All right, might as well get this rolling. San Antone in 6. Everything that Houston does to give LA fits, the Spurs do it better. I'm hoping for at least one Robert Horry game winner in this series.
Spurs in 5. Considering how much trouble the Lakers had with the Rockets, even if they did eliminate us in 5 games, I don't give them much of a chance against a team that has all their stuff together. Forgetting all the other stuff the Spurs have over the Rockets, if we just had their grace under fire, we would have been making the Lakers look very very bad.
The Spurs are an absolute TERRIBLE matchup for the Lakers. The Spurs have Duncan, Rasho, Horry, Rose and Willis down low. They will be able to handle Shaq and Malone. I think Horry in particular will be key here guarding Malone. After Shaq and Malone the Lakers are thin up front. Additionally the Lakers achilles heel is high pick and roll defense. The Spurs have two guys in Ginobli and Parker that are KILLER penetrators to attack the Lakers defense. They will really expose the Lakers here. Expect big series from both of them. Moreover the Spurs have a great defensive player in Bowen that can at least slow down Kobe some. Finally, the Spurs have home court advantage. They play VERY well at home and good on the road. Remember, last year the Spurs closed out the Lakers on the road! I am not a Spurs fan, but I will be rooting for them in this series because of my hatred for the Lakers. Unless the Spurs fully unravel....they should win this series. I am going to say Spurs in 5 (maybe 6).
an image comes to mind immediately ... the one being widely posted and frequently linked, with horry guarding kalar who had his foot in horry's .. that got hurt. btw, spurs win in 5.
Spurs in 6. What I'm personally watching for is Shaq's involvement. He's limping out of the Houston series with ridiculously low numbers. Payton is the other key. If he can't play Parker better than he did Francis, there's trouble. Evan
The Lakers had a few close games against us, and if they play like that against the NBA champions. THEY are going to LOSE. Spurs in 5.
Spurs in six. Spurs will lose the first game (winning streaks become more fragile with time), win the next two, lose the next, and then close out with two consecutive wins. The games will be closer than they should be, owing to the Laker-tilt by the referees.
Lakers in 7. The Rockets are a much tougher matchup for LA, believe it or not (I know it's hard after last night's "game"). Look for the Lakers to turn it on and play at a high level all series long. The Spurs can rot in Hell.
