Lakers Beat Spurs, Walton Has a Moment
The Lakers jumped out to a double digit lead in San Antonio, and held on as the Spurs bombarded them with 3-pointers in the 3rd, and held on some more in the 4th quarter to seal the road trip with a win, 102-95.
Pau Gasol outplayed Tim Duncan in his own house, going 10-15, and getting 23 points and 11 rebounds to Duncan’s 16 and 11.
I said in the Blazer’s loss that speed kills when it’s with smart players. Today, it was the Lakers making the Spurs look old. Without Ginobli out there, the Spurs ran a cumbersome Matt Bonner, Tim Duncan, and Michael Finley.
Trevor Ariza had a field day with such slow foot-speed out there (sans Tony Parker) and had 4 steals. Kobe played OK for him, with 23 points on 9-21 shooting. The NBA’s best team holds on to its status at 52-13. The Cavs still threaten at 50-13.
Luke Walton Has a Moment: It’s 4th quarter in San Antonio, and the Spurs are mounting a run to come back. One man physically dominates his opponent, posting up from the three point line and backing in until he has a layup.
One man outsmarts Duncan’s hedge defense and throws in a layup, tap glass. One man dives for a steal, starting the go-ahead Jordan Farmar layup. One man gets in the way and steals a pass to a scorching hot Michael Finley for 3. That man is…Luke Walton?!
I think I’ve got it figured out. Luke Walton is the white, curly haired, slow motion version of Lebron James. And he can’t jump. But oh, the court vision, the smarts, the 6′9ish body! While this version of King James is usually useless, against a slower team like San Antonio, the game runs at his pace, and all of a sudden, he can rule the court.
That is why in games like this, he has this smirk about him that screams “put me on the Celtics in the 50s, and I’d be better than Havlicek, and co-star with Bill Russell on all those championship runs”.
I really enjoy this smirk from him. Sure beats his usually wide-eyed, bewildered look that screams “Holy crap, these NBA players are way too fast! Dad never told me I’d have to move my feet that quick to play defense.”
San Antonio can keep its Riverwalk. We’ve got slow motion Lebron James on our team.
