When the L.A. Lakers and San Antonio Spurs last met, the defending champs were reeling from consecutive blow-out losses to the Bucks and, on Christmas, in front of a record TV audience, the Miami Heat. The Spurs had little sympathy for their rivals, and destroyed the Lakers to the tune of a 97-82 final score. That result propagated all sorts of doom scenarios for L.A., and reporters rushed to present facts like "no Phil Jackson team has ever lost three straight by double-digits and won a title." Things looked bleak.
Spurs Vs. Lakers: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Seek Revenge On Traveling San Antonio
The Lakers turned things around, and are 13-4 since that defeat. But, in the neverending wave machine that is the Lakers, those four losses have all come in the last eight games; before beating the Rockets in overtime on Tuesday, L.A. had dropped two straight and four of seven. A tight win over a non-playoff team certainly isn't a complete salve for the Lakers' issues (nearly all of which come down to defense), but the post-game news that Kobe Bryant has asked Pau Gasol to be more aggressive certainly helps. This isn't a tough stretch resulting in Kobe looking within himself and waging war on the NBA, guns blazin' and vulnerabilities open to the world. This is Bryant realizing how badly he needs more help.
Will that last? It remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the Spurs have dropped off 70-win pace (darn!), but remains on pace for 68 wins, which all told isn't too bad, is it? The offense is still humming, though it's dropped to No. 3 in the league. The defense has picked up, now No. 7 after spending much of the season around No. 10. Manu Ginobili continues to perform as he always could have had he been given a starting role during the Spurs' long title run. DeJuan Blair has been a big factor in San Antonio's success, as well, with one of the top offensive rebound rates in the league. San Antonio used to concede the offensive glass to get back on defense more quickly. Blair's elite skill has allowed Gregg Popovich to change that tactic, and it's been a boon for the Spurs' offense.
That battle -- Blair vs. the Lakers’ bigs on the glass -- figures to be a flashpoint in Thursday’s battle (10:30 PM ET, TNT). The Spurs will again try to limit Bryant’s effectiveness; in the December fight, Kobe scored 21 points, but needed 27 field goal attempts and five turnovers to get there. That’s wildly inefficient, and something even L.A.‘s offense can’t survive. Bryant had 10 assists against the Rockets; can he continue to share the ball without neutering his own needed scoring ability?
For more on the Lakers, visit Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation L.A. For Spurs analysis, check out Pounding The Rock.
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