Just the effort itself seems to better for the Lakers.

  121. Ko says

    My last project was Mike Brown.

    My next is Metta World Brick.

    Mike D’s offense gives open shots to the forwards. Not good when your SF is shooting under 35% and was just as bad last year. Even worse he is not smart enough to realize how bad he is. How can he shoot more then the two big guys. 14 shots is stupid.

    Metta must be benches or traded for a bag of chips.

  122. Chearn says

    Someone asked, “When did the Lakers become the Clippers?”

    When they hired Mike Brown as the head coach!

    Under the circumstances of the past week, the Lakers played an inspired game.
    Any coach will lose a game with veterans rather than with 2nd year unproven pg Morris
    or journeyman Duhon. No pg on the floor in the 4th but that’s not what cost the Lakers
    the game, it was their inability to make a stop the last 1:47 of the game.

    Defense wins game! Oh, and freethrows!

    Overall a giant step forward.

  123. Edwin Gueco says

    That was a good loss by the Lakers, They committed TO with Howard, Green got away on Kobe, Metta and Gasol missed their last shots. Other than that, we could have won that game.

  124. snowmass dave says

    Caught some of the Spurs game late this evening. Tough to watch the Lake Show right now … just not very entertaining. Bring on D’A and his style. I know we were missing Nash and his back-up, but this team has a serious case of predictability. Compare the Spurs final possession, which won the game for them, to the Lakers’s go-to KB (again). SA ran a surprise play. I suspect D’A would have schemed something a bit better for LA’s final play. I know we want the Lakers to win … but it sure would be fun to get back a little “show time” during the process.

  125. Magic Phil says

    We just need some form of organization, that’s all. Pickup basketball is not enough to beat a well established team like the Spurs, even with all the talent we have.

    And we lost by only one!

    Let’s give them (and ourselves) a month with a coach like MD, some pratice time, then reevaluate. I see beatiful things coming out of this team, game after game. We got the weapons just need a general to organize them.

  126. Kevin_ says

    Edwin: Lakers have too big aspirations to accept moral victories. A loss is a loss. Nothing good can be taken from this except Kobe is Kobe.

    I may be wrong but Dwight looks smaller which means he’s probably not lifting weights or isn’t lifting as much weight as he used too. His back may be hurting more than he’s leading on. Shoulders aren’t as broad and tone isn’t there. May be nothing but something I noticed.

  128. Slappy says

    “No pg on the floor in the 4th but that’s not what cost the Lakers
    the game, it was their inability to make a stop the last 1:47 of the game.”

    Of the Spurs’ last 15 points, Parker scored 6 and assisted on 4. 13 of his 19 points came with someone other than Morris on the floor. Morris might have helped with more stops had he been on Parker instead of Duhan and then MWP late. Matter of fact, Morris should have been on the floor whenever Parker was on the floor. And to be fair, 1 of Parker’s 19 was a technical FT, so Morris was out there for 6 of 18 of Parker’s live ball points.

    Lastly, there actually were two “stops” in the last 1:47. In my best South Park voice, Timmy missed a 10 footer ,and then Tiago was blocked (back to back possessions; unfortunately, sometimes blocked shots go out of bounds and so the offense retains possession (and so Timmy scored shortly thereafter)).

    Next:

    “A loss is a loss. Nothing good can be taken from this except Kobe is Kobe.”

    The team has shown infinitely more energy of late, to include energy on defense, and best of all, they actually talked to each other on defense and as a result had less missed helps/defensive rotations. It wasn’t perfect but this game is the “after” to the Mr. Potato Head era’s “before”.

    Next, for Ko, Ron should either have a lobotomy or wear one of those collars with the electric shock device implanted in the thing, and whenever it looks he’s about to shoot, Sacre over there on the bench hits the button on the remote. Well, not every time, but there’s no reason why Ron should be taking 14 shots a game on this team.

    For a bonus freebie, back to Morris. Yes, his PG game is flawed. No doubt. But he has the speed and the size to do a decent job defending the opposing PG. Given his height, it has always perplexed me that no one has apparently worked with him on a post-up game. True, a PG is not usually known for posting up but it isn’t written in letters in stone that you can’t.

    Almost forgot, but back to Ko. In addition Ron, Hill also needs one of those electric shock collars. For when he gets the 0-board, since he can’t make a put back to save his life. So he gets shocked as soon as he has secured the O-board, to remind him to shovel the ball to the other big down low or pass the ball out for the reset possession. Love his energy, but it’s entirely fair to say that he’s padding his O-board stats by rebounding his own missed put backs. If Chick were still with us, well, simply sub in “Hill” for “Hairston” in Chick’s “Hairston blows the layup.” To borrow from Yogi (or whoever said it), with Hill and his bricked lay-ins, it’s a case of deja vu all over again.