Worthy of Your Attention
OK, so we didn’t get the “fun” matchup that everyone seemed to want in the Western Conference Finals. New Orleans vs. L.A. for the crown out West is still a year or two away. Regardless, the matchup that we did get has all of the makings of a classic.
The Spurs are old, they’re universally hated (which I still don’t quite get; must we hate all that bores us?), and unless someone proves otherwise, they remain the team to beat. The Lakers, meanwhile, are in the midst of a surreal season (even by their standards), and their biggest rival of the last decade stands between them and a return to the NBA Finals.
The storylines between these two old foes will be hashed and re-hashed ad nauseam throughout the series, so let me spare you for now. Instead, let’s focus on the matchups. Talent-wise, you could make the argument that the Lakers have more of it, but in terms of experience, the edge has to go to San Antonio.
Game One jumps off from Staples tonight, and much like last night’s game in Boston, it’ll be interesting to see who’s more ready to play: the team coming off an emotional and grueling win, or the one that’s been kicking back and relaxing for days.
66 Responses to “Worthy of Your Attention”
May.21 at 3:04 pm
ciolkstar says:
FIRST! SPURS in 7!
May.21 at 3:04 pm
ciolkstar says:
FIRST! SPURS in 7!
May.21 at 3:04 pm
ciolkstar says:
FIRST! SPURS in 7!
May.21 at 3:08 pm
ciolkstar says:
Sorry. Basketball fans are lucky that NO didn’t advance - I’m not sure they would’ve fared well against LA. Who guards Kobe? Mo Pete? Peja?…maybe Julian Wright…
May.21 at 3:11 pm
ciolkstar says:
The only things I worry about is an efficient Kobe, easy buckets for Pau, and their potentially explosive bench. But the Spurs have been playing against much tougher teams so far in the playoffs ( I know, Utah never loses at home. But they also don’t win on the road.)
May.21 at 3:15 pm
Bubba Chuck says:
I hate both them. I hope boston or detroit kicks la or san antonios ass in tha finals
May.21 at 3:19 pm
shakey handle says:
Get up, get up, get busy do it
Get up and move that body
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
Get up, get up, get busy do it
I wanna see you party
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
May.21 at 3:27 pm
vtrobot says:
I can’t believe I’m rooting for the Lakeshow. The Spurs aren’t hated because they’re boring. They’re hated because Bowen is a dirty kicker. Duncan hugs balls too much and honestly thinks he’s never committed a foul in his life. Tony is French and Eva is way more overrated than Bron. Not too much to hate about Manu but he flops a lot and the bald spot is probably annoying folks on a regular basis. Oberto with the soccer-style shoe string head band. Horry is hated because of all the hearts he’s broken. Etc. Etc.
May.21 at 3:36 pm
Tom says:
pe-pe leParker will be the biggest factor in this series, neither Fisher or Farmar can stick with him. Hopefully Fisher can get him into commiting some cheap fouls. Speaking of Farmar, he definitely needs to step his game up for LA to win this series.
May.21 at 3:44 pm
Joe Mama says:
Spurs game plan: let kobe score. let odom rebound. let pau cry. let ronnie keep role as Kobe’s ladyfriend.
The bench mob is as young as The Mailman’s taste in women. (well, not that young) No experience!
Spurs in six. Easy.
May.21 at 3:46 pm
Silky Slim says:
@vtrobot: King James is not overrated. Dude, are you Deshawn Stevenson’s ghostwriter?
May.21 at 3:51 pm
Silky Slim says:
Bowen vs Mamba is going to be fun to watch. Duncan vs Gasol will be interesting to see, but I think Oberto will be checking Gasol. Duncan will probably check Gasol, at times.
May.21 at 3:53 pm
Silky Slim says:
Odom has got to show up, ready to play. Manu is going to get his. Parker vs Fisher is the key matchup. Whichever team controls the tempo of the game will win. If the Lakeshow can get up and down the court, they will win. If it’s a half court game, the Spurs will win.
