San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan spoke on facing the Los Angeles Lakers today in what could be a preview of the Western Conference Finals.
Former Lakers great Earvin "Magic" Johnson is in San Antonio and with today's huge contest between the Spurs and Lakers, Magic gave his thoughts on the Spurs crushing the Miami Heat and asks the Spurs to be "nice" to his Lakers.
(video woai.com)
The San Antonio Spurs (51-11) will face the Los Angeles Lakers (44-19) today in San Antonio as the Spurs will look to send a message to the Lakers that it's the Spurs who rule the West.
The Spurs are coming off a 125-95 win over the Miami Heat and will be looking to clinch the season series against the Lakers. Currently, the Spurs hold a 2-0 regular season series lead. The Spurs last win against Los Angeles was a thrilling 89-88 win sealed with a game-winning tip-in by Antonio McDyess in February.
The Lakers are coming off a 92-84 win against the Charlotte Bobcats and will be looking to get a win at the AT&T Center - a place where the Spurs are seemingly unbeatable at 29-2. The Lakers are also playing better basketball since the All-Star break and are currently on a six game winning streak.
For the series, Spurs' Tony Parker is averaging 22 points while DeJuan Blair averages 9.2 rebounds against the Lakers.
To talk about today's contest, I turn to friend of Project Spurs Rey Moralde of The No Look Pass a great site on the Internet for all things Lakers and more. Click HERE to read the Q&A I did for Rey.
In this Q&A, Rey talks about the Lakers improved play, if the Lakers are still the team to beat and more.
Jeff: Seems after the All-Star break the Lakers are playing more consistently. What has been the difference?
Rey: They are way better defensively. Even when they struggled offensively against Charlotte last night, they held them to 84 points and under 40 percent shooting. When they beat Oklahoma City, they held them to 31 points in the 2nd half. While they struggled early against Minnesota, they held them to 34 in the 2nd half. So they're getting it done on the defensive end.
Also... it looks like Ron Artest has found his groove. Sure, he only scored 5 points against the Clippers and 6 against Minnesota but he's finally playing topnotch D again. And if you're looking for that signature game from him this season, the one against Portland was it: 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
If these two teams do meet in the Western Conference Finals, how do you see the series ending?
• The San Antonio Spurs will face the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow and Lakers' Shannon Brown says there's a good chance the Lakers and Spurs will meet in the playoffs:
"It's a good chance of it," Shannon Brown said of a potential Alamo-Hollywood showdown in the postseason. "We can't continue to give them confidence to know that they can come out and they can play with us and they can beat us. When we go in there Sunday it's going to be a dogfight." (espn.com)
• Lakers coach Phil Jackson talks about the mindset the Lakers need to have entering tomorrow's contest with the Spurs:
"If we play Sunday like we did [against the Bobcats], we're not going to be in the contest, there's no doubt about that," said Jackson. "But, we find a way against that team, we find a way to play against them and we'll compete." (espn.com)
• Lakers' Derek Fisher sprained his elbow against the Charlotte Bobcats but Lakers coach Phil Jackson says Fisher will be OK for tomorrow's game:
"I think he'll be ready," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "He's strong as an ox. He's got enough strength to probably hold it together."
Fisher declined to talk to reporters after the game other than to say "Yep" when asked if he felt all right. (latimes.com)
• Spurs' George Hill talks about facing the Lakers tomorrow:
• MVPTexas.com talks about the Spurs making winning the norm:
One of the good things about an 82 game season is that teams have enough time to work out the kinks, recover, go into a slump, recover, suffer a few injuries, and then still be healthy enough to make a good run in the post season.
It is not uncommon to see many teams in the post season go through any of the above situations. While being consistently good during the season would be nice teams know it is unlikely. However, for the San Antonio Spurs that is exactly what they have been.
• Former Spurs player Dennis Rodman is a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame and former Spur and Hall of Famer David Robinson had this to say about playing against Rodman:
“He was annoying,” Robinson said. “He just would be in your shorts all the time, always there with you. He was a very, very strong guy — a little bit undersized at times, but he never let it stop him. He had relentless energy, and he had no fear.”
• RedsArmy.com is keeping a close eye on the Spurs as the playoffs are fast approaching.
Hit the jump to read about a former Spurs' scout passing away, the Spurs offense, and more.
San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan usually let's his game do all the talking on the court but in last night's annihilation of the Miami Heat, Duncan told his fellow teammates it was over in the first quarter.
Check out the video of Duncan saying it was game over.
