Preview: Western Conference Semifinals Game 2 Lakers @ Spurs 5/5/04 (TNT)

Discussion in 'San Antonio Spurs' started by Emo, May 3, 2004.

  1. Emo

    Emo Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2003
    Messages:
    1,710
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    <div align="center"><font color="Purple"><font size="5">WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS GAME 2</font></font></div>

    <font color="Gray"><font size="4"><div align="center">San Antonio Spurs </div> </font> </font> <font size="4"><div align="center">lead the series 1-0</div></font>
    <div align="center">[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]</div>
    <div align="center"><font color="Purple">Los Angeles Lakers </font> @ <font color="Gray"> San Antonio Spurs </font> </div>
    <div align="center">Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
    Location: SBC Center
    TV: TNT</div>


    Head Coaches:
    [​IMG] [​IMG] Phil Jackson/Gregg Popovich

    <u>Probable Game 2 Starting Lineups:</u>

    [​IMG] [​IMG] Gary Payton/Tony Parker
    [​IMG] [​IMG] Kobe Bryant/Bruce Bowen
    [​IMG] [​IMG] Devean George/Hedo Turkoglu
    [​IMG] [​IMG] Karl Malone/Tim Duncan
    [​IMG] [​IMG] Shaquille O'Neal/Rasho Nesterovic

    Sixth Men
    [​IMG] [​IMG] Derek Fisher/Emanuel Ginobili

    Injury Report

    [​IMG]
    No injuries to report

    [​IMG]
    No injuries to report

    <u>Laker_Fever's Game 2 Prediction Matchups:</u>

    <u>Point Guards</u>
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Tony Parker yesterday afternoon in Game 1 had his way with Gary all afternoon long. He embarrassed, humilated, trashed, outplayed, and just absolutely made Gary look like a has-been player. Tony has to set the tempo, and I mean be very vocal with his teammates directing them where to go and how to set up their offense on every possession. He did an excellent job in Game 1 putting the Laker defense on their toes all afternoon. Another key advantage for Tony Parker is speed and quickness. Tony understands and realizes that Gary has lost huge steps in his legs and that he really can't stay with him. So at the top of the key, he can simply just breeze past him, penetrate on him all evening, and soon enough it'll come to the point when Gary will just ticky-tac foul and trashtalk him to death. As for Gary Payton, he'll really have to get going. Us Laker fans haven't seen him contribute much or anything in this 2004 playoffs. In order for him to establish confidence in himself, teammates, and coaches he's going to have to start hitting shots. And I'm not talking about shots where he penetrates from the top of the key, and attempts those ridiculous looking turnaround jumpshots, I'm talking about getting himself isolated with Parker in the low post, and spinning to his left and attempting layups. It's his only option he has since his jumpshots aren't falling for him. If Gary Pyton fails for 24 minutes in a single half, expect Phil to bench him and have Fisher take all his minutes in the second half.
    Advantage Wednesday: Spurs

    <u>Shooting Guards</u>
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    As I look at the boxscore for Bruce Bowen, it says he only took seven field goal attempts and only made two. I'm sure Popovich doesn't mind about that because he knows that Bowen is one of, or if not the best, defender in the NBA. To me, he's one of the guys that can really frustrate, disrupt, and harass Kobe Bryant on any given night. If Bowen gets his defense going consistently, and really gets under Kobe's skin which he tends to do a lot, then he'll really put a hold on the Laker offense and give tremendous confidence for his team throughout the game. About his two of seven performance in Game 1, he's not sweating it. Because he knows when he's open he can really light it up from the perimeter. He's one of the best perimeter shooters in the league, and if there's nobody home to put a hand in his face to disrupt his shot, then there will absolutely be no hope for LA in this one. As for Kobe Bryant, he really looks forward to the challenges of facing Bowen, as you can clearly tell by his Game 1 performance. Scoring 31 points on 10/26 shooting. But at times he can be very selfish when they go toe to toe. He always wants to show him who's boss, and he allows his ego to take over himself. There's nothing wrong with trying to keep your team in the game by getting hot and scoring a significant number of points, but when Bowen is playing an aggressive style of defense, you have to give up the rock sometimes and distribute to your teammates. Also, Kobe would have to do a better job by penetrating to the basket. If he can somehow find a way to drive past Bowen and create tons of contact and get to the free throw line, it would really help the Lakers out in a tremendous way.
    Advantage Wednesday: Lakers

    <u>Small Forwards</u>
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Looks like a key problem for the Spurs in this position. Hedo Turkoglu, coming from Sacramento, a lot of people said since he's from there he wouldn't be that much of a defender, were very mistaken. This guy can lock down on anybody on any given night. Although, I'm sure Popovich is worried about his offensive production Sunday afternoon in which he went 0-6 from the field. Devean George loves playing in the shadow of the Big Four, and he did shoot the ball well in Game 1, going 2/2 from the field, but the big question is can he continue to maintain this offensive consistency? The Lakers besides Kobe in Game 1 have been shooting terribly from the field, so if Devean can get it going once again from the outside, the Lakers will be in good shape.
    Advantage Wednesday: Lakers

