Alright, welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers-Spurs game where the Lakers kept this game a game in the first three quarters, but in the 4th quarter, the Spurs started to channel in their championship formula as they take down the Lakers 93-80 and bringing the franchise to its worst start at 1-8.
Probably the most backbreaking part of that quarter and the one that seal the deal, Boris Diaw's offensive rebounds that kept the Spurs possession alive and they scored. It is what it is, the Spurs are the defending champs, they never play down based on their level of competition, and Gregg Popovich is a future HOF head coach. The Lakers did make this a competitive game, but they gassed out and started playing recklessly trying to make something good happen. This Spurs team is riddled by injuries early on, but they still beat the us, it shows the amount of depth and team chemistry they have.
The Positives
Carlos Boozer, 19 points, 8 rebounds, 8-13 shooting. Boozer was the Lakers' top performer this game. The thing about Boozer is you have to feed him the ball early on in the post or put it where he can shoot an easy 15 foot jumper as he has a high arc on his release. I thought Boozer played a solid game, he single handedly kept the Lakers afloat with his offense in the 3rd quarter and played a decent game defensively, though he's not really known for his defense. Boozer will give us that kind of numbers, but at times he won't. He'll have bad nights once in a blue moon, but the primary way to get him going was to give him the ball to get him in rhythm and the Lakers evidently prioritized that this game.
Jeremy Lin, 15 points 5-11 shooting. Lin may have committed 2 key turnovers to Kawhi Leonard, but he was making aggressive plays one after another whether he was driving to the lane for a layup or clamping down the defense and finding the open man for a better shot. Defensively, I thought Lin did a good job keeping Tony Parker in check, well scoring-wise, Parker only scored 11 points, but was constantly finding the open man. Still, Lin did what he did best since his Linsanity days and he's got it going these last few games.
Jordan Clarkson, 8 points, 3-6 shooting. His numbers may be from garbage time minutes, but no matter what the score was, Clarkson was playing hard defensively and was active every time the Lakers were trying to set their offense. If Scott can give him more playing time, that'd be great. Clarkson's still a project, he needs polishing in his game and he can be a diamond in the rough for the Lakers' future.
The Negatives
Jordan Hill, 10 points, 11 rebounds, 4-13 shooting. Jordan Hill did his thing on the boards, hustling and tracking down every loose ball, but Hill's scoring woes continue. He was missing jump shot he usually makes and most of the shots he missed were off the back of the rim, off the front of the rim, he was just off this game. I gave him a lot of praise for improving that game during the Clippers and Warriors games, but these last few games, that jump shot of his is starting to fade out.
Kobe Bryant, 9 points, 1-14 shooting. I can't say that I'm a Kobe apologist, Kobe was awful this game. He did things right in other categories such as his rebounding and assists, but I haven't seen a shooting night this bad from Kobe since the New Orleans game 2 years ago shooting 3-21. I can't say this is a fitting end for Kobe's week since he became the all-time leader in missed shots, the week hasn't ended, but if you look at Kobe's field goal shooting: 10-26 against Memphis, 10-28 against the Pelicans, and 1-14 here against the champs. Most of his misses were due to the Spurs playing good defense and some of it just looked like errant decisions or he's trying to turn nothing into something. As Laker fans, we're used to that, but these last few games, Kobe's been playing ridiculous and that is not in a good way so to speak.
Conclusion
Stuff like this is gonna happen all season. The Lakers just don't have the talent right now to even consider playoff contention. I'm not too disappointed at this game, the Spurs are the Spurs and they will rightfully tear opposing teams a new one with pure team basketball. Moving on to another topic, rumors are swirling around that Nick Young is going to return on Tuesday when the Lakers are on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. Would Nick Young's return make a difference? Load-wise, it sheds off of the scoring from Kobe and provides the 2nd unit a scoring spark, but Young will make a nominal impact in terms of boosting the Lakers' chances of winning against good teams. But first, the Lakers have a Sunday night game against the Warriors, that day is going to be a busy day for me considering I'm also doing the Raiders-Chargers game in the afternoon. Well, the more the merrier, I'll see you guys for both games on Sunday.
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