Congrats to the Spurs fans on a very nice win. I hated to lose that one once we got the lead at the very end ... it stung. On the bright side it was great to see the my team competing up until the buzzer and to have a chance to steal one on the road against a great team is always a good thing.
It did hurt.
I really thought the Lakers had it in the bag but some great play by TD and a total brain fart by Fisher to blow it. When Mason hit that shot I was TOTALLY thinking 4 point play. The only person to blame on that last possesion is Ariza. Kobe had to give up the ball because he had two guys all over him, Ariza should have been aware of the shot clock and been patient and given the ball back to Kobe. I can deal with losing the game on a Kobe possesion but losing a game the way it was lost last night sucks!
I was very happy to see the Lakers compete the way the did, despite playing very little defense. I really thought they were going to get blow out by the Spurs for various reason.
I have a few questions for REAL Spurs fans:
What has happened to Udoka? He seems solid last year, did not see a glimpse of the guy.
What gives with Bowen, he got yanked instantly while Blockhead..err..Bonner was allowed to make mistake after mistake.
Did you guys expect this type of game from Mason? Has Mason been playing that well all year? Mason came out of nowhere, he has had very little production over his career because of injuries and other factors. Mason has never really had a shot at showcasing his skills, seems like the Spurs have found ANOTHER hidden treasure where as their fans were bummed that Mason was all they could scrap off the bottome of the NBA's FA's shoes.
Based on what I saw last night I think the Spurs have no shot at winning the West. Their front court is way too shallow and they don't have nearly the size to compete with the other squads in the WC. TD can not do it all himself and I don't expect that type of 3 pt shooting to continue all year and into the playoffs so something needs to be done in regards to getting another big if the Spurs expect to compete in the playoffs. When TD is out teams will start to stay with the Spurs long range shooters, you can not play TD all 48 so something has got to change. IMO the Spurs are the true challenge to the Lakers. The Hornets IMO had a fluke season last year, as great as CP3 is he is not taking that team past the 2nd round. The Suns IMO are probably too old and not talented enough to hang with the Lakers. Utah can be the dark horse but the Spurs are who I fear the most. You put TD, TP, and Manu on the court and they have enough to win a series against any team.