The Spurs may be eliminated but they are still a goo team..

One thing that I would disagree is about Manu… He certainly was injured in the WC finals. Yes, he had a horrendous series but he was the major reason the Spurs got to this place. Where would they have been without him this past season..

But I agree with you, the bench of the Spurs is very old and very bad… that was probably the difference in the series. I think the average age of the bench is over 35! The Lakers are much deeper, younger, and more skilled coming off th bench.

No shame in losing to a better team. The Lakers are just on a roll right now…
What is a scary thought is that even it they don’t add a single player from the draft of FA, they’ll probably be even better next year.

One slight disagreement. Bruce Bowen isn’t a scrub. And he was a big part of the workload.

Hello folks – I’ve been reading periodically, having been sent over here from Forum Blue and Gold – yes, I am indeed a Lakers fan, my apologies.

I wanted to jump in and note what a great community you have here, and that you follow a really spectacular team. The Spurs exhibited nothing but class, and as many have said the Lakers could very easily have been going into this game down 1-3 instead of up 3-1.

While I noticed in your 2nd-half thread you feared the arrival of ‘douchebag gloaters,’ I hope you won’t think of me as such. Instead, please believe me when I say that I just wanted to let you know that there are plenty of LAL fans who really admire your organization and what it has accomplished over the past decade.

I can’t honestly wish you TOO much luck (you know how it goes), but I hope you all have as pleasant an off-season as possible. I’m sure we’ll see you in the playoffs again next year.

Same time, same place?

I have been a Laker fan since early childhood, and will always be, but I want to express respect for Tim and the Spurs. Duncan’s one for the ages—a class guy, and I get far less pleasure from the Spurs, and Pop, losing than say, Phoenix.

Wanted to say thanks for having a great blog and community here.

I think the Spurs are in fine shape, but they definitely need to have some roster additions if they want to be considered elite - but even with no roster additions they would be a 50+ win team and a threat to knock you out of the playoffs - more than teams like Phoenix and Dallas. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli is a great start to any team. I honestly would not criticize the Spurs management for being unable to support the Big 3 - they’ve done a good job getting tough nosed players who play defense and understand their roles. In my opinion, this time they ran into a a team that is both younger and more talented - and who have the killer instinct (Kobe) that teams like Dallas and Phoenix just don’t have.

As far as Kobe being “in the zone” during the series - I’m not sure I agree with that statement. He is playing well - but he wasn’t unconscious - like when he put up 81 vs the raptors. I think the key is his new found trust of his teammates and their own maturation/improvement - he is afforded a lot more room (except in the final minutes)—and takes a lot fewer horrible shots.

I would also like to thank the Memphis Grizzlies for giving us the best gift possible—Pau Gasol. I’m excited not only for the finals this year but next year playing with Bynum©, Gasol (PF), Odom (SF), Kobe (SG), FIsher/Farmer (PG). That team would be scary!

the lakers better re-sign vujajic and turiaf - no reason to let them go. please buss open up the pocketbooks..you have all the players u need - just pay them all

Something’s gone wrong here – we’ve become a cozy haven for Lakers fans to discuss how best to prolong their upcoming dynasty – I’m all for the mutual fan respect but now we’re going too far. I hope Buss doesn’t pay – I’d take both of those guys, especially Vujajic. I’d even promise to try to learn how to pronounce his name correctly (I said try!).

Manu was hurt for this series. Pop hung on one season too long with some old guys, a reasonable decision that ALMOST worked. As we lick our wounds, hold on to the solace that this will be a VERY interesting off-season – we have our Big 3 in place, but it will be even more important for Pop to spend time figuring out how to rest Manu and even Tim during the regular season while still winning games. Instead of concentrating on how best to preserve an already dead corpse in RoHo, let’s work on saving the real contributors. Tony can go balls out, he’s still young, but the others, not. Bad news out there about Splitter – why would he come here if he can earn 8 times his salary in Europe? So who are the new guys going to be?

It seems that utmost importance should be given to regaining the twin tower concept that we have been unable to replicate since David left. We won one with Rasho as a twin, one with Oberto (yikes), but we have to work way too hard for rebounds, and need to address that concept immediately. Mahinni – will he help? Who else?

Even though I’m a Laker’s fan, I just wanted to give a shoutout to the Spurs and a little sympathy too. Both organizations have had enormous success through the years; the Spurs’ run over last decade is, for me, reminiscent of the years that the Lakers had Magic, Kareem, and Worthy—you knew every year there was an excellent chance they were going to reward your fanaticism with a championship.

Things get in the way sometimes:

1) Fisher’s .4 a few years ago-I remember Ralph Sampson’s unconscionably lucky shot when the Rockets wiped out the Lakers in a mid-80s best-of-five series.
2) Ginobli’s injured ankle this year-I remember LA going up against the Pistons for a possible 3-peat and losing their starting backcourt (Magic and Byron Scott) before the 1st game of the series was over.
3) The year Shaq and Kobe swept the Spurs and made them look old and tired during the 2nd of LA’s 3-peat—I remember the Spurs wiping out hopes of a Laker 4-peat a couple of years later when LA had a somewhat less than fully motivated Shaq and the organization tried to ride their role players just one year too long.

If I were a Spurs fan, I’d still like my chances of another or multiple championships. It’ll be hard; but it was hard when Shaq and Kobe were together and the Spurs still got 1 then. It was hard when Dallas was playing great ball and had a team that looked to be on the verge of a serious 3-year run; the Spurs still got another.

Unless Ginobli’s injuries become a chronic problem, the Spurs will still probably have the best players 1-3 on any team in the league next year. Remember the last time the Spurs were not quite athletic enough and the front office had been too complacent? They went out and got Ginobli and Parker.

True, the international players’ market is a little more competitive after the Spurs showed the rest of the league its potential. Nevertheless, it’s an organization and a coaching staff that players love to play for, and Buford and Pop have made very few personnel mistakes over the last decade. All they need are some role players who are just a little more athletic and consistent. The foundation is still there; the rest is a matter of how the ball bounces, what trades the Spurs and other teams make, and whether it’s them or one of the other premier teams that has an injured star at the wrong time. I don’t doubt they’ll still be in the mix as much as ever.

Of course I’m looking forward to a Lakers run well into the future and keeping my fingers crossed that the Spurs won’t do anything to spoil it. Best of luck against anybody else though!

As I watched every game this year, it was clear that the Spurs collectively weren’t as competitive as years past. The lock down defense and the ability to come back from large deficits was gone. Even though their record was solid, the Spurs won very few quality games. Especially down the stretch.

And the rest of the West got much better. We were okay against slow teams like Phoenix and probably would have beaten Denver had we faced them, but were too slow against the Hornets and Lakers. It’s not like we didn’t see this coming.

I hope the organization pulls the right moves in the offseason. I’d have to waste the remaining good years of Tim, Manu and Tony.

I had no problem with the roster this season. I was in total agreement with Pop’s and R.C.’s decision to keep the team intact and let them defend their title. What I do have a problem with is the Spurs inability to successfully acquire young talent and let them develop while on the roster. How many years are we going to see the Spurs draft European League players who never make it to the Spurs roster. Scola, Javatokis (sp.), now Splitter. You can’t continue to squander draft picks and sign has beens and expect to win championships. The Lakers had a plan they found young talented players, stayed patient and let them go through their growing pains and are now reaping the rewards. The NBA season is a grind you can’t have more players on your roster closer to 40 then closer to 20 that’s not a formula for success.

The Spurs shouldn’t get a pass this off season from local media and fans they need to add quality role players or what’s left of Duncan and Ginobili’s run in S.A. will be squandered.