Game 5 and Series Recap
“They’re playing desperate but they’re doing it well.” – Phil Jackson to his team during a timeout in the fourth quarter. 

That was the perfect way to summarize the Spurs’ play not only in this game but also in the entire 6 weeks of the playoffs.  The Spurs only seemed mildly confident against the Suns because they knew that they had the mental edge over such a mentally weak franchise and fan base.  A youthful Hornets team that just couldn’t keep their heads in it for 7 intense games tested them.  And a much more athletic and explosive Lakers’ team just waited for them to go into their typical offensive lulls before they decided to strike and unleash Kobe Bryant.  The Lakers had this game in hand even when they were down 17 points.  The Spurs just couldn’t keep up.

For the Lakers, they’re heading to their 29th NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.  The reason they made it back was solid bench play and Kobe Bryant.  Kobe is playing at a level that is foolishly leading people to compare him to Michael Jordan.  Kobe has been just spectacular in the playoffs so far.  Even when he has struggled with his scoring or figuring out the opposing defensive scheme, he hasn’t pressed at all.  He’s remained composed and looking to make the right play.  He’s been a facilitator until he needs to be the unrelenting scoring machine. 

This game/series was lost because of the inconsistent play of the Spurs bench and most importantly Manu Ginobili.  Michael Finley was completely useless.  Robert Horry showed his age.  Ime Udoka could have been mistaken for shaving points.  But Kobe Bryant neutralized Manu Ginobili along with the Lakers wing players.  In the Spurs only victory against the Lakers in this series, Manu scored 30 points on 9 of 15 shooting.  In the 4 losses in this series, Manu scored a total of 33 points (8.2 ppg) and shot 10 for 38 (26%).  If you’re looking for a reason that the Spurs looked so bad in this series, it’s that Manu couldn’t come within the same continent of what Kobe Bryant did for the Lakers. 

Looking forward to the NBA Finals – The Lakers look like an unstoppable force no matter what team they play.  Kobe Bryant is playing the best basketball of his Hall of Fame career.  They have one of the most versatile frontcourts with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Vlad Radmanovic.  Derek Fisher, Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar are playing as good together as any All Star point guard and their backup.  The Lakers look poised to finish off their title run that was legitimized in February when they traded for Pau. 

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Game 4 Recap
I waited until the league reviewed the final play of this game to write this recap because I had heard from a few people that the league was going to review it and make a statement about such a potentially playoff-changing no-call.  The league reviewed it and decided that it should have been a two shot foul and Brent Barry should have been sent to the line.  Here’s what I don’t understand about this process – what good does that do?  How does this help the Spurs and their fans cope with the loss when now they feel they have a legitimate gripe about being screwed by the league and its officials?  How does this justify a win for the Lakers and their fans, which will now have a tainted look at whatever success they may encounter over the next 3 weeks?  What does this do for the millions of fans and media members that just want good playoffs and not some validation to a conspiracy theory that is tired and overused like Lindsay Lohan? 

This was dumb for the league to review.  It opens up a can of worms that they are unable to deal with.  The league should have just let it go and hoped that the Spurs find a way to force a Game 7.  Now if the Spurs get the benefit of the calls in Game 5 and find a win, the Lakers fans feel they’re being screwed.  If the Spurs don’t then Spurs’ fans feel their team is being brushed away for a potential Celtics-Lakers final to re-energize a NBA Finals series that has been lackluster for the better part of a decade.  The real issue isn’t conspiracy theories or that replay needs to be a part of what NBA officials can do to get the call right.  The real issue is that the NBA officiating is so bad and inconsistent that nobody knows what to think when a play like that happens.  It’s a foul with 8:31 to go in the first quarter but not with 2.9 seconds left in the game.  It’s a foul in November but not at the end of May.  It’s a foul for a big market team and/or Kobe Bryant, but not for a small market team and/or Brent Barry.  The league needs to clearly define to the refs that the letter of the law is what needs to be followed and publicly fine them when it isn’t.  That’s the only way to help avoid situations like this. 

