It's that time of the season again, and some say it's pretty late for this to be the first game between these two teams all season. But I dread this game. The Spurs haven't exactly wowed against the good teams, and the best team in the league just rolled into town.
Preview completed by a tag team of Latin D and Tim C.
 Los Angeles Lakers @ San Antonio Spurs Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX When: January 12, 2010; 7:30 PM Spurs time Watch: My35(San Antonio); KCAL(Los Angeles)
How They Stack Up
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Matchups
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 Tony Parker "Unbelievable." |
Point Guard This is by far our most favorable match-up. Derek Fisher is a shadow of his former self this season, and has failed to impress me in every single Lakers game I've watched. That's not to say that he can't be dangerous: we still need to put a man on him when he's standing beyond the 3-point arc, and he's pretty much automatic from the FT line. However, if the Spurs want to win tonight, Tony needs to dominate Fisher. Advantage: Spurs |
 Derek Fisher 0.4 |
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 Manu Ginobili "FANGIO!" |
Shooting Guard I'm the biggest Manu fan you're likely to find outside of the Ginobili home. That said, Kobe's simply the best SG in the game right now, and one of the best players of all time. Kobe comes from a decidedly mortal game against Milwaukee, where he shot only 4-21, so he will probably want to wash the bad taste off his mouth. He hasn't been particularly efficient this season from deep, so whoever is assigned as our would-be Kobe-stopper needs to try to stop his penetration and hope his fadeaways are not falling. Despite all that, Manu's playing some great basketball lately, scoring, being pesky on defense and creating offense with the usual Manu flair. His dunks prove he's feeling healthy, too. If there's a SG in the league outside Miami that can match Kobe on a good night, that's Manu. Let's hope for the best. NOTE: Kobe is listed as "day to day". I fully expect him to play, because he's tougher-than-though (right?), but in case he actually sits this one out, prepare yourselves for a devastating loss against a suddenly unrecognizable Lakers team that lacks its two best players. Advantage: Lakers |
 Kobe Bryant NBA's best SG |
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 Richard Jefferson "Let's be friends." |
Small Forward As always, the old adage has proven true: "More talent is better than less talent." People can expound on chemistry and craziness all they want, but having someone as talented as Artest in your team is always a good thing. To his usual rabid defense, Artest has added a reliable outside shot. In fact, he's currently the Lakers' best three point shooter. And that's just scary. If RJ can use his strength and athleticism to penetrate and get some fouls from Artest early on, I'll be happy. Advantage: Lakers |
 Ron Artest Less crazy than usual |
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 Tim Duncan "..." |
Power Forward It's fortunate that Pau Gasol is (probably) not playing today, because the Spurs would be in really deep sh*t if he was. However, Odom isn't exactly a bad option. He even does a couple of thing better than Timmy, and one of them is even one of Timmy's strengths: finding the open man. You're looking at the only big man in the league who is a better distributor than Duncan, so that's something to keep an eye on. The other thing he does better than Duncan is shooting from outside. In every other way, Timmy is better. Expect Odom to start the game guarding Blair, and vice versa. It'll be interesting to see how both teams try to exploit that matchup. Advantage: Spurs |
 Lamar Odom Isn't Pau Gasol |
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 DeJuan Blair "Lol!!!1!" |
Center Bynum is really a strange case - he seems(like the Spurs' own Ian Mahinmi) to not play full-tilt all the time, but when he's at his best it's overwhelming. But when he's not getting enough touches, he seems to lose interest. One thing that is mystifying about him is his rebounding: he spends nearly all of his time near the rim, but still averages less rebounds than Gasol, and even Odom. With his size, strength and speed, he should be able to dominate the boards, but he (again) seems to not have much interest in doing so. As scary as this is, he's definitely not playing to his potential thus far. Let's just hope he doesn't find a reason to be engaged tonight. Advantage: Lakers |
 Andrew Bynum Still an Enigma |
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 George Hill. "Ian is the future." |
Bench & Role Players The Lakers' bench usually has one major advantage: Odom. If he's starting tonight, the bench will be considerably weaker. Brown is a guy that reminds me a lot of George Hill, but he's taller and will play any position from 1-3. Versatility is a big key to the Lakers' success, and Brown probably embodies that trait more than anyone else on their roster. Beyond Brown and Jordan Farmar, there's not much there for the Lakers. And by now, we're all familiar with the firepower that the Spurs' bench possesses. It's time to show what the best bench in the league is capable of. Advantage: Spurs |
 Shannon Brown Multi-position threat |
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 Gregg Popovich 4 rings |
CoachSorry, guys. This is the one opponent all year that gets the white box over Pop. I hate his guts, but I respect the hell out of him. Advantage: Lakers |
 Phil Jackson 10 rings* |
| images via yahoo.com | ||
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Other Factors
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Intangibles |
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This is the first game in a dreaded FOGAFINI. Expect some crazy lineups as Pop tries to limit everybody's minutes. Advantage: Lakers |
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Mojo |
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The Lakers are involved with Dracula. 'Nuff said. Advantage: Spurs |
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Winner: |
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| Yeah, we aren't ready for this. Until we get some wins against good teams, I can't even allow optimism to creep in. |
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Keys To The Game
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Strength of ScheduleBoth teams have had a day off, and have a tough SEGABABA tomorrow night. The Spurs will be in Oklahoma City facing a team that has their number, and the Lakers are headed to Dallas to face a team that's probably still angry over their last meeting. Last Time They MetThis is our first game against the Lakers this year, but last season, the Spurs suffered a 102-95 loss at home on March 12th. |
Some Other ReadingLakersSilver Screen and Roll - The SBNation blog for the Lakers. Good writing, good people - yeah, I know, I'm shocked too. Spurs48 Minutes of Hell: The best TrueHoop team blog is now even better, after adding two new writers. Congrats to Jesse and Andrew, who are already doing good work. Twitter Musings
Opposing ViewpointThis isn't a regular feature, but since we have a PtR regular who also happens to be a Spurs Lakers fan, I thought it would be nice to get some input from him. So, olf had this to say:
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Where to Tune In
TVThis game will be aired on My35 in SA, and KCAL in the Los Angeles area. For some odd reason, the national networks didn't deem a battle between two of the top Western Conference teams important enough to broadcast. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel. And of course, there's always League Pass for the haves. For the have nots, read on. OnlineAs always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Most Spurs games will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance. NBA League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out. RadioIf you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM). |