ESPN’s Land O’ Lakers blog hosted Tim Varner from , one of the many fine sites following the Spurs (present company excluded, of course), for a quick and informative of how the Silver and Black match up with the new-look Lakers.
A brief synopsis: Not especially well. Not only should the addition of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash bump the Spurs below the Lakers and Oklahoma City in the Western Conference pecking order, L.A.’s acquisition of a dominant center just happens to match up with one of San Antonio’s biggest weaknesses, interior size.
The consensus solution? Double down on their offensive emphasis and try to run-and-gun the Lakers to death. (Not literally, of course; that would be against league rules.) In other words, why waste time trying to match up with Howard and Pau Gasol, when they can play to their own strengths, namely shooting and mass offensive firepower?
It’s an interesting topic that is guaranteed to be a season-long source of scrutiny and debate during the upcoming campaign. And as a recent e-mail reminded me, the Spurs have been counted out so many times over the years, why should this season be any different?
Indeed.