Breaking down Lakers comeback
Here are my final four reasons why the Lakers rallied from a 20-point deficit and beat the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
1. Thanks to the demands of television, the Spurs had only 46 hours between Game 7 of their second-round series against New Orleans and Game 1 against the Lakers. To make matters worse, the Spurs' charter company dropped the ball and the players spent Monday night sleeping on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport while awaiting a serviceable airplane to arrive. They ended up leaving for Los Angeles about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Already emotionally spent after a taxing series with the Hornets, the Spurs looked physically tired down the stretch against the Lakers. It's too bad such outside influences have to impact a team's chances to win a championship.
2. Kobe Bryant was outstanding in the second half, when he scored 25 of his 27 points and rallied the Lakers from a 20-point deficit in the final 18 minutes. This is what great players do and anyone who thinks Chris Paul or Kevin Garnett deserved the MVP award over Bryant this season ought to watch a replay of Game 1.
3. Manu Ginobili was not himself. He made only three of his 13 shots and handed out four assists. Despite being open, he didn't get his legs into a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds. More telling, I thought, was Ginobili's inability to guard Vladimir Radmanovic, especially in the opening minutes of the game. No disrespect to Radmanovic, but when Ginobili was unable to prevent him from getting to the basket a couple of times, it was a sure sign that something was bothering him. Turns out, Ginobili has a sore ankle, which could not have been helped by a night of sleeping on an airplane.
4. Laker fans will disagree, but their team got most of the friendly calls down the stretch. Specifically, Bryant led with his left arm and shoulder while separating himself from Bruce Bowen and making a wide-open 12-footer that gave the Lakers the lead with 23 seconds left. It could have been an offensive foul. Then, with less than 10 seconds left, Ginobili missed his three-pointer but was closest to the long rebound before being pulled down from behind by Lamar Odom. Again, no call.
Moments earlier, the Lakers retained possession when referee Dan Crawford gave L.A. the ball out of bounds despite the fact Pau Gasol clearly fouled Tim Duncan while going for the offensive rebound. To make matters worse for the Spurs, Crawford checked with outside referee Bob Delaney after making the incorrect call, but he got it wrong, too. The play stood. Then, on the ensuing possession, Gasol missed a dunk. As he scrambled for the long rebound, he ran over Ginobili. But instead of calling a foul on Gasol and putting one of the game's top free-throw shooters on the line, Delaney made no call and simply gave the Spurs the ball out of bounds.
-- Steve Luhm
1. Thanks to the demands of television, the Spurs had only 46 hours between Game 7 of their second-round series against New Orleans and Game 1 against the Lakers. To make matters worse, the Spurs' charter company dropped the ball and the players spent Monday night sleeping on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport while awaiting a serviceable airplane to arrive. They ended up leaving for Los Angeles about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Already emotionally spent after a taxing series with the Hornets, the Spurs looked physically tired down the stretch against the Lakers. It's too bad such outside influences have to impact a team's chances to win a championship.
2. Kobe Bryant was outstanding in the second half, when he scored 25 of his 27 points and rallied the Lakers from a 20-point deficit in the final 18 minutes. This is what great players do and anyone who thinks Chris Paul or Kevin Garnett deserved the MVP award over Bryant this season ought to watch a replay of Game 1.
3. Manu Ginobili was not himself. He made only three of his 13 shots and handed out four assists. Despite being open, he didn't get his legs into a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds. More telling, I thought, was Ginobili's inability to guard Vladimir Radmanovic, especially in the opening minutes of the game. No disrespect to Radmanovic, but when Ginobili was unable to prevent him from getting to the basket a couple of times, it was a sure sign that something was bothering him. Turns out, Ginobili has a sore ankle, which could not have been helped by a night of sleeping on an airplane.
4. Laker fans will disagree, but their team got most of the friendly calls down the stretch. Specifically, Bryant led with his left arm and shoulder while separating himself from Bruce Bowen and making a wide-open 12-footer that gave the Lakers the lead with 23 seconds left. It could have been an offensive foul. Then, with less than 10 seconds left, Ginobili missed his three-pointer but was closest to the long rebound before being pulled down from behind by Lamar Odom. Again, no call.
Moments earlier, the Lakers retained possession when referee Dan Crawford gave L.A. the ball out of bounds despite the fact Pau Gasol clearly fouled Tim Duncan while going for the offensive rebound. To make matters worse for the Spurs, Crawford checked with outside referee Bob Delaney after making the incorrect call, but he got it wrong, too. The play stood. Then, on the ensuing possession, Gasol missed a dunk. As he scrambled for the long rebound, he ran over Ginobili. But instead of calling a foul on Gasol and putting one of the game's top free-throw shooters on the line, Delaney made no call and simply gave the Spurs the ball out of bounds.
-- Steve Luhm
2:27 PM
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