In last night's San Antonio Spurs obliteration of the Miami Heat, Heat center Erick Dampier was tossed from the game when he shoved Spurs' Tony Parker while Parker was going up for a layup in the third quarter. Fortunately, Parker - who just returned to action after suffering a calf injury - got back up and he and the Spurs continued their onslaught of the Heat.
Today, the NBA fined Dampier $10,000 for the shove.
Seems Julius "Dr. J" Erving is picking an old ABA team to head to the NBA Finals this season.
The NBA and ABA legend is picking the San Antonio Spurs to come out of the Western Conference and face the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals this June. Aside from his pick of the Spurs, he also compliments the Spurs on their ways of running an NBA franchise.
While many wouldn't argue with his pick for the Western Conference champs, I do question him picking the Magic. But hey, who am I do argue with Dr. J?
I wonder what the Boston Celtics fans at Reds Army have to say about this.
Since the last "Views From The Couch," the San Antonio Spurs have gone 5-1 during that span. They began with: a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, a win over the new look New Jersey Nets, a win at home in which they lost one of their stars against the Memphis Grizzlies, a loss in Memphis by 16 points against the Grizzlies, a win in Ohio against the Cleveland Cavaliers and concluded with a blowout of the Miami Heat by 30 points. 
What Happened in Memphis?
After watching the game, it seemed that the Spurs looked out of flux on offense. Passes were a step late, guys weren’t in the right spot to receive a pass and everyone seemed to be using a different playbook before the game. The 22 turnovers were too much to overcome. The lack of defense was another issue. Memphis was able to score over 20 points in each quarter and shot over 50% without any three pointers. The worst part? One of Memphis’ best players (Marc Gasol) got ejected in the first half and the Spurs still had no chance at winning.
Watching the game, I’ll say it’s excusable considering the Grizzlies have only lost eight home games and the Spurs were playing their first game without Tony Parker.
After the game; George Hill, who struggled (6 points and 6 turnovers) put the loss on himself. Even though the loss wasn’t Hills fault, he still felt responsible for his poor play; but as Ginobili had said, the entire team had a bad night. Hill avenged himself by scoring 22 points the next night in a win against the Cavaliers.
The "Heatles" Concert Tour Visits the AT&T Center
The Heat visited San Antonio for the first time and were given a surprise before the game even started. After losing at home against the Orlando Magic, (in which they let a 24-point lead slip away.) the Heat came to San Antonio ready to get back on the winning track. They thought it would be easy with the Spurs missing Tony Parker. Then, moments before the game began, the Spurs announced Parker's injury had healed and he would be starting.
From the opening tip and Manu's first layup in traffic, you could see the Spurs were just going to exploit the horrendous Miami defense. And did they exploit it? Yes they did. They made a franchise record 17 three pointers and had eight of their players score in double figures. Every single player that got any minutes with the Spurs scored at least once in the game. The Spurs ended up winning by 30 points (125-95) and the win also capped their highest scoring output of the season. Before the Heat game, the Spurs previous high in points was 124 in a overtime game against the Houston Rockets.
There had been a lot said in the media over the last week, from Charles Barkley continuing to say the San Antonio Spurs are overrated, to a certain Dallas Mavericks forward talking about having to go through the Los Angeles Lakers, not the Spurs, to get to the NBA Finals.
If there ever was a time to earn respect, it would be to win against a top-tier team.
That top-tier team was the Miami Heat, who were 43-18 before both teams tipped at 8:30 p.m. CST last night.
The same Heat who have an entire section dedicated to them on ESPN, the same Heat who have been penciled in as NBA champions ever since the cameras went off and the telecast of "The Decision" ended.
James and his super friends came into the AT&T Center yesterday and left with a new respect for the Spurs.
"They played extremely well. This is a team that’s clicking on all cylinders right now," Heat forward Lebron James said. "Everyone on the team has confidence Tim Duncan all the way down to the last guy off the bench. We saw tonight why they are the best team in the league.”
The Spurs, who re-inserted Tony Parker into the starting lineup, got started early, with Manu Ginobili getting things going on the offensive end and Matt Bonner leading the Spurs with four three-pointers through the first quarter.
The Spurs ended the quarter up 36-12 and never looked back.
They executed offensively and defensively enough to frustrate the Heat. The first quarter deficit, and the Heat's inability to score at will proved to be a hole to deep to dig out of.
By the time the last seconds ticked off the clock, the Heat had their third straight loss and the Spurs had a dominant 30-point win, 125-95.
Eight Spurs finished in double figures, led by Ginobili's 20 points and the Spurs set a record with 17 three-pointers made.
In Retrospect
Jeff Garcia talked to Surya Fernandez of the excellent Hot Hot Hoops blog and got his thoughts before last night's game.
"Ginobili. He's too smart and crafty not to wear down his defender, which should be Wade. If he gets it going, I'm not sure how the Heat will respond because they don't have a lockdown perimeter defender (like a Bruce Bowen) to come off the bench to relieve Wade. Their guards off the bench are shooters like Eddie House and I don't see Mike Bibby defending Ginobili."
"This is the toughest back-to-back set for the Heat, especially after the emotionally draining loss last night to the Magic. The Spurs should win the game but the Heat might be extra motivated to prove their doubters wrong and if the Big 3 are firing on all cylinders they can be unstoppable."
Fantasy Focus
Tony Parker is back, and if you've had him buried on your roster, he proved last night that he does not need to be brought back slowly. He's ready, he'll get his starting minutes back, and his 15 points and eight assists should be enough to get your attention, considering it was his first game back.
Quoteable
“We basically got blitzed right from the beginning, we made a little bit of a run there at the end of the second quarter. But, they outplayed us, blitzed us, and there’s nothing really else to say.” - Heat coach Erik Spolestra.
Tweeting the game
"El Heat got whooped by Los Spurs last night @KingJames and co better dial their La Talents up." - @per_dm.
"Further proof that $ doesn't always by happiness!!!" -@katemdempsey.
It's March, and its time to start focusing on the playoffs and our potential roadblocks to Banner 18. Every day we'll bring you what's making news in enemy territory. This way we know what they're up to when it comes time to take 'em out.
Project Spurs: "Right now the San Antonio Spurs are at 50-11 for the 2010-11 season, and are 18 games ahead of the two teams tied for the ninth seed (Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz). The magic number for the Spurs is now just three, meaning three Spurs wins, or a combination of Spurs wins and the other two teams posting losses, would clinch a playoff spot for San Antonio."
Project Spurs: "I understand the Lakers are the defending champs and own the crown but shall I remind Nowitzki and Terry the Spurs are 2-0 against Los Angeles. Also, it's the Spurs the Mavericks are chasing for the number one seed and not the Lakers." (redsarmy.com)
The Spurs and Celtics were the last of the old guard, but in the last four months both have chosen to merge with the league's offensive trend. San Antonio is defending less vigorously than in any of its four championship years, yet the 50-11 Spurs have dominated the standings by running whenever possible and attacking from the perimeter. Coach Gregg Popovich doesn't always like what he sees, but he is embracing the evolution of his team because it is working. His Spurs are winning. (SI.com)
"In 05-06, we made that change and said, 'OK, if we can get an extra rebound, if we can make some extra free throws, if we can do things differently down the stretch, we'll be able to pull those games out,' because we were in so many," Wade said. "That's the difference between us being like the San Antonio Spurs, and having the same record as them, and us being 43-17. Eventually you figure it out and you're able to change it.(bellinghamherald.com)
It's yin and yang, hot and cold, bungee jumping and reading a book. For form against function, it might as well be Brooklyn Decker vs. Black & Decker.
After all, what do Miami and San Antonio really have in common except salsa? Even then, one dances to it and the other puts it on chips. (nba.com)
After hosting the Bobcats in Hollywood, the Lakers, who are 21-8 in the City of Angels and seeded third in the West, will hit the road for four tough games against San Antonio, Atlanta, Miami and Dallas. (wusa9.com)
Once the Spurs decided that they wanted to play with the same passion and intensity that the Cavaliers were working with, Cleveland just couldn't hang.
This wasn't the big bounce-back game that the Spurs and their fans were likely hoping for, with the team roaring out of the gate following that trouncing by Memphis and sticking it to a lesser team. San Antonio didn't defend well, and it was caught looking several times in the first half as the Cavs made the tougher play around the rim. Cleveland couldn't check these Spurs on the other end, though, and the Spurs piled on in that second half. (Ball Don’t Lie)
You can't call Real Salt Lake the San Antonio Spurs of Major League Soccer -- not yet, anyway. The Spurs keep needing to expand their trophy case, with four NBA titles since 1998. RSL has nothing like that. (SI.com)
There is still much work left to figure out their seeding, as the Dallas Mavericks still are on their tails for the Southwest Division lead.
But nailing down a playoff berth would be a big start. (Tim Griffin)
ESPN.com breaks down which team - San Antonio Spurs or Los Angeles Lakers - presents the Dallas Mavericks the bigger challenge.
I'm sure Chris Broussard will eat his words when the Spurs whoop the Mavericks again in the playoffs.
