Posted:
#1
As
it's been said many times before, this is shaping up exactly as the
series against New Orleans for the Spurs. Both games on the road they
looked like crap, and we all sat here and wrote off the Spurs as being
too old, too slow, and unable to keep up with the MVP play of Chris
Paul.
What happens when they return to San Antonio? Popovich makes the necessary adjustments, Bruce Bowen shuts down the best player, Tony Parker sees Eva in the crowd and gets excited again, and the Spurs play championship basketball. Last night some of us were asking WHAT HAS CHANGED as far as the Celtics winning on the road, but something HAD changed. This game, nothing has changed...the Spurs are still undefeated at home in the playoffs.
The Lakers went into San Antonio twice this year, and lost by double digits in both. The first game in November, the Spurs dominated the game from start to finish, forcing 19 turnovers to win by 15 points despite Duncan shooting only 2-13 from the field. The second meeting in San Antonio, the Lakers jumped out to an early 13 point lead, before getting run over in the 3rd quarter behind great team defense. The Lakers ended up losing the game by 12 points.
There were two reasons why the Spurs dominated those two games against the Lakers. They are the same reasons they have won most of their home games this playoff season. Turnovers and 3-point shooting. They forced 41 turnovers in the two home games vs. the Lakers, and shot 24-50 from 3 (48%). Compare that with the first two games of this series where they only shot 11-43 on 3-pointers (25%) and have only forced 24 turnovers in the 2 games. You go through all the home wins and compare that with the road losses and you will see the same trends. The Spurs shoot the shit out of the ball at home, and force a lot more turnovers. They were able to easily win both home games against the Lakers during the regular season, despite getting no production out of Duncan in one game, and Ginobili in the other (12 points).
I am staying away from the first half line here as both games in San Antonio had completely different results...Spurs up by 10 and Lakers up by 10. Will wait until Game 4 to hit up that money machine. I don't think there is any way you can go against the defending champs at home in this game. Just keep telling yourself that the YOUNGER, FRESHER, Lakers will run all over the OLDER, SLOWER Spurs in this game. You might want to ask the Hornets how they feel about that.
San Antonio -5.5
UNDER 193.5
Lakers Team Total UNDER 93.5
Manu Ginobili OVER 19 points
Prediction:
Spurs 46 Lakers 42 Halftime
Spurs 99 Lakers 86 Final
What happens when they return to San Antonio? Popovich makes the necessary adjustments, Bruce Bowen shuts down the best player, Tony Parker sees Eva in the crowd and gets excited again, and the Spurs play championship basketball. Last night some of us were asking WHAT HAS CHANGED as far as the Celtics winning on the road, but something HAD changed. This game, nothing has changed...the Spurs are still undefeated at home in the playoffs.
The Lakers went into San Antonio twice this year, and lost by double digits in both. The first game in November, the Spurs dominated the game from start to finish, forcing 19 turnovers to win by 15 points despite Duncan shooting only 2-13 from the field. The second meeting in San Antonio, the Lakers jumped out to an early 13 point lead, before getting run over in the 3rd quarter behind great team defense. The Lakers ended up losing the game by 12 points.
There were two reasons why the Spurs dominated those two games against the Lakers. They are the same reasons they have won most of their home games this playoff season. Turnovers and 3-point shooting. They forced 41 turnovers in the two home games vs. the Lakers, and shot 24-50 from 3 (48%). Compare that with the first two games of this series where they only shot 11-43 on 3-pointers (25%) and have only forced 24 turnovers in the 2 games. You go through all the home wins and compare that with the road losses and you will see the same trends. The Spurs shoot the shit out of the ball at home, and force a lot more turnovers. They were able to easily win both home games against the Lakers during the regular season, despite getting no production out of Duncan in one game, and Ginobili in the other (12 points).
I am staying away from the first half line here as both games in San Antonio had completely different results...Spurs up by 10 and Lakers up by 10. Will wait until Game 4 to hit up that money machine. I don't think there is any way you can go against the defending champs at home in this game. Just keep telling yourself that the YOUNGER, FRESHER, Lakers will run all over the OLDER, SLOWER Spurs in this game. You might want to ask the Hornets how they feel about that.
San Antonio -5.5
UNDER 193.5
Lakers Team Total UNDER 93.5
Manu Ginobili OVER 19 points
Prediction:
Spurs 46 Lakers 42 Halftime
Spurs 99 Lakers 86 Final
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