ooh-ooh, Can I make a knee-jerk reaction to one game

HP - should we make any allowances for the fact he played 46 minutes and was guarding Shaq? Maybe his "dipsy" just didn't have any more "doo".

Then again, maybe Mark Bryant needs more than 19 minutes. I thought he should have been in there as well. He was making mid-range jumpers earlier in the game.

 

Passing out of the double isn't so annoying to me as the fact that when he has one-on-one, instead of taking advantage, he WAITS for the double so he can pass it off.

The offense does look strangely familiar tho.

 

Brian Ferry? Didn't he have a hit in the 80's? Danny Ferry has the craziest looking 3 pointer, but it drops.

Actually, Bowen hit a couple of threes down the stretch last night, after passing up several WIDE open looks prior.

Just my jerky knee for the day.

 

They won the game, what more do you want?

Didn't Jordan pass to Paxson, and Hakeem to Horry, Kenny, Elie and Max?

What was your point again.



DaDakota

 

Hopefully, Duncan will heed HP's advice and "knee-jerk" the Lakers into an early summer vacation.

 

While watching the Spurs-Lakers game last night, I felt sorry for Tim Duncan.

He gets double-triple teamed every possession and its a big deal if Antonio Daniels gets 14 points ! Wow! He guards Shaq on one end, gets double and triple teamed on the other end, and when he passes out, his guys can't knock down their shots.

I like the Spurs but I know that in crunch time, there is no swing player ala Kobe, that can create his own shot.

Tony Parker Terry Porter - 19 and 40 years of age..and it shows
Bruce Bowen - Yeah, he really stopped Kobe....3rd team Def ? BS!
Steve Smith - Looks 42 and not 32, what happened to this guy..
DUNCAN - THE MAN!
Mark Bryant - who?

Malik Rose - Hustle Guy that benefits from so much concentration on Duncan

Antonio Daniels - WOW someone on the Spurs scored 14 points!! Popovich talked about it like he really, REALLY stepped up.

The Rest - who knows or cares...

Without Duncan that team is he worst in the league, hands down.
With Duncan, it is one on the top 3 in the league, that is an MVP.

A healthy Kittles, Van Horn, Martin, Jefferson etc still makes the Playoffs w/o Kidd

Kobe, Horry, Fox, Fisher, Walker still make the playoffs, but barely without Shaq.

Duncan! What I wouldn't give for this guy...

 

Bruce Bowen - Yeah, he really stopped Kobe....3rd team Def ? BS!



Kobe is below his season average in this series. The biggest myth in the entire league is that a defensive stopper should just shut down anyone he faces. There's no one in league history that can just blanket a player as quick and talented as Kobe Bryant and prevent him from taking shots. Bowen does as well, imo, as anyone in the league at taking Kobe out of his game. He makes him take tough shots, stays with him, and does pretty much everything you can ask. There was one sequence in the fourth quarter where Bowen forced Kobe to turn away from the basket and shoot fading away straight over Bowen, who was blanketing him. Kobe hit the shot. He's good. All you can ask is for someone to make Kobe work to take his shots; someone to stay in front of him, etc. Bowen does an excellent job at this, and I'm not sure if I'd rather have any other perimeter defender in the league guarding Kobe.

BTW, Malik Rose scored 28 points and 13 rebounds in the game Duncan was out. He's turned into a really good player, and not just because of Duncan. He's developed that jumper out to 17 feet, and can come up with some really tough rebounds. I'd take him on my team anyday...

 

someone say duncan?

time for chump chomp!

 

Cat Posted : "Bowen does as well, imo, as anyone in the league at taking Kobe out of his game."


Then Why is he 3rd team all defense NBA? If he does as well as anyone. Duncan anchors the defense, offense and carries those scrubs. He plays the passing lanes well and seems to take many chances on steals because he/ as well as the rest of the Spurs have Duncan to contest and help any mistakes they make.

And yes, Rose had a great game 4 against Seattle's Vin Baker and others, but they still got blown out.

 

Wake up call. Three game sweep by the Fake Show on San Baloney's home court.

 

No, he's a Spur. According to most here no Spurs are good because they are...Spurs.

Go figure.

 

It's funny, I thought Sunday was supposed to be the wake up call, and that the Lakers would sweep the series?

Whether or not the Lakers lose this series, they are beatable. I'm not sure when it's going to sink in that they aren't as good as last year, but they aren't. They're capable of playing better, and certainly capable of winning another title... but it takes weeks, and sometimes months, of great basketball to build the chemistry that made them so dominant last year. They'll be tested.

FD: Man on Man defense isn't the only aspect of the game. Taking charges, steals, rebounding, blocking shots, and other aspects go into determining the best overall defensive players for those teams. Bowen's strength is his one on one perimeter defense, which is the single most important tool to have against Kobe.

 

EDIT: You are right. Just gotta lump you in with the hated Jazz and Suckramento.

I like some of the players. I actually like Timmie, not sure I'd want to see him with the Rocks though. Same with Malik. I love his hustle. But that team as a whole....ugh. Definitely on my HATE list. Go Mavs!

 

Cat, check the trade desk!

Carry on.

 

Actually, I think it was 2nd team.

Bowen allows the Spurs to play Bryant straight up and not double. So far in this series Bryant has not exploded for 35+ and the Laker supporting cast hasn't really gotten involved. Bowen allows the Spurs to apply more defensive pressure to the supporting cast while keeping Bryant in check.

Bryant will get his, he's that good. The idea is to contain him and make him work for his points while limiting contributions from the supporting cast. It has worked so far.

 

Posted By Cat

"Bowen's strength is his one on one perimeter defense, which is the single most important tool to have against Kobe"

Best move i've seen Bowen do on Kobe was that front snap kick as Rudy would say "Kapaya!!"

 

I saw at least 5-8 shots that Kobe made with Bowens hands all but touching the ball - while Kobe was in a turaround or fadeaway. To say that his defense sucked was just plain silly.

That game was sad, though, and I had the same reaction hp did - just jack it Timmie, your guys couldn't hit anything the last quarter.

Cat, you are definitely right about the Lakers being vulnerable. I don't know if the Spurs will do it, but now is the time for someone to knock them off. They are not playing together (the Lakers), they are off on offense (although their defense is still pretty good) and Shaq either is hurt or not interested because his play has been poor (in relation to what it should be).

A healthy Robinson would make it easier for the Spurs, but I really think they need an offensive creator on the perimeter. No offense, Cat, but DA would have really helped them in this series - for some reason Steve Smith is useless against the Lakers.

Parker is too young, Smith is too old (?), and Daniels is a bit inconsistent right now to be an answer.

With all of this, though, the series split in LA, with game 1 being close. If that doesn't prove the Lakers are struggling, I don't know what does.