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SAN ANTONIO
VS.
LOS ANGELES
PHILADELPHIA
VS.
MILWAUKEE
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Dr. Jack: Very close in a seven-game series
ESPN.com
Lakers vs. Spurs
 Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay provides analysis for ESPN on SportsCenter and NBA Today. Here he breaks down the playoffs for ESPN.com. Also a former color analyst for the Heat, Ramsay's impressive résumé includes making the playoffs in 16 of his 20 seasons as coach and winning an NBA title with Portland in 1977.
Throughout the 2001 playoffs, Dr. Jack will break down each series from the backcourts to intangibles. Look for his analysis all the way through to the NBA Finals.
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BACKCOURT
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EDGE
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| At point guard, the Lakers' Derek Fisher, a young, strong, feisty defender, will match up against the Spurs' Terry Porter, a veteran playoff performer. But Porter still doesn't have a ring; no one wants one more. While both play well within the team structure, Fisher is quicker and a better defender. Porter is stronger, a smart player and a good team defender. Porter has Avery Johnson as his backup, while Brian Shaw comes in for Fisher. At off guard, Kobe Bryant will go against Antonio Daniels, who replaced the injured Derek Anderson in the Mavericks series. Daniels is a similar style of player to Anderson. He is quick, a strong defender, can shoot the three-pointer and can drive to the basket. But Kobe is a handful. He likes the challenge of stepping up with big performances in big games. In the two games at Sacramento, Bryant was unbelievable, scoring 36 and 48 points in Games 3 and 4 respectively. |
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FRONTCOURT
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EDGE
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| Rick Fox, who did such a great job defending the Kings' Predrag Stojakovic, will have an easier but nonetheless important job in defending the Spurs' Danny Ferry or Sean Elliott. Fox is a tenacious defender. Elliott may be able to drive by Fox because he is quicker afoot. But Fox can stay in Ferry's lap and deny him three-point shooting opportunities. A key matchup is at the big forward position, where Horace Grant will try to defend the Spurs' Tim Duncan. This is a huge assignment for Grant, who is a good post defender and can move his feet well when his opponent takes him out to the edges. He will be giving up size to Duncan, who has a complete game. He can take opponents outside and shoot the jumper. He can put it on the floor and drive to the basket. And he has a very slick inside post-up game. He's also an excellent offensive rebounder. When he shoots the ball, he reaches the basket in one step immediately after the ball is off his fingers. Robert Horry will back up Grant, but I don't know if either player can contain Duncan, who's playing at the top of his game. In the middle, Shaquille O'Neal will be matched against David Robinson. Shaq is stronger than Robinson, has great footwork, is quicker in his basket moves and can power his way to the basket. Robinson is playing at his highest level in recent years. He is defending and rebounding effectively. Shaq's ability to defend Robinson is no contest, but where he can get Shaq in trouble is taking him out to 15 feet and then driving past him to the basket. He will try to get Shaq in foul trouble, making him less effective on defense. When he gets a few fouls early in the game, he plays less aggressively on defense. Containing Shaq must be a team defensive effort for the Spurs. |
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BENCH
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EDGE
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| While the Lakers have a very thin bench, the Spurs have great depth. All the Spurs reserves are veterans who are willing to play within the team structure. Elliott can not only play small forward, but he can also help defend Bryant. Elliott is a good defender and a little longer than Bryant. He may be able to do as well against Kobe as can be done. The Spurs also have Johnson, the little floor general who will come in and back up Porter. Up front, they have Samaki Walker and Malik Rose, two strong and tough players. The Lakers will only use Shaw, Ron Harper and Horry off the bench. Greg Foster has only played three minutes in the playoffs. But Phil Jackson may have to use him. Against other teams without a dominant center, Jackson plays Horry and Grant. Against the Spurs, with Robinson and Duncan, Jackson may need Foster. |
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INTANGIBLES
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EDGE
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| The Lakers have won 15 straight games, and the Spurs are playing great basketball. The two teams split their season series. The Spurs will miss Derek Anderson, but not so much as a starter because Antonio Daniels has played great. He has probably played better than Anderson could have played. However, the Spurs will miss Anderson in the rotation. They were stronger when Anderson was starting and Daniels was coming off the bench. Now what Gregg Popovich will do is play Elliott in backcourt, especially for defense. I expect Daniels and Elliott to defend Kobe. The Spurs play the best team defense in the league and have the home-court edge. But there is no intangible edge for either side. |
Even
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PREDICTION
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| Seven games -- flip a coin. The series is about as even as it gets. The two teams are playing so well. If the Spurs had Anderson, I would pick the Spurs. But they don't. If the Lakers win a game in San Antonio, the Lakers will win the series. And they may do it. This could be the best playoff series of all-time. It could be even better than Philadelphia-Boston and Boston-Los Angeles when those two rivalries were in their primes. The series could come down to whether or not Shaq can stay on the floor, whether Kobe can come up with big games when needed and whether Duncan and Robinson can do their usual number against the Lakers' strong inside defense. Both teams are defending well and are capable of scoring 100 points a game. The series could be decided on free throws. Neither is a good free-throw shooting team. The series should be a beauty. In the end, if I have to choose, it will probably be decided by some minor issue; a made or missed free throw, an offensive rebound, a turnover. I still like the Spurs because of home court advantage and depth of bench ... and their great team D. It wouldn't shock me to see LA win, though. |
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ALSO SEE
Aldridge: Breaking down the biggest series
Stein: Spurs buddies are the anti Shaq-Kobe
Fred's Points: Lakers-Spurs will be great
Hughes: Those 'Other' Lakers can play, too
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