My take – it shouldn’t have been called a foul.  Brent Barry created the contact in my opinion by leaning into an off-balanced Fisher and I hate that players usually get that call.  Brent Barry should have tried to win the game instead of trying to get the officials to give it to him.  Even if the foul is called and the free throws are made, what happens with the Waltz that Tim Duncan did down the lane with the first half coming to a close as he dunked home a ball he caught at the three-point line but never dribbled?  The officials didn’t take that game from the Spurs.  They lost it on their own with terribly inconsistent play.  Consistency kills in this league and it goes both ways.  Quit bitching, Spurs fans. 

As for the game itself, it was quite forgettable up until the last quarter when Manu remembered he had a pair and he teamed with Brent Barry to attempt a comeback for the Spurs.  The Lakers played ugly and didn’t do anything to help them win this game.  Luckily for them, the Spurs played worse thanks to atrocious plays by Lamar Odom and Luke Walton time after time.  Ginobili was awful except for a brief stretch, Oberto and Finley were useless and Robert Horry played terribly when he usually shines.  Now the Spurs have to win in Los Angeles, which nobody has done in the playoffs this year. 

Looking forward to Game 5 – Lakers have to close out the Spurs at home.  I don’t buy this notion of the Lakers don’t have any pressure on them now.  They have a ton of pressure on them, just like the Spurs.  If the Lakers give one away in Game 5, then the Spurs not only get to go back to San Antonio to even it up, but they walk away with the confidence of winning a playoff game in L.A. with their backs against the wall (which would be helpful in Game 7).  Here are 3 things San Antonio must do in Game 5:
1) Get Manu going.  It’s this simple and you can look at the box scores of every game in this series to see the evidence that this is true – when Manu scores big, the Spurs win.  Period.
2) Hit the offensive glass.  The Spurs had just 8 offensive boards in this game and were dominated on the glass by LA.  They have to come up with plenty of second chance points, especially with the size they are able to employ inside.  Considering Robert Horry had 3 of those offensive rebounds, it shows how well the Lakers did on the defensive glass with everybody that was supposed to rebound. 
3) Time for multiples to step up.  Brent Barry stepped up huge in Game 4 but he was basically just filling in for a struggling Ginobili.  Barry, Finley, and Oberto all have to contribute close to or beyond double digit points in this game.  Otherwise, it’s Gone Fishin’ with Kenny the Jet. 
Prediction for Game 5 – Spurs come through with 4-point win

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Game 3 Recap
This just in – the Spurs are still pretty good. 

Despite every Suns’ and Lakers’ fan hoping that the Spurs are finally too old to get the job done after falling behind 0-2 to the Lakers on the road, the San Antonio Spurs reminded everybody that they didn’t win those championship rings by mailing in the tops to boxes of Count Chocula and Frankenberry’s.  They did it by being resilient in the way they approach dangerous playoff territory.  In an assumed must win game, the Spurs decided to make Kobe work and to shut down everybody else on the Lakers as they cruised to a 19-point victory.  Kobe got his 30 but had to take 23 shots to get there and only made it to the free throw line 1 time. 

For the rest of the Lakers, it looked like they decided to take a game off so they don’t get too tired for the rampant San Antonio nightlife.  Only Pau Gasol (15 points) and Jordan Farmar (10 points) managed to join Kobe in double digits for the Lakers and once again, Lamar Odom proved to be on a mission to ruin Talkhoops.net senior writer and resident Lakers’ fan, Phillip Barnett’s life in keeping the Lakers from being one win away from a Finals berth.  Odom had 11 rebounds and 6 assists but negated those with 5 turnovers, only 7 points, and shot 2 for 11 from the field.  Derek Fisher had his second terrible game of the series with just 2 points and 1 of 4 shooting.  Pau Gasol’s 15 points don’t look terrible, but when you consider it took him 18 shots to get there and only grabbed 5 rebounds (1 offensive), it doesn’t look like he had much success against Tim Duncan. 

