Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
After stumbling a bit into the postseason, the San Antonio Spurs dropped to second in the Western Conference standings and a match up with one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the seventh seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite winning 58 games in the regular season — third most in the entire league — the Spurs lost their final three and seven of their last ten, including a loss to the Lakers at Staples Center last Sunday. The Spurs have been weathering injuries and periodic rest for their veterans to keep them fresh for the playoffs, but this isn’t exactly the way the Spurs would have hoped to close out the year.
The Lakers on the other hand appear to be playing their best basketball at just the right time. Although superstar Kobe Bryant is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles tear, the Lakers toughed out victories over San Antonio and the Houston Rockets with improved defense and some big performances by Steve Blake, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.
This series will come down to which veteran team has enough in the tank to grind out four wins first. The Spurs will rely heavily on Tony Parker, but the Lakers have the size to keep Parker’s penetration under control at times. Tim Duncan has put together an outstanding season at 36, but with Howard playing at a high level him and Duncan will cancel each other out.
The key match up will be Gasol versus Tiago Splitter. Gasol has resembled his All-Star form lately and is averaging 17.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists in April. Splitter will be faced with the task of slowing Gasol down, as Boris Diaw is out for 3-4 weeks with a back injury.
This series has the makings of a classic, as the Spurs appear vulnerable and the Lakers are just getting rolling. No one should be surprised if and when this series goes seven games, and they should be equally less surprised if the Lakers can edge out the Spurs in seven.
