I would have thought that the Lakers would have been a darkhorse threat to go all the way in 2012-13, if Kobe Bryant didn’t tear his ACL earlier in April. The only chance the Lakers really have in this series is to pound the ball inside to Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol and see how it goes. Here is a look at the matchups in this series:
POINT GUARD: 30-year old Tony Parker just keeps getting better with age. He played in 66 games (all starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 32.9 minutes, 20.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. Parker is a veteran of playoff wars as he has played in 152 games (144 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.3 minutes, 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Parker is going to cause all kinds of problems for the Lakers’ D.
39-year old Steve Nash is banged up coming into this series, but he will have the ball in his hands more and he could excel with Kobe Bryant out of the picture….as long as his health holds up. Nash played in 50 games (all starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 32.5 minutes, 12.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. Nash also shot 43.8% from three point range this year. Nash has played in 118 games (111 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 35.8 minutes, 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game.
EDGE: SPURS
SHOOTING GUARD: 25-year old Danny Green has really turned himself into a decent player for the Spurs. He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Green has played in 18 games (12 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 16.4 minutes, 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.
It looks as if the Lakers are going to slide 33-year old Steve Blake from the point to shooting guard for this series. Blake played in 45 games (13 starts) this year for the Lakers and he averaged 26.1 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Blake has played in 36 games (11 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 24.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
EDGE: SPURS
SMALL FORWARD: 21-year old Kawhi Leonard is a rising force for the Spurs. He played in 58 games (57 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Leonard has played in 14 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far in his young career and he is averaging 27.1 minutes, 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
33-year old Metta World Peace had a nice bounce back season for the Lakers in 2012-13. He played in 75 games (66 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 33.7 minutes, 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 82 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 37.2 minutes, 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
EDGE: SLIGHT FOR SPURS
POWER FORWARD: Gregg Popovich watched 36-year old Tim Duncan’s workload to make sure he was ready for the playoffs. He played in 69 games (all starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 blocked shots per game. Duncan has now played in 190 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 39.0 minutes, 22.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game.
32-year old Pau Gasol has been injured a lot of this season, but he’s healthy and ready to rock for the playoffs. He played in 49 games (42 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 33.8 minutes, 13.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Gasol has played in 101 games (all starts) in the playoffs in his NBA career so far this year and he is averaging 38.7 minutes, 17.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.
EDGE: SPURS
CENTER: 28-year old Tiago Splitter had a breakthrough year in 2012-13, but he’s going to have his hands full with Dwight Howard in this series. Splitter played in 81 games (58 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 24.7 minutes, 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Splitter has played in 16 games (0 starts) so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 13.6 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.
27-year old Dwight Howard will have to make his free throws in this series if he’s going to help the Lakers, as Coach Popovich is likely to employ the hack a Dwight plan in at least a couple of these games. Howard played in 76 games (all starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocked shots per game. Howard has played in 57 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 39.4 minutes, 19.9 points, 14.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.8 blocked shots per game.
EDGE: HUGE FOR LAKERS
BENCH: The Spurs might use their bench a little less than usual in this series due to Boris Diaw’s injury and the fact that Manu Ginobili is still banged up. 35-year old shooting guard Manu Ginobili is going to give it a go despite his hammy still bothering him. He played in 60 games (0 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He has now played in 136 games (49 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. 28-year old SG/PG Gary Neal is going to be a big part of the bench in this series for the Spurs. He played in 68 games (17 starts) this year and he averaged 21.8 minutes, 9.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Neal has now played in 20 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 16.4 minutes, 7.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The Spurs might get 23-year old PF/C DeJuan Blair out of mothballs in this series after spending most of the 2012-13 season in Coach Popovich’s Dog House. Blair played in 61 games (16 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 14.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Blair has played in 24 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 9.0 minutes, 3.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 33-year old PF/C Matt Bonner will likely take some three pointers off the bench for the Spurs in this series. Bonner played in 68 games (4 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 13.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Bonner has played in 45 games (5 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 24-year old point guard Patrick Mills always seems to play well when called upon by the Spurs. He played in 58 games (2 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 11.3 minutes, 5.1 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Mills has played in 13 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 3.7 minutes, 1.6 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. 25-year old shooting guard Nando De Colo played well when he got a chance in his rookie season. He played in 72 games (6 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. 21-year old point guard Cory Joseph won’t likely get off the bench much in the playoffs for the Spurs. He played in 28 games (9 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 13.9 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The Spurs recently signed 33-year old SG/SF Tracy McGrady. He didn’t play in the NBA this year, as he opted for China instead. He has played in 44 games (38 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 38.5 minutes, 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
The Lakers are likely going to keep the rotation tight in this series, maybe only going nine deep on most nights. 36-year old forward Antawn Jamison signed for the minimum over the summer to go for a ring, so you know he’s going to be plenty motivated in this series. He played in 76 games (6 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 21.5 minutes, 9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He has now played in 42 games (37 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. 25-year old power forward Earl Clark will also be in on the action off the bench. He played in 59 games (36 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 23.1 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Clark has played in 9 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 2.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. 25-year old shooting guard Jodie Meeks will be the top guard off the bench for the Lakers. He played in 78 games (10 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 21.3 minutes, 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has now played in 18 games (6 starts) off the bench so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 12.6 minutes, 4.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 22-year old guard Darius Morris could also play a little bit in this series. He played in 48 games (17 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 14.2 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Morris has played in 4 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 2.0 minutes, 2.5 points and 0.8 assists per game.
EDGE: SPURS
COACHING: No head coach today is as successful as 64-year old Gregg Popovich has been. He led the Spurs to a 58-24 (70.7%) this year. Popovich is 118-77 (60.5%) in the playoffs so far in his career and he has led the Spurs to four NBA titles!
61-year old Mike D’Antoni took over early in the season and things didn’t go too well early in the year. But, he still finished with a 40-32 (55.6%) record this year. He has had trouble in the playoffs so far in his career as he has a 26-29 (47.3%) record in them.
EDGE: HUGE FOR SPURS
PREDICTION: SPURS IN SIX GAMES