    <u>Power Forwards</u>
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Their ultimate weapon. This two time MVP can kill you with his inside game, and with his outside game in which he simply shoots that jumper off the glass. Karl Malone had huge difficulty finding a way to disrupt his offensive tactics, and he didn't stand a chance. Tim Duncan loves the isolation with Karl because he knows he can simply dominate over him at any given time when he has the ball in his hands. He has excellent athletic ability, and if the Lakers don't think about double teaming this man, then the Lakers can definitely go home with a 2-0 deficit heading home to Los Angeles. For Karl Malone, it's pretty simple. He has to get into the gym early and practice those 18 footers because they were not falling yesterday afternoon. Just a bunch of clanks off the rim when normally 75% of the time, he'd hit those trademark shots. And if his attempts continue to decline, he'd just have to use his excellent passing ability to his advantage and look for cutting teammates that are slipping under the Spurs' defense to the basket. It wouldn't hurt if he'd distribute assists rather than forcing up tough shots that he committed in Game 1.
    Advantage Wednesday: Spurs

    <u>Centers</u>
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    I know when you look at this matchup, you may think that Rasho Nesterovic doesn't stand a chance against Shaq, but he clearly has some weapons that very few know about. He's a decent medium mid-range shooter, a decent shot blocker, and solid defender. Rasho may have a chance against Shaq because Shaq hasn't been his dominant self that we thought he still is. He's not hitting his free throws, and if Rasho wants to foul him intentionally, and Shaq goes to the line and bricks two free throws, then immediately all the confidence goes directly to Rasho. Shaquille O'Neal has to live up to his Diesel nickname and use his strength and agility to get to the basket. It's very frustrating when he stands around like a stick, and receives the ball in the low post, and doesn't back Rasho down in the post. When you look at weight differences, Shaq should easily be able to have his way with Rasho all night. Secondly, Shaq must hit his free throws. It's becoming very much of a big liability for him. He must bend those big knees of his and put some ball rotation on that basketball rather than just flinging it to the basket. As his horrendous free throw shooting suffers, the team suffers because without points from him being the #1 priority that teams love to foul, and with the Spurs scoring points on their end of the court, how will the Lakers stay in this ballgame?
    Advantage Wednesday: Lakers

    <div align="center">Players To Watch Game 2
    [​IMG] [​IMG]</div>

    <div align="center">Kobe Bryant & Tony Parker</div>

    <div align="center">Bryant: 25.5 pts, 5.50 rebs, 5.8 assists, 1.72 steals
    Parker: 20.8 pts, 3.20 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 0.81 steals</div>


    Laker Fever's Prediction

    The Spurs are the world champions, and they would love to put the Lakers in a 2-0 hole heading to Los Angeles for a Game 3. However, the Lakers understand and realize that if they are focused and hungry to win a title (especially Gary Payton and Karl Malone) this game Wednesday evening is a must win if they want to compete in this series. Pretty much I have this game as a do or die for the Los Angeles Lakers. This game will be very close coming down to the wire, but I'm going with the Lakers by 2.
     
  2. ICED T

    ICED T JBB JustBBall Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Messages:
    129
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I'm going to say total domination by the lakers, Kobe will score another 30 something points and the lakers will win by 10-15 points.
     
  3. Kobe=DaMAN

    Kobe=DaMAN JBB JustBBall Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2004
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    great review as usual. I think that shaq freethrow shooting is holding the Lakers back if he can't pound Rasho into the paint for two then y feed him the ball? He cries about the ref's but he isn't playin anything like the shaq if the past years. hell he isn't playin like the shaq of last year. Kobe is tryin hard to keep his team in games but hes finidng out he can't do it by his self.

    Lakers by 5
     
  4. ICED T

    ICED T JBB JustBBall Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Messages:
    129
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I agree with that, the whole team needs to step up!
     
  5. Rudeezy

    Rudeezy JBB Senior *********

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2003
    Messages:
    6,037
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    I see the Lakers playing a better game than they did in Game one but the Spurs will pul ahead in the end with their stellar defense. Spurs by 8.
     
  6. mike18946

    mike18946 JBB

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2003
    Messages:
    11,111
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Great defense should pull through again

    Anyone catch Barkley on TNT tonight? Said Spurs are a lock to win the series and it all

    Sounds about right to me.
     
