Tag: L.A.

Another look at the Lakers/Spurs matchup

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.

Vegas likes Lakers, Heat for NBA title

Las Vegas has spoken.

The Los Angeles Lakers, augmented by the additions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, and the defending champion Miami Heat are the consensus favorites to lift the 2012-13 championship. The odds vary from book to book, but the — home to Sin City’s largest gambling operation — puts L.A.’s odds at 5-2 and Miami’s at 9-4, followed by Oklahoma City at 9-2.

The Spurs? Either a huge insult or a great value at a paltry 10-1. likes their chances even less, giving them 18-1 behind seven other teams. Take solace, Spurs fans. At least one had Dallas as a 15-1 underdog when it won the championship in 2010-11.

Manu erupts for historically strong playoff game

Manu Ginobili single-handedly did all he could Monday to try pushing the Spurs to a victory in Game 5 against Oklahoma City.

It wasn’t enough.

Ginobili erupted for 34 points to mark his second-highest career scoring game in the Spurs’ 108-103 loss to the Thunder. It was topped only by his 39-point effort against Seattle on May 17, 2005.

“I just wanted to get on the court, do what I can do to help the team win and that’s it,” Ginobili said. “I knew with me starting, I had the possibility to play more minutes. So I knew I had to be ready for that.”

He did all that and much more as he added six rebounds, a team-high seven assists and two steals.

Here’s a look at Ginobili’s top playoff scoring games.

Date                Opponent                   Pts.                Result

5-17-05         Seattle                          39                W  103-90                     *

6-4-12           Oklahoma City            34                 L   103-108                   *

4-27-11         Memphis                      33                 W  110-103 (OT)         *

5-18-07        Phoenix                         33                W   114-106 

4-25-06       Sacramento                  32                 W   128-119 (OT)         *

4-30-05       @ Denver                      32                 W     86-78

5-8-08          New Orleans                31                  W   110-99                   *

5-25-08        L.A. Lakers                  30                  W  103-84       

5-19-06        @ Dallas                       30                  W     91-86                   *

* – Indicates games where Ginobili started