Lakers-Spurs: Game One a Matter of Degrees

They left the Staples Center with their jaws dropped, their mouths agape. They were shaking their heads in disbelief. Had the Lakers really come back from a 20-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs?

Nearly 19,000 fans left Staples Center chanting, "MVP! MVP!" A tribute to the Lakers Kobe Bryant, who once again was not only clutch but seemingly magical as he made one impossible shot after another to lead the Lakers to a 89-85 win.

Even more incredible was the way the Lakers defense shut down the Spurs over the last 18 minutes of the game, holding them to only 20 points total and just 13 for the entire fourth quarter. That’s—the calculator, please—1.083 points per minute.

The Lakers ou-defending the best defensive team in the playoffs? That really had the crowd shaking their heads as they marched to the parking lots along Figueroa Street.

Meanwhile, back in the tunnels of the Staples Center, the San Antonio Spurs hurriedly dressed and rushed out, glad to be heading to a comfortable oasis in Santa Monica. It had been a grueling 48 hours.

After expending themselves to beat the upstart New Orleans Hornets in the seventh game of their semifinal round Monday night, the Spurs didn’t leave New Orleans until 6:30 Tuesday morning.

Their plane, which had mechanical problems, was grounded on a tarmac all night.

So, they had to spend Tuesday getting settled in rather than practicing. Then on Wednesday evening, they still had to be somewhat weary and disoriented as they took the floor against the Lakers.

Instead it was the Lakers who looked weary and disoriented from a four-day layoff, as the Spurs jumped out to a 51-43 halftime lead and then stretched it to 65-45 at the 5:54 mark of the third quarter.

That was when the roof caved in—or perhaps it would be more apropos to say the Spurs legs caved in, and the Lakers outscored them 44-20 over the remaining 18 minutes.

So, the question today remains—how much did Game One hurt the Spurs and help the Lakers?

Even Gregg Popovich admitted that the loss hurt. Anytime you are the visiting team in a seven-game series, you know that you MUST win at least one game on the other team’s court.

The Spurs had that game well in hand, and only needed the defense to hold to take homecourt advantage. Can they use the tribulations they had to endure as an excuse? How much will that ease the lingering effect of such a heart-breaking loss.

At first glance, one would expect the disappointment to have less of an effect on a veteran team like the Spurs than a younger team. But that may not be the case.

The Phoenix Suns are certainly a veteran team, with a tremendous amount of playoff experience. Yet, letting an opening road game in the playoffs slip away had a devastating effect, eventually leading to Mike D’Antoni’s quick exit to the Knicks.

Back in the first round, it looked like the Phoenix Suns had stolen the opener of their series with the Spurs. Then Michael Finley hit a three-pointer to send the game into overtime. With only three seconds left in OT, Tim Duncan hit a last-second three-pointer to tie it up. He had not made a three-point shot all year.

The Spurs won in the second overtime, and the Suns never recovered.

The effect lingered over into Game Two. Stoudemire again scored 33 points, Nash 23 and Shaquille O’Neal 19. The Suns got off to another good start in that one and grabbed a 14-point lead—but lost in the end, 102-96.

How much last night’s game will effect the Spurs Friday night is a matter of degrees. Their experience dictates that they should shake it off. They can tell themselves that they were fatigued and simply ran out of gas.

But let’s turn the coin over and look at it from the Lakers' point of view.

First of all, their four-day layoff after defeating the Jazz in their semifinal round most likely left them a little rusty.

The Spurs cannot count on the Lakers being stale for Game Two. It is a rare night indeed when veterans like Lamar Odom (3-13) and Derek Fisher (1-9) would combine for a shoddy four for 22, missing layups and open jump shots. Even Pau Gasol missed a few easy ones.

Secondly, the Lakers were not only rusty, but came out looking somewhat tentative. Chalk that up to the playoff mystique surrounding the Spurs.

Sure the Lakers played them even (2-2) in the regular season. But come playoff time, and the Spurs are supposedly a different team.

I see that as the greatest damage caused by letting Game One slip away. That mystique is now gone.

The Lakers—especially their young, inexperienced players—now realize the Spurs put on their Nikes one shoe at a time. That may have a considerable effect on Game Two. How much of an effect it will have on the ultimate outcome of this series is hard to say.

After destroying the Spurs in the first two games of their series, the Hornets were anything but mystified. Chris Paul and his crew were certain they could dominate the defending champs. They had confidence. They had determination. They had swagger.

But they didn’t have Kobe Bryant.

How much of a factor will he be in this series?

That depends. As a distributor, a destroyer, or a decoy?

Yes, the Black Mamba has turned into a three-headed Hydra, which makes him more dangerous than ever before. Although the Spurs have faced Bryant in past playoffs, they have never faced this Bryant.

He can turn in an instant from one role to another, and he has the players around him to make it work—no matter which role he chooses.

He controls the game by not trying to control it like he did in years past. Instead, he lets the game come to him, like he did last night. He lets it dictate what he will do and what role he will play.

Bryant is now the NBA's version of a tai chi master. He uses an opponent’s very own force to defeat him. Once a team commits to how they will play him, Bryant takes what they give him and turns it against them.

And that has to be troublesome to Greg Popovich and the Spurs. Possibly even more troublesome than a youthful Lakers defense that hounded the Spurs into one of the lowest fourth-quarter outputs they have ever produced in the playoffs.

Will the Spurs want to forget Game One? More than likely. Can they? The way they lost, I doubt it.