Speaking of Tim Duncan, the future Hall of Famer once again came through with a huge game when the Spurs needed it most.  He had 22 points and 21 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists and playing great defense on Pau.  Tony Parker was able to return to Finals MVP form by scoring 20 points with relative ease.  However, the return of Manu Ginobili (it didn’t look like he played the first 2 games) proved to be the difference maker.  He had 30 points on 15 shots and continually carved up the Lakers on offense.  Manu and Duncan were simply too good as a two-man combo and were able to play off of each other perfectly.  The Spurs also had timely three-point shooting as they shot 10 of 18 from beyond the dome. 

Looking forward to Game 4 – The Lakers have the chance to be the youngest team to win an NBA title since Magic Johnson led them to the promise land as a rookie.  They also have a chance to nearly wrap this series up with a win Tuesday night in San Antonio.  You can run on the Spurs with young quick guards so if Vujacic and Farmar can come in and spark the second unit, the Spurs may not have enough legs in the second half to take Kobe’s onslaught of offense.  Three things the Lakers have to do to take a commanding 3-1 lead:
1) Kobe needs to hang out.  This is a better team when the Lakers are getting involved first and Kobe saves himself for the second half.  Kobe needs to save up his scoring for the end of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter.  Concentrate on being a playmaker early. 
2) Lamar Odom must be a force.  Phillip Barnett has repeatedly said to me that Odom is the biggest X-Factor in this series.  He’s completely right.  If Lamar is crashing the offensive boards, controlling the defensive boards and running the floor with a purpose, then he’s the hardest guy to stop. 
3) Bottle up Manu.  If you take away Manu and don’t give up three-point shots in the process then it completely befuddles the Spurs’ gameplan.  They rely on the inside-outside attack of Duncan and Ginobili and if you can take away half of that.  Then you’re in a good position to win. 
Prediction for Game 4 – Spurs win by 8

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Game 2 Recap
This seems to happen once per playoffs or even once per series to the San Antonio Spurs. 

Last year, the Suns blew out the Spurs in Game 2 of the conference semi-finals.  Two years ago, the Spurs couldn’t come close in the second game of the conference semi-finals against the Dallas Mavericks.  3 years ago, the Pistons beat the Spurs by 31 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.  At least once per playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs can’t make any shots and lose focus as a defensive unit.  That’s exactly what happened in Game 2 of this series.  The Los Angeles Lakers were fueled by their home crowd and the Game 1 comeback against the defending champs and the Spurs couldn’t match that intensity. 

By the time the second half came around, the Spurs were the old, tired, beaten-up squad that the media keeps assuming is going to fall to a younger, faster more star-studded opponent.  The Lakers pushed a 9-point halftime lead to a 17-point impending doom deficit by the time the fourth quarter came around.  Kobe helped fuel the surge by the Lakers with 9 points in the first two minutes of the third.  Then he gave way to Lamar Odom who awoke from a weed-induced walking coma to keep the lead well into double digits.  Lamar had 11 of his 20 points in the third and 5 of his 12 rebounds.  By the time the fourth quarter came along, the Spurs were far too out of sync on all facets of the game to compete with a Lakers team hungry for blood.  San Antonio shot just 6 for 21 in the fourth quarter and the Lakers took advantage of that by hitting 9 of 19 shots while making all 6 of their free throws. 

For the Lakers, nobody needed to dominate in this game and their wasn’t a need for heroics at any point.  The Lakers shot 54.9% from the field and 18 of 20 from the free throw line (90%).  They out rebounded the Spurs 44 to 36 despite grabbing just 3 offensive rebounds during this game.  Lamar Odom had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in this game.  Jordan Farmar let his confidence shine with 14 points off the bench.  Derek Fisher contributed 11 points and Pau Gasol had 10 to give the purple and gold.  This was a game that the Lakers were able to coast through in the second half while the Spurs imploded. 

For the Spurs, they shot just 34.5% from the field and only made it to the free throw line 10 times (which they made 5 of).  Only Tony Parker and Tim Duncan scored in double figures for San Antonio.  Manu Ginobili seemed to still be bothered by the torn nail on a finger on his shooting hand.  He scored just 7 points and made just 2 of 8 shots.  Michael Finley didn’t do much better by scoring 8 points on 3 of 9 shooting.  The Spurs were completely timid in the way that they attacked the Lakers defense.  The Lakers committed just 15 fouls in this game.  Remember, this tends to happen once per playoffs for these San Antonio Spurs. 

