Gasol-driven geometry gives Lakers some space
On the bright side for the San Antonio Spurs, who were laid out Sunday, looking like the Ghost of Dynasties Past, at least they're not likely to play the Lakers in the first round.
Bringing the Wildest West season into sharper focus . . . slightly . . . the Lakers wiped out the defending NBA champions, 106-85.
In yet another positive, the Spurs not only got to rest Manu Ginobili, who had a groin injury, but Tim Duncan and Tony Parker too!
Both left for good 5:20 into the fourth quarter with the Los Angeles Lakers 18 points ahead, on their way to going up by as many as 26.
Mathematicians are still poring over the West standings, but we think the Lakers still have to beat Sacramento Tuesday to officially win the West.
On the positive side for the Lakers, after weeks of waiting for Andrew Bynum . . . apparently with weeks to go . . . they may be the best in the West as they are.
They're 21-5 with Pau Gasol in the lineup, an .808 winning percentage which, projected over a season, would be better than Boston's NBA-best .800.
With Gasol, they go from erratic fits and starts (see: the last three seasons) to sleek efficiency.
In tandem with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom's reluctance to shoot always seemed to leave Bryant with the predicament of whether to shoot too much or not enough.
However, in a trio with Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Odom are fabulous.
Alongside Pau Gasol, the game is exponentially easier for Bryant, whose shooting percentage and assist average went up this season from 45% to 48% and from 4.3 to 4.8 with Pau.
The game changes completely for Odom, who goes from marginal No. 2 option to devastating No. 3, shooting 59% alongside Gasol and 49% without him.
Oh, and Pau Gasol is also averaging 19 points and shooting 59% as a Laker.
"He makes it all come together," said San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich, "in the sense that when you've got a big guy in the triangle who can pass, catch and shoot the way he does, he's not just an offensive threat.
"He creates spacing for the triangle which is great. He's somebody who passes out of it. It just gets everybody involved the right way, gets everybody enthused and confident.
"Everybody touches the ball. It leads people to move the ball more because they think there's going to be open people on the court. He brings all of that with his skills, and that makes it special."
The Lakers turned out to need special, in view of Bynum's rehabilitation, which has been a strain all around and isn't over yet.
Injured athletes are no new phenomenon in the NBA, but the Lakers have been at great pains to keep this story buttoned up.
With Andrew Bynum up for an extension this summer, his family and advisers are sensitive to any negative information that gets out, to say the least.
And, however diplomatically Bynum presented it, he didn't fly to New York to see his old orthopedist because they were serenely confident in the care he was receiving.
On the other hand, how fast do you think Popovich would trade his problems for those of the Lakers after seeing his team run over by the third West power in nine days?
On April 4, the Utah Jazz flattened the Spurs, 90-64. Wednesday on their own floor in San Antonio, the Phoenix Suns stomped on them, 96-79.
Ginobili, who had finally gone to the bench with his strained groin, asked to play Sunday but Popovich turned him down.
"He gave it a shot today, and he lost the battle," said Popovich before the game. "And maybe I'll lose the battle."
As it turned out, his army was put to flight, if only for the moment.
Asked how they would deal with the loss, a terse Popovich answered: "Go to dinner tonight. Tomorrow, probably watch film about 11 o'clock or 12 and get ready to play another game tomorrow night."
The Spurs have been on more than one Rodeo Trip. Traditionally stretch runners, they're now 20-9 since the All-Star break, their second-worst finish since winning the first of their four titles in 1999.
The worst was 18-12 in the spring of 2005 . . . after which they won their third title.
In other words, the real suffering hasn't even started yet.
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