- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Kobe Bryant will get one last chance to claim bragging rights over his old playoff nemesis when the San Antonio Spurs (45-9) travel to Staples Center to face his Los Angeles Lakers (11-44). Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2:30pm (AEDT).
For the past two decades the Lakers and Spurs have thrilled basketball fans with their heated match-ups in the post-season. Each team has claimed five championships in that time and cemented Bryant and Spurs big man Tim Duncan as all-time greats.
Unfortunately for the retiring Bryant however, Duncan finds himself competing for yet another ring this season while the Lakers languish in last place in the Western Conference.
While the Kobe farewell extravaganza dominates the Lakers season, their young talents D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr have struggled to convert their immense potential into wins.
Head coach Byron Scott has sacrificed their minutes to accommodate Bryant and other veterans such as Lou Williams and Roy Hibbert. However, he has suggested that this may not be the case over the second half of the season. The Spurs game is their first since the All-Star break and Lakers fans will be eager to see if Scott keeps his word.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on the other hand, has had no such issues as he has seamlessly transitioned this season’s new acquisitions, LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, into the Spurs’ system.
It is this oft-heralded system that has the Spurs posting a +14.1 combined offensive/defensive rating. This ranks them first in the NBA, above even the rampaging Warriors. To get a sense of how this might affect this game, the Lakers rank dead-last in the league with -10.8, expect it to show on the night.
A large part of this terrible rating has been the Lakers porous defence, they also rank last league-wide in defensive rating. Hibbert was acquired in the off-season to help remedy their defensive woes and while he’s given his best on that end of the floor, his teammates have not stepped up to help him.
The Lakers regularly fail to ‘help the helper’, their rotations are slow and they demonstrate a general lack of intensity in stopping opponents scoring on them.
San Antonio’s quick ball movement and precise shooting will pick apart the Lakers’ defence unless they substantially improve their effort on that end. The Spurs are blessed with a big man unit that can spread the floor with perimeter shooting. No Spurs rotation player is truly restricted to one area and this will trouble the Lakers.
Unfortunately for Lakers fans the team hasn’t been much better on the offensive end this season. They rely far too heavily on isolation plays for their wings that more often than not end up in a rushed shot or a turnover. These scenarios may have suited a 27-year-old Bryant, when he was dropping 60 points on teams because he felt like it, but at 37 the Black Mamba can’t do what he once found so simple.
The Spurs (minus Kawhi Leonard) suffered a surprising 19-point loss yesterday to the LA Clippers, it is unclear yet if Leonard will take the floor against the Lakers. Without the suffocating defence of Leonard perhaps Bryant might find it easier to turn back the clock.
Two weeks ago the Spurs escaped an embarrassing loss to LA by only four points as Kobe dropped 16 on them in the third quarter alone. Could his last tilt at his long-time foes bring out his devastating best?
No matter Kobe’s output, the real highlight of this game will be seeing two future hall-of-famers, past rivals and good friends compete one last time. Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant owe much of their respective careers to each other and their competitive drive is unlikely to diminish in their final encounter.
Duncan, however, has the much stronger supporting cast and expect them to deliver the win as they endeavour to deliver him his sixth ring.
Prediction: Spurs by 14
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2:30pm (AEDT).
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.