But they also tend to bounce back and win the series. 

Looking forward to Game 3 – I’m not going to regale you with Doug Collins’ keys to the game in this section like I usually do.  The Spurs have to play the opposite of the way they did in Game 2.  Plain and simple. 
Prediction for Game 3 – Spurs win by 7. 

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Game 1 Recap
I’m going to yell this statement like Stephen A. Smith yells against white players in the NBA.  It’s going to be loud. 

YOU CAN’T GIVE GAMES AWAY IN THE NBA PLAYOFFS!!!

Here’s how in the bag this game was for the Spurs last night – I was talking to Talkhoops.net senior writer, Phillip Barnett, and he was convinced that the series was over.  He figured that the Spurs were going to dominate a Lakers team that was simply unable to compete with such a juggernaut.  The Spurs were up 20, despite marginal games by Manu Ginobili, Michael Finley and Tony Parker.  The Spurs were blowing the Lakers out despite the fact that Ime Udoka took 7 shots in the game (which is about 10 more shots than he should take in any game).  Even though the Spurs’ bench had managed to only score 11 points in the game when the score was 65-45, the Spurs were still on the winning side of that score.  And then something happened:

Kobe Bryant woke up. 

Kobe had 4 points half through the third quarter when the lead finally had ballooned to 20 points.  The Lakers went on to outscore the Spurs 44 to 20 over the next 18 minutes.  The Spurs shot 5 for 29 in the final 18 minutes.  They only made 3 baskets in the fourth quarter.  They turned the ball over in the final 18 minutes roughly 280 times.  All of these faults of the Spurs may not have been so bad, had Kobe Bryant not scored 23 points in those 18 minutes.  Ime Udoka was too slow to guard him.  Bruce Bowen wasn’t strong enough.  Manu Ginobili couldn’t figure out the aerodynamics of his growing bald spot and therefore was useless in guarding Kobe.  Michael Finley (who was revealed to me by Phillip Barnett looks like Minnie Mouse) couldn’t check Kobe Bryant. 

The role players also came up huge for the Lakers to help out Kobe.  Lamar Odom played the game like he was hanging out with Method Man and Redman before tipoff.  Derek Fisher was 1 for 9 and Pau Gasol was clearly intimidated by his lack of success against Tim Duncan in the past.  So guys like Vlad Radmanovic, Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar, and Sasha Vujacic had to step up and did. 

Vlad hit all 5 of his shots played virtually mistake free basketball aside from 2 turnovers.  Jordan Farmar didn’t see Deron Williams on the court and immediately regained his confidence by scoring 8 points.  Ronny Turiaf played exceptional defense on Tim Duncan.  You can look at the 30 points and 18 rebounds that Duncan had and think that I’m crazy, but when Turiaf was in the game, Duncan struggled to produce due to Turiaf’s tenacity and strength.  Finally, Sasha Vujacic was a roller-coaster ride that ended with everybody happy.  In the first half, I was convinced that he was point shaving.  But he hit a big three in the third quarter, blocked a shot and finished the game with two clinching free throws.  These 4 guys were instrumental in this win. 

This was a game that would’ve broken the will of the Lakers.  Maybe the Spurs didn’t lose this series in Game 1 like I hypothesize the Detroit Pistons might have done on Tuesday night, but the Lakers definitely didn’t lose this series, which would’ve happened if the Spurs had stepped on the throats of the Lakers.  