  7. Rave

    Rave JBB JustBBall Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2003
    Messages:
    1,883
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Great analysis, it's hard to believe George outplayed Turgokolu. The only way that the Lakers stand a chance, is if Shaq plays his best out there. He's virtually unstoppable. It's sad seeing Parker take Glove to school.
     
  8. Rudeezy

    Rudeezy JBB Senior *********

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2003
    Messages:
    6,037
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Magic Johnson:</div><div class="quote_post">It's sad seeing Parker take Glove to school.</div>Not sad at all. Its actually humorous. [​IMG]
     
  9. Karma

    Karma The Will Must Be Stronger Than The Skill

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2003
    Messages:
    2,221
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    gary's time is up...Tony parker is the wave of the future [​IMG]

    prediction: Spurs by 5...

    Lakers need to play CONSISTENT if they want to even have a chance at winning....playing good one out of 4 quarters wont cut it against defending champs

    ...wake up GP
     
  10. Rudeezy

    Rudeezy JBB Senior *********

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2003
    Messages:
    6,037
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Absolute DOMINATION by the Spurs in the first quarter. I am really suprised. I thought the Lakers were come into game 2 strong. The Spurs are playing amazing defense and they are having their way on offense.

    Tony Parker is unguardable. The Lakers simply have no answer for him. He has 16 points in the first quarter and the Lakers as a team have only 17!

    The Lakers better get it together or this series will be over tonight.

    33-17 after one.

    This series is OVER.
     
  11. Vyper

    Vyper -Vintage '73-

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2003
    Messages:
    6,180
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Occupation:
    jaded corporate lackey
    Location:
    Carbondale,Il
    <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">Tony Parker is unguardable. The Lakers simply have no answer for him. He has 16 points in the first quarter and the Lakers as a team have only 17!.</div>

    For real. Gary Payton looks ancient out there..he didn't lose a step he lost two.....we all seen his decline comin' last year but he fell off alot more than I would thought.
     
  12. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2003
    Messages:
    3,648
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Another great game by the Spurs, especially Tony Parker. He is making Gary Payton look stupid out there, and Tim Duncan isn't exactly doing Karl Malone any favours. They still can play better though, they got out rebounded 33-42. The Lakers went 7-18 from the FT line, and if they had shot better from the line they would of had change the complexity of the game. But the Spurs defintely deserved this one, and right now look like they can't be beaten.
     
  13. B.e.

    B.e. The One Who Score Touchdowns and Spikes Mics

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2003
    Messages:
    5,728
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    The only reason the Spurs are winning this series so far is obviously because of Tony Parker.The Lakers need to find a way to get the ball out of his hands like double teaming him and pressing him but right now they are just letting him do what he wants.
     
  14. mike18946

    mike18946 JBB

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2003
    Messages:
    11,111
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Spurs now up 2-0

    Another huge performance from Tony Parker, 30 points on 12-22 shooting with 5 assists. The huge first quarter set the tone. To L.A's credit made a strong comeback and made it a tense affair. I think last years Spurs team would of meltdown after losing that lead but they stayed forced and weathered the storm and made key plays in the last 5 minutes to steal the game. Big props to Hedo for that big three-pointer which pulled the lead out from 2 to 5. Gary Payton again got dominated, It looked like GP was going to be effective when he started the 3rd quarter strong by trying to post up and take it to Parker but It didn't last too long.

    Also surprised to see Duncan shoot so well from the line, really kept S.A with a good lead heading into the half.

    However they always seem to come out flat after the break, they certainly need to work on that as you can't afford to lose such a huge lead into a playoff series like this and not against L.A who have dangerous players who can swipe out a lead in the space of minutes, which is what happened. Spurs stayed focused and got the ball into the post, moved the ball well and attacked the rim when there was an opening.

    That move Parker pulled on George was simply sick, get the guy an icepack

    All the pressure is on L.A now, 0-2 going back to L.A

    All Spurs need to do is win 1 of 2 in L.A and this series is over

    Which is what I expect to happen.
     
  15. nodisc

    nodisc JBB JustBBall Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2004
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Well everyone the spurs won last night again so are they the next champs or will the lakers take them down at home
     
  16. InNETSweTrust

    InNETSweTrust JBB Philippines' Finest

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2003
    Messages:
    2,716
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    As I've said all season long, no chance that the Lakers are winning a series over the Spurs. Bowen is doing a good job on Kobe and no one out there can guard Parker. Certainly not Glove, and definitely not Fisher.


    I agree about the Parker move. Woah!
     
  17. Rudeezy

    Rudeezy JBB Senior *********

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2003
    Messages:
    6,037
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    The problem with the Lakers is that they feel as though they can turn it on whenever they want and it has worked in the past...until they ran into Parker, Manu, and TD last year. This team is too good defensively and they know how to hold a lead.

    I remember some Lakers fans were suggesting Jackson put George on Parker....LOL
     

Share This Page