May.21 at 4:04 pm
albie1kenobi says:
lakers will have answer for spurs’ big 3, and the biggest advantage that the spurs had the first two rounds was popovich, and he’ll have his match in the zen master. so the difference maker of the series is odom. spurs have a slight advantage of experience as a team, but i really think odom’s impact will be greater by the time the series end.
May.21 at 4:05 pm
marcgar says:
bowen and kobe will be fun to watch but the games going to come down to parker and ginobili getting to the basket and pau being limited by duncan or oberto. kobes going to get his and odum i feel will only have a few good games not a great series. spurs in 6.
May.21 at 4:42 pm
Mario says:
It doesn’t help when you call great execution “boring.” Tiger Woods has great execution in golf, but he’s not ‘boring’ in the same way. Perhaps if more sports writers reinforced the notion of playing the game the way it was intended, more people would recognize the excellence of the Spurs game.
May.21 at 5:58 pm
Bigi says:
Kobe Bryant.
May.21 at 6:03 pm
noel says:
kobe!!!!!!!!!!!
May.21 at 6:19 pm
ciolkstar says:
JoeMama with the burn on Malone! I likes it.
May.21 at 6:21 pm
ciolkstar says:
Is silkly slim Doris Burke? the word “check” is not interchangeable with “guard” and please don’t use it in multiple sentences/phrases in a row.
May.21 at 6:24 pm
ciolkstar says:
I’m surprised the Lakeshow bandwagon mob isn’t on this post howling “Lakers in 6″ Real talk, either team can win the series. I just hope Kobe tries to do it by himself or that the Laker role players can’t step up as well as the Spurs’.
May.21 at 6:29 pm
RedRum says:
here we go with the boring thing again… so which team in the playoffs is exciting? Cavs? Celtics? Utah? who? have you seen them play? Ugly bball, no passing, no system nothing. I like the Spurs, but I think the Lakers will go through, especially if the Celtics seem to go through. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, but a Celtics-Lakers final is too much money to be missed. I am expecting the refs to do their job well, similarly with that infamous Kings-Lakers series.. Anyway, it seems that this Spurs-LA series will be one for the ages
May.21 at 6:37 pm
WhaHuh says:
Manchester United= Champions
May.21 at 6:42 pm
Diogo says:
Manu is a pain in the ass. The guy is too good when he wants to, which is often. Laker’s bench is weak. But, no one in SA is as God-like as Bryant, so he could win it by sheer will. That last sentence makes about zero sense, and has a probability of, maybe, 25% of happening. Still, I root for the Lakers because I hated Kobe so much I turned over to the other side; — how can you NOT love this guy’s basketball (f*ck his persona, I’m not married to him) — Lakers in 7. Painstaking seven.
May.21 at 6:47 pm
Diogo says:
On a side note: the Spurs aren’t boring. They play excellent basketball. If you want showmanship, buy a Mixtape. I think the reason people hate them are a) the players; b) they don’t play the regular “American-style” basketball (dunks, lousy defense, and stuff); c) All together, they represent as many nations as the UN.
May.21 at 8:16 pm
Jackie Moon says:
Kobe Mufuhin Bryant
May.21 at 8:25 pm
Krishan says:
“Must we hate all that bores us?” Yes, marcel. Yes we must.
May.21 at 8:29 pm
zamhar says:
UNITED!!! UNITED!!! UNITED!!!
Whahuh! Campione! Campione! Ole, ole, ole!!!
May.21 at 8:56 pm
rav says:
cristiano ronaldo is the luckiest choker EVER
May.21 at 8:59 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
This should have been called “James Worthy of Your Attention.”
May.21 at 9:36 pm
RedRum says:
baddum tish!
May.21 at 10:02 pm
Dacre says:
BOWEN A DIRTY KICKER>>>> That was an awesome comment!
May.21 at 10:03 pm
Dacre says:
RUSS:::::
Or…Hardly Worthy Of Your Attention…?
RUSS:
Who’s winning out west this year?