Looking forward to Game 2 – The Spurs have to play the same way they did for the first 30 minutes of Game 1.  They were active on defense, opportunistic on offense and executed extremely well.  In the final 18 minutes, they allowed the Lakers’ defense to force them into mistakes and keep them from executing the way they usually do.  Here are 3 things that they need to steal Game 2:
1) Bring Manu off the bench.  There’s a reason that they brought Manu off the bench for much of the past few years.  He’s a better weapon off the bench than in the starting lineup.  I’d be shocked if Pop didn’t move him back to the bench to start Game 2 so that he can come in against the Lakers’ second unit and dominate.  Not only would this help him, it would make Michael Finley more effective in the first quarter. 
2) Get aggressive on offense. Take away Tim Duncan and the Spurs shot 7 free throws in Game 1.  The Lakers only were called for 16 fouls because the Spurs weren’t aggressive going to the basket.  Not one player on the Spurs bench went to the line and that’s embarrassing. 
3) Pick and roll with Tony Parker.  Running a pick and roll with Mr. Longoria will allow him to cut through the defense better.  If he’s able to get his floater off in the lane and drop bounce passes to Duncan in the lane then he becomes a guy LA can’t guard.  Parker has to be more aggressive in Game 2. 
Prediction for Game 2 – Spurs win by 9

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Prediction for this Series - Spurs win in 7 Games

Point Guard - Derek Fisher vs. Tony Parker
	Derek Fisher is known for the 0.4 seconds against the Spurs but what he should be known for is being the definition of a professional basketball player. Expect him to play great defense and knock down big shots.		Tony Parker is going to be the X-Factor in this series. If he can score with relative ease and run the pick and roll effectively with Tim Duncan, the Spurs attack from the back court may end up being too much for the Lakers.
Advantage - Tony Parker
Shooting Guard - Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Finley
	Kobe Bryant is the best player in basketball. He's going to be on a mission to get to his first NBA Finals without Shaq. If you think he's going to have even one game under 30, you're kidding yourself. Prepare to see a great performance by a great player.		Michael Finley doesn't have to be an All-Star type player in this game, but when he has an open three-pointer, he has to knock them down. That plus some solid defense on whoever he gets stuck guarding will be a nice addition for the Spurs.
Big Advantage - Kobe Bryant
Small Forward - Lamar Odom vs. Bruce Bowen
	Lamar Odom needs to have a big series in the WCF. He's the one player on the Lakers that the Spurs have no answer for. Nobody can guard him and he's nearly impossible to keep off the boards when he's interested.		Bruce Bowen has to do whatever he can to disrupt Kobe Bryant's rhythm. He doesn't need to hit shots or rebound. He just has to make Kobe work harder than any defender has made him work so far. That's his job in this series.
Slight Advantage - Lamar Odom
Power Forward - Vladimir Radmanovic vs. Tim Duncan
	Vlad Radmanovic may be the most irrelevant player in this series. He won't be called upon to make a lot of shots. He just has to give 20 minutes of no mistake basketball.		Tim Duncan usually handles Pau Gasol very easily. He can't have any games like he did against David West. If Tim Duncan doesn't dominate his position in this series, the Spurs are in serious trouble.
Advantage - Tim Duncan
Center - Pau Gasol vs. Fabrico Oberto
	Pau Gasol has to have a very efficient and effective series. He's going to get his 20 and 10, but he needs 5 assists and has to play great defense on Tim Duncan. It's time for the trade to really pay off.		Oberto isn't going to play as much as Kurt Thomas in this series, but he's going to start the games out on Pau Gasol and he has to keep him off the offensive boards. If he gets abused on the boards, then he's going to see little to no time.
Advantage - Pau Gasol
Lakers' Bench vs. Spurs' Bench
	Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, and Sasha Vujacic are three players that can get out in transition for LA and run the Spurs bench to death. These three have to knock down shots and keep the pace frantic against San Antonio.		Manu Ginobili can be as effective for San Antonio as Kobe Bryant is for the Lakers. And Kobe Bryant knows it. Kobe's defense against Manu's unpredictable offense is the matchup of the series. Kurt Thomas must play great defense on Pau and Ime Udoka can't mess up.
Advantage - Lakers Bench
Coaching - Phil Jackson vs. Gregg Popovich
	Phil Jackson is only challenged in the past decade by Gregg Popovich in terms of success and possibly coaching ability. Phil will pull out every stop to work the refs and try to get under the skin of the Spurs and their fans.		Pop is THE best coach in this league and the Hornets series showed it. They struggled to keep pace and played poorly throughout. But Pop wouldn't let them give away a home game and came up with a great defense game plan for Game 7. That's why has 4 rings.
Advantage - Everybody watching the coaching in the ECF then switches to this series