It took just five games for the Lakers to defeat the Spurs, to advance to the NBA finals. Early on, the Spurs relied on stellar outside shooting from their guards (Ginobili, Parker, Barry). However, the well ran dry in the second half, which was right about the time Kobe decided to “go off”. L.A. trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but as we have seen throughout this series, youth bests age time and time again. In the fourth quarter San Antonio looked helpless trying to cover Kobe. In addition to lackluster defense, their offense looked anemic. Duncan missed open lay-ups and cried for a foul call after every weak shot attempt. Manu Ginobili might as well have stayed in the locker room at halftime, he could not buy a bucket in the second half. In the end, Kobe proved to be too much scoring a game high 39 points. The supporting cast also stepped up their game when it mattered most. Pau Gasol added 12 points and a game high 19 rebounds. Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar hit big shots down the stretch to boost the Lakers to their first finals appearance since 2004.
The first half of the finals picture is complete. One has to wonder, if the Celtics-Pistons series goes seven games, will the lay off help or hurt the Lakers? After watching this series it is obvious that Kobe Bryant is hands down the best player in the league. People can say Garnett or LeBron, but they would be foolish and wrong. Garnett has yet to rise to the occasion like Kobe. When Kobe has single coverage, he scores. Double coverage, he scores. His repertoire is fierce. Long range, pull up, driving the lane… It’s all deadly.
No comments:
Post a Comment