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LA Lakers 101 San Antonio 71: After watching this game, I think that the San Antonio Spurs are in big trouble. Yeah, they get to go home for two games, but I the way the Lakers are playing right now, I find it hard to believe that the Spurs will be able to win both games at home. Not to mention that the Spurs offense was an absolute no show in this game.
The LA Lakers definitely look like the real deal right now on both offense and defense. They held the Spurs to a pathetic 34.5% from the floor and just 71 points. They were also able to outrebound the Spurs 44 to 36 because Tim Duncan has absolutely no help on the boards at all. We knew the offense was good but their defense and rebounding has been championship caliber so far in the first two games of this series and that is what is making this team look so scary right now. The great offense, which shot a ridiculous 54.9% from the floor in this game, combined with the solid defense and rebounding is making the Lakers the favorites to win the championship in my eyes right now.
The Lakers offensively were led by Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and their incredible bench. Kobe finished with 22 points on 1o of 17 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Another strong game from Bryant but quite honestly he didn't have to do much in this one. That's because of the great play of the Lakers bench who outscored Kobe in the game, finishing with 34 points, led by Jordan Farmar's 14 points. The bench also collected 17 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. If this isn't the best bench in the league then I don't know who has it.
Lamar Odom had a strong game here as well, finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. It really is great to see Odom doing well. I have always been a fan of Lamar and I think he has been underrated as far as what his talents bring to a game. He can pretty much do it all and is the perfect player for a championship caliber team like this. Odom is the main reason why when the Lakers traded for Gasol, I immediately picked to make the Finals out West because I felt his game would improve even more now that he was the third scoring option.
There isn't much to talk about for the Spurs offensively, who were pretty much horrible. Their leading scorer was Tony Parker, who had only 13 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Parker is now shooting only 13 for 30 in the series, which is 43.3%. Tim Duncan had 12 points on 6 of 14 shooting but did manage to pull down 16 rebounds. Manu Ginobili was a no-show in this game again and he finished with only 7 points on 2 of 8 shooting. He is now shooting 5 of 21 in the series, which is 23.8%.
This illustrates the main problem with the Spurs, the fact that they rely way too much on Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. If one of those three guys isn't playing well, they have a real hard time winning games because they have absolutely nobody else who can step up when needed. Now when all three of them play poorly offensively, this is when you see the Spurs getting blown out by 30 points.
I really think the Spurs need to find someone off the bench next season who can be instant offense for them. Both Michael Finley and Brent Barry are free agents next season and I expect both of them to be gone. If Corey Maggette opt out of his contract with the Clippers, he would be someone the Spurs should look at. He is instant offense and could come off the bench at the 2-guard position or he could even start since Ginobili doesn't mind coming off the bench. Another player they could look at is Ben Gordon, who would be deadly if he was getting wide open looks for the Spurs.
I know this series isn't over yet but I don't think I'm jumping the gun by talking about what the Spurs need to do next season to improve. They could win this year but they still are a team that is getting old and can't just stay put for next season if they want to compete. They need to make changes because even if it doesn't catch up with them this season, it is going to catch up with them sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be surprised to see them win both games at home, but I still think in the end that they lose this series.
The LA Lakers definitely look like the real deal right now on both offense and defense. They held the Spurs to a pathetic 34.5% from the floor and just 71 points. They were also able to outrebound the Spurs 44 to 36 because Tim Duncan has absolutely no help on the boards at all. We knew the offense was good but their defense and rebounding has been championship caliber so far in the first two games of this series and that is what is making this team look so scary right now. The great offense, which shot a ridiculous 54.9% from the floor in this game, combined with the solid defense and rebounding is making the Lakers the favorites to win the championship in my eyes right now.
The Lakers offensively were led by Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and their incredible bench. Kobe finished with 22 points on 1o of 17 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Another strong game from Bryant but quite honestly he didn't have to do much in this one. That's because of the great play of the Lakers bench who outscored Kobe in the game, finishing with 34 points, led by Jordan Farmar's 14 points. The bench also collected 17 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. If this isn't the best bench in the league then I don't know who has it.
Lamar Odom had a strong game here as well, finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. It really is great to see Odom doing well. I have always been a fan of Lamar and I think he has been underrated as far as what his talents bring to a game. He can pretty much do it all and is the perfect player for a championship caliber team like this. Odom is the main reason why when the Lakers traded for Gasol, I immediately picked to make the Finals out West because I felt his game would improve even more now that he was the third scoring option.
There isn't much to talk about for the Spurs offensively, who were pretty much horrible. Their leading scorer was Tony Parker, who had only 13 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Parker is now shooting only 13 for 30 in the series, which is 43.3%. Tim Duncan had 12 points on 6 of 14 shooting but did manage to pull down 16 rebounds. Manu Ginobili was a no-show in this game again and he finished with only 7 points on 2 of 8 shooting. He is now shooting 5 of 21 in the series, which is 23.8%.
This illustrates the main problem with the Spurs, the fact that they rely way too much on Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. If one of those three guys isn't playing well, they have a real hard time winning games because they have absolutely nobody else who can step up when needed. Now when all three of them play poorly offensively, this is when you see the Spurs getting blown out by 30 points.
I really think the Spurs need to find someone off the bench next season who can be instant offense for them. Both Michael Finley and Brent Barry are free agents next season and I expect both of them to be gone. If Corey Maggette opt out of his contract with the Clippers, he would be someone the Spurs should look at. He is instant offense and could come off the bench at the 2-guard position or he could even start since Ginobili doesn't mind coming off the bench. Another player they could look at is Ben Gordon, who would be deadly if he was getting wide open looks for the Spurs.
I know this series isn't over yet but I don't think I'm jumping the gun by talking about what the Spurs need to do next season to improve. They could win this year but they still are a team that is getting old and can't just stay put for next season if they want to compete. They need to make changes because even if it doesn't catch up with them this season, it is going to catch up with them sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be surprised to see them win both games at home, but I still think in the end that they lose this series.
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