Funny that I see this article at about the same time I read this article on SpursReport: http://tinyurl.com/yj77zzy

Though the Lakers are a team to be feared (at times), they haven’t looked too good lately and as Matt Moore says in the above article, they are prone to periods of “uninspired play”. Today’s game in Atlanta is a prime example and Kobe’s face at the end of clip says it all.

I remember watching the playoffs last year and as I saw the Spurs just collapse, I watched the Rockets-Lakers games thinking, “Well if the Spurs have to go down, the Lakers should too”. It was my consolation in other words. I remember the Rockets “stealing” Game 1 and when I saw it I thought, “They [the Rockets] can do it. They have the potential to BEAT L.A.” Of course then Yao Ming goes down with a career-ending (?) injury and I thought, “Ah crap”.

Nonetheless the Rockets-Lakers series was telling, just as the Hawks game was today. Both of the teams played physical basketball, more so than the Lakers with their supposedly “TOUGH” big men. Matt Moore again comments suggesting that if faced with real adversity, the Lakers will wither away. Hmm….

Am I suggesting the Spurs play the Lakers? Hell no-the Spurs are no doubt a target. I think of “The Predator” with his deadly lock-on lazer; that is what Kobe does to the Spurs and if the Spurs encounter the Lakers in the playoffs, no doubt Kobe will become the brutal taskmaster and motivate his apathetic team to victory. The Spurs just lack the interior defense. What I am suggesting is that ANOTHER team could do it; perhaps Portland or Oklahoma? If the Nuggets get back Kenyon Martin, I think anything is possible in that potential series.

I wouldn’t file the Lakers into the Finals slot just yet. I think another team could do it. If the Lakers get knocked out, that increases the Spurs chances of winning it all immensely (of course it would also help if Parker returns, Duncan returns to domination, and Ginobili remains healthy). If the Spurs can move out of the 8th seed and let another team which may have a better shot of knocking out the Lakers, then that would be excellent. We will see. I just have an image of 2007 in my mind; I knew the only team stopping the Spurs was the Mavericks. As soon as that wonderful upset occurred, I knew it was only a matter of time before #4 arrived on the Riverwalk. There are a lot of "if"s in this mini-article that I’ve posted but there a lot of possibilities, possibilities which do not necessarily say the Lakers are going to the Finals and that the Spurs are out of the picture.

Like Rosen, I would love to see the NCAA champion “destroy” the Nets in an exhibition game.

Well, it’s good to know that he overrates Kobe’s D.