There is definately one celebration for me today, and if the Lakers can take care of business today, there could be two things to celebrate. As those of you who commented on my post-game Lakers/Spurs blog know, this is my birthday (I'm 24). So, before I begin my preview of tonight's game, I decided to see what sports events happened today (this is a one-time only thing for me, so whoever does those "This week in sports" blogs is safe):
On this day in:
1911: The first Indy 500 is held.
1922: Baseball is ruled a sport (not business) and isn't included in antitrust legislation.
1980: Larry Bird is named ROY in the NBA.
1984: The Red Sox retire Ted Williams' number.
1995: Indiana and Orlando play a memorable Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The lead changes hands four times late until Rik Smits hits the game winner at the buzzer for a 94-93 victory.
1997: John Stockton sinks a buzzer-beating 3 to send the Utah Jazz to their first NBA Finals as they beat Houston 103-100 in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.
2004: Kevin Garnett wins his final playoff game as a Timberwolf when Minnesota beats the Lakers 98-96 in game 5 of the Western Finals.
And who could forget:
1993: Jose Canseco takes the mound for a relief pitcher appearence during a Rangers/Red Sox game. He pitches the 8th, gives up 3 runs and 2 hits, plus 3 walks. The Rangers lose 15-1, and to add injury to insult, he injures his arm and misses the rest of the season.
Ah, the memories.
Now then, let's look at the Lakers/Spurs matchup. Can the Spurs avoid elimination? Or can Kobe move one step closer to a career-defining ring? Here are my keys for each team:
Spurs keys:
1. Be the Man-u, Ginobili!: If the Spurs want to play again at home this year, Ginobili must come up big. It's great when Brent Barry has a huge game, but Manu inspires his team when he goes off. Plus, it takes pressure off of Duncan and Parker to carry the load.
2. Take the open shots: It sounds childishly simple, but the Spurs have passed on a lot of open looks (I commented Tuesday that Robert Horry had become "I Don't Want The Shot Bob!"). If you're open (Timmy), take the shot. You have nothing to lose, so don't worry if you miss.
3. Don't let Kobe beat you: Again, fairly obvious, but you know Kobe will come for the throat tonight. He's so close to the Finals, he can taste it! Make players like Odom and Fisher, plus Vlad Rad and Sasha V, shoot to win.
Lakers keys:
1. Forget about the finish to game 4: Yeah, the NBA admitted they made the wrong non-call at the end of game 4, but I'm talking about the stuff before that; the Barry three, the Parker goaltend-that-shouldn't-have-been, and two bad shots by Kobe. Throw that out, and come out swinging tonight!
2. Lamar Odom, please hit a shot or more!: Kobe is the undenyable top player here, but Odom is the X-factor; when he's playing well, they're virtually unbeatable. He didn't have his A-game on display in SA, but maybe the home crowd gets him going.
3. A steady diet of Kobe, please!: In the end, this game is where superstars leave their mark on the game. Kobe not only has a berth in the Finals on the line, he has his enitre legacy at stake as well. That's all I need to know to say Kobe will go off tonight and try to send the Spurs home as ex-champs!
So, who wins? The Spurs have to be demoralized that they got ripped off at home by incompetent referees, and they will bring fire tonight. I just don't see that as being enough to stop the Lakers now. The Lakers advance to the Finals with a seven point win.
I agree with your keys for tonight's game, although I don't think the Spurs can stop Kobe from beating them. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than the Spurs at preventing Kobe from beating them up in every facet of the game.
I think the Spurs will come out attacking tonight and will decide to run-n-gun with the Lakers. They have nothing to lose.
The most important thing for L.A. is to keep Pau Gasol from getting into foul trouble because I believe the referees will pick on Pau just like they did Odom during game four.
Kobe will need to score 35 and Fisher will need to come up with 17-20 if L.A. is going to win tonight.
I expect a hard fought game and the Lakers will pull away in the fourth quarter.
Downs'
Happy birthday and hopefully you'll be spending it with the ones you love.
As of now as an avowed Spurs' fan I can see the writing on the wall. If our triumvirate can't get it going tonight then Kobe and the boys'll nail that coffin shut.
Here's hoping that there might a stay of execution at least for one more night. At least that'll give my work colleague Craig something to look forward to. He's been jonesing for Dyan Cannon. Isn't she close to 70 at least ? She just doesn't stir the cream in my particular cup of coffee as one might say.
rampant' aka tophatal .........
Last edited by rampantfanatic on May 29th at 2:18 PM.
You’re absolutely correct, Kobe will work his butt out to death in this game just to wrap it up tonight and steer clear of going back to the city of San Antonio. The Lakers will capture this game simply because they are the hungrier and the superior team at this point in time. Duncan et al maybe the more intelligent team but their weary legs are betraying them to challenge a more agile team like the Lakers.
i'm not a Laker fan but it seems to me that Farmar needs to pick his game up too. When teams win the big games, usually it's because they get good contributions from an X-factor...or someone whose play makes a huge impact on the game. who better to get that type of play from than the back up PG?
The Lakers will win this game because of Kobe Bryant. He knows he has a chance to eliminate the world champs and he will take advantage of it. With the exception of maybe Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant is one of the best finishers in all of sports. He doesn't want to go back to Texas. The only thing the Lakers need to worry about is if the "weird immature Kobe" that shows up every now and then makes a appearence tonight. But, I dont see that happening as he has been pretty good about that tihs year.
I am David Downs, and I'm a sports nut who loves basketball and football and am open to good discussion about any sports subject. I am a Detroit sports fan, but I not a homer. Expect frequent vents on subjects that irritate me, and also expect the utmost respect for anybody's opinion, even if they disagree with me. Because, after all, that's what these blogs are all about, aren't they?
