Spurs-Lakers: Los Angeles Bench Outguns San Antonio's Backups

It's hard to imagine a team with a "big three" like San Antonio struggling for production, but that's exactly what's happening.  Outside of the trifecta of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs are getting zilch from the rest of the team.

Each member of the Spurs' big three is averaging between 18-22 ppg in the playoffs.  After them, the output drops to 6.6 ppg, courtesy of Michael Finley.  Forwards Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoke are averaging 6.3 ppg and 6.0 ppg, respectively.

For all you stat crunchers out there, that's a grand total of roughly 80 ppg from your top six players.

Compare those numbers to the Lakers. Aside from Kobe's Kobe-like 31.8 ppg and his sidekicks' damage (Pau Gasol, 19.1 ppg and Lamar Odom, 15.3 ppg), the Lakers have four other players averaging between 7-11 ppg.  That's not including important role players Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar.

Including scraps from their bit players, the Spurs' production has been enough to get them by most teams when their defense is factored in.  But lately the Spurs have been prone to hitting dry spells on offense, and Manu Ginobili has been the main culprit.

After lighting up Phoenix and New Orleans in previous rounds with averages of 18.2 ppg and 21.3 ppg, respectively, Ginobili's scoring has plummeted to a paltry 8.5 ppg in the first two games.

It's safe to assume Ginobili's production will go up before the series is over, but even then the Spurs won't be able to match the Lakers' output.  The biggest disparity between the two teams is the bench players.

The Lakers have role players that they know will score for them. They don't just go out there with the attitude of "We're going to score while Kobe sits."  It's, "We're going to make something happen while we're out here."

That's how the Lakers bench is outperforming the Spurs' bench so magnificently.  Turiaf blocks shots and hustles for ugly rebounds.  Luke Walton makes the right play at the right time.  Farmar steps on the gas and speeds up the pace of the game.  Sasha Vujacic flops and whines and gets into the head of the opposition. 

All of those "energy plays" produce scoring opportunities the Lakers capitalize on.  A Turiaf dunk.  A Vujacic three.  A Farmar layup.  They don't get scoring off  attempts to score.  They get scoring off hustle and heart and energy.

Maybe that's because they're young.  The Spurs' bench includes fossils Finley, Brent Barry and Kurt Thomas.

They're old and content to run within the offense without making ridiculous effort plays that end up getting their team the kind of points that would drive Phil Jackson loony (and the kind of points that the Lakers are getting, which drive Gregg Popovich loony).

The Spurs need a combination of a Ginobili breakout from his Ray Allen-like slump and scoring from their bench if they hope to go back to Los Angeles in this series.  And they'll need that more than one time in order to extend their playoff lives beyond that.