May.21 at 10:32 pm
franko says:
Manu Always plays at the top vs Lakers. remember that pass between the legs of kobe?
no?
type you tube so!
and then watch the best player on the floor!
my word
from deep south America
May.21 at 11:05 pm
Gerard Himself says:
the best player on the floor franko? Manu is great, but he’s nowhere near the defender Bryant is. I hope you do realize that. No, I’m not hating, but you should know better.
May.21 at 11:51 pm
mutoni says:
you know, this laker team ain’t half bad.
May.22 at 12:26 am
RV says:
i was pretty damn close yesterday:RV says:
Lakers-spurs is a tough call, i don’t expect the Lakers to score like crazy against the spurs D, so that means the score will be in the low 90s, which helps the spurs, but i feel like LA will tire them out and can force a bucket when they really want to so the spurs may run out of gas late in games.
May.22 at 12:28 am
Logan says:
Kobe just owned the second half…..great win and a good confidence boost for the young Laker team. Fish needs to get his shot back….however with Manu having a bad game, it kind of negated it…Odom, please finish those layups!!!
May.22 at 12:48 am
Holly MacKenzie says:
Oh baby what a birthday gift. Truly. I am over the freaking MOON. My boys put on a show and somehow managed to wake up in time. Wow. From 20 down to up 1-0. Now we’ve gotta regroup and get game two. Take care of business at home. Lets go Lakeshow. Yeahh the bench mob is BACK.
May.22 at 12:56 am
Bigi says:
Nice W Lakers!This was the Spurs to take.I mean they were on a groove for the first half then they fell a sleep like Ross with that Rachel’s letter…Big,big,big win for the Lakeshow!The Spurs are in trouble if the rest of the boyz(Gasol & Odom stand up!)wakes up for Game 2.Intresting.So Intresting…
May.22 at 12:59 am
Logan says:
oh Happy Birthday Holly! hope you have a great day and year ahead!
May.22 at 1:01 am
Logan says:
yeah Odom was getting to the rim but missing the finish..he needs to dunk one of those layups to get him going again. Gasol played well considering his game is more finesse than strength. That baseline move was great but he needs to finish stronger though….and Kobe…well this was just an amazing game from him. I think in the first he was just getting a read of the game…..and then took over….great win.
May.22 at 1:05 am
Logan says:
I am sure many of you have already seen this but for those who have not, a great slideshow by LA Times showing the evolution of Kobe.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-kobeyears-pg,1,6838720.photogallery?track=rss
May.22 at 1:43 am
Alex says:
Most likely a useless observation, but I was intrigued: Kobe started the game wearing a spiffy new PE of the Hyperdunks, but came out in a pair of ZKIII’s for his monstrous second half. Perhaps the Hyperdunks were just too light and ridiculous.
May.22 at 2:06 am
elerie says:
well i think kb24 is going to get his regardless of any defensive sceem the spurs try to cook up but I don’t think it is vital for Kobe to have a big scoring effort in the series just because he has a stronger supporting cast but as many of you guys said before it is going to be up to Lamar odom to have a big series and I think he can because neither oberto or Duncan can stick him on the perimeter so I expect horry to play big minutes this series because he might be the only player with size on the roster that has some lateral speed on the perimeter to stick with odom so he should really feast. Timmy is going to get his because gasol dosent have the strenght inside to contain him but I think that because of the lack of shooters on the floor for the spurs we should see a heavy dose of double teaming timmy all series long. I really like the versatility that gasol brings to the lakers because he really is a smart player with great passing ability and that will ultimatly translate for open shots for fisher and radmonovich. The lakers have great shooting good inside play and the best player in the series even though the spurs have more experience and a good floor general with a formidable 2 guard and the best power foward arguarbly in the history of the game the cant match up with the lakers and I think it goes 6 with a thrilling game six win by the lakeshow in Texas.
May.22 at 2:14 am
tealish says:
lol RV, that was actually pretty spot on. I can’t believe the Spurs of all teams, could not close that win out. Kobe was great in the second half, but you can’t say he took over and won it for the Lakers. Obviously, he was huge but it had more to do with San Antonio running out of fumes. What, 13 points in the 4th? Come on, now. I don’t see Lakers winning both at LA, though.
May.22 at 2:45 am
Reggie Evans says:
That was one for the history books.
May.22 at 3:50 am
Bigi says:
Did Kob change shoes in the half…Hyperdunks not workin’ for Mr.24.You can jump over cars but not win the Spurs…
May.22 at 3:51 am
Bigi says:
with Hyperdunks…
May.22 at 8:47 am
riggs says:
im pretty sure kobe reminded himself during halftime that i was hollys bday.
May.22 at 8:47 am
riggs says:
it** dammit.
May.22 at 9:10 am
marcgar says:
damn great game to watch. i’m mad that the spurs lost but i knew that was going to happen to the spurs. after watching last nights game i still feel the spurs will take it in 6
May.22 at 9:26 am
whitewater says:
The pistons will have no choice but to win. Its been to long seince `they won a chip’ Com’on Detroit show Big Ben we still got it!!!
May.22 at 11:09 am
Holly MacKenzie says:
I will take full credit for Kobe’s ridiculous second half. Boy is brilliant on the basketball court. That game was something.
May.22 at 11:11 am
ciolkstar says:
The Spurs gave that one away. The Lakers best chance to win this series is to double Tim and hope our shooters stay this cold. And anyone who said gasol could guard Timmy 1 on 1 can tell me if they still believe that. The Lakers better not let their guard down though, they were halfway out the door last night…
May.22 at 12:09 pm
B. Long says:
We’ll let Timmy get his as long as Manu avg. 10 pts. a game for the series we’re good. Kobe is the most clutch player in the history of the NBA. No one else that I’ve seen can just turn it on in the nick of time and dominate like that. Bench Mob played lights out too.
May.22 at 12:50 pm
vtrobot says:
@ silky slim - I know that Bron isn’t overrated. I was making a joke about all that recent silly talk. Eva is overrated though.
May.22 at 1:08 pm
marcgar says:
kobe didnt dominate the game what so ever. ya he made some clutch shots but the way the lakers won is the way spurs win. they won as a team. everyone contributed some how. and kobe was a big part of makeing the team do that.
May.22 at 1:44 pm
Jackie Moon says:
Why is it so hard for Spurs fans to admit that the better team won?
May.22 at 2:04 pm
B. Long says:
@marcgar: Saying Kobe dominated doesn’t mean that he didn’t play team ball or that he was just out there gunning away. He dominated by making great decisions on when to attack and also resurrected Pau with some beautiful passes and just overall made the entire team better in the second half. Its a diffrent kind of Killa Kob than we’re used to.
May.22 at 2:07 pm
marcgar says:
i didnt say the better team didnt win i said kobe didnt have a “dominating” performance as so many of you would like to claim. as i said they won like the spurs usually win, as a team. its great basketball being played. but for some reason to you its only great basketball when the lakers play that kind of basketball and not when the spurs do
May.22 at 2:14 pm
marcgar says:
B.long: i totally agree. and as much as i hate to say it i like watching this new kobe play. he’s made this team… a team. something shaq would never have been able to do. if the lakers beat my spurs i wont be mad. this series is gonna be great. what more can you ask for? this is a 10 year rivalry
May.22 at 2:21 pm
B. Long says:
@marcgar: Congrats, your the first Spurs fan to ever earn my respect. You should feel honored. That being said, Lakers in 5.
May.22 at 2:38 pm
marcgar says:
B.long: i’m just real about it. and ofcourse i have to say, spurs in 6
May.22 at 5:30 pm
Franko says:
to GERARD HIMSELF: MANU is Best than KOBE.
please, dont buy that easy and cheap “MVP glamour” check stats, check RINGS, check internacional championships.
he plays for the team the other guy…
is selfish
puaj
May.22 at 6:39 pm
B. Long says:
Is there anyway too block a blogger for sheer ludacrisy? (Cough,Franko,Cough)