“Clean up on aisle 4”. In an unusually eerie Staples Center, the Kobe-less Lakers faltered to the San Antonio Spurs. Four and O.
The Spurs, led by the usual suspects Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili dismantled the purple and gold by at least 10 points each game. Game One ended 91-79, Game Two 102-91, Game Three 120-89 and the final blow a 103-82 victory in Los Angeles.
Without star guard Kobe Bryant, Mike D’Antoni would have hoped that star acquisition Dwight Howard would step to the plate. Unfortunately superman did have lift off, but in the form of an ejection early in the third quarter. Unfortunately Kobe Bryant wasn’t on hand to tweet about it, after the fracas during game 1, where his tweets garnered more attention than his Lakers.
Determining factors in the series was the experience of the also injury-ridden Spurs and the Lakers’ infallible (Look up: Sarcasm) defense. The Lakers’ defense would make Twitter user Piers Morgan proud as they had an uncanny resemblance to the Englishman’s grammar Nazi twitter defenses.
“I’m proud of them, because they fought” said Mike D’Antoni after the game, his defeatist attitude likely as a consequence of this Laker team being the first to be swept in the Playoffs since 1967.
The evergreen Spurs looked like they were still in 2007 – looking as young as they’ve ever been. Tim Duncan epitomizing this after a season where he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds a game. The Texan trio of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili averaged 51 points a game throughout the sweep.
The Lakers were limited on offense with Kobe Bryant out, and Pau Gasol (while definitely excelling on the passing block) couldn’t get his shooting rhythm on. Dwight Howard had an unbearably uneventful debut pre-season with the Lakers but still managed 17 points a night.
While the problems on offense were glaring, the Lakers have struggled more prominently defensively – allowing 101 points a game, good for 22nd in the league. Bryant’s 27 points were sorely missed, but this might have be a sign that the Lakers need change, and they need it soon if they want to actually compete next season or in the subsequent seasons.
The Spurs set the tone from Game 1, and as Tim Duncan said “they didn’t want to give them any momentum” despite the heavy leads.
The Spurs clicked on offense, and opposed the Lakers’ frantic isolation-heavy offense with their composed sequences, seemingly allowing plays to happen. Tony Parker was tremendous and found his legs, as did Manu Ginobili – even getting a poster dunk in the mix.
Experience is a key factor in the playoffs; the Celtics and the Bulls are making runs despite their depleted rosters and the lack thereof really showed with this young Laker squad – Goudelock and Morris even making rare Playoff starts.
The Spurs play one of Golden State or Denver in the next round. Golden State leads their series